Thaddaus Dawson brings more than 38 years of experience in real estate and property valuation. His journey began at just 19, when he used his summer earnings from General Motors to enroll in real estate courses—earning his license in 1985 and stepping into a profession he would one day transform.

Early on, Dawson became one of the first Black commercial appraisers in Cincinnati. While working for the City’s Real Estate Division, he uncovered a troubling truth: Black homeowners were consistently undervalued, not because of their property—but because of their identity. This inequity would become the driving force behind his life’s work.

To challenge systemic bias and expand access to the profession, Dawson first launched 10K Minority Appraisers (10K MA)—a grassroots movement to recruit and train the next generation of Black appraisers. That initiative has since evolved into the 10K Appraisers Foundation (10K AF), a nonprofit focused on workforce development, appraisal education, and paid internship pipelines.

Alongside this mission, he founded 10K Black Appraisers, now operating as 10K BA Incorporated—a full-service appraisal management company committed to accurate, data-informed, and culturally competent valuation practices across residential, commercial, and agricultural markets.

As Dawson built these organizations, he forged partnerships with 1890 Land Grant Universities and the U.S. Forest Service, breaking down one of the greatest barriers to entry in the appraisal industry: the unpaid trainee period. Dawson developed the 1^st ever appraisal apprenticeship program in the country certified by the U.S. Department of Labor to allow trainees to be paid while training. Though he got the program certified he has not yet secured the funding to support the program. A visit to Langston University led him to the Short Hair Sheep Festival, where he met Black farmers facing steep land devaluation. Their stories widened his lens and deepened his resolve.

As he traveled, listened, and learned, he recognized that this challenge isn’t isolated—it’s structural. But it’s also solvable. He saw an opportunity to reimagine and modernize a legacy system so that it reflects the strength, resilience, and contributions of all communities.

“10K BA exists to bring people, data, and innovation together—so every property, every family, and every community has access to the tools to build and protect generational wealth.”