Empire Building Hosts

Wendy Papasan

Wendy Papasan

Broker and Founder, Papasan Properties Group
Keller Williams Realty

Wendy is broker and founder of the Papasan Properties Group at Keller Williams, a top real estate team with locations in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In just over 10 years, she went from being a stay-at-home mom making no income to a business owner earning almost $3 million in revenue. Using the systems and models found in The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, she has sold more than $450 million worth of real estate and has more than 1,600 happy clients.

Wendy is passionate about giving back: She and her team are five-time winners of the Austin Platinum Top 50, which recognizes sales achievement, as well as community service. Together with her husband, they have helped raise almost $1 million for children with cancer and the homeless community.

In her spare time, she manages the family investment portfolio, is chairman of the board for Keller Williams Kids Can, and was recently a finalist for the Austin Business Journal’s prestigious Profiles in Power.

She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, bestselling author and KWRI vice president of learning Jay Papasan. Together, they are raising two teens and have a dog named Taco and an ostrich named Elda.

Sarah Reynolds

Sarah Reynolds

CEO, The Reynolds Team
Keller Williams Realty

Having grown up in Northern Virginia, Sarah Reynolds Oji is a Washington DC metro native, and thus, thrives in the real estate market of her hometown. Sarah joined her mom, Debbie Reynolds, as an agent in 2006 shortly after graduating from Liberty University with a business management degree. Sarah was elected to lead The Reynolds Team in 2009.

From humble beginnings with only a handful of team members, Sarah has taken the world by storm at astounding speed, expanding her team to Richmond, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; and West Virginia.

In just 2019, and under Sarah’s leadership, The Reynolds Team sold over $312 million in sales volume, ranking them as one of the top real estate businesses in the United States, per The Wall Street Journal. The Reynolds Team is the number one female-led real estate team in Keller Williams Realty, and number three overall.

Sarah is also a co-owner of Amplify, where their mission is to “Amplify the voices and lives of women in business around the world.” She is the owner of multiple other businesses, as well as an investor in real estate. She is a high-demand nationwide speaker, trainer, and presenter. Her speaking topics range from building and leading a business as a young mom to lead generation systems that will build a multi-million-dollar empire.

She has accomplished a lot at the young age of 36, but her most proud accomplishment is being a wife and also a mother to her three amazing children!

Seychelle Van Poole

Seychelle Van Poole

Team Director, Van Poole Properties Group
Keller Williams Realty

Seychelle is a real estate broker and CEO of Van Poole Properties Group in Dallas, Texas. After joining her mother, Barbara Van Poole, in business in 2004, Seychelle began running the company in 2007 and for the past 10 years has been in the top 1% of real estate companies in the world. She, along with her team of real estate consultants, has helped over 2,500 clients and wants you to be “happier, healthier, and wealthier because you chose Van Poole Properties.”

When Seychelle and her husband, Nick, got married in 2006, they registered for wedding gifts that could only be returned for cash and bought their first real estate investment property instead. Who needs all that china anyway?

This ignited the passion for creating businesses that all create energy off of each other. Seychelle and her business partners now have a real estate team, a remodeling company, an insurance company, and a portfolio of investment properties. You could say she has a passion for being a multi-preneur.

Along with her business ventures, she is a co-founder of “Amplify” with 10 strong businesswomen that host exclusive retreats and build tribes for women in business. Their mission is to “Amplify the voices and lives of women around the world.”

Being named Top 30 Under 30 by the National Association of Realtors, Seychelle is a sought-after presenter, trainer, and teacher on tips in business, leadership, work-life balance, and wealth-building around the world.

Prior to joining Van Poole Properties Group in 2004, Seychelle worked in advertising at agencies in New York, Austin, and Dallas, and has a degree in advertising from The University of Texas. Seychelle and her husband enjoy investing in and remodeling homes, traveling, and reside in Dallas with their daughter, Quinn.

Vija Williams

Vija Williams

Director of Growth, Ben Kinney Companies
Owner, The Vija Group at Keller Williams Eastside
Keller Williams Realty

Vija Williams is the director of growth for the Ben Kinney Companies (BKCO), which operates eight Keller Williams Realty franchises in 11 offices across Washington state. Vija also owns and runs The Vija Group at Keller Williams Eastside, a team of real estate specialists focusing on the move-up and luxury segments in the Seattle, Washington, market. The Vija Group is in the top 1% of Keller Williams worldwide for volume sold.

Vija entered the residential real estate industry in 2001 after a successful career doing marketing and sales for builders and developers. After taking time off to have her third child, Vija re-entered the industry in 2011 at a new brokerage, Keller Williams. She closed $9 million in sales in 2012, and by 2016, The Vija Group closed $70 million in sales volume. During that time, she was a coach for KW MAPS and part of Gary Keller’s top agent group, a collective of 100 of the top Keller Williams real estate agents from a company of 160,000+ agents.

Vija is a co-founder of “Amplify,” a national women’s group that hosts annual events and is comprised of some of the top female business leaders and influencers in the nation. She runs a leadership program with Ben Kinney to train and mentor current and future leaders in the real estate industry.

A Seattle area native, Vija graduated from University Prep High School in Seattle. She received a BA in political science from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. She has been married to her husband Ben Williams for 23 years and lives in Kirkland, Washington where she is actively involved with her three kids aged 10, 16, and 19.

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