2017 40 Under 40 Yearbook: Jessica Hickok, 39

Then: Vice president of operations, Dizmang Properties Inc.
Now: CEO, Oklahoma Association of Realtors

Jessica Hickok late last year took the career step the leaders at Greater Springfield Board of Realtors thought she might. After four years leading 1,800 members in Springfield, Hickok moved one state west to run the nearly 10,000-member Oklahoma Association of Realtors.

She was contacted last year by a headhunter asking her to apply for the impending opening in Oklahoma City.

“I had to keep it super quiet obviously,” she says of her interest.

Hickok was selected out of 30 candidates.

“It was a big career advancement for me, especially for national connections,” she says, noting since her 2011 40 Under 40 award, she’s advanced from a real estate broker to a state association leader. “Not a lot of people can say they’ve done that in six short years.”