Michael Wilke is the marketing strategist at Towne Properties. When he joined the company in 2014, Towne was dependent on ILS advertising for leads and leases. Towne’s property sites didn’t have online leasing yet. In his current role, Michael has worked with the rest of the marketing team to modernize Towne’s online user experience to meet shifting renter expectations. When Towne shifted its strategy to include online leasing via RentCafe websites, it realized its property websites convert leads at a better rate than ILSs. Take a look at Towne Properties’ award-winning websites. As a result, Michael started looking for the most effective and cost-efficient ways to drive traffic to Towne’s websites. The challenge Towne’s RentCafe property websites were converting at a better rate than ILSs, but they needed more leads. Michael knew how to set up Google Ad groups, but he felt like he was just scratching the surface of what was possible. And he didn’t have the time to maintain and optimize campaigns for every property. Ultimately, he and the Towne team decided to get expert help. The solution When looking for a marketing partner, the REACH by RentCafe digital marketing agency stood out. Since Towne uses Yardi and the agency is a part of the Yardi family, Michael knew that integration would be simple and data would be clean.  Towne enlisted REACH search marketing experts to optimize their websites and set up ad campaigns quickly. More importantly, Michael said, “[REACH experts] have the expertise that we don’t have. That became clear during the setup process. They were going over all the things they were going to do for us, the dedicated teams for search marketing, creative and more.” REACH SEO results Thanks to ongoing search engine optimization, Towne’s websites are getting more traffic that converts into...

Yardi’s global offices help property managers, owners and investors succeed worldwide. Journey with us to the Middle East and meet Oksana Goliak, office manager of the Yardi Dubai office. Meet Oksana Goliak Goliak has been working at Yardi for eight years. As the office manager, she ensures that the office operates smoothly with over 65 employees. In addition, she is involved with human resources responsibilities, works closely with senior directors, and retains employee happiness and engagement. “My workday routine varies daily. I am involved in many roles such as office management, supplier relations, Human Resources, the IT department, purchasing, employee engagement and team building, to name a few,” said Goliak. Goliak enjoys Yardi’s corporate culture, work environment, colleagues, and Yardi inspirational leaders in how they encourage employees. “We follow our corporate mission and vision. It helps us achieve the goals we set, and spreads the word that Yardi is a reputable organization where people enjoy working,” shared Goliak. Teambuilding confidence Goliak likes that Yardi appreciates employees’ hard work, acknowledges performance, values contribution, and understands challenges while keeping a happy culture. Even during the pandemic and lockdown, Goliak could engage with her team via online platforms and still have regular team-building activities. Employee activities are encouraged with corporate and management support. “I am proud to say, our Dubai team has virtually climbed the highest mountain peak, Everest, we run through the Amazon Forest, and have explored The Great Wall of China. And now we’ve launched monthly sports challenges called Yardi Sports League, where employees can participate and play in the teams. So far, we have had a football tournament, badminton, volleyball, and cricket, and in February, we are preparing for a basketball game,” enthused Goliak. Since working for HR, Goliak has received much feedback during...

Yardi’s global offices help property managers, owners, and investors succeed worldwide. Let’s travel to the land down under for this profile and get to know Angela Blair, Manager of the Professional Services Group (PSG) for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Meet Angela Blair Blair approaches a decade of working with Yardi in July, but has been part of the Yardi network since 2001. “From client user to consultant to project manager, to now, Yardi has been a big part of my professional life,” she said. Blair spends her days at Yardi managing five consultants, ensuring they have the tools to achieve productivity goals and contribute to client success. In addition, she oversees the rollout of Yardi’s residential suite for build-to-rent asset classes in ANZ, which entails attending conferences and seminars to learn about industry requirements for the region. She also is the project manager for both commercial and residential implementations, working closely with the presales team, assisting with requests for proposals (RFPs) and demonstrations, and creating PSG proposals. “Managing ad-hoc client requests and resource allocations across projects can be a bit of a juggling act sometimes,” says Blair. After leaving the accounting life, which was sometimes mundane and repetitive, Blair loves that work feels almost like a new job each time she implements a new client. “Although the work itself might be basically the same from project to project, each client varies in team size and expertise; each has their own business practices and processes that we need to understand fully to provide them the best system solutions possible – and sometimes that requires us to think outside the box which keeps it feeling very new and challenging, but in a good way,” she said. Embracing fresh perspectives Yardi’s corporate culture lends itself to...

Yardi’s growth as a top employer is thanks in part to staff members who assist with recruiting around the globe. Meet Ana-Raluca Iliescu, team leader for recruitment in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Meet Ana-Raluca Iliescu Iliescu has been working for Yardi for nine years. She started with the company as a call center agent and transferred to the Human Resources department after two years. Currently, she coordinates the recruitment team and participates in recruitment processes. “My experience at the call center was one of the most valuable that I have ever had and played an important role in preparing me for the recruiter position. I had already acquired most of the skills needed for the job, so transitioning into the new role went smoothly,” shared Iliescu. Her day-to-day work includes close collaboration with the recruitment team and other departments in the Yardi Romania office. She oversees all processes, stays on top of changes, and proposes and applies solutions to improve practices and candidate experiences. “Having been in a recruiter role at Yardi for over six years, I got the chance to work with almost all our teams, thus getting an excellent grasp of the business needs and processes and gaining much diverse experience as a recruiter,” said Iliescu. Growing business The people at Yardi’s worldwide offices are a big part of the effort to create and foster a distinctly welcoming corporate culture. “One of the things I like most about my job is that what our team does helps the people and the business grow. I also enjoy passing on my experience to help others succeed in this field. At the same time, I like the fact that it’s a challenging role, and you never get the chance to get bored – you can learn new...

Meet Lynn Topp of Yardi Canada, who plays a critical role in implementing software and hiring top-tier talent from the Yardi Toronto office. She has watched Yardi grow and thrive in Canada during nearly 18 years at the company. Meet Lynn Topp Topp is the Director of Client Services for Residential in the Toronto office. Even approaching 20 years of service, she is in awe at what she has watched Yardi achieve. “I enjoy the variety and the challenges each day brings. Working at Yardi is never boring, and every day brings something new, even after all my years here,” shared Topp. “Over the years, as the company has grown, it has been amazing to see all the changes and maturity in how it has evolved and improved since I was an account manager. I enjoy seeing others progress in their roles and seeing the results of our implementations, when clients benefit and streamline their businesses, and turning unhappy clients around,” she said. Topp worked for a Yardi client before starting at Yardi. In that role, she used Yardi Voyager to manage 95 properties, and was one of the first clients in Canada to adopt Voyager. “I spent 14 years in the property management industry as a controller before joining Yardi and chose Voyager to support our growth. While it was trying at times, it was also a great experience, eventually leading me to Yardi. Understanding the industry has helped me understand our client’s challenges and allows me to be empathetic and advocate for our clients,” Topp shared. Topp’s day-to-day is involved in some large full-service implementations, which absorbs most of her time serving as project manager. “I am involved with multiple teams and clients, and much of my time is spent dealing with escalated issues and...

Yardi’s global offices make important contributions to property managers and investors worldwide. Meet Megi Cara, who plays a vital role in that process for clients in the UK and Europe. Meet Megi Cara A Solutions Consultant based out of Yardi’s Waterloo office in London, Cara serves prospects and clients across the UK, as well as in Ireland and the European Union. “I am responsible for giving product demonstrations across our residential and coworking solutions,” Cara said. These are two rapidly growing areas of service for Yardi UK. Cara will celebrate her third anniversary at Yardi in February and can hardly believe how fast time has flown by. “I love to learn, and at Yardi I learn something new on a regular basis and the products I demonstrate are accelerating at such a fast pace. It is really exciting to watch them evolve,” she shared. Cara spends her days at Yardi in a role that features much variety. She prepares for demonstrations, including setting up proof-of-concept scenarios, breaking down complex concepts, and making it easier for her audience to understand. She also sets up and tests new functionality within the residential or coworking product stack to ensure it performs as expected and is ready to go live on demonstration environments. “I also work closely with our sales team to deliver webinars or product snapshots to our existing clients, so they get the most out of the solutions they have,” Cara said. She also enjoys attending conferences that feature emerging trends and technologies in real estate and highlight the needs and challenges of regional real estate professionals. “The most recent event I attended was the Student Accommodation conference which touched on some very relevant topics such as the cost-of-living impact on the consumer,” Cara said. Evolving...

For the first time in three years, Yardi teams were able to gather in-person in 2022, both to return to in-office activities, meet with clients at conferences and celebrate the season. Here are highlights from a few of the recent Yardi office gatherings. Our offices in the eastern United States, Waltham, MA, Raleigh, NC & Atlanta, GA, went with a classic holiday party. Yardi Waltham went out to dinner with refreshments and entertainment. Yardi Atlanta had a Hollywood Red Carpet glam theme at a local hotel, a photo booth, a live band, and DJ. And Yardi Raleigh had dinner at the Marriott City Center with a DJ and a 360-degree photo booth. Our Irving, Texas office all got together in the office and played a fun holiday trivia game, had a white elephant gift exchange, and dressed in their best holiday attire. Moving west, our Scottsdale, AZ, and Boise, ID offices put on their competitive shoes. Scottsdale spent the afternoon at TopGolf while Boise rented out Western Proper for a night of dinner, bowling, and arcade games. Globally, in late October Yardi Dubai, UAE celebrated Diwali, the Festival of Lights, a holiday celebrating the triumph of good over evil. Yardi United Kingdom recently celebrated at the London Shuffle Club with shuffleboard games, dinner, and more. And in Singapore, the office got together to watch the end-of-the-year town hall meeting at Happen, then went for dinner at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO site. And at headquarters in Southern California, the Santa Barbara office had a nice, sunny lunch outside. Thanks to all of the offices who shared photos of their festivities, and wishing our global team a productive and happy conclusion to...

Team Yardi Raleigh is a longtime supporter of the Foundation of Hope in Raleigh, founded in 1984. The nonprofit works to conquer mental illness by investing in groundbreaking scientific research and mental health initiatives. The Foundation of Hope strives to eliminate suffering from mental illness in the community. On Oct. 9, the Foundation of Hope held the 34th Annual Walk for Hope to fund mental health research at the University of North Carolina’s Department of Psychiatry. This year a total of over $790,000 was raised. Team Yardi TKO, a title sponsor of the event, raised $6,000 this year. TKO stands for Timothy K Owens. He was a manager with Yardi for many years and lost his life by suicide about 11 years ago. In his memory, the Yardi Raleigh office started the Walk for Hope team and has been walking and raising money ever since. “Tim will never leave our hearts,” shared Kimberly Wood, Captain of the Walk for Hope Foundation.   33 Yardi team members joined the walk this year including Kimberly Wood of the PayScan Implementation Team; Greg Smith, Vice President; Pam Davison, Senior Project Manager; David Fabian, Senior Director; Vera Morris, Consultant; Maggie Corgan, Technical Account Manager; and Sheila Johnson, Technical Account Manager. “Mental health research is so very important,” said Wood. “I can’t imagine there are very many people who are not touched by mental health issues for family or friends,” she continues, “Personally, I volunteer throughout the year at the Foundation of Hope office.” “It feels SO good to give back.” The 5K walk was followed by a family-friendly festival including lunch, music, informational booths from mental health care companies, a small petting zoo and so much more. The weather was beautiful and over 3,200 registered and raised money...

Ready to meet the next senior living Changemaker — or in this case — Changemakers? Up today is Jim Coughlin and Wendy Nowokunski, a duo of senior living leaders from Northbridge Companies. We recently announced the plan to share four final interviews, but as an added bonus, this particular interview features two industry pioneers. And with Northbridge being a Yardi senior living client, we’re ecstatic to share a snapshot from their conversation with Senior Housing News (SHN). Meet Jim Coughlin and Wendy Nowokunski CEO Jim Coughlin and President Wendy Nowokunski founded Northbridge Companies with one purpose in mind: ensuring their residents, families and associates live well and love life. And that purpose has held true for over 15 years, as they’ve built Northbridge into what it is today. Read more about Northbridge Companies.   In their interview with SHN, Coughlin and Nowokunski speak to the lessons learned over the course of their careers, each explaining how they navigate change. Read on for a highlight from their interview. SHN: Talk about a time when you tried to execute a change and things didn’t go according to plan. How did you pivot and what did you learn as a leader? Coughlin: I tend to be the one who focuses on acquisitions and growth. As we’ve alluded to in the past, we have a very engaged and vocal leadership team. One of the most comical experiences I had was when I went to our senior leadership and I said, “I’ve made progress. I think we’re going to move forward with this acquisition.” The leadership team said, “Absolutely not. We’re not doing that deal.” That was a really good sign … despite that we didn’t get to move forward with the acquisition. It really showed the empowerment of...

In eight years at Yardi, Herbie Germain has built a successful career helping the company’s investment management clients and nurturing new talent on his team. The Long Island resident is the Consulting Practices Manager for the Investment Management (IM) suite, a platform that delivers users investment accounting, performance measurement and financial reporting capabilities. Herbie Germain “Yardi’s IM system is extremely capable and presents many opportunities to automate complex processes,” Germain noted. “I love being able to show clients how at the click of a button they can eliminate a huge amount of manual work. Seeing their eyes glow and hearing them say ‘Oh wow. This is great,’ is always a wonderful moment.” Read on to learn more about Germain’s Yardi journey and his favorite parts of his role. A journey of growth and expansion Germain holds a master’s degree in information technology from Capella University and a bachelor’s degree in physics (as well as a minor in mathematics) from Syracuse University. He started his Yardi career in 2014 as a member of the commercial implementation team based in New York. Previously, he worked as an analyst for a small financial services software company. “Yardi is the type of company where you’ll get as far as you want if you’re willing to put in the effort,” Germain noted. “The corporate culture of the company is that we’re all in this together.” Three years after he joined the company, IM expanded its support efforts to an East Coast-based team, which Germain joined as an account manager and then was promoted to consultant. The team continued to evolve, starting as a practice group, and then adding an IM client success team. When founding manager Marina Samothrakis relocated to Yardi’s Toronto office, Germain had the opportunity to step into...

“Often I’ve found that change comes at the most unexpected times, but I believe that’s what makes our work so meaningful.” Those words come from LCS President and CEO Joel Nelson, a member of this year’s Changemakers class. The annual Changemakers series recognizes bold, strategic leadership in senior living. With leaders like Nelson interviewed by Senior Housing News (SHN) throughout the series, you get an inside look at how industry pioneers are sparking change. Yardi is proud to sponsor Changemakers for the fourth consecutive year. Introducing Joel Nelson Joel Nelson’s career at LCS — a Yardi client and one of the nation’s largest senior living organizations — has been full of change. From starting the company’s real estate business to now operating over 130 communities in the LCS Family of Companies, Nelson is skilled at navigating challenges and developing solutions. In his SHN interview, Nelson shares how being prepared for change is critical, and discusses which changes he believes are vital for the industry’s future. Keep reading for a highlight. SHN: Thinking back on your career in senior living, what are some of the changes you’re especially proud of leading? Nelson: I’ve had the good fortune to be in the industry for the last 36 years, and there have been many changes in LCS and the senior living industry during that time. The one I’m most proud of is when I was given the opportunity to start our real estate company back in 2010. It was transformational for the company and who we are, and it has driven even more changes as a result. There’s a lot to be proud of in this industry, which is why I stuck around for so long. I’ve been on multiple association boards, and for the last couple...

Now in its fourth consecutive year, the Changemakers series showcases forward-thinking leadership in senior living. But not just any leaders earn the honor. The Changemakers title is reserved for those who drive positive change across the industry — and who pursue innovative strategies along the way.  It’s empowering to see how each honoree is transforming the industry as we know it. That’s made possible through in-depth interviews conducted by Senior Housing News (SHN) and sponsored by Yardi. And lucky for you, the first batch of interviews is live. That includes one from Tana Gall, president of Merrill Gardens, a family-owned company and Yardi client. Her story is one you don’t want to miss. Meet Tana Gall From decades of experience in senior living, Changemaker Tana Gall is skilled at problem solving. That comes from her initiative to take risks and forge new paths, which Gall has done throughout her career. Now as president of Merrill Gardens, she has an important perspective on what it takes to spearhead change. In her interview, Gall tells SHN about her bold but calculated risk-taking approach, plus she shares lessons learned from her 27 years in the industry. Keep reading for a highlight.   SHN: Thinking back on your career in senior living, what are some of the changes you’re especially proud of leading? Gall: In the early 2000s, I was able to work with a group on changing our industry messaging. For my first few years in the industry, a lot of the same words were used to describe what we did — respect, integrity, independence. They were generic and didn’t capture what the industry represented, so we took a leap. During my time at Leisure Care, I worked with a very creative group of people to roll...

Meet Blake Cole, a team lead for RightSource auditors in Yardi’s Minneapolis office. Blake started at Yardi in November 2020 as an auditor and was promoted to team lead within six months. Blake Cole Recently, he had the opportunity to be part of longtime Yardi affordable housing client ALCO’s very first internal podcast. We caught up with Blake to learn more about how he proactively tackles client challenges. Read on to learn more. TBS: How do you spend your work hours? BC: As Team Lead, I oversee the compliance and review of certifications for numerous affordable housing programs (e.g. HUD, LIHTC, HOME) across 11 states. My work hours are spent developing and cultivating strong relationships with our clients, responding to compliance questions and inquiries, supporting auditors in their review of complex certifications, as well as problem solving and troubleshooting software issues that may arise. I began my career in affordable housing 14 years ago as a Leasing Consultant for a 175-unit elderly property in Atlantic City, NJ where I utilized Yardi Affordable software daily to process rental payments and complete certifications on site. This experience of overcoming the day-to-day challenges of compliance in affordable housing ironically are some of the same challenges that my clients presently endure. Having walked in their shoes for more than a decade of my career has unquestionably positioned me to better meet their needs today. TBS: What do you most enjoy about your work at Yardi? BC: I enjoy being able to pursue my passion of problem solving and providing exceptional customer service all while working remotely. I enjoy having easy access to continued education and online training. I believe Yardi attracts the best of the best; and doing so gives me the opportunity to learn from professionals who...

Sometimes it takes a challenge to jumpstart simplicity. It’s a lesson that the Senior Living Consulting Practices and Implementations team relearns each day. Ellen Lins is the senior team lead. She and her team help Yardi Electronic Health Record (EHR) clients optimize software usage to facilitate easier day-to-day operations at their sites. Training when every second counts The senior living industry poses unique challenges. Elevated security is necessary to guard residents’ protected health information. Additionally, the industry’s 24/7/365 business model necessitates constant access to and frequent changes of said data. No one can miss a beat. “Clinical staff are administering medications and providing care at all hours of the day and night. Outages and performance issues can have a critical impact, and impact their regulatory compliance, even if it occurs in the middle of the night,” explains Lins. Factor in the industry’s high turnover rates and the team is constantly engaged in client training. “To overcome those challenges, Yardi offers a free EHR Lite version of Yardi Aspire, an online learning management tool,” says Lins. “EHR Lite is a crucial part of the program that allows our team members to provide up-to-date training to multiple clients and their extensive user groups.” The team also offers 24/7 support through Senior Frontline. An EHR specialist is always available to provide training and emergency support when necessary. For the Consulting Practices and Implementations team, it’s always all hands on deck. But the benefits of their hard work are clients who can provide quality care for their customers. Improved understanding of EHR contributes into a higher standard of care of seniors throughout the nation. Offering results that improve lives With high stakes and responsibilities come great rewards. Technical account managers Mason Marshall and Rhonda Wenzel, along with senior...