For release:
August 18, 2025

Three California REALTORS^® receive C.A.R.’s Champions of Home Impact Award

LOS ANGELES (Aug. 18) – The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (C.A.R.) today announced one winner and two honorees for its Champions of Home Impact Awards. These awards recognize REALTORS^® in California who have made a significant impact on their communities through volunteer efforts. Winner Dawn Dyer and two honorees, Tammey Mai and Laura Margulius, will be recognized at C.A.R.’s annual REimagine! Conference & Expo in Chula Vista, Calif., on Sept. 17.

“The extraordinary efforts and unwavering compassion demonstrated by Dawn, Laura and Tammey have profoundly impacted their communities," said C.A.R. President Heather Ozur. “Their dedication to helping others sets a remarkable example. It is with great pride that we recognize them as our Champions of Home Impact Award recipients, honoring their outstanding contributions that transform and influence the lives of so many.”

This year’s winner, Dawn Dyer, co-founded the Housing Trust Fund of Ventura County (HTFVC) 17 years ago to increase the availability of affordable housing options. Under Dyer’s leadership, the HTFVC began by offering $2 million in matching funds for the early work involved in getting affordable housing off the ground. These funds allow pre-development, site acquisition, design and engineering for housing projects to get underway until permanent funding arrives. Dyer’s expertise in real estate, land use, finance and related legal issues have been instrumental in growing HTFVC’s capacity to its current $48 million in funding. These funds have allowed for the creation of 1,900 homes for approximately 5,000 very-low-income, low-income and middle-income employees, transitional age foster youth, veterans, seniors, farm workers and those who are unhoused. Dyer connects the Fund to community members and local organizations, including municipal governments and associations involved in creating affordable housing. Her work helped the City of Ventura convert nearly 10 acres adjacent to the Veterans Home into affordable housing with supportive services, and she has helped the UC Regents with planning sustainable housing on a 37-acre endowment site. Following the December 2017 Thomas Fire in Ventura County, Dyer provided hands-on support for the community by staffing the housing resource center for displaced residents, cautioning against price gouging and helping to coordinate available shelter options. Dyer also currently serves as the chair of the Ventura County Continuum of Care Alliance, a collaborative group that provides shelter, healthcare and services to people without homes. Through her advocacy and leadership, Dyer has helped to make Ventura County a better, more equitable place to live. The Housing Trust Fund of Ventura County will receive a $5,000 donation thanks to Dyer’s work.

Two honorees will also be recognized for their community contributions, and the non-profit organizations they serve will each receive a $1,000 donation. A former foster child herself, Tammey Mai co-founded the Santa Clarita nonprofit Tidings for Teens (T4T) to provide foster teens with clothes, training, peer-counseling and marketable skills. Every year, T4T organizes a holiday gift drive and a back-to-school shopping event at retailers like Old Navy just for local foster teens and provides gift certificates so that they can get new clothes. Mai works with the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to ensure that T4T can help as many foster teens as possible, and she personally mentors each young person to teach the principles of networking, fundraising and public speaking.

Laura Margulius volunteers with the Capoeira Arts Foundation, a cultural arts foundation in the East Bay that promotes health, belonging and connection to Afro-Brazilian cultural heritage. Margulius has volunteered over 1,200 hours in the last year and a half alone, providing translation services, maintaining the community center, organizing meals and assisting with short-term housing for temporarily unhoused members. She has helped CAF secure two new spaces for the cultural center and supported the building fund for essential repairs, code compliance and maintenance. Her efforts have helped over 4,000 people find a safe community, belonging and connection.

For more information about the Champions of Home Impact Awards, visit on.car.org/awards

Leading the way…® in California real estate for 120 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with nearly 200,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Sacramento.

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