Diversity Spotlight: Katesha Breland
In December 2022, Katesha Breland was sworn in as the first African American female and only the 10th female President of the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors® (CTAR).
Breland focused her goals for the year entirely on the members: “I want to focus efforts on engaging the members and identifying the next group of leaders. I want to support ALL of our members as they build their businesses and help them understand the importance of being involved with the Association”.
Katesha is a native of Charleston and graduated from Bishop England High School and spent much of her life in the real estate world—she spent her summers assisting her uncle in New York opening properties, filing paperwork and preparing invoices for his managed properties. Back at home, she also helped her grandparents manage their properties in Charleston.
Her initial career plan was to become a pharmacist, but following the birth of her first daughter, she knew she wanted a career that would give her more freedom to focus both on building a career and building a family. She launched her real estate career with the O’Shaughnessy Company and became a Realtor® in 1998, staying with the company through several mergers which would eventually brand the company as Carolina One Real Estate.
As Breland balanced family and career, she returned to school earning her Bachelor of Science from Claflin University and then a Masters of Real Estate Development from Clemson University. She said, “I realized my daughters were looking at me and it was about teaching them to never stop learning”, which is advice she continues to share with membership.
A decade later, she opened her own brokerage, Sweetgrass Realty Group in 2009. As she established her company and built her network she began getting involved at the Association. One of the first groups she was involved with was Code PROS, which reviewed case studies of ethics and license law violations as a means for Realtors® to learn from others mistakes. She joined the Grievance Committee, which officially oversaw local Code of Ethics violations and was a major introduction to an Association leadership role for her.
As Katesha spent more time at the Association, she noticed none of the Past Presidents on the wall looked like her. Breland thought to herself, “I want my picture up there”. She joined local committees and volunteered her time to serve on task forces to build her leadership skills and eventually joined committees on the State and National level. In addition to Code Pros and Grievance, Katesha also served on the legislative committee, nominating committee and the Reading with Realtors committee with CTAR. At the state level, she served on the South Carolina Realtors® (SCR) nominating committee, membership committee and the professional development committee. She also served on NAR’s Housing Policy Committee.
In 2016 Breland decided to apply for a board position and was not selected. She remained involved and continued to build her Association leadership resume and the following year she became the first African American female Director on the Association’s board.
Breland credits established Association leaders for helping support her throughout her leadership journey. Owen Tyler, managing Broker for the Cassina Group and past president of both CTAR and SCR was a driving influence in helping Katesha grow as a Realtor® and a leader. Breland and Tyler built a close friendship and shared information, resources and supported each other on their respective paths to leadership. In December, Breland asked Tyler to do the honor of swearing her in as President.
While her term as CTAR President is just beginning, many have asked her “what’s next?” and her reply is simple—she’s focused on the goals for the year ahead and just living in the moment. With Breland at the helm, CTAR is sure to have a year of exciting achievement and success. Congratulations to Katesha Breland, 2023 CTAR President for all that she’s accomplished and what’s yet to come!
