or NHORA National President Michelle Perry, leadership, homeownership and community are personal. As a first-generation homeowner and longtime real estate professional, she understands how owning a home can change the trajectory of a family.

During Hispanic Heritage Month, we often celebrate the accomplishments of individuals who are making an impact in their professions and communities. Sometimes, the more interesting story is understanding what motivates them to lead. For Michelle Perry, that story begins with home.

Perry is the 2026 National President of the National Hispanic Organization of Real Estate Associates (NHORA) and a full-time Realtor who has worked in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County and San Benito County for more than 26 years.

Long before becoming a leader of a national real estate organization, however, Perry experienced something that continues to influence how she views her profession and community service.

She became a first-generation homeowner.

“I know what that trajectory is in life, and I know how it’s changed my family,” Perry told HL Media Network during NHORA’s 2026 National Conference in San Jose.

She became a homeowner before entering the real estate profession.

“So it’s something big for me,” she said. “I know what it means.”

Watch our conversation with NHORA National President Michelle Perry 

Discovering NHORA

Our introduction to NHORA went beyond attending its national conference.

The day before the conference, HL Media Network was invited to join NHORA leaders for a chapter retreat at Hayes Mansion in San Jose.

It provided an opportunity to observe the organization from the inside — chapter leaders gathering to discuss leadership, communication, professional development and the direction of the organization.

One word came up repeatedly: family.

The following day, as real estate professionals, lenders, affiliates and industry leaders arrived for the national conference, it became easier to understand what they meant.

There was an obvious professional purpose to the gathering. But there was also familiarity among the members and a sense that relationships between chapters mattered.

For those unfamiliar with NHORA, as we were before spending time with the organization, its work extends beyond professional networking.

The organization promotes sustainable homeownership while developing leadership within the real estate industry and encouraging its members to serve as trusted advisors within Hispanic communities. Its work also includes financial literacy, consumer education and community involvement.

Perry became involved with NHORA approximately six years ago.

“I knew what they were doing in the community,” she said.

That connection between profession and community appealed to her.

“This organization gives back to the community,” Perry explained. “In every aspect, not just in real estate, not just in education, but actually giving to people that are in need.”

Leadership Starts With Communication

When Perry became National President earlier this year, one of her priorities was strengthening NHORA from within.

Her focus has been on the chapters and, particularly, developing the professionalism and leadership skills of the people running them.

“They’re the ones that are really serving the community,” she said.

For Perry, effective leadership starts with something basic.

Communication.

“The number one thing for me, when you talk about leadership, is communication,” she said. “It’s really important that we establish what our priorities are, and how we communicate them.”

That meant investing in leadership training and making sure chapter leaders understood not only the organization’s priorities, but where NHORA wanted to go next.

The result, Perry believes, has brought the organization closer together.

“We know what our purpose is. We know what the vision is, and we know what the next step is, because we are being strategic about how we move forward.”

More Than a Real Estate Transaction

Perry’s perspective on homeownership is particularly relevant to the work NHORA is doing.

Real estate professionals spend their careers around transactions.

Buyers. Sellers. Financing. Properties. Contracts.

But Perry remembers the experience from the other side of the table.

She remembers becoming a homeowner before she became a Realtor.

That distinction matters.

For a first-generation homeowner, purchasing a house can represent something much larger than acquiring property. It can change how a family thinks about stability, opportunity and its financial future.

Perry lived that experience herself.

Today, she wants NHORA professionals to help others understand the homebuying process and the possibilities that can come with it.

She also sees the organization’s responsibility extending beyond homeownership education.

Perry talks about building wealth and leaving a legacy.

That means creating relationships with people and organizations capable of providing knowledge and resources within the communities NHORA serves.

It also means showing up in other ways.

Perry points to activities such as backpack drives, scholarships, nonprofit support and educational programs as examples of how local chapters can become part of their communities.

The objective is for NHORA members to become people their communities know and trust whether someone is trying to understand the homebuying process or simply looking for information and resources.

Building a Legacy

That brings Perry to what comes next.

She envisions NHORA continuing to expand into additional communities and states while maintaining the local relationships that have helped define the organization.

“We want it to expand into communities where they know that we are the trusted advisor,” she said.

Partnerships will be an important part of that expansion.

This year, NHORA introduced what Perry describes as its Legacy Partnership, creating deeper relationships with organizations supporting its mission. NHORA’s current national partnership structure includes Legacy, Impact, Community and Supporting Partner levels, with its Legacy Partners positioned for long-term participation in the organization.

But when Perry discusses those relationships, she doesn’t speak about them simply as sponsors.

“They’re part of our family now,” she said.

It reflects the same theme we heard during the leadership retreat the previous day.

For Perry, growth is ultimately about collaboration.

“That’s how we move forward,” she said. “It’s with collaboration, partnerships, and building futures for more than just ourselves, for giving back to our communities.”

A Story Worth Continuing

Our conversation with Michelle Perry was one of several we captured during our time with NHORA in San Jose.

We arrived wanting to learn more about an organization that was relatively new to us. We left with a better understanding of its leadership, its chapters and the people working within real estate and financial services to address homeownership and economic opportunity in their communities.

There are more of those stories to share.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, however, Michelle Perry provides a fitting place to begin.

She is a real estate professional who remembers what it felt like to become a first-generation homeowner.

A national president who believes leadership begins with communication.

And a Latina leader whose definition of success extends beyond what she can build for herself to what she and others can help build for the people who come next.

That is where leadership becomes legacy.

Learn more about the National Hispanic Organization of Real Estate Associates at NHORA.org.