On August 12, Brandywine Cares and City of Refuge brought together property management companies and vendors and participants seeking to learn more about careers in the industry for CareerBuild, an immersive day focused on introducing job seekers to the world of real estate and property management—and showing them what it takes to build a career in the industry.
Throughout the day, there were interactive presentations and discussions as well as a job fair. Discussion topics focused on:
- What real estate and property management look like in practice
- The different roles and responsibilities across the industry
- The skills and KPIs needed to succeed in property management
- Fair housing, compliance, tenant satisfaction, and workplace expectations
- Property management technology, software, and tools
- Training and employer pathways that can lead to meaningful career opportunities
- Next steps for turning what they learned into employment opportunities
The Brandywine Cares team - Heidi Coppola, Howard Arden, and Nicole Kellum, was on hand to welcome everyone and extend their thanks to old and new partners alike. These partners offered insight, personal experience, and valuable information about property management roles in their companies.
A huge thank you to all of these the incredible professionals: Marcos Becari; Jay Daniels; Dwayne Griffin; Stephen Howard; Johnathan James; Martin Ray; Melinda D. Robinson-Moffett; KaRen Sarvis; Matthew Smith, CTS; and Destiny Yarbrough.
Special thanks to Debbie Phillips, Ph.D., CPM for her invaluable insight, guidance and referrals!
And thank you to Maria Dore, who couldn’t be with us, but sent her team. And to Annie Laurie McCulloh and Chris Moreno for their input, as well.
We are grateful to Jeannie Nelson Ross from City of Refuge, Inc. for her belief in us, cosponsorship of this program and her suggestions to help us improve along the way.
We look forward to seeing our participants progress toward a career in the property management industry with the help and support of our employer partners.
At Brandywine Cares, we believe that career development is about more than getting a job—it’s about creating access, building confidence, and giving people the tools and connections they need to thrive. Employer partners make all the difference here.
