FROM ADMIN TO EXECUTIVE In Less Than 10 Years! BY LISA ESPOSITO, CCAM-EMERITUS
IN 2007, LIZA DeJESUS, CAMEx, CCAM-HR, GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE with a degree in Political Science and was offered a job as an Administrative Assistant at Walters Management. With her great enthusiasm, strong desire to learn and a plan to emulate her mentor, Melinda Young, CAMEx, CCAM, PCAM, Liza accepted the position. She recalls, “It was a job!” Melinda writes, “She became a fullon community association manager with less than 9 months of experience as an administrator. Liza always exemplified the ability to ‘figure things out.’ Sounds simple, but often people get lost and can’t find things out for themselves.” With this accomplishment under her belt and a pending move to Northern California to be closer to family, Liza secured a position with a management company as a portfolio manager. While that position did not last long, it became a stepping stone to joining Action Property Management as an on-site general manager for a new building in San Francisco. Liza credits Bruce Ratliff for mentoring her through all the building system knowledge that was required to effectively manage the building. After four years of managing the building, learning, exploring best practices and continuing her education through CACM, Liza then earned her high rise specialty. A true believer in “sharing the wealth,” it was then that Liza decided she wanted to be able to share the wonderful training and support she herself had received and started her own informal mentoring group with community managers. This provided a forum for shared solutions, challenges and recommendations. It was this selfless act, taken on her own time, that exemplified her dedication to the industry she had chosen for her professional career path. Liza had begun to set her eyes on the prize of achieving an executive status in the homeowner association industry. With two wildly successful runs, she was ready to go for the golden ring. She submitted her application, and was subsequently awarded her current position of Director of Management Services with Seabreeze Management Company in the Bay Area. Isaiah Henry,
CEO of Seabreeze, had this to say about Liza’s story, “When looking for someone to lead our brand expansion into Northern California, we engaged in a very detailed search process. Liza was referred to us by many industry leaders, and, after completing our interview process, her dedication to service truly stood out. What impressed us the most about Liza was her care and compassion for others. Within the first months of Liza joining our team she not only helped us with some of the most critical tasks in the division, we started getting letters of praise from existing clients regarding Liza’s knowledge, attention to detail, and willingness to do almost anything at any time to get the job done. Liza has built a strong team that has the same passion for service as she offers, and we look forward to watching her continue to grow.” Incidentally, when Liza first started with Seabreeze, CACM was in the process of searching for candidates for their board of directors. Liza received enough votes to place her on the board of directors for the three-year term of 2018-2020. Liza reports that it is a wonderful opportunity to sit at the board table with so many seasoned professionals. I asked her if sitting at the board table was intimidating (as it was for me those many years ago), and her reply was, “Not really – just exciting!” Liza was recently recognized for her great accomplishments at CACM’s Northern California Law Seminar, where she received the “Path to Professionalism” Award. After one year on the job, Liza is ecstatic at the opportunity to further her experience and knowledge base. When I interviewed Liza for this story, though she was a little embarrassed, she couldn’t help but exude her enthusiasm for where her career is and where it will be going. She says that it is of the utmost importance to love what you are doing! The sky is the limit for this young woman, who I am proud to say is a friend, too.
Lisa Esposito, CCAM-Emeritus is Vice President of Advance Construction Technology, Inc. (ACT)
www.cacm.org | Vision Spring/Summer 2018 31
