Associa Employee Spotlight: An Entire Career Built on Managing Communities
The Associa family is made up of thousands of unique individuals who bring their own talents and passion to the job. Each week, we recognize one of our family members in the Employee Spotlight, highlighting not only their work but what they love to do after clocking out.
Unlike many Associa employees who began their careers in other industries, director of implementation and corporate development Kelly Zibell's foray into property management began in college. From her first position as a rental administrator, Kelly moved into Homeowners Association (HOA) management and hasn’t looked back. She enjoyed her position at a small, local management company, but her desire for more training and growth opportunities brought her to Associa.
In the nearly nine years since she joined the Associa family, Kelly has done everything from managing communities to leading the implementation team in her current position. She is proud of all she’s accomplished here, including her most recent her work with C3 implementations. “I’m incredibly proud of the work done by the C3 Implementation team. They’ve been part of some historic projects for Associa in the past year. Their ability to solve issues with skill and grace continues to amaze me.”
But not all of Kelly’s management moments have been smooth sailing. When asked about an embarrassing work moment, Kelly was quick to tell about a board meeting mishap early in her career. “I was on my way to a board meeting and I ran over a wrench on the freeway. While waiting for AAA to come help me with the spare, my battery died! I didn’t know the emergency lights would drain the battery. Having to call the client and explain my general lack of car skills was embarrassing. And this was before Uber or Lyft, so we had to reschedule the meeting!”
Along with the knowledge that lights drain car batteries, that day Kelly learned that if you make a mistake with a client, do everything you can to be honest and make it right. It’s those kind of values that make Kelly a great fit for our team, and she feels the same way about the people who surround her each day. “I LOVE our people! I have had the pleasure of wearing different hats throughout my career with Associa and the best part of all of it is spending time with my co-workers. They genuinely care about their work product and our clients. It’s amazing to watch how much we can pull together as a team to get a job done.”
As a new mom, Kelly doesn’t have a lot of spare time, but she always makes time for physical activity. She loves running and believes it’s an integral part of stress management, not to mention it lifts her spirits and she jokes “makes me a better person to be around.” We have no doubt Kelly’s success will continue and we can’t wait to see which Associa hat she’ll wear next.