Motivated to Make a Difference

Inspired in part by the George Fox DBA program, realtor Tony Kelly is doing his part to close the wealth gap disparity in the state’s real estate landscape

Tony Kelly is quick to admit that earning a doctor of business administration degree is no walk in the park. In fact, it’s downright tough.

Then again, if it were easy it probably wouldn’t have been worth pursuing – and it wouldn’t have made the impact it’s had on his life.

A Love of Challenges

Kelly, a realtor who cofounded and co-owns a Keller Williams franchise in Lake Oswego, Oregon, knows all about challenges. He overcame a poor upbringing in Detroit, survived the rigors of military training, and at one point in his life was assigned the unenviable task of potentially turning a key to launch nuclear ICBMs. “Fortunately, I never had to do that job, which is a good thing,” he quips.

He went on to work as a high-tech industry executive successfully managing international sales, operations and marketing organizations. He has run marathons and, for 18 straight years, has not missed a day of running.

Professionally, in addition to his work as a realtor, he is president of the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors – leading more than 8,500 realtors in the metro area – and was recently elected to serve as the association’s state president.

To top it off, he somehow finds the time to teach leadership and management classes at George Fox University on an adjunct basis.

His life is full, but Kelly wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love challenges. I need challenges. That’s just who I am,” says Kelly, a 2023 graduate of George Fox University’s DBA program. “And I would say the [DBA] experience was life-changing. 

“When I first started the journey, I thought, ‘Oh, it’s just going to be like my MBA, but just a little harder.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. It is 10 times harder than any master’s program that you go through. But man, when you come out on the other end, it is such a rewarding feeling, and you’re proud to be able to use that term ‘doctor’ because you truly felt like you earned it.”

Personal Application

Kelly is applying the principles he learned – particularly in the area of critical thinking – to his everyday job.

“I will say there has absolutely been significant benefits to me personally and professionally in that the program really taught me, one, how to do research,” he says. “It taught me critical thinking on an incredible level besides just reading articles in the Harvard Business Review about critical thinking.

“When you’re going through the DBA, you've got to use critical thinking in every aspect of what you're doing in your academic life. And I find I still do that. I still apply that to everything that I do in real estate, especially in these leadership positions that I’ve been in since I started the whole academic journey.”

Beyond business acumen, Kelly discovered a side benefit. Through his doctoral dissertation – focused on the qualities of successful African American women in the country’s top law firms – he gained insights on how to make a difference as a person of color in an influential position of leadership.

“My focus wasn’t so much on all the barriers that these women have to face, or the fact that they make up only 0.8% of the partner ranks in the nation’s top law firms,” he says. “It was on asking the question, ‘What are the qualities of these women that make them successful? What is their secret sauce?’”

His research unearthed answers he was able to pass along to his daughter – a first-year law student at the University of Michigan at the time – and informed his role as an African American leader in an arena associated with generational wealth: real estate.

A Startling Discovery

He admits his original motivation to get into real estate was more self-serving. He liked the idea of being his own boss, setting his own hours, making a lot of money, and the challenge of managing an office and building an effective team.

All that was well and good, but Kelly felt something was missing, so he enrolled in the DBA program and, in the course of his research, stumbled upon a troubling study that revealed African-American homeownership was at its lowest point since 1968.

“That just stunned me, especially during a time when the market was just blowing up,” he says. “It gave me a firsthand glimpse of the impact of generational wealth. That was a byproduct of owning a home, and seeing that Blacks were literally disenfranchised from that really inspired me to get involved on the governance and volunteer side of things.”

Kelly responded by connecting with the National Association of Realtors organization to “see what I could do to pay it forward and help bridge that disparity gap,” he says. “It was something I had completely ignored. I was all about making money and selling homes. I had to do something.”

Kelly credits the DBA program for helping ignite the flame.

“One of the studies I came across in the DBA talked about this whole wealth gap disparity as a result of real estate,” he recalls. “Honestly, if it weren’t for the DBA program I’m not sure I would have come across this study or been open to volunteering. Then I get tapped by the state president – also a George Fox alum – and he asks me to get involved in governance. I had been reading about it and now I was being asked to do something.

“It was as if God was telling me, “OK, now it’s your turn to pay it forward.’ I got involved at the association level, I’m now managing the largest association in the state, and in two years I’ll be leading the state.”

A Motivation with Purpose

Beyond addressing inequities, Kelly is motivated by the simple truth that owning a home is the dream of many Americans – and the ability to do so sets the tone for the generations to follow.

“I know firsthand the impact of owning real estate – of being a homeowner,” he says. “I lived it. From growing up poor in Detroit, I saw that the wealth gap was the result of people who owned homes and people who didn’t own homes, and how owning your home played into being able to send your kids to college.

“The No. 1 wealth generator in the country is real estate, and it’s really because of the concomitant effect of having that generational wealth that just keeps passing on. Being able to participate in efforts to improve the disparity around that drives me, not just for people of color, but for everyone.”

To that end, he served at the state level as the vice chairman of the Government Affairs Key Committee, giving him the floor to testify in front of the state house and state senate, and writing a bill that increased consumer protections in real estate transactions. It was signed into law by Governor Tina Kotek this spring.

“Ultimately, from what I’ve learned and researched, I’m compelled to do what I can to improve the lives of the underprivileged,” he says. “It’s a lot of work and often leaves me with a lot on my plate, but it’s worth it.”

A Future Dream

Looking ahead, his dream is to eventually become a college professor – inspired, in part, by the mentorship he experienced at George Fox.

“My professors – particularly Debby Thomas, Paul Shelton and Rae Casey – all pushed me to be excellent in their own way,” he says. “I had amazing professors in the program. And the Be Known part is not just a tagline in the DBA program. Your professors knew you, they truly knew you. They knew who you were and they did everything they could to help you get through the classes and to get through the program in your cohort.

“I also want to give a shout-out to my cohort,” he adds. “I could not have made it through the program without the assistance and support I received from my fellow cohort-mates. I’m just really proud to be a graduate of George Fox.”