Generous, clear thinker, asset, tough, resilient, compassionate, delegator, knowledgeable—just a few words used to describe NAA's Newly Appointed Chairman of the Board.

When a new Chairman is appointed to head a national trade association, it is not uncommon for members to ask themselves: What will this person offer to us and our industry?

NAA begins 2017 under new Chairman Cindy Clare, CPM, President, Kettler Management, and among her primary objectives is to ask our membership: How is our industry giving back?

Goodwill and generous, charitable acts of time and money are something the apartment industry embraces. NAA members and our affiliated associations do a great deal to help their communities and those in need on a daily basis.

Nationwide, the apartment industry steps forward to regularly support local charities and assist those in need during emergency situations resulting from natural disasters.

“We’re always portrayed as the big, bad landlords,” Clare says. “We all give back, whether it’s the Raising a Reader campaign in Arizona, Volunteers for America, So Others May Eat, Fisher House Foundation, Wounded Warriors or the incredible Food Bank efforts in Atlanta. Our members support the Red Cross, Toys for Tots and hold clothing drives and stuff backpacks for students. The list goes on.

“We as a national trade association need to highlight the cumulative push that this industry makes year-round. When you talk to the employees of apartment owners and managers, they show such great passion and willingness to make this a priority at their jobs and of their employers.”

Clare says that this directive came into focus for her a few years ago when NAA invited charitable organization Life is Good to speak at the 2013 NAA Education Conference & Exposition in San Diego.

“When I’ve talked with our members NAA-wide, I see and hear that many are contributing to the same causes,” Clare says. “As a national organization, we need to better coordinate and combine these efforts so that we have an even greater story to tell about our industry’s tremendous compassion and generosity.

“We are an industry that provides homes for people, we also provide careers for our employees and jobs to many people that work in partnership with our industry. We have done a great job of getting this message to Capitol Hill and to our communities. However, after listening to many of you, we do so much more for our communities that we don’t talk about. Our members, our affiliates and our supplier companies give back to our communities in countless ways.”

Giving back to her community is something that Clare has focused on since she was a young adult. While working toward a degree in international relations at the University of Virginia, she volunteered as a reading tutor for elementary school-aged children, an activity she continued after graduating and moving back to Northern Virginia.

NAA has appointed a member volunteer task force to direct these efforts under Clare.

“Ultimately, I think that NAA should recommend several primary national charitable organizations that we can support on top of everything else we do at a local or national level. The goal is for NAA to become synonymous with that charity, just like other organizations are with theirs, such as the U.S. Marine Corps and Toys for Tots.”

Clare says promoting our industry’s generosity can have other benefits, such as attracting those who feel likewise and would then consider working in the apartment industry.

‘The Responsible One’

Based on past experience, efforts such as these will succeed under Clare, who has performed impressively throughout her 30-plus year career in management, which began as an administrative assistant with Washington, D.C.-based real estate firm Charles E Smith, mostly working on lease-ups.

She moved up to Regional Property Manager for Smith in 1985 where she remained until April 1995, next taking a spot as Vice President at The Mark Winkler Company through March 2005, before moving up to President at Kettler Management.

Born in Germany, on a military base, the oldest of four children, Clare quips, “that made me the responsible one.”

She has lived in Germany, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Maryland and the largest portion of her life in Virginia.

“All that moving around has made me flexible and easily adaptable,” Clare says. “That helps me when working in our industry, because our industry shifts nearly every day. There is always some new curveball that is thrown when it comes to management or priority. Our industry is anything but, same ol’, same ol’. You won’t get bored working in the apartment industry.

Among Clare’s fondest early professional memories was while managing her first portfolio as a regional manager for Charles E. Smith when she was assigned five rent-control properties in Washington D.C.

“I was only [age] 25 and the property managers at the communities I was assigned ranged from 65 to 80 years old,” Clare explains. “They had been managing those properties for longer than I had been alive!

“There, I learned early on that it was smarter for me management-wise to suggest new operational strategies rather than to insist on them. I would begin sentences by saying, ‘What about this…’ or “Let’s try this…’.”

Clare says that one of her more challenging staff members was Agnes Sullivan, 80.

“I always knew when she didn’t like an idea because she’d refer to me as ‘Ms. Miller’ (my maiden name). Otherwise, I was ‘Cindy.’ ”

‘Tremendous Asset’

An authentic, relaxed, confident and yet commanding presence at any executive meeting, Clare becomes NAA’s third female Chairman of the Board.

“As a woman executive in this industry, you often have to take what’s given to you and make it work,” Clare says. “It’s hard not to notice that our industry very much is male-dominated at the top. But we are making strides. Women in our industry have to choose and then ask for the roles that they wish to have.

“At Kettler, our CEO Bob Kettler has been so supportive of me throughout my career there. He entrusted me to grow the residential side of his company. When hiring, he looks at an applicant’s skill set, not gender or anything else, and then he stands behind you. He has given me the freedom to be involved in the industry.”

Kettler says Clare is a “tremendous asset,” helping to take Kettler’s third-party management company’s portfolio from 8,000 apartment homes to 30,000 in 13 states.

“Our continued success in the property management business can be attributed to the outstanding leadership that Cindy has provided to her staff and our organization at large,” he adds. “I have no doubt that she will lead the NAA Board with the same passion and commitment that she has devoted to us here at Kettler. We are extremely proud of Cindy and all of her accomplishments and we look forward to watching her flourish in her new role as Chair.”

Usha Chaudhary, President and Chief Operating Officer, says Clare is an amazing individual and dynamic leader. “She is admired and respected by our clients, customers and partners,” she says. “Her knowledge and expertise of the industry has aided in the rapid growth and expansion of Kettler’s property management business. Becoming NAA Chair is a remarkable feat and I’m excited to see all of the wonderful initiatives that will come from NAA under Cindy’s leadership.”

Alexandra Jackiw, 2013 NAA Chairman of the Board and President at Milhaus Management, has known Clare since 2006. “She thinks clearly and analyzes situations logically,” Jackiw says. “She’s tough and resilient. She’s a great delegator. She empowers people to do what they’re best at. She knows how to adapt and adjust to any situation seamlessly. She is the rational adult in the room and is the voice of reason and she’s not afraid to speak up when appropriate. She’s willing to try new things. She knows how to identify talent and surrounds herself with capable people not only while at Kettler, but also in the way she has selected her committee chairs at NAA. She gives back to the industry beyond just NAA. And last—but most important—she has her priorities straight.”

Clare is quick to mention that her husband, Rodger, and son, Jack help guide her work-life balance. “Rodger believes that I can do anything I set my mind to and he has always supported my career and involvement in the industry,” Clare says. “More importantly, he has backed that up with his actions. Rodger is a true partner and the reason that I am able to achieve balance because he is always there to do whatever needs to be done. 

“Our son Jack is our pride and joy and he keeps me grounded. I know that my most important job is being his mom and everything else is icing on the cake.”

‘Listen to the Members’

Clare says her goals for NAA in 2017 are to look for ways that NAA can continue to grow and “to do new things, and to do things we already do well, but only do them better.”

Clare has experience in association leadership, as well, having served in 2006 as President of Washington, D.C.-based NAA affiliate the Apartment & Office Building Association (AOBA).

“We will look to identify our members’ needs and work toward getting them what they are missing,” Clare says. “For example, we will look toward finding new methods for delivering education. We’ll build a new strategic plan for the association by listening to our members and association executives. We’ll create a task force to help develop the plan, knowing how important it is that we listen to what our members are telling us.”

She says the strategic plan’s task force will “help NAA hit the reset button while building on its successes. We’ll look to find ways to help make the apartment industry become more diverse as a workforce,” she says.

“Working in the apartment industry is exciting for that reason and because those who do have such a passion for it. In our industry, if you work hard, you do well. And there’s no limit to what you can accomplish. There’s no ‘you can’t do that’ in our vocabulary.”

She feels equally optimistic about working with the NAA staff.

“It’s exciting for NAA’s new President and CEO Bob Pinnegar [replacing the retiring Doug Culkin] because I’ll be able to work with him as he brings his own ideas to NAA.”

Peggy Jeffers, Esq., Executive Vice President, AOBA, has seen first-hand how Clare can positively influence an association.

“Cindy is authentic and this is what truly distinguishes her leadership style,” Jeffers says. “Her success is attributable to her extraordinary talent and extremely hard work, but those qualities are not what motivate people to follow her lead; they do so because she connects with them.

“Cindy enjoys people and it shows. When an industry leader respects everyone in the room and really wants to hear what they have to say, people respond to her call to action.

“Cindy is also generous with her time. I honestly cannot remember a time when she said ‘No’ when called on to serve the industry. Not only is that remarkable, but it has had a multiplier effect on many initiatives. Because of her far reaching volunteer roles, she has been effective at connecting groups and promoting collaboration.” n

Paul R. Bergeron III is Director of Publications for NAA and can be reached at 703-797-0606 or [email protected].