Shirmel Gumbs Heyliger
VI native Shirmel Gumbs Heyliger began her career in the Houston, Texas real estate industry in 2017. For over five years she has been a key player in the Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA), and most recently, was sworn in as president of GHBA’s Sales & Marketing Council, the largest SMC in the country.
The Crucian-born Army veteran moved to Houston in 2012 with her family of 5, and began her real estate career when she helped a friend find his dream home. “The experience grew on me,” she told Voyage Houston in 2020. Although the work was unpaid, she said that it “rekindled the kind of enthusiasm I’d felt when I was a Family Assistance Center coordinator.”
Ms. Gumbs Heyliger founded Do 1 Thing Real Estate Group, and began making her mark on Houston Real Estate. Her tenure with the GHBA includes being nominated three times for the Realtor of the Year award, and she has held positions including Secretary/Treasurer and Vice President of the Sales & Marketing Council. The powerhouse realtor has also been named one of the Top 50 Individual Black Real Estate Professionals by the National Association of Real Estate Brokers in 2023, and one of the Top 20 by the Texas Association of Real Estate Brokers in 2023, among other accolades.
Outside of the industry, Ms. Gumbs Heyliger has a long history of philanthropy and volunteerism stretching back over 25 years, having given her time and energy to organizations including the American Red Cross, Virgin Islands National Guard Family Programs Office, and other charities in the Virgin Islands and in Houston. In 2020, she established a scholarship fund for high school seniors in the Humble Independent School district which now awards annual grants to graduating seniors to fuel further academic growth and future success.
Of her recent appointment to the GHBA’s SMC, Ms. Gumbs Heyliger says she is “genuinely excited to work alongside a remarkable, diverse group of board members, whose passion, talent and dedication have been the driving force behind the SMC’s success for many years. Together, we aim to foster collaboration, innovation and a collective commitment to excellence.”
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