Name: Tom Wheeler
Organization: Co-Owner HomeFound Real Estate Group, Idaho’s #1 LGBTQ+ owned real estate team. Executive Producer of Canyon County Pride festival.
2024 Realtor Magazine 30 Under 30 recipient, Founder of LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance Idaho Chapter, Chair of Boise Regional Realtors Cultural Diversity Committee, 2024 Drew Griffin Beacon of Light Recipient
When did you start getting involved with being an activist or advocate and why?
My activism began when I began my real estate career at the age of 18. I grew up in a small town in Southern Minnesota. I have a straight fraternal twin brother. I was clearly different than my brother from a young age and am lucky to have a supportive family and parents who embraced me and gave me the space to be myself. When I first came out as gay to my parents at the age of 15 or so, the first thing I said is that I would never be “Normal”, meaning I wouldn’t have the house, the kids, the family etc and my amazing mother said “honey why not?” and that was an aha for me. My activism began as I began my real estate career and was inspired by my privilege of having a supportive family. I wanted to make sure everyone in my community saw themselves represented in the real estate dream. My activism grew substantially when I moved from Minnesota to Idaho to be with my loving partner. I realized very quickly in moving to Idaho that there was a signifigant need to advocate for LGBTQ folks, esepecially in ensuring that LGBTQ+ folks were not discriminated in the real estate process being that the majority of the state has no municipal protections for queer folks on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, public accomodation and housing.
What are the issues that you focus on?
I focus on housing-related issues. I am a founding member, member#1, and the past President for the LGBTQ+ real estate alliance Idaho chapter. The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance is a national 501C3 nonprofit with chapters across the country with a mission of bringing together LGBTQ+ and allied real estate professionals to reduce discrimination in housing for lgbtq+ folks and to bridge the homeownership gap. I was also the chair of the Cultural Diversity Committee at Boise Regional Realtors (largest real estate association in the state) in 2024. This is the first committee of its kind for a real estate association in the state of Idaho.
How does your work help build our community bigger and stronger?
Handing the keys to an lgbtq homeowner strengthens the community. Helping folks find a safe place to call home has profound impacts on their overall mental and physical well-being. Housing is a basic human right and reducing the overall barriers to folks in my community, creating a safe and trusting space for folks to begin the process, strengthens and builds generational wealth of the queer community. To me, this is my legacy. Recently, I helped a gay couple move from Brooklyn, NY, to Boise; they moved here as one partner was taking a job as a priest for a progressive and affirming church in Boise. This pastor moved here and within weeks of living here was testifying to the Idaho State House committee that presented and passed House Joint Memorial #1 to overturn same sex marriage. Seeing this client and subsequent dear friend testify in opposition to this resolution to overturn same sex marriage was my work happening in real-time.
What is the greatest achievement you have had in the work you are doing?
My greatest achievement beyond selling over $100M in residential real estate in my career to inclusive and diverse folks is successfully throwing the first ever Canyon County Pride Festival in Nampa ID in 2024. Nampa had never had a public pride celebration and in less than 20 days I crowd funded $20K+ and brought together thousands of queer folks in Canyon County all despite the desperaging comments by Nampa Mayor and city council. This event was featured in the Washington Post and in the Washington Post’s most enduring images of 2024. This life-changing experience solidified my commitment to being a community maker and bold advocate for lgbtq+ people in my state.
What is your biggest challenge in doing your work?
The biggest challenge that I face in doing my work is the lack of understanding from those who believe that LGBTQ+ people are not equal. This is why I have prided myself on taking an educational approach to my work. Whether a first-time home buyer or a bigoted community member who doesn’t want queer neighbors. I overcome this challenge by teaching and educating community members and realtors. In 2024, I co-wrote a required realtor educational course called “Growing your Business Fairly,” approved by the Idaho Real Estate Commission and taught as a required continuing education course for realtors across the state.
How can others help you in the work you are doing?
Others can help by supporting their fellow LGBTQ nonprofits and continuing to live authentic, out and proud lives!
What calls to action would you ask of our community?
I’d ask that if you have any real estate needs or desires, you reach out to my team and me; we would love to be a resource to you. Also donate to Canyon County Pride 2025! https://www.zeffy.com
Looking at the current climate, what words of hope do you have for our community and what should we be most concerned about?
Considering the current climate, I would like to remind folks of how resilient our community really is and has been for decades. Queer folks have existed since the beginning of time and have prevailed through discrimination and hardship like when the AIDS pandemic was annihilating our community, and the governmental institutions knowingly ignored the issue. We prevailed then as a community, and we will now. We should be most concerned for our trans and gender non-conforming folks as they are under particular attack. We must remain united as a community to uplift each other, support each other and speak out. That is why I use my platform as a cis gendered gay man with privilege to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community.
Who inspires you to keep fighting the good fight?
My great gay uncles Bruce and Jim Iverson inspire me to keep fighting the good fight. When I have a particularly challenging day, I give them a call and can I ask what it was like in their time. They are in the 80s, were together well before marriage was legal, and were huge advocates during the aids pandemic. I am constantly inspired by them and feel that I am taking the metaphorical torch of advocacy from them and running with it in this lifetime, doing work that looks different in the 21st century but is a part of the same mission that they had when they were advocating.
