Our 2022-23 Board of Directors
Tonya Vakulskas, President
Serving her first term as a director, Tonya Vakulskas has been a licensed REALTOR® since 2004 and has worked in various capacities in the industry, including being a full-time agent, recruiter, trainer and sales manager. She is currently an agent with the Keller Williams Okoboji office and has been selected as NWIA board president for the 2022-23 year.
Tonya has served on the local board’s finance and MLS committees and is a state approved continuing education instructor through Iowa Association of REALTORS®. Active in her community, Tonya is a past recipient of the Greater Sioux City Board of REALTORS® Service Award and enjoys volunteering as an Ambassador for the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce.
In her new role, Tonya is excited to help the board continue to evolve and become the best it can be, while striving for continual improvement and positive promotion of our business and the public that we serve.
In her free time, Tonya enjoys spending it with her husband, Jeff, and their three grown sons. During beautiful, warm and sunny weather you can often find her out on the water.
Misty Szczech, President-Elect
Serving her first term on the board, Misty Szczech has been in the real estate business for 14 years and is currently an agent for EXIT Realty Midwest. She serves on the local MLS committee, and is excited to get more involved with the leadership of the association.
Misty serves as NWIA's President-Elect for 2022-23, and will step into the role of President for the 2023-24 year.
She volunteers for Noah’s Hope Animal Rescue, and is a community reader and volunteer for our local elementary schools. She is also a Campus Life volunteer for middle school and is involved with TTT.
Misty’s goals for NWIA are finding ways to stay connected and increase agent participation during these unprecedented times.
Kevin Archer, Director
After a short break, Kevin Archer rejoins the board for another term of service. Broker at Keller Williams Siouxland, and a REALTOR® since March 2002, Kevin enjoys mentoring and teaching new agents. He has served on the board’s MLS Committee, the Board of Directors and served as Board President in 2013, being named REALTOR® of the Year in 2013. Kevin was part of the team that facilitated the 2015 merger of the Greater Sioux City Board of REALTORS® into the current NWIA board, including the implementation of the association's first Core Standards. This year, Kevin hopes to continue to raise the level of professionalism and accountability in the industry.
In the community, Kevin has served on the Sunnybrook Community Church Elder board, and has given time to many volunteer committees including fundraising for the church, youth groups, mentorship programs, and others. He volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, Youth for Christ, Camp High Hopes, Boys and Girls Home, GiGi’s Playhouse, the Salvation Army, the Soup Kitchen, and many more.
Kevin has been married seven years to his lovely REALTOR® wife, Charity. Together the couple has one dog named Archie Archer, two daughters, three sons, and an adorable grandson. Kevin has long collected antiques related to Sioux City or transportation, specifically gas and oil memorabilia.
Christy Conrad, Director
Serving her fist term as an NWIA director, Christy Conrad has been a REALTOR® since 2009, a Broker since 2011, and holds licenses in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Christy is the Broker/Owner of CC Properties, where her main business focus is on Property Management. She also works closely with those interested in buying and selling investment properties throughout the Siouxland area. She holds a Certified Negotiation Specialist designation and recently completed a designation through the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) to become a Certified Property Manager (CPM).
Christy is looking forward to bringing her years of expertise to the board to help be a resource and bring more intentional focus regarding property management, and helping to raise the bar of property management services within our market.
Lisa Croston, Past President
Serving her first term on the board, Lisa Croston has been licensed since 1996. She was co-owner of Property Pros prior to merging with Century 21 ProLink, where she is currently the Managing Broker.
Lisa holds a B.S. degree from Iowa State University, and has served on the board’s Membership and MLS Committees. She currently serves on the Iowa Association of REALTORS® forms committee.
Lisa is excited to help bring increased awareness of the role of the REALTOR®, and the value they provide to the consumer. She also hopes to increase awareness of the contributions REALTORS® give to communities through our knowledge and skills.
Lisa is a member of the Junior League of Sioux City, and a former board member of the LeMars United Way. She has two great children, Brette and Nick, and is married to her husband Dave.
Lisa was the NWIA Board President in 2021-22 and serves this year in a non-voting role as Past President.
Jennifer Jansen, Director
Serving her second term as an NWIA director, Jennifer Jansen started her career in 2005, and then worked as a sales agent for seven years. She holds GRI and CRS designations and in 2014 opened her own brokerage, Epic Realty, Inc. in Sioux Center. Jen has previously served on NWIA board, including one year as Board President. She currently serves in several roles with the Iowa Association of REALTORS® (IAR), including the Legislative Committee and RPAC Board of Trustees. Additionally, Jennifer serves as IAR's Federal Political Coordinator (FPC) for District 4, and is responsible for relationship building and communication with Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra.
Outside of real estate, she enjoys being involved in her community. Jen is involved in the Sioux Center Chamber of Commerce, is an Executive Board member at Sioux Center Health, a 4-H leader, and involved in her church.
Jennifer and her husband have two kids; a sophomore at Iowa State University and a senior at Sioux Center High School. The family also enjoys their four-legged yellow lab, Krew.
Joe Krage, Director
Joe Krage is an 19 year veteran of the real estate industry. Specializing in residential properties, Joe holds CRS, CBR, and CNE designations. Joe is often involved in the community, having served in past roles on the City of Sioux City Planning and Zoning Commission, the City of Sioux City Board of Adjustment, the Cone Park Development Committee and the Mercy Hospital Foundation Board. He is currently on the board of directors of Saturday in the Park and is a member of the Noon Sertoma Club.
Joe has served twice as president of the local Board of REALTORS®, in 2007 and 2015. He is with United Real Estate Solutions in Sioux City, is married to his lovely wife Marcia, and has four girls and one grandson.
Kylie Petty, Director
A REALTOR® for 11 years, Kylie Petty is serving her first term on the board. A sales agent with Century21 ProLink in LeMars, Kylie holds ABR and CRS designations. She enjoys attending local and statewide REALTOR® events and is excited to join the NWIA organization to help current agents have a voice at the local, state, and national levels of the organization.
Kylie is highly involved within her community, and has served on the Farm Bureau Board, Chamber Organization committee, Chamber Board, and LeMars Ice Cream Days committee. She is always happy to volunteer when someone in the community has a need.
Kylie resides on her family's seven generation farm in Merrill with her husband, and two kids. The family operates a cow-calf operation, and has chickens, horses, dogs and loves to garden. Between her real estate work, the farm, and kids she is very busy, but says she wouldn't have it any other way!
Lisa Sissel, Director
Elected to the board in 2021, Lisa Sissel is an agent with Century 21 ProLink, and started her real estate career in the spring of 2004. Licensed in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, she is also a CRS. She has worked in Commercial Real Estate, Property Management, Residential Real Estate and worked side by side with a very experienced real estate agent for five years.
Lisa volunteers for Big Brothers-Big Sisters, the Sioux City Humane Society, Council on Sexual Assault and others. The proud mother of two, Lisa's son followed her love for real estate through the years and owns many rentals, and her daughter is a recent graduate of USD. Lisa has three beautiful grandchildren, and enjoys yoga and gardening.
Julie Skaff-Gregg, Director
Julie Skaff-Gregg joined the NWIA board in 2021, having been in the real estate business since 1989 and Broker/Owner at Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers Realty, Inc. since 2009.
Julie has served on the Board of Directors, on MLS task Force Committee, a Lock Box Task Force Committee, and Social Committee. She was honored with the Greater Sioux City Board of REALTORS® 2010-2011 Outstanding Service Award, as voted in by her peers and previously served as the board president in 2012-2013.
Julie says she feel a responsibility to have the best interest of the Association in mind, as the Association is always striving to have us as REALTORS® uphold a standard of conduct.
Outside of work, Julie supports the Chamber of Commerce and the Siouxland Humane Society. For the past ten years she has volunteered to decorate apples for the Humane Society fundraiser. She enjoys participating in an annual pedal bike ride for Camp High Hopes and an annual motorcycle bike ride for the Tom Skaff Memorial to benefit area families in need. She is a member of the St. Thomas Orthodox Church.
Katie Slater, Director
Back for another term on the board, Katie Slater started her real estate career in 2008 after her husband decided he was tired of paying another agent thousands of dollars a year to help him buy and sell investment properties. Katie was running a 30 child daycare center/preschool at that time and began in the business as a part-time agent, but a year and a half later, she had built a big enough business that she sold the daycare and became a full-time REALTOR®. In 2016 she opened her first brokerage, NextHome At The Lakes, then in 2018 she started NextHome TriState Realty. In 2011, Katie joined the ranks of local board leadership and in 2013 and 2014 served as the president of the Iowa Great Lakes Board of REALTORS®. In 2015, Katie was installed as a Regional Vice President for the Iowa Association of REALTORS® and held that position until 2019. She has been a director of the NWIA Regional Board, and served as board president in 2018, and has served on numerous committees at the local, state, and national levels over the past 10 years.
The future of the real estate profession is scary and Katie says her goals for the organization are to help find the best ways to help our local agents be as professional as possible while keeping up with the current real estate trends.
In her spare time Katie loves attending sporting events, especially the Iowa State Cyclones and Minnesota Vikings, and also loves going for walks with her 180 pound dog, a boerboel named Buddy.
