Christy Gessler learned about real estate one form at a time.

As a broker’s assistant, she would pick one form each week, read it carefully, learn its applications, and master its use. She continued until she understood every form TREC and Texas REALTORS® made available at the time.

She enjoys telling the story as advice to new agents, but it also offers a glimpse into her approach to business. For her, preparation is the heart of leadership. The hardest work takes place before other people—a client, her agents, or the 150,000-plus members of the association she now leads—show up.

“I am a student of the market,” she says. “I get statistics from title companies. I’m always seeking out research. I’m an information gatherer. I reach out to key people and ask questions.”

And much of that work is for the benefit of others. “I think the goals we should be striving for aren’t our own, but our clients’,” she continues. “I was never motivated to sell a certain number of houses. I wanted to help as many people as I could.”

Gessler decided she also wanted to help others by some day becoming chairman of Texas REALTORS®, so she’s been serving on committees and growing her real estate knowledge for years leading up to this moment. While achieving goals is gratifying, it never comes with a sense of reaching a finish line.

“You might think, ‘Oh, now I’d feel like the top dog,’ but as chairman, I feel even more pressure. I have to step up and be prepared for whatever comes,” she says. “But that’s the beauty of real estate. It’s never the same day twice.”

Discovering her drive

Gessler grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin. Her father, a veteran and successful businessman in Chicago, was a major influence. Gessler remembers their frank discussions about “the way the world works.” She credits him with teaching her about fairness, ethics, and kindness.

“Being a female in leadership has always presented some challenges,” she says. “Over the course of my career I’ve been exposed to a lot of misogyny. I’ve learned how to overcome it and be less of a target for it. I learned to be as smart and as tactful as you can be.”

Her father also fostered her competitive spirit. Gessler was a competitive tennis player when she was growing up. “I loved it,” she says. “I started when I was six and I played and played.”

She rose through the ranks and faced a difficult decision: commit to the sport and attend a special tennis program in Florida or stay in the Midwest for high school. Her father’s advice was that if she wasn’t prepared to do the work to win it all, then she should stay home. “My dad said to me, ‘Christy, second place is the first-place loser.’”

While she ultimately chose to pivot away from competitive tennis, the mentality stuck. Once Gessler makes up her mind to achieve something, she’ll pursue it with determination. She credits her mother with teaching her how to stay focused toward achieving her goals.

Protect and serve in the parks

Gessler arrived in Texas in 1989 to attend The University of Texas at Austin. She also started working part-time for the Travis County Parks Department. A few months later, there was an opening to train to become an emergency medical technician.

She joined the Travis County Sheriff’s Department while enrolled at UT and was assigned to the parks system with some patrols in Austin. “I also did a lot of work with policy and the commissioners court,” she says. “It is very similar to work I’d later do with the Texas REALTORS® Public Policy Committee. It was very comfortable for me.”

She graduated in 1993 and ended up spending seven years with the sheriff’s department. Gessler loved that time. “It gave me confidence,” she says. “It taught me about people and how to manage them. I learned about crisis management; people have told me I’m good in a crisis.”

Why not real estate?

Gessler left law enforcement after her children were born to become a full-time mom during their childhoods.

Gessler was picking up her children from school one day when she met Leander-based broker Mary Miner. “Mary asked me what I was going to do when my kids grew up,” Gessler recalls. “I said I used to be a police officer, but I didn’t want to go back to law enforcement with two young kids.”

Miner suggested real estate; she was looking for a broker’s assistant and asked if Gessler would like to help with office work. Gessler said yes and started working in Miner’s brokerage. It wasn’t long before Gessler’s interest in getting licensed was sparked.

The first home she ever sold was a two-bedroom house in Round Rock. “Mary told me to go out and list it,” she says. “The seller was so phenomenal, so knowledgeable. It was so great to have a transaction like that be your first listing.”

Miner taught Gessler to study a form a week. It was just like tennis or the shooting range at the sheriff’s department: practice drills until it becomes second nature.

One deal stands out in Gessler’s memory as a time when all of that studying paid off. The negotiations had been particularly nuanced. But Gessler was ready. She had reviewed the relevant forms and had an idea of what questions could come up during discussions. When one of those questions appeared, she answered it as if it was no big deal. “My confidence shot through the roof,” she says.

Gessler loves seeing people achieve the dream of homeownership. “I’ve never been in it for the money,” she says. “Helping families settle into homes just hits me in my core. It’s what I enjoy the most.”

Sometimes the reality of homeownership affects people in different ways. One of Gessler’s favorite stories is when she helped a single mother and her daughter buy a small house in Manor. At the closing, Gessler used to leave a coffee table magazine as part of her marketing. Her buyers were moved and Gessler didn’t understand why.

The mother told her that she’s going to put that magazine on her coffee table in her living room in the home she owns. To her, homeowners have living rooms where they could display things like that. She never thought homeownership was possible for her, and that’s how she realized she’d achieved her dream. And it meant the world to her.

An eye for management

Gessler earned her broker’s license and started as CEO of Keller Williams Realty Cedar Park Leander in 2012. She served as a supervisory broker, not wanting to juggle leadership and sales.

She has prioritized connecting with her agents. “Every Tuesday since 2012, I have brought my agents together for a sales meeting,” she says. “And as the broker, I give them content. We prepare, prepare, prepare.”

Gessler is a 2008 graduate of the Texas REALTORS® Leadership Program, a pivotal chapter in her real estate journey. “I remember having deep, personal conversations about topics such as work/life balance,” she says. “It made me realize I have this family in the real estate world. We’re able to find commonalities and have safe conversations. It was life-changing.”

Throughout her career, Gessler has worked in or led brokerages of all sizes. At one point, she had 243 agents working for her. That role left her exhausted. But she values the experience because it helps her relate to members. “I have walked a mile in a variety of different shoes. I’ve lived the big brokerage life. It matters in a business that’s more art than science.”

In February 2018, she launched her current brokerage, Freedom 512 Real Estate Group, with 17 agents. She is actively managing the brokerage and leading Tuesday morning meetings while chairman.

Making voices heard

First with the Williamson County Association of REALTORS® and then Texas REALTORS®, Gessler has been highly involved in committees. “Committees are everything. They’re the heartbeat of the organization,” she says.

A leader who hasn’t done that faces a difficult learning curve, she warns, adding that the chairmanship is a job with a very short runway for takeoff.

She particularly enjoyed working on issues mobilization, which she cites as a good example of how Texas REALTORS® can effectively use its influence, she explains. She also found strategic planning engaging. “I love the thought process. Your windshield is bigger than your rear view for a reason.”

Gessler believes everyone should sign up for committees. Creating a culture of inclusion is important to her. “I don’t like when voices aren’t being heard,” she says. “The makeup of committees matters tremendously because of the points of view, whether it’s cultural or gender or geographic perspective.”

Another year of change

There was a moment during the state leadership program when Gessler announced she wanted to be chairman of Texas REALTORS® one day. “The people around me laughed. They said there’s no way you can make it. You’re from a small brokerage that’s part of a small association. I told that story at my installation ceremony.”

She is excited for the work ahead. She is honored to serve at such an important time in the organization’s history.

In March, longtime president/CEO Travis Kessler will retire. Gessler joins many other leaders in expressing appreciation to Kessler for his years of leadership. This is a point where the association could continue its upward trajectory if it makes the right moves, she says, and Gessler looks forward to working closely with incoming CEO Mike Barnett to ensure that happens.

With the Texas Legislature in session as well as countless other projects, it will be a challenge, but Gessler is prepared. Real estate has always been demanding, even at this point in her career. “Nothing is guaranteed,” she notes.

Gessler tries to follow the same advice she gives new agents: be brave, have confidence when going into scary situations, and know that you belong there.

“I will raise my hand and ask the question or make the comment,” she says. “I am not afraid to look stupid; I love laughing at myself. But what I rely on is that I know I am there to contribute.”