Real estate blogger Jay Thompson is joining Zillow as the director of industry outreach and social media, Zillow announced in a release.

In addition to his duties as a blogger, he also offers his expertise in real estate and social media conferences as a speaker, and is licensed to teach continuing education classes on social media marketing.

Thompson will join Zillow’s partner outreach team, which includes Sara Bonert, director of broker services, Brad Andersohn, industry outreach manager, and recent addition Bob Bemis VP of partner relations.

“I’m thrilled to add such a well-respected and knowledgeable industry voice to the team. As a fellow Arizonan, I’ve followed Jay for many years and learned a great deal about real estate professionals’ needs and concerns,” said Bemis.

Thompson founded real estate blog The Phoenix Real Estate Guy in May 2005, which was recognized by Inman News as the Most Innovative Real Estate Blog in 2009. Thompson has also been named one of Inman News’ Most Influential Bloggers multiple times as well as one of Inman News’ 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders for 2010.

Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas and graduated summa cum laude. Thompson will relocate to the Pacific Northwest to work out of Zillow’s headquarters in Seattle.