NEW YORK CITY—The Real Estate Board of New York has appointed Reggie Thomas as SVP of government affairs, effective April 16. Thomas will focus on cultivating REBNY's relationships with city, state and federal government officials to advance the organization's interests and agenda. He will work closely with REBNY's different sections to analyze legislation, testify at public hearings, and develop advocacy campaigns.

Thomas comes from the law firm Cozen O'Connor, where he was a government affairs principal. Thomas will join John Doyle, REBNY's SVP of government affairs. After 31 years of service, beginning May 1 Doyle will retire from his full-time responsibilities, moving to a consulting role.

John Doyle

Spanning his career which began in 1987, Doyle represented REBNY before the New York City Council throughout the tenure of five council speakers and five mayors. He advocated on behalf of the industry on a wide range of issues ranging from commercial rent control and recycling to street vendors. In the 1990s, Doyle organized industry and community opposition to a proposed property tax increase. He also administered REBNY's ethics and arbitration processes.

Thomas worked for both mayors Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio, in the city legislative affairs office as the deputy director and senior policy advisor, then first deputy director. Prior to those positions, Thomas was the director of legislative and budget affairs for Leroy Comrie, who was the city council land use committee chairman. He began his career in government as an aide to Scott Stringer during his tenure as the Manhattan borough president.

Thomas earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Pace University and currently resides in Lower Manhattan where he serves on Community Board 1.

“We salute John Doyle for everything he has done on behalf of our industry. For more than three decades, John's advocacy and sound judgment has served our community well,” says REBNY president John H. Banks. “We are delighted to welcome Reggie Thomas to the REBNY team; he brings a tremendous level of experience dealing with government and public policy.”

Banks further adds that Reggie will particularly leverage his skills as the trade organization continues to address issues such as affordable rental housing, jobs and economic growth.

Carl Hum was promoted to the newly created role of general counsel, which will complement his current responsibilities as SVP for management services and government affairs. Hum joined REBNY in 2015 as the lead advocate on construction safety, building codes management, sustainability and federal policy. His experience includes working as a Manhattan assistant district attorney, deputy general counsel at the New York City department of small business services, and counsel at Reese Richman LLP.

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Betsy Kim

Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.

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