Harley E. Rouda, Sr. entered the real estate business in 1953 when he founded HER Realtors, now Real Living HER, the largest brokerage in Central Ohio. Today, he serves as chairman of the board of directors for Real Living.

Rouda is a nationally-renowned leader of the real estate industry and has served in numerous leadership roles on the local, state and national level, including:

• 1991 Past President of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR)
• Board of Directors and Executive Committee of NAR
• 1991 Past President of Asian-Pacific/APREF Council Committee (International Real Estate)
• 1986 Past President of the Ohio Association of REALTORS®
• Past President of the Columbus Board of REALTORS® in 1969 and recipient of its "REALTOR®  of the Year" award in 1975
• A member of the 1992 Board of Consultants to the city of Columbus for the Columbus Board of REALTORS®  
• Past President of the Northwest Area Realty Association
• 1991 Honorary National President of Habitat International
• Past Vice Chairman of The Realty Alliance
• Being appointed by the Governor of Ohio to serve on the 1994 Committee on Funding the Housing Trust Fund
• Recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University
• Recipient of the W. Arthur Cullman 2000 Business Award from the Upper Arlington Chamber of Commerce

Rouda is also a committed community leader. He helped start and served as the first president of the Upper Arlington Civitan Club, is past president of the Upper Arlington Civic Association and has served as co-chair of the COLUMBUS/AMERICA campaign of the Economic Development Council of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce in 1994, and in 1996 served as its Membership Chairman. Rouda was recently appointed to a second term on the Advisory Council to the President of The Ohio State University, representing OSU's Fisher College of Business.

In recognition of his many civic and community accomplishments, Rouda has been recognized as:

• Upper Arlington, Ohio Citizen of the Year
• Building Industry Association of Central Ohio Outstanding Citizen of the Year
• Laureate for the Central Ohio Business Hall of Fame
• First recipient of the Distinguished Entrepreneurial Lecturer Award from the Ohio State University Faculty Club
• Recipient of the "THE" (The Highest Effort) Award from Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity
• Recipient of Medallion of Service from Omega Tau Rho

He has also served on the development committee for First Community Church, the executive committee for the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and as chairman of the real estate division for United Way. Additionally, he served as chairman of the 25th Year OSU Alumni Reunion and as co-chairman of the Upper Arlington School Bond Levy, which at the time was the first local levy to be passed in 12 years. He has served as a member of the Fannie Mae National Advisory Council and as a Trustee of the Arthur James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute.

Rouda has been a teacher of GRI real estate courses and has been the guest lecturer at many state and local conventions and for various company employee relocation projects. He firmly believes that education is vital to the real estate profession and, toward that end, has established a scholarship fund at Ohio State University. Through his efforts, Central Ohio graduating seniors are awarded scholarships each year by Real Living HER.

Rouda and his wife, Marlese, are residents of Dublin, the parents of four children, and have eight grandchildren.