Building the Next Generation of Multifamily Leaders - Faith-Inspired Leadership in Property Management

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with thousands of leaders across the multifamily industry—from emerging leaders stepping into their first management role to seasoned executives responsible for leading large teams and organizations.

One observation has remained remarkably consistent.

We often invest heavily in developing technical skills, yet we spend far less time intentionally developing leadership skills.

Technical expertise matters. Operational excellence matters. Industry knowledge matters.

But at some point, every leader encounters challenges that cannot be solved through technical expertise alone.

How do you build trust?

How do you navigate difficult conversations?

How do you lead through uncertainty?

How do you make ethical decisions when the answer isn't obvious?

How do you influence people, strengthen culture, and help others grow?

Those are leadership questions.

A Vision for Something Different

As a former NAAEI President, leadership consultant, executive coach, speaker, and learning and development leader, I have spent much of my career helping leaders develop the skills necessary to lead people—not just processes.

That is one of the reasons I was honored to lead the Community Growth Foundation task force responsible for helping shape a first-of-its-kind Faith-Inspired Leadership in Property Management Certificate Program in partnership with Grand Canyon University.

The vision for this initiative began with David Snyder, founder of Community Growth Foundation.

David recognized an opportunity to create something that did not currently exist within our industry: a faith-based leadership development experience designed specifically for multifamily professionals.

Multifamily has no shortage of technical training. What it often lacks is formation for the kind of leadership this work actually demands.

Property managers carry enormous responsibility. They navigate pressure, conflict, resident needs, team dynamics, operational challenges, and the day-to-day health of a community.

Community Growth Foundation's conviction was that our industry needed more than technically competent operators. It needed leaders formed by faith, servant leadership, integrity, compassion, stewardship, and a deeper sense of responsibility for the communities they serve.

When we began this initiative, we did not start with a curriculum.

We started with a question:

What kind of leaders will our industry need in the future?

Building the Program

To answer that question, Community Growth Foundation assembled a task force of respected multifamily leaders and partnered with Grand Canyon University's curriculum development team to create something intentionally different.

My role included creating the task force charter, identifying and selecting task force members, leading the initiative, serving as the primary multifamily subject matter expert, and helping ensure that the curriculum reflected the realities of leadership in our industry.

This initiative was strengthened by the expertise and collaboration of an exceptional group of multifamily leaders and educators.

Task Force Members

As task force leader, I had the privilege of working alongside an exceptional group of multifamily leaders and educators:

• Jeremy Edmiston, Multifamily Executive Director

• Donna Summers, President, Gables Residential

• Pete Kelly, CEO, Apartment Life

• Kendall Pretzer, CEO, Grace Hill

• Chiccorra Connor, CEO, Occupancy Heroes

• Suzanne Pratt, Director of Education, Triangle Apartment Association

• Cynthiann King, Vice President of Learning and Development, Forty2 LLC

• Teresa DeVos, Multifamily Asset Management Consultant

• Melissa D. White, international speaker, multifamily leader, and Adjunct Professor for the inaugural cohort

Curriculum Development Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

Working directly with Grand Canyon University's curriculum development team, the following Subject Matter Experts helped shape the program structure, leadership framework, learning outcomes, and practical industry application of the Faith-Inspired Leadership in Property Management Certificate Program:

• Stephanie Puryear Helling, Founder, SPH Services; International Speaker, Executive Coach, Leadership Consultant, Maxwell Leadership Executive Program Director, and Lead Subject Matter Expert (SME)

• Cynthiann King, Vice President of Learning and Development, Forty2 LLC; Subject Matter Expert (SME)

• Teresa DeVos, Multifamily Asset Management Consultant; Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Melissa D. White, international speaker, multifamily leader, and educator, also played an important role in the initiative and will serve as Adjunct Professor for the inaugural cohort, bringing both industry expertise and instructional leadership to the learning experience.

Together, we worked alongside Grand Canyon University's curriculum development team to build a Faith-Inspired Leadership in Property Management Certificate Program designed to help current and emerging multifamily professionals grow as faith-inspired leaders through a framework shaped by biblical wisdom, servant leadership, ethics, human dignity, stewardship, and real-world property management practice.

Leadership Foundations

As part of the curriculum development process, we intentionally incorporated proven leadership principles and resources from respected thought leaders and leadership practitioners, including:

• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

• The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey

• Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results by Ken Blanchard and Renee Broadwell

• The Bible as the foundational framework for faith-inspired leadership, stewardship, character, service, and ethical decision-making

These resources helped shape a learning experience designed to develop leaders who lead with competence, character, integrity, influence, trust, and purpose.

Lessons from the Ethics Conversations

One of the most meaningful aspects of the development process was creating the Ethics module.

Ethics Module Industry Contributors

As part of the Ethics module development process, I interviewed respected industry leaders whose insights helped shape the curriculum:

• Rick Graf, Multifamily CEO & Chairman

• Scott Wilder, Multifamily President

• Jeremy Edmiston, Multifamily Executive Director

• Donna Summers, President, Gables Residential

• Suzanne Pratt, Director of Education, Triangle Apartment Association

• Cynthiann King, Vice President of Learning and Development, Forty2 LLC

• Teresa DeVos, Multifamily Asset Management Consultant

• Melissa D. White, international speaker, multifamily leader, and Adjunct Professor for the inaugural cohort

While their experiences and leadership journeys were unique, the themes were remarkably consistent.

Leadership is not revealed when circumstances are easy.

Leadership is revealed through difficult decisions, competing priorities, accountability, integrity, and the choices we make when no one is watching.

Again and again, the conversations returned to the same truth: people may remember our titles, but they are far more likely to remember how we led, how we treated others, and whether our actions aligned with our values.

Character matters.

Trust matters.

Values matter.

Influence matters.

People matter.

Property Management Is Deeply Human Work

Perhaps the most important lesson that emerged throughout this process is that property management is deeply human work.

We lead teams.

We serve residents.

We build communities.

We navigate change.

We coach performance.

We resolve conflict.

We influence culture.

Those responsibilities require more than technical knowledge. They require intentional leadership development.

That belief became the foundation of the Faith-Inspired Leadership in Property Management Certificate Program.

More Than a Certificate Program

Developed by Community Growth Foundation in partnership with Grand Canyon University, the Faith-Inspired Leadership in Property Management Certificate Program integrates biblical wisdom, servant leadership, ethical decision-making, stewardship, community building, leadership influence, coaching, and real-world property management practice.

This is not simply another certification.

It is designed to help leaders grow in both competence and character.

It is designed to help leaders understand that excellence and integrity belong together.

It is designed to help leaders recognize that their influence extends far beyond budgets, occupancy, operations, and performance metrics.

It extends to people.

To teams.

To residents.

To communities.

To the culture they create every day through their actions and decisions.

The curriculum explores topics such as strengths-based leadership, personal vision and values, ethical decision-making, coaching for performance, communication, community building, leadership influence, and servant leadership through a faith-based framework.

More importantly, it challenges participants to grow not only as professionals, but as leaders who create positive impact for their teams, residents, organizations, and communities.

Investing in the Future of Multifamily

What excites me most about this initiative is that Community Growth Foundation chose to invest in something bigger than a certificate program.

This initiative is about leadership development.

It is about workforce development.

It is about creating pathways for current and future leaders.

It is about helping people discover that leadership is not simply a position—it is a responsibility.

Strong organizations require strong leaders.

Strong leaders do not happen by accident.

They are developed intentionally.

As our industry continues to evolve, leadership development, workforce development, and succession planning will become even more important. The future of multifamily will be shaped by the leaders we choose to develop today.

That is why this program matters.

Enrollment Information

Enrollment is currently open for the founding cohort of Faith-Inspired Leadership in Property Management.

The eight-week online program will be taught by Melissa D. White and is intentionally limited to 25 participants. Applications close June 15, and the pilot cohort begins shortly thereafter.

If you are a current or emerging multifamily leader who is committed to personal growth, leadership excellence, ethical decision-making, servant leadership, and serving others with purpose, I encourage you to learn more and apply.

Learn More & Apply: https://www.communitygrowthfoundation.org/education

Faith-Inspired Leadership in Property Management is a Community Growth Foundation initiative developed in partnership with Grand Canyon University. The program was shaped by multifamily leaders, educators, and practitioners who believe leadership development should strengthen both competence and character while preparing leaders to serve residents, teams, organizations, and communities with excellence, integrity, stewardship, and Christ-centered purpose.