Last week, #TeamYardi Dallas volunteered with the Texas Conservation Alliance. The group participated in a paramount environmental stewardship initiative and cleaned up litter from White Rock Creek in Dallas. In total, the group gathered 850 pounds of litter from the waterway! Their efforts benefit local and marine wildlife all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2023, TCA planted nearly 10,000 native plants in North Texas to support pollinators like monarchs, removed over 13,000 pounds of litter from Texas waterways and planted 1,000 trees to mitigate the urban heat island effect. A few members of Yardi took home native plants. Thank you for opening up your yard space to pollinators. Monarchs and other pollinators face many challenges, so every plant makes a difference! Find future non-profit profiles...
Yardi Atlanta Women Meet, Celebrate
Inspiration, Culture and Creativity
Last week, the women of the Atlanta office gathered to celebrate each other and network through thoughtful conversations in honor of Women’s History Month. The morning started with a raffle drawing and an exciting networking game: Meet Your Match. Everyone got a clue, such as “cookies” or “sweet,” and you had to network to meet your match without saying the word. For example, “milk & cookies” or “sweet and sour.” While the event took place, music played in the breakroom, and a complete brunch feast was served, including waffles with all the fixings, salmon and grits, bacon and eggs, and mock mimosas. Afterward, the women gathered in the meeting room for fun trivia questions and discussions. The trivia knowledge consisted of famous women in our industry and more, with prizes. Fireside chats were then discussed to create a supportive and informative environment for the office women. A box of tissues circled as many had emotional and profound stories to share. These stories and strategies for overcoming traumatic experiences that have built such strong women were welcomed with open arms, and everyone was in their feels. It wrapped up with some open conversations and engagement for “Women at Yardi,” which will soon open the doors for women to come together virtually for support and vitality. What an empowering day for the women in the Atlanta...
Lindsay Carter
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Meet Lindsay Carter, a senior sales account executive focusing on integrating new companies onto the Yardi platform. Meet Lindsay Carter Lindsay Carter will be celebrating five years at Yardi in May this year. Carter spends her days researching organizations not currently using Yardi with an endgame to understand their business better and how Yardi will align with them to achieve their business goals. She also assists her current Yardi clients with regular meetings to discuss new product enhancements, business initiatives, and demoing solutions available that they might wish to adopt. “I really enjoy meeting prospective clients. I like researching organizations, learning how they’re structured, understanding what they’re focused on achieving, and then strategically aligning Yardi to be a superior software choice for them,” says Carter. Welcome to the Family Carter has always felt welcomed at Yardi. This family-run organization treats everyone like family, and Mr. Yardi is a wonderful person to work for. Carter is proud to work for him. She appreciates Yardi’s collaboration and philanthropic efforts—”much of who we are is about taking care of each other and our communities.” “Our teams are incredibly diverse, so we all bring something different to the table. This makes for great idea-sharing and problem-solving, so we can work together to support each other and our clients better,” explained Carter. For a new hire just starting at Yardi, Lindsay Carter would greet them with, “Welcome to the Family!” With unlimited resources available to help anyone succeed and incredible diversity, everyone brings something different. At Yardi, there are excellent idea-sharing and problem-solving skills, so they provide better support for each other and their clients. “We stand behind our motto: We take care of our clients, we...
Reginald Singleton
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Meet team member Reginald Singleton, an associate technical manager on the Breeze client success team in Atlanta, Georgia. Singleton will celebrate his second-year anniversary here at Yardi next month. He spends much of his time at work assisting clients in troubleshooting their issues with Breeze and Breeze Premier. He assists clients through a chat window, but some clients will call for help instead. He also helps his team when they are in need or have questions. Singleton is constantly introduced to new challenges and problems that he helps clients overcome. “When I can deliver a solution to my clients or even my teammates, it truly makes me happy,” expressed Singleton. Contagious Company Culture Singleton enjoys and appreciates how willing everyone in the office is there to help. Despite work being sometimes stressful, everyone in the office knows how to make the day fun, “The Yardi Culture is contagious, and I love it!” Singleton has always felt welcomed and appreciates how Yardi upholds its mission statement of taking care of clients, employees and the community. Before graduating college, Singleton was a manager at Taco Bell. Though he had experience in IT and accounting, he felt that he might not be a great fit at Yardi, but shortly after starting, he realized that Yardi provided employees with helpful tools and helped him grow, not to mention his colleagues who helped in that growth. “I felt so comfortable here when I first started. Yardi truly cares about your growth and success so that you will do fine regardless of your previous work background! Also, you can choose from many different career paths within the company as well,” explained Singleton. Yardi is hiring globally! Interested prospective...
Octavio Lizarraga Pescador...
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi Employee Profile Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Meet Octavio Lizarraga Pescador, associate account manager for the Yardi Breeze CSD team, who hails from the Santa Ana office. Meet Octavio Lizarraga Pescador Octavio Lizarraga Pescador has been working at Yardi for almost two years. His work hours consist primarily of directly assisting clients with Breeze and Breeze Premier implementations. Pescador hosts about four one-hour Zoom meetings with clients daily, in which he assists them with setting up the software or provides training on how to use some of its functionalities. When he is not in meetings, he writes up recaps for clients to summarize what was covered on the previous call or is testing some client inquiries. Along with assisting clients, he also attends internal training, strengthening his understanding of Breeze and Breeze Premier providing better insights for his clients. “I believe the functionality Breeze brings to our clients in terms of being able to manage their properties more efficiently plays a very important aspect for everyone involved,” says Pescador. Pescador believes that the work everyone does at Yardi impacts many individuals. From the delivery of financial reports to critical real estate decision-makers to the urgency of response whenever a tenant submits a new maintenance request through the tenant portals, Yardi’s products provide a solution to many essential property management needs. “This is what I enjoy most about my work at Yardi. I enjoy assisting and playing a very important role in implementing Yardi’s solutions for our clients,” explained Pescador. Positive Vibes Only Ever since Pescador joined Yardi, he has felt a positive and assistive corporate culture from both leadership and colleagues. Everyone is so willing to help with any question needed. If there is a functionality...
Philip Suh
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Today, meet Philip Suh, associate technical account manager with the Residential CSD team. Meet Philip Suh Philip Suh has been working at Yardi for over a year and a half. Suh spends his workdays answering and catching up on emails in the mornings, participates in daily scrum meetings with his team to discuss cases they are working on that day, and finishes up with client meetings in the afternoon hours. Suh currently works on Positive Pay and Interface cases with the client and a third party vendor or bank. “I love helping people set up and implement new things into their Voyager environment,” said Suh. “I also really enjoy being able to help my teammates out and want to try my best to be approachable by my teammates or other people!” Suh feels the reciprocity at Yardi among his teammates, which he is very grateful for. “I love that everyone is so open to lending a hand, especially with unfamiliar topics. I have never felt that I was not welcome to ask a question on my team,” Suh shares. Work-Life Balance Suh appreciates the work environment at Yardi and likes the work-life balance. The direction from his Team Lead and manager has given him more opportunities, which he acknowledges. “I’m really happy with my work-life balance here at Yardi, which allows me to have fun and be my own person when I’m not working. I think ensuring that not letting your job title define you is really important,” Suh expressed. Yardi is hiring globally! Interested prospective employees can explore opportunities on the Careers site. Sweet Love Suh spends his time outside the office with his lovely wife, Camill, eating good food and sweet...
Babbie Jaco
Affordable Housing Visionary
Complex processes with rules left to interpretation can create uncertainty about what a team should do next and fear of making mistakes. That can lead to lost productivity, stagnation and the inability for an organization to grow. That’s a cycle that affects many affordable housing teams. As the complexity of compliance increases, the personnel required exponentially increases. It takes leadership within an organization to recognize the need for change and to seek out solutions. That’s where Babbie Jaco, the latest in Yardi’s series of Affordable Housing Visionaries, comes into the story. In 1984, Babbie joined a newly formed organization called Boyd Management. She was one of the first employees to be hired and as the company grew, became a principal in Boyd Management and their development entity, WWJ, LLC. In 2020, Babbie and her partners sold their interests in both Boyd Management and WWJ, LLC to CAHEC of Raleigh, NC as a strategy to secure the properties, its 475 employees and maintain the legacy of 35 years of excellent work. While her partners are now retired, Babbie continues to lead the team today as Senior Vice President of CAHEC Management, Inc. (CMI) Get to Know CAHEC Management, Inc. CMI is a leading affordable housing property developer, owner and manager based in Columbia, South Carolina. Its sustained growth and successful properties are laudable. Its portfolio includes more than 370+ properties and 16,000 affordable housing units across the southeast. As CMI grew, and as affordable housing reporting requirements became more complex, the team experienced significantly more compliance work particularly given the array of affordable housing programs the organization works under. Jaco recognized the challenge and saw opportunity to resolve them with assistance from Yardi RightSource. CMI Reimagines Compliance RightSource provides CMI with a dedicated team of...
Amol Jammu
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Today, we introduce Amol Jammu, the West Residential Leasing Solutions 1’s assistant technical account manager. Meet Amol Jammu Amol Jammu has worked with Yardi for almost two years and looks forward to being promoted soon. Jammu spends his work hours talking and engaging with clients he oversees. Meeting with clients daily, Jammu discusses ongoing company initiatives, workflows and where they need help with their Yardi products. When Jammu is not in client meetings, he works in the Site Manager program and CRM, where he can fix clients’ issues or set up workflows to achieve their end goals. Jammu is constantly researching and reading into different Yardi products and testing in practice environments. Jammu enjoys connecting with clients face-to-face and helping them with any issues they might encounter. “It’s really rewarding when I can solve issues for clients and see the impact on their day-to-day operations,” said Jammu. Office Synergy Jammu appreciates Yardi’s commitment to providing employees with all the tools to do the job effectively. Everyone in the company is willing to lend a helping hand, which makes giving support to customers much more accessible. “The approach to teamwork is truly gratifying because I always feel reassured and supported when my workload gets heavy. I never feel like I’m alone with my problems or that I can’t ask for help,” Jammu explained. Jammu describes Yardi as the perfect place to start a career. “I’ve heard so many horror stories about how people’s first jobs were, and it really puts a smile on my face that I can’t relate to that. Yardi really feels like being a part of a family that cares about your work, your life outside of it, and most...
Sarah Kermon
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Today, we introduce Sarah Kermon, associate technical manager with the Raleigh office’s Commercial NC Practice 3 Team. Meet Sarah Kermon Sarah Kermon has been working at Yardi for a little of a year. She assists with incoming support requests from Yardi clients. She also helps her team members with cases for their clients as needed and provides peer support to other colleagues. When she is not working on cases, Kermon betters her knowledge of Voyager and various software components. One emphasis is deepening her technical understanding of reports in Voyager. “I enjoy the opportunities to pursue areas of interest, which include building up my technical skills with things like SSMS, Profiler and learning more about the backend structure that makes our products work,” said Kermon. Kermon has grown exponentially at Yardi due to her colleague’s willingness to help her. She always feels comfortable asking questions and reaching out in areas of uncertainty. Yardi prioritizes its employees in a way that provides comfort as new hires adjust to their positions and creates an environment that welcomes challenges and curiosity. “Everyone around you is invested in your success and wants to give you opportunities to learn and excel,” shares Kermon. She continued, “I am super excited to be working in my new role with the Commercial NC Practice 3 group and love getting to know all the amazing people who have guided me along the way!” Yardi is hiring globally! Interested prospective employees can explore opportunities on the Careers site. Rubix Cube Extraordinaire While Kermon is not working at Yardi, she enjoys cooking and trying new restaurants. She recently learned to make chicken piccata, which is her new favorite. She also enjoys collecting puzzles and...
Mary LaForge
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Today, meet Mary LaForge, director of programming for Public Housing Authorities (PHA), out of the Santa Barbara office. Meet Mary LaForge Mary LaForge has been with Yardi for 21 years. She oversees a team that includes programmers, quality assurance (QA) specialists and technical writers. She also works with the PHA team in Pune, which again consists of programmers, client-services (CSD) support staff, software conversion experts and QA specialists. “I collaborate with our team as we implement compliance changes in our current products and develop new products, such as Compliance Manager and Asset IQ, on the new Elevate platform. I work closely with HUD to understand policy changes that impact our software,” said LaForge. Subsidized housing is a challenging and complex market. Working on HUD compliance changes is not easy. Gathering the complex information needed to implement the required changes successfully can be difficult, and there is pressure to deliver on time. “I view these challenges as an opportunity to excel and grow for Yardi to be a standout vendor in the PHA market. I am fortunate to be working with the talented individuals on our team. I treasure and enjoy our team’s extensive collaboration, ” LaForge expressed. Working as a member of the PHA team gives LaForge pride and satisfaction because the software helps housing authorities provide housing for the underprivileged. “In an indirect but substantial way, I believe I am contributing to communities nationwide,” LaForge shared. In addition, LaForge works and helps the sales team with prospective client demonstrations and participates in client meetings. Longevity with Teamwork Yardi is a unique and welcoming company. Collaboration is intentionally and strongly encouraged. Everyone’s ideas and opinions are heard and respected. “In meetings with peers, vice presidents, or the CEO, everyone feels comfortable providing their thoughts and suggestions. We may intensely and passionately debate how to solve an issue at a meeting, but we can feel comfortable going to lunch with disagreeing people. When a solution does not go as we hoped or planned, we correct the issue, learn from it, and move forward,” explained LaForge. New hires are always astonished when they discover how long LaForge has been working with Yardi. “In one of the interviews, there were three of us on the panel, and the collective time spent with Yardi was fifty years! This number is incredible and sometimes unfathomable to these prospective employees,” said LaForge. Yardi’s corporate culture gives opportunities to work with incredibly talented individuals and hard-working teams to create, contribute to, grow, and develop exceptional products that help communities worldwide. Yardi is hiring globally! Interested prospective employees can explore opportunities on the Careers site. An Advocate for Education LaForge grew up in India and came to the U.S. for a master’s degree. While in India, LaForge was involved with a few organizations for children’s education. Lack of access to education is a significant challenge there. “I believe education is the only way to narrow this divide. Being a parent of a young child has taken away any extra time for doing this wonderful and satisfying work. But someday soon, I hope to become involved in childhood education again. I am especially interested in education at the elementary school level. My heart very much wants me to do this work in India, possibly starting a school in underprivileged communities there,” explained LaForge. LaForge’s daughter is nine years old and keeps her super busy. However, time is limited with her when LaForge is traveling for HUD and conferences nationwide and to Pune. Therefore, she tries to spend as much time with her daughter as possible when she is home in Santa Barbara. “We love to travel as a family. I believe traveling to other countries and learning about other cultures at a young age can nurture tolerance and develop deeper empathy for all human beings,” LaForge shared....
Office Celebrations
Around the world
End of year gatherings were abundant this year, with many Yardi offices ending the year with festive get-togethers. Here are some highlights from #TeamYardi celebrations worldwide. In North America, Canada celebrated its 25th anniversary and gathered to celebrate with raffle prizes, dancing and more. The Atlanta office had a fancy holiday reception at the Delta Sky360 club in Truist Park and had a sweet and spicy gingerbread house competition in the office for the end of the year. Michael Sturniolo’s team made an impressive win with a double-decker gingerbread house, “Gingerbread Jack & the Jellybeanstalk.” (See photo in gallery at end of post.) The Raleigh office gathered for a festive evening out with collegues, featuring food, drinks, a photo booth and lots of laughs. On the East Coast, the New York office had a holiday lunch with a surprise VIP guest (Mr. Anant Yardi) at Benjamin Steakhouse, and the Long Island office had a holiday party at Crest Hollow Country Club. Scottsdale, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and Boise had fun competitions with games, golf and basketball. In Texas, the Dallas and Irving offices gathered for a fun family night at the Mavericks NBA game. The UK had a holiday celebration at Fairgame in London and embraced some friendly competition, with Harry McBrearty having the most points and winning a 5ft bear! The Middle East celebrated the festival of lights—Diwali- in Pune and Dubai. Dubai also marked the end of the year presentation with a fantastic lunch, a gift exchange and New Year spirit. Additional images from the celebrations can be seen below. Thanks to all the offices who shared photos of their gatherings. Wishing you a safe and joyous holiday...
Biswakam Mishra
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Meet Biswakam Mishra, a programming manager based in Dubai. Meet Biswakam Mishra Biswakam Mishra has been working at Yardi for 17 years. He worked in the Pune office for ten years, and for the last seven years, he’s been working in the Dubai office. Before starting his role with Yardi’s latest product, Voyager 8, Mishra was previously part of the technical service team for CSD and PSG. In addition to development tasks, Mishra assists the CSD and PSG teams in troubleshooting Elevate issues in the Middle East region. He also supports the CSD team in addressing performance or TA-related issues and organizing training programs for new hires. “I have a keen enthusiasm for learning and am always curious about my assigned tasks. I find great satisfaction in helping team members and fostering collaboration,” shared Mishra. After many years at Yardi, Mishra says Yardi has become like a family, “The culture is characterized by collaboration, innovation, friendliness, and fun, providing a healthy work-life balance.” Mishra advises new hires to bring fresh ideas, highlighting Yardi’s comprehensive training and easy onboarding processes, ensuring that team members feel comfortable and can contribute effectively. “Yardi’s strong motto sets a foundation for success, emphasizing employee well-being and teamwork,” said Mishra. Yardi is hiring globally! Interested prospective employees can explore opportunities on the Careers site. Taking Care of Our Community Mishra aligns with Yardi’s motto, inspiring him to join a nonprofit organization, Bandhu, in his native state in India. Bandhu works to support children in completing school education successfully. “We organize various activities for village kids, including outreach programs, career counseling, and yoga. I contribute to the group both technically and financially,” Mishra explained. Early Bird Gets the Worm Mishra...
Meet Grant Burnham
Yardi Employee Profile
The PHA industry is special. There’s a level of caring and personal commitment to helping others that rises a notch in comparison with other real estate verticals. Exhibit A: Grant Burnham. Grant joined Yardi a few years ago. He not only brought with him decades’ of PHA and affordable housing finance experience but also a positive attitude and a genuine appreciation for the work PHAs do for their communities Let’s find out more about Grant, Yardi’s PHA clients and the company’s solutions. Grant, where do you call home? GB: Hello! I am a Colorado native, and my home base is Yardi’s Denver office. What hobbies do you enjoy in your free time? GB: I am an avid pool player. I have been playing in leagues for almost 15 years and even got to participate in team world championship tournaments three separate times in Las Vegas. I’m always up for a game or two (or more) whenever I get a chance! How long have you been with Yardi? What is your current position? GB: I’ve been with Yardi since February 2020. My role is a team leader and solutions consultant. That means I work with a great group of sales professionals dedicated to helping housing agencies solve challenges and serve their residents, landlords and participants with innovative Yardi technology. How did you get started in the PHA/affordable housing industry? GB: My journey in the housing industry began in 2008 when I joined a local PHA in the Denver area. I was there for about three years before I accepted a position with the Colorado Housing and Finance Agency in 2011. I remained with CHFA until 2020 when I began working at Yardi. Throughout my career, my roles in the housing industry have included Occupancy Specialist,...
Helping Clients Shine
Blake Cole Earns ALCO Award
Congratulations to Blake Cole, senior account manager for the RightSource client success team in Yardi’s Minneapolis office, who was recently named 2023 STAR performer by ALCO Management. Affordable housing client ALCO hosts an annual seminar for team members and vendors to celebrate success and train on industry-related topics such as Compliance, Fair Housing, and Physical Property Inspection. This is the second year ALCO has invited Yardi staff to participate, after onboarding with the RightSource software in the summer of 2021. Due to the RightSource integration, ALCO invites a member from each team to present information that is relevant to stakeholders. This year, they highlighted: Navigating the Top File Findings: A presentation where Cole identified the top five file findings found on ALCO’s uploaded certifications in RightSource over the last 12 months and detailed how to avoid these findings. Also highlighted was ALCO’s move-in certification performance. The quicker the certification can be approved, the faster ALCO can provide quality, affordable housing to those who need it. As of the date of this presentation, ALCO’s metrics exceeded the national average of all RightSource clients, coming in at four days and nine hours for approval (national average: five days, 16 hours). Stephen Kearns, senior team lead of client services for the Voyager/RCAH Team, presented upcoming changes to RCAH that will enhance the site staff’s software utilization. Lisa Furbush, manager of full compliance services for RightSource, presented the highly anticipated HOTMA changes that are forthcoming and how they may affect ALCO’s current processes. Joel Smith, team lead of the RightSource Client Success Team, presented awards to the site staff and properties who were high achievers according to RightSource metrics over the past 12 months (i.e., awards provided for properties who processed the most Special Claims, properties who most improved on completing their past due certifications, properties who had their MIs approved the fastest, etc.) The award Cole received was a surprise since ALCO typically honors their company site staff for outstanding achievement. “The next thing I see is this video playing that had me all in my feelings,” shared Cole. Cole’s history with ALCO dates back to their onboarding with RightSource, where he was the team lead for the Auditing Team. In May 2023, Cole was promoted to the RightSource Client Success Team as a senior account manager. Due to his great relationship and history with ALCO, he has been able to retain them as one of his clients. “This explains the purpose of the Captain America helmet I wore during the introduction of my presentation,” said Cole. (See photo at right.) “They are very familiar with this, but for those who were not, I reminded them that the “A” on the helmet stood for Captain...
Sy Pham
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Today, meet Sy Pham, associate technical manager on the Voyager Client success team out of the Santa Ana office. Meet Sy Pham Sy Pham just marked his first anniversary at Yardi in August. He has a passion for problem-solving and working with clients, so he’s greatly enjoyed this role. Pham wanted to work for a company where he could tackle complex problems but work with clients using Yardi’s products so he could see the impact he was making. “The last year with Yardi has been everything I’ve been looking for in a company,” says Pham. Pham spends his hours on client calls and training. When not on calls, he is researching questions that came up or preparing for the next call. He also regularly meets with his team to strategize on problems or do team-building exercises, making his experience at Yardi remarkable. Problem-solving Skills Working with commercial clients has been a challenge for Pham yet rewarding. He enjoys the people at Yardi, both internally and client-facing. He finds Yardi as a workplace that challenges him with tough problems, but the people he has met along the way make it all worth it. “I have never experienced a work culture so dedicated to helping clients and each other. It’s been fun collaborating with individuals from different teams and being able to solve problems together. I love how I can introduce myself to anyone and ask if they can lend a second opinion on a difficult case. The overwhelming support I always receive is inspiring. I hope one day I can lend a hand to the new folks that join like others has done for me,” said Pham. In his personal and work life,...
Seasonal Spirit
This Spooky Season
#TeamYardi had a wicked good time celebrating Fall and spooky season this year. The Atlanta office festivities started with a costume contest. The winners of the contest were as follows: Best: Static Shock costume, Amber Brown Funniest: Burger costume, Jonathan Singleton Scariest: Dr. Facilier costume, Gerald Valentine Most Creative: Frida Kahlo costume, RheaAnn Koppelman Best Group: Mario Party costume, Ciro Vellino, Tyler Edwards and Spencer Hardiman Those who participated brought some fun to the office and turned a typical Wednesday into an enchanted Wednesday. For lunch, three food trucks were provided with various foods for the office—Yaardie Eats, The Mad Greek and The Loaded Taco. Games were provided, and even a special guest was in attendance after making his rounds at the Atlanta HBCU scholarship programs Yardi supports. Jay Shobe, senior vice president, was impressed with Georgia’s southern hospitality. At headquarters in Santa Barbara, the office had a Fall Fest for Yardi employees and their families. The afternoon consisted of a pumpkin carving contest with pizza and gelato. The kids got dressed up and enjoyed a corn maze with trick or treating. What fun office collaborations for the end of...
John Napolitano
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Today, we introduce John Napolitano, a part of the Residential Practice Team 3 of the Long Island, NY office. Meet John Napolitano John Napolitano has worked as an associate technical account manager for just over a year. Napolitano spends his days assisting in client cases and helping teammates however much he can. “I love the atmosphere of being a Yardi employee. Everyone is always welcoming and helpful,” says Napolitano. “I have an amazing team!” Napolitano appreciates how Yardi does a great job incorporating teamwork into the day-to-day work. There are many resources and different individuals with different skill sets. Everyone is helpful and knowledgeable in their field. “We are encouraged to expand our Yardi Network and reach out to people from different teams. I love being able to reach out to people from all over the country and build those lasting relationships,” said Napolitano. In addition to teamwork, Napolitano describes Yardi as a second home after building lasting relationships with coworkers almost immediately. “Everyone wants to see you succeed and lend a helping hand when needed. I know how intimidating it can be for new hires, and I would like to be able to help however much I can in their transition with us,” shares Napolitano. Napolitano and his team recently volunteered and hosted a charity event for Yardi-supported nonprofit Island Harvest. They packed hundreds of boxes of food for people in need. “I love that we could organize an event like this and do our part for our community. It inspired me to do these events on my own time and more frequently,” says Napolitano. Yardi is hiring globally! Interested prospective employees can explore opportunities on the Careers site. Animal Enthusiast Outside...
Alondra Valenzuela
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Today, meet Alondra Valenzuela, Yardi technical analyst from the Dallas office. Meeting Alondra Valenzuela Alondra Valenzuela has been at Yardi for just over two years. While each day differs from the previous, every day brings an exciting new challenge that requires her to think outside the box. From utilizing data to digging into other applications to locate the cause of a client’s deteriorating performance, Valenzuela assists with getting many clients access back into the systems. “I love the challenge of learning something new every day and having the opportunity to utilize new tools that I can bring to my team. I also love the occasional rush of adrenaline when getting a critical item thrown my way and having the opportunity to relieve our clients,” says Valenzuela. Valenzuela enjoys the openness of everyone she works beside. In her two years of working at Yardi, she’s never felt alone, and the willingness of everyone who helps brings great relief, knowing she is not alone and someone is always there to help get a solution to our clients. “Yardi is a place that will allow you to grow in whichever direction you feel best. There is such a wide range of opportunities to explore at Yardi that you can always find something new to learn and do,” Valenzuela said. Yardi is hiring globally! Interested prospective employees can explore opportunities on the Careers site. Climbing Mountains When Valenzuela is not working, she enjoys spending time in nature. When she cannot get to the mountains in Colorado, she enjoys health and fitness in other areas. She cycles through either the gym, muay Thai or rock climbing. “I like adrenaline-packed adventures, which is why I love dealing with high-pressure...
Mary Beth Snyder
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s affordable housing compliance expertise got a big boost this summer. Mary Beth Snyder joined the team in a new role of Verification Services Industry Principal, and her work history is sure to make an impact. Prior to joining Yardi, Mary Beth spent eight years at Equifax® working in the government segment on eligibility verification for government benefit programs. Her duties included managing Equifax’s The Work Number® product, which verifies employment and income of households applying for government benefit programs such as housing assistance, child support, workforce agencies and unemployment insurance. That experience is particularly valuable as Mary Beth transitions to her leadership role on the Yardi Verification Services product team. Yardi Verification Services is an affordable housing compliance solution that verifies the income and assets of households seeking to qualify for a unit. Let’s get to know more about Mary Beth. Mary Beth, where do you call home? I live in Cape Girardeau, Missouri which is approximately two hours south of St. Louis. Beyond your work with Equifax, what is your history in the affordable housing industry? I’ve worked in affordable housing for years promoting the benefits of automating eligibility verification. I’ve been a member of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and have presented during conference sessions as well as writing posts for the NAHRO blog. I’m thrilled with my new opportunity here at Yardi and look forward to continuing my advocacy for those needing housing assistance and the community of housing assistance providers. What benefits do the affordable housing providers you support bring to their communities? Affordable housing providers are critical to the growth and development of the community they serve. A decent and affordable place to live helps families and those who are disadvantaged by freeing them from physical and mental hardships, placing them on a path to success and growth for themselves and future generations. A quote that resonates with my thoughts comes from a sociologist named Matthew Desmond who said, “Housing is absolutely essential to human flourishing. Without stable shelter, it all falls apart”. Have affordable housing resources affected the lives of you or your family? Yes. My brother and sister-in-law are both learning disabled and receive social security disability insurance and other government benefit programs to help them live independently. They currently live in market rate housing with the support of a roommate, but in the future may need to seek out an affordable housing unit. Filling out government forms and getting documentation ready to submit to qualify for government benefits is often frustrating for them. Luckily, they have me to step in and help – not everyone has that kind of support. And I totally understand and share their frustration. I have similar trouble sometimes understanding what the various forms are requesting. What do you think could help simplify the process for affordable housing and other program applicants? My philosophy has always been don’t require applicants or tenants to provide documentation that can be easily found with automated data. Instead, programs should take the burden off those who are disadvantaged and use automated data to complete forms required for eligibility. Automating verifications would save agencies time and money while improving customer support and assistance. That sounds like a big process improvement. Is there a Yardi product that can help achieve that level of simplicity? Yes. Yardi Verification Services automates the way affordable housing providers and public housing authorities verify the income and assets of their applicants. What are the benefits of Yardi Verification Services? Eliminating the stack of forms to fill out is a win-win for both applicants, compliance specialists and site staff, because there are no more back-and-forth requests for information. That type of work takes so much time away from affordable housing and PHA staff and frustrates the applicant or tenant, so Yardi Verification Services really helps streamline the process. Up to 90% of income and...
Ben Smith
Yardi Employee Profile
Yardi’s global offices make essential contributions to property management and investors worldwide. Meet Ben Smith, senior bill pay specialist with the Yardi Bill Pay Express team. Meet Ben Smith Ben Smith started his career at Yardi just after graduating from college a little over a year ago. Smith spends his days working payment exceptions and making payments online for utilities. He also researches to determine the eligibility of vendors to go live on the BPX service as well as bring vendors live to it. He collaborates with other teams to resolve payment issues they might discover and continues to build a stronger foundation for this service. “I enjoy that this service is something uncommon in the industry currently. It feels that we are doing our best to improve the overall flow of payment processing for both Yardi and clients. There is so much to learn about what Yardi does, and I love that it’s easy to reach out and learn about products and services totally unrelated to mine,” says Smith. Wealth of Knowledge Smith finds the work culture at Yardi to have a good balance between teamwork and independence. “Our team probably works more independently than most others in the division, but that doesn’t prevent us from collaborating with each other or other teams,” Smith shares. The work environment has always been opening and welcoming for Smith. Yardi is a company that continues to take care of its employees while being a leading force in the industry. “There are plenty of opportunities for all walks of life, and there is a wealth of knowledge to learn. I can feel at ease knowing I’ll be able to provide for my family and see myself spending a long time with the company,” shared Smith. Yardi is...
