You're Gonna Love Her: Meet Heather Welch

Every growing company reaches a point where to move forward, they must recognize that talent alone isn’t enough. You need infrastructure. You need calm. You need someone who knows how to keep good people supported while the momentum builds. And maybe most importantly? You need someone grounded enough to hold the string while the kite takes flight.

That’s why I’m so excited to officially welcome Heather Elliot Welch as Director of Operations at Cool Murphy Real Estate.

And trust me when I say: you’re gonna love her.

If you’ve ever worked in real estate, you already know the truth. The best operations people aren’t just “organized.” They’re air traffic control. They’re problem solvers. Protectors. Translators. Professional fire preventers. They’re the people quietly making sure the right things happen at the right time so clients, agents, and deals don’t end up spiraling into chaos.

Heather has spent years behind the scenes helping real estate companies run better, including leadership roles with Keller Williams and United Real Estate. She knows systems. She knows compliance. She knows where deals tend to wobble and how to steady them before anyone else even notices there was an issue to begin with.

More importantly? She cares deeply about support.

When I asked Heather when she knew she loved real estate, her answer had absolutely nothing to do with sales.

"I remember realizing how much I enjoyed being the person who could step in, fix things, and keep everything on track when a deal started getting stressful. Seeing an agent relax because they knew someone had their back—that’s when it really clicked for me."

That right there? That’s the job. It’s also the culture we’re building here.

One thing I’ve learned as Cool Murphy has grown is that creativity without structure can eventually lead to chaos or at least exhaustion. Ideas are exciting. Momentum is exciting. But at a certain point, if you want to truly support clients well and support agents well, you need operational leadership that’s thoughtful, experienced, and steady under pressure.

Heather brings exactly that.

She’s the person who knows what form is missing before anyone else catches it. She knows who sued whom for what ten years ago and why it matters now. She understands the systems, risks, and institutional knowledge that quietly protect both clients and agents every single day.

And somehow she manages to do all of this while remaining incredibly warm, funny, and deeply human.

She’s also a true New Orleans gal, which makes her longtime friendship with our own Craig Ernst even sweeter. The two of them actually grew up together. These days, Heather lives on the Northshore, where she spends time with her husband David, their three kids, a very real chicken farm (not the trendy backyard kind), berry picking adventures, and weekends near the water in Folsom.

In short? She fits here perfectly.

When I asked Heather what excites her most about joining Cool Murphy, her answer was simple:

"The energy, the people—it felt like a place where support actually means something. I wanted to be somewhere I could really show up for agents and not just be another name in the office."

That one hit me hard because it’s exactly what we’re building.

You’ll probably see Heather at events, launches, and around the company from time to time. But most of what she does will happen quietly behind the curtain: helping things flow better, supporting our agents, strengthening our systems, and making sure the company continues growing in a way that feels intentional instead of frantic.

And because of that, our clients benefit too.

Better systems mean better communication. Better support means less stress. Better operational oversight means a smoother experience for everyone involved.

At the end of the day, that’s what this hire is really about.

Not becoming more corporate.

Becoming more capable.

Welcome to Cool Murphy, Heather. We’re really glad you’re here. No looking back!

More About Heather

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Behind every listing launch, showing, negotiation, event, and late-night “can we pull this off?” conversation is a team working together to make it happen. Cool Murphy was built differently on purpose — collaborative instead of territorial, strategic instead of transactional, and deeply invested in helping both clients and agents succeed.

We believe the future of real estate belongs to people who can think creatively, communicate clearly, solve problems calmly, and bring real value to the table. Around here, no one wins alone — and that’s exactly the point.