In an area as sprawling and diverse as Chicagoland, every real estate agent is not deeply familiar with multiple large markets, but Shelley Brzozowski-O’Grady is not every real estate agent. With a broad life perspective that comes from having grown up in the southern suburbs, attended school on the North Side and raised a family in the western suburbs, she has developed an ability to connect families with lifestyles and lifestyles with communities — which is the cornerstone of her industry success.

Her strong sales and negotiation background as a high-level insurance executive and her personal experience buying and selling a half-dozen properties prepared Brzozowski-O’Grady for her jump to real estate nine years ago. Since then, she has leveraged her market knowledge, industry relationships and gift for connecting buyers and sellers to ensure her clients get the best results, leading to an almost exclusively referral-based business.

As a former Division I athlete playing volleyball at Northwestern University, Brzozowski-O’Grady brought her naturally competitive spirit and strong work ethic to her real estate business, where her clients describe her as a go-getter and know she will relentlessly pursue every detail to get a deal done. In the last year, her tenacity has resulted in two major sales accomplishments: selling the highest-priced house of her career and selling a property that had been on the market three different times with three different brokers.

Brzozowski-O’Grady’s family, which has always invested in real estate, ingrained in her the Midwestern values of hard work, integrity and humility. These ideals continue to underpin her real estate work each day. “My parents raised me to believe there are no shortcuts and that hard work and honesty mean everything,” she shares.

Still an athlete at heart, Brzozowski-O’Grady is a certified pickleball instructor. She is active as a coach and volunteer in the Glen Ellyn community where she and her husband are raising their three sons.