Colette Releford can go almost anywhere in Gaithersburg and find a familiar face.
Maybe it is a friend she has known for years, someone she met through community service or even a stranger who will not be a stranger for long. Her friends, after all, have a running joke about her ability to make connections wherever she goes.
“Here’s Colette, making another stranger a new friend!” Releford says they often tease.
For the woman affectionately known as “Ms. Gaithersburg,” those connections are at the heart of what makes this community home.
Releford’s family moved to Gaithersburg in 1972 when her father was transferred to work for the Department of Energy. At the time, she remembers thinking they were moving to “the middle of nowhere.”
A lot has changed since then.
Releford graduated from Gaithersburg High School, went away to college and eventually returned to the area. Today, she is a Realtor, community advocate and longtime volunteer whose roots run deep throughout Gaithersburg and the surrounding region. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Gaithersburg Germantown Upcounty Chamber (GGUC), which rebranded earlier this year, and in 2017 became the organization’s first Black female chair.
Despite decades of growth, she says Gaithersburg can still feel like a small town.
“I love that I can go almost anywhere, see a friend and grab a hug, but at the same time, there are always new places to explore,” she says. “To me, Gaithersburg is ever-changing.”
That combination of familiarity and evolution is part of what keeps Releford so invested in the place she calls home.
Work That Matters
Releford’s path to residential real estate was not necessarily a straight one. She worked in different areas of the industry, from technology to marketing, before finding the role that felt right.
Today, she describes real estate simply as “work that matters.”
The meaning behind those words is rooted in her own family history.
“My parents were raised as children of sharecroppers in the segregated South, so to know that their child is now helping people create generational homeownership means a lot,” Releford says. “It’s a gift I don’t take lightly.”
Helping someone buy a home, she believes, is about more than completing a transaction. It is an opportunity to help individuals and families establish roots, build stability and become part of a community.
Her work as a Realtor and her commitment to service are, in many ways, extensions of one another.
“We are all better together,” she says. “When we support each other and our community, everyone benefits.”
A Legacy of Service
Releford traces her desire to give back to the example set by her parents.
She was raised with the concept of servant leadership and watched both of her parents put those values into action throughout their lives. Although they have since died, Releford says their example continues to shape the way she approaches her own life.
“Serving is part of their legacy, and I hope it becomes part of mine as well,” she says.
That service reaches across numerous causes.
Through her sorority alumni club and Seneca Creek Community Church, Releford supports efforts addressing hunger and food insecurity. The church is home to the Community Hope Center, which also offers an ESOL program serving people from around the world.
Housing and financial literacy are another natural extension of her professional life. Releford chairs the Community Service Committee for her local real estate organization, works with organizations focused on homeownership, including Rebuilding Together, and volunteers as a facilitator with Junior Achievement’s Finance Park.
Her service also extends to young people and children in foster care. Through a recent workplace volunteer project, Releford and her colleagues worked with Comfort Cases to prepare bags for children entering the foster care system.
Some causes are especially personal.
As a breast cancer survivor, Releford says organizations supporting survivors and those still fighting the disease hold a special place in her heart. She is currently connecting with For 3 Sisters, an organization supporting people affected by breast cancer.
She is also a strong supporter of BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, reflecting her belief that music and the arts have a unique ability to bring people together.
You Don’t Go Through Life Alone
One experience in particular reinforced Releford’s belief in community.
She remembers attending her first local cancer walk as a survivor and looking around at the people surrounding her. Some were survivors themselves. Others were still undergoing treatment, while many were there simply to support someone they loved.
The experience stayed with her.
“It made me realize how important it is to recognize that you can’t go through life alone, and you can’t just take; you have to give back,” she says.
That philosophy is also evident in what Releford loves most about Gaithersburg: its diversity.
At events such as the annual SummerFest, she sees different ethnicities and cultures represented right in her own backyard. Within a short drive, she can experience art, theater, music and food from around the world.
A self-described foodie, Releford believes food and music are two things with a unique ability to connect people, regardless of their backgrounds.
For her, creating those connections begins with making sure people feel that they belong.
“People matter, and connection matters,” she says.
Creating Time for What Matters
As Thanksgiving approaches, Releford is also thinking about gratitude and the importance of making time to experience the community around her.
Every few months, she tries to plan a local staycation. One recent adventure brought her to Baltimore, where she visited a museum and tried an egg custard snow cone for the first time.
Those experiences reflect a lesson she hopes others embrace: Giving back matters, but so does making room to enjoy the life and community around you.
Each year, Releford chooses one word to guide her goals. For 2026, that word is CREATE.
It is both a personal reminder and a challenge she extends to others.
“I would encourage everyone to CREATE time to serve and make your community better, but also CREATE time to make memories and CREATE time for fun,” Releford says. “You can live a good life while giving back.”
For those who want to become more involved in their communities but do not know where to start, Releford suggests beginning with what already brings them joy. Find a way to share something you love, or give back to an organization that once helped you.
The first opportunity may not be the right fit. Keep looking, she says, until you find the one that is.
For “Ms. Gaithersburg,” a life rooted in service does not require a grand gesture. It begins by creating the time to connect with another person, strengthen the place you call home and do a little work that matters.
MEET COLETTE
Colette Releford
Senior Agent, Redfin
License No. 646711
Direct: 301-259-1391
Office: 540 Gaither Road, Suite 580, Rockville, MD 20850
“I love that I can go almost anywhere, see a friend and grab a hug, but at the same time, there are always new places to explore.” - Colette Releford