Spotlight On: Joan Goode, President, Canopy Realtor® Association

Key points:

• • Canopy is expanding beyond real estate transactions into housing advocacy, education, and community impact.
• • Joan Goode says Charlotte’s growth and economic diversity continue fueling strong housing demand.
• • Canopy is using technology, AI, and regional partnerships to strengthen the real estate experience across the region.

May 2026 — In an interview with Invest:, Joan Goode, president of the Canopy Realtor® Association, Canopy MLS, and Canopy Housing Foundation, discussed how the organization continues its role beyond real estate transactions to include housing advocacy, technology, education, and community impact. “Our advocacy work is not only about supporting the industry. It is about protecting homeownership, property rights, and the long-term health of the region,” Goode said.

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What are your top priorities for supporting members and strengthening the profession across the region?

Our mission is simple. We are here to advance the real estate profession while supporting the communities where our members live and work. The ways we do that are varied. Certainly, through our multiple listing service, we support our members directly, as well as buyers and sellers, but we also support the broader community through the Canopy Housing Foundation, which serves as our charitable arm, and through the work our Realtors® do every day in neighborhoods across the region.

We are proud of the impact we have made through grants, volunteer projects, partnerships, and local nonprofits. Since 2009, our Foundation has invested more than $1 million in community impact, not just across the Charlotte region, but also in the western-mountain region of North Carolina, where we have a number of members and Canopy MLS subscribers. Realtors® contribute their time, expertise, and resources in ways that strengthen housing stability and neighborhood vitality, and that community-facing role is one of the things I value most about this organization.

We also continue to find new ways to engage the next generation around one of the region’s biggest challenges, which is housing attainability. Our Innovation Award competition invites area college students to develop creative solutions to help address unmet housing needs. That matters because while Charlotte has tremendous economic vitality and is a great place to live, we still face real pressures around housing access, and we value this innovative perspective from the next generation, helping us as we seek solutions that work. 

What continues to make Charlotte such an attractive place to live, work, and grow?

Charlotte remains one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and there are good reasons for that. We have strong economic vitality, a mild climate, and what I still think of as a small-town feel in a big city. Those qualities matter. People want opportunity, but they also want livability, and Charlotte offers both.

Another key strength is the diversity of our business base. For a long time, Charlotte was seen primarily as a banking city, but that is no longer the full story. Our economy has broadened in meaningful ways. Healthcare is a major example. The medical school partnership with Wake Forest University has been an incredible development for the region, and it has helped attract young physicians and medical talent who want to build their careers here.

We are also seeing major employers and well-known companies continue to bring young talent into the market. That pipeline of people and ideas is essential for growth. It supports housing demand, strengthens neighborhoods, and contributes to the kind of momentum that makes Charlotte appealing to both businesses and residents.

What role does the Canopy Housing Foundation play in addressing housing needs?

The Canopy Housing Foundation is one of the most important ways we serve our community. We keep unmet housing needs at the forefront of our thinking, and we work in a number of ways to address them. We have a strong community grants program, we partner with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, and we organize initiatives like Realtors® Care Day, where Realtors® go out into the community and help with home repairs for neighbors in need or volunteer at a nonprofit.

Our Strides for Shelter 5K is another major component of that effort, raising both funds and awareness. Through programs like the Innovation Award, we’re also bringing new voices into the conversation, because that perspective matters. Organizations can sometimes become accustomed to doing things the same way, but hearing directly from local college students has introduced ideas that are truly out of the box and eye-opening.

How are technology and AI changing the way you serve members?

Education is one of Canopy’s greatest strengths, and it becomes even more important as technology changes the industry. We offer Realtor® HotTopics, educational opportunities, and direct support for members who want to better understand the tools available to them. Our technology trainers will even go out to offices, so this is a member benefit that is built into the organization.

With AI, we are evaluating several industry-leading tools that can help us and our members work more strategically. We do see real value in that. It can make day-to-day business more efficient and more informed. But again, we always come back to the same principle: technology should help us be better at the business, while relationships remain at the center of it.

That balance matters. We do not want to chase innovation just because it is new. We want to use it in ways that create value for our members and improve the experience for buyers and sellers, while preserving the trust-based nature of real estate.

How do your regional partnerships strengthen the broader real estate ecosystem?

Our partnerships across multiple counties and markets are incredibly valuable because they give us visibility into how people are moving, where demand is coming from, and what neighboring markets look like. Many of our clients are relocating from Charlotte to another market we are connected to, or they are moving from another city into Charlotte. Those relationships make us better equipped to help them.

Having insight into markets in places such as Asheville, South Carolina, Georgia, and elsewhere allows us to be more informed when we are advising clients. It helps us understand what they are leaving, what they are looking for, and how Charlotte compares. That makes our conversations better and more useful.

It also reinforces the idea that while real estate is local in nature, it is never isolated. People move across markets all the time, and our ability to see those connections helps strengthen the overall regional real estate ecosystem.

How important is advocacy to Canopy’s long-term role in the region?

Advocacy is huge for us. It is one of the clearest examples of how there is so much more to being a Realtor®, and to being part of Canopy, than simply facilitating transactions. We work closely with REBIC (Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition), our government affairs arm, to advocate for the people who live in and around Charlotte, and transportation is one of the major issues in that conversation right now.

As housing pressures grow and more people need to live farther out, transportation becomes directly connected to housing attainability and quality of life. We support our political leaders and engage in those conversations because they affect our members, homeowners, and the broader community. The light rail is important, but it does not go everywhere, and mobility matters if people are going to be able to access jobs and housing effectively.

We have also been successful in making sure our leadership and Realtors® have a seat at the table by working in partnership with our local government and entities such as the Planning Commission. That matters because if you want to create positive change, you need to be part of the discussion. Our advocacy work is not only about supporting the industry. It is about protecting homeownership, property rights, and the long-term health of the region.

What is your long-term vision for Canopy over the next few years?

My vision is for Canopy to continue deepening its role as both an industry leader and a community resource. I want us to be one of the first places people think of when corporations, institutions, or families are coming to Charlotte and trying to understand the housing landscape. We want to be a trusted stop for information, insight, and connection.

I also want us to keep expanding our relevance globally. Real estate is local, but our market is increasingly international. People are moving from Charlotte to all kinds of places, and people from around the world are moving here. Canopy Realtor® Association is truly Realtor®-led, with a range of committees dedicated to strengthening our business and advancing the work we do locally.

Most recently, we introduced a Global Committee to support members expanding their reach and serving clients in international markets. At the same time, we will continue investing in the local work that matters most — advancing the profession, supporting our members, addressing housing needs, and being present in the civic conversations that shape the future of this region. That is where I see Canopy making its greatest contribution.

Want more? Read the Invest: Charlotte report.