Education Conference

GNAA Members Take the National Stage at Apartmentalize!

by Susan Sherfield, Mercy Housing & GNAA Education Committee Co-Chair

Live from Chicago! It’s Apartmentalize!

The National Apartment Association’s (NAA) education conference – Apartmentalize! – takes place in Chicago, August 31-September 2. This annual event, which was presented virtually in 2020, brings together industry professionals for three days of education and networking. Four GNAA members will be taking the national stage as part of the educational programming for the conference.

Attorney JENNIFER MCCOY, from The Law Office of Jennifer McCoy, will be a panelist for the session “Before It Happens to You” which will discuss sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace and at industry events. Along with a human resources professional in our industry, Jennifer will cover topics to include legal considerations, reporting workplace incidents, and overcoming emotional scars. This session is scheduled for Wed., Sept. 1 at 3:30. DEE WILSON, Director of Training and Social Media Marketing with Freeman-Webb, and JOHN SONS, Director of Training and Marketing Strategies with Burlington Capital, will be support facilitators for Open Space Sessions. Open Space Sessions were introduced to the conference a couple of years ago. These sessions are literally held in open spaces at the conference facility. While the general topic is determined in advance, the participants actually take the lead on choosing the various aspects of the topic and engage in active discussions. Dee and John are both graduates of the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) Advanced Facilitator Training (AFT). Their completion of this program, along with their active facilitation in association training events, qualifies them to be members of the NAAEI faculty. Their involvement in the open space sessions this year will help prepare them to take the lead in facilitating at future conferences. John’s sessions are: Wed., Sept. 1 | 9:45-10:45 Affordable Housing: What new ideas are you trying for support programming? Thurs., Sept. 2 | 11:30-12:30 HR/Benefits/Personnel Policies: How can we be more flexible?

Dee’s sessions are: Wed., Sept. 1 | 11:15-12:15 Post-Covid (2024): What practices/protocol has your corporate leadership abandoned, significantly modified or initiated?

Thurs., Sept. 2 | 10:00 -11:00 Amenities: Which ones have you removed and what replaced them? SUSAN SHERFIELD is the Vice President of Education & Employee Development for Mercy Housing. This marks the 11th year she will be speaking at the NAA conference. Susan is also a member of the NAAEI Faculty, and served as NAAEI President in 2018 and 2109. She will be facilitating three sessions: Tues., Aug. 31 | 2:30-3:15 Diversity in Leadership: Not So “Suite” Wed., Sept. 1 | 9:45-10:45 Open Space Session Affordable Housing: What new ideas are you trying for support programming? Wed., Sept. 1 | 3:45-4:30 Before It Happens to You The full schedule of sessions can be viewed at naahq. org-apartmentalize/schedule. If you will be attending Apartmentalize, please plan to attend these sessions to show support for your Nashville colleagues!