Getting Real With Rob

Brenda Hayden, REALTOR®, industry leader, and housing advocate with more than two decades of experience serving consumers and communities throughout North Carolina and South Carolina, is the 2026 President of North Carolina REALTORS®, representing thousands of real estate professionals across the state. As our current podcast guest, Brenda gets to work sharing the heart of her commitment to the re...

Dave Boliek, our guest on Getting Real with Rob, became the 21st State Auditor of North Carolina in January of 2025. Now, almost 18 months into his term, he's focused and alert about what it means to ensure your tax money is being spent with accountability. When you first meet him, the wireframe glasses and classic attire might keep you from seeing that little bit of Elliot Ness in his eyes. Anima...

"UNC is all about Charlotte" shares Blaine Brownell, during our recent recording. As the Director of the Raven's School of Architecture, UNC Charlotte, he emphasizes that Charlotte is poised for amazing success and is highly optimistic about the future, our talent, and our ability to adapt, but cautions us about the danger of assumptions.  REBIC has been working on adding peripheral opinions to ou...

Mark Jerrell, chair of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and the representative for District 4, which comprises the eastern part of Mecklenburg County. And we have to say, this podcast episode is one we've been looking forward to for a long time. His leadership qualities are complemented by his easy-going demeanor, and a quick wit. But the building of a leader happened early in his lif...

When Ed Driggs, Charlotte City Councilperson for District 7, sat down for our interview, he elaborated on many civic issues. But woven in between the answers, we heard him speak of two important principles that he uses to facilitate the positive outcomes he's known for. One. Make sure the people in the room feel comfortable. And two, never stop learning. These words offer sage advice to not only a...

It's been 2 years since Danté Anderson, City Councilperson for District 1, joined us for an episode of Getting Real with Rob. And although the sitting Council looks a little different, Danté still brings her signature gravitas to the podcast booth, just as she does to any interview. Appointed as the Chair to the newly independent Charlotte City Safety Committee, she clarified what she sees as an e...

"It's really easy to identify a problem; it's actually not that hard to come up with solutions. The real work comes with implementing them." shares David Longo, our first guest of 2026, as he gave his closing remarks. Our episode drilled down into the details of the Transportation Referendum and the accompanying 1 cent sales tax increase that passed last November as David's leadership was instrume...

In this episode, we turn our attention to policy makers and citizen groups' persistent distaste for growth, and confusion around managing it intelligently. And all over the US, albeit the world, there is a tug of war between those who live in a place and those who want to live in a place with each believing they hold virtue over the other. With NC assumed to become the seventh most populated state...

A veteran of nearly every discipline in home building, our podcast guest  Dan Puvak, Operations Partner—Architectural & Estimating Services at True Homes  in Monroe, NC reminds us that unpacking the intricacies of building a home is something relatively few understand. He would love to see more narratives dig deeper into the facts and details so the public can become educated about its elegance an...

Torrey Feimster is championing efforts that pave pathways to accelerated generational wealth through homeownership, thereby helping to close the widening wealth gap. Torrey chatted with Rob Nanfelt about the nuances of this benevolent mission, but it's clear this is a personal passion for Torrey in addition to a mission for good. Previously, Torrey served as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Incl...

"You can have an impact!" states Sagar Rathie as he deftly handled our questions from host Rob Nanfelt. As our latest podcast guest, he approached the interview with enthusiasm and a plan. Immediately endearing and always prepared, Sagar has made a meteoric rise in the commercial development industry here in Charlotte. He also calls himself a bit of a Renaissance man but also stated that one of th...

We thought long and hard about the first few lines of our editorial for this podcast, in the hopes we'd successfully ignite some curiosity with our audience. It was decided that leading with "Tax Talk" might not be the hook needed. But after our interview with Bobbi Jo Lazarus, Shareholder with Elliott Davis, we changed our minds. Because spending 25 minutes on this podcast is going to be more ent...

This month on Getting Real with Rob, we welcome West Charlotte schoolmates Rodney Faulkner and William Haygood III, founders and partners with Boundary Street Advisors here in Charlotte. Established in 2018, this full-service commercial real estate firm is dedicated to some pretty big, bold ideas when it comes to commercial development. And because of that, Rodney, an alumnus of Appalachian State...

Michael Foess (pronounced Fess) is a highly accomplished executive leader with over 25 years of experience in engineering, development, and project management. He is serving as the REBIC Board President of 2025 and brings with him a packed agenda for progress. It is during this episode that he shares his deeper visions for REBIC and for members of the entire Real Estate community. Within the conte...

A little-known fact about the important role played by UNC Charlotte in helping the city to attract large industries and corporations is its status as an R1 University (according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ), meaning is a doctoral-granting institution with the highest level of research activity.  It cannot be understated how important that status is to REBIC...

As we welcome  Alyson Craig  back to the podcast booth, we get a chance to not only celebrate her advancement to the position of  Assistant City Manager for the City of Charlotte  but reconnect on so many issues that important to our members. By way of background, Craig joined the City of Charlotte in 2018 as the Charlotte Planning, Design & Development Deputy Director and managed the Land Develop...

Our podcast has welcomed many who have served in our government but our short interview with Congressman Tim Moore proved not only important, but so very timely. Especially for those who are anxious to hear from this respected man about what he's finding in Washington as he settles into Congress. Listen to his succinct delivery of facts, his philosophy about how to restore accountability in Washin...

As James Pressly took his seat, his tall frame easing effortlessly into the seat opposite Rob, we watched as he opened his iPad to access his notes and listened to him express gratitude for the platform we were providing. Honestly, we couldn't wait to hit the record button. Poised, prepared, and passionate, James covered topics from politics to his family's legacy, from stories of angry farmers de...

This episode features  Pat Mumford, President and CEO of the Gaston Business Association. Returning after his first visit in June of 2023 to get us up to speed on all things Gaston County. So much has changed in 18 months, and Pat generously shared, among other topics, his unique perspective on the recent Belmont transportation bond, and the success of micro-transit in Gastonia. Without prompting,...

Karla Hammer Knotts   is an industry rock star. Pleasant. Insightful. Funny. And she calls a spade a spade. She was also our member spotlight in December of 2023, and we just can't get enough of the world according to Karla.   Currently Co-Owner and Vice President of Knotts Development, she is a passionate advocate of the industry and spends a great deal of her time digging into areas of purported...

Jim Morasso, Restauranteur and Developer, is our guest for this episode of Getting Real With Rob. A Gastonia changemaker who believes success is the result of creating opportunities for people to thrive. With over 30 years of education and experience in the hospitality industry –Steak & Ale, Houston's, TGI Fridays, Harpers and Mickey & Mooch – his experiences laid the groundwork to establish, buil...

We've long wanted to introduce you to those REBIC internal team members whose exceptional skills help us move our mission forward. And we're proud to feature  David Coble , one of our valuable  Area Advocacy Managers  to the podcast booth for this episode. You'll have to pay attention to keep up with the cascading flow of information coming from David during this interview. His boots-on-the-ground...

Since initiating our REBIC podcast, we have had many esteemed interviewees give us a true glimpse into their personal beliefs and self-governing principles. We now include our guest  Terry M. Brown Jr., North Carolina House Representative for the 92 nd  District,  into that club of transparency. Why? Terry likes to call himself an honest broker meaning that whenever he enters into a discussion ove...

Rob Nanfelt, Executive Director of REBIC  in Charlotte, NC, is our usual host for  Getting Real With Rob . But today, he finds himself in the guest chair and interviewed by  AnneMarie DeCatsye, CEO of Canopy REALTOR Association.  In this episode he discusses all things UDO, (and becomes the victim of the Lightning Round questions himself!). His responses are comprehensive and detailed, giving us a...

It wasn't long into our interview before the conversation got really interesting: "I've lived in places that weren't growing. You don't want that. It's sad, actually…" stated our guest  Bart Landess ,  The Executive Director of the Catawba Lands Conservancy and The Carolina Thread Trail.  You wouldn't think our greatest supporter would be a conservationist, but growth and conservation can be compl...