Gina Marie Bettenhauser, REALTOR® and Long Island Board of REALTORS® (LIBOR) President-Elect has been named one of Long Island’s 2022 Top 50 Women in Business by Long Island Business News (LIBN). Bettenhauser, along with business leaders from across Long Island, was honored at the publication’s awards ceremony on October 27, 2022, at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury.

Launched in 2000, the Top 50 Women in Business program recognizes Long Island’s top women professionals for business acumen, mentoring, and community involvement. The program’s honorees are selected by a judging committee and represent the most influential women in business, government, and the not-for-profit fields.

Bettenhauser has been recognized for her dedicated leadership and significant contributions to elevating LIBOR, a leading regional REALTOR® trade association that serves real estate professionals throughout Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties, and the real estate industry at large. Over the past decade, she has been involved in numerous programs committed to the advancement of the professional standards of REALTORS®, and that help provide homeownership opportunities for all.

As a real estate professional for over three decades, Bettenhauser has found the opportunity to join her life’s passions: real estate and advocacy. In 1991, as a sophomore at Manhattanville College, she obtained her New York State real estate salesperson license. Ten years later, she acquired her broker’s license and is currently an Associate Real Estate Broker at Coldwell Banker Distinctive Homes in Shoreham, NY.

In 1994, Bettenhauser earned her paralegal certificate in real estate with honors from Adelphi University. She worked in the legal industry as a senior real estate paralegal alongside numerous mortgage and title companies performing closings. With the birth of her second child and the rising cost of daycare, she decided to use her license to its potential, full-time.

Since then, Bettenhauser has invested in her career and industry by earning a plethora of National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) designations and certifications. In the spirit of volunteerism and raising awareness for the real estate industry, Bettenhauser has served as a director at LIBOR. She is an adept leader and possesses a gift for spearheading various committees and task forces. She has served as LIBOR Education Committee Chairperson in 2017 and Grievance Chairperson in 2019. She is a graduate of NYSAR’s Leadership Academy Class of 2022. Her gift for leadership has been acknowledged by her peers as she will serve as the Association’s 2023 President.

Additionally, Bettenhauser is involved in New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR), and NAR, where she advocates for the protection and promotion of the real estate industry through her work with government affairs and the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC).

Bettenhauser is also an extremely vested community member. She has served as Chairperson on the district’s Legislative, and Space and Facilities committees. Through this community-centered effort, she worked on a committee that was able to procure and approve their first-ever bond in 2015. One of her proudest achievements was when she was honored by the community and received a SCOPE Education Services Community Service Award. Bettenhauser is a member of the Shoreham and Wading River Civic Associations and a major donor to the district’s Athletic Booster Club where she currently serves as President.

She is married and the proud mom of two sons, Alexander and Nicholas.

“While already juggling the demands of a busy and successful real estate office and active family, Gina Marie Bettenhauser commits her time selflessly as a LIBOR leader at a time of transition for the organization. She applied and was accepted into a statewide Leadership Academy to give the Association the best possible leadership,” said LIBOR CEO Tessa Hultz.  “LIBOR is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of Gina, and her longstanding commitment to the betterment of her community, our Association, and the real estate industry at large.”