We are excited to announce the hiring of Ms. Shawn Sanford as Vice President of Membership, Learning and Professional Growth. Sanford joined the Chicago Association of REALTORS® on May 5th, 2026.
In this role, Sanford will lead the association’s work across membership, learning, engagement and broker relationships — helping to ensure that every touchpoint our members and students have with the association is connected, intentional and valuable. As part of a newly reorganized department, she will play a central role in shaping how these pieces work together to deliver a stronger, more cohesive experience for our community.
Sanford comes to us most recently from the National Association of REALTORS®, where she led engagement strategy across more than 12,000 volunteer leaders — strengthening how members connect, learn and lead at a national scale. Her experience at that level of the REALTOR® organization brings an invaluable perspective to our association, and we are proud to welcome someone with that depth of insight to our team.
She has been deeply involved in shaping how membership, engagement, learning and governance connect — and she has the hands-on experience of actually building and running those systems. She has also done significant work modernizing platforms and rethinking how organizations can better support their members in more connected and intentional ways.
Sanford holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation and remains actively engaged in the broader association community through organizations like ASAE and Association Forum.