Advertise on podcast: The Lease-Up

From fighting food insecurity to advancing housing affordability, Rebecca Ely has built her path around one core idea: Real change happens when you connect resources with the people who need them most and invite others to step into that mission. Now Director of Resource Development at Operation Pathways, the resident services arm of The NHP Foundation, Ely operates at the crossroads of affordable housing, philanthropy and community impact. In this episode of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily, MHN’s Laura Valean sits down with Ely to explore what leadership actually looks like behind the scenes, from navigating expectations as a woman in the industry to now contributing to a broader shift where resident services are finally being recognized as essential, not optional.

Creativity is becoming a decisive advantage in New York City multifamily marketing, where intense competition and shifting renter expectations demand more than traditional campaigns. In a city defined by high supply, fast-moving lease-ups and demanding renters, standing out requires more than attractive amenities. Across the country, multifamily teams are rethinking how to attract and retain residents, but nowhere is the need for originality more urgent than in New York. From luxury high-rises to mixed-income communities, successful campaigns increasingly rely on authenticity, hyperlocal insight and experiences that resonate beyond traditional advertising. What’s clear is that creativity in New York City multifamily marketing isn’t about flashy campaigns. It’s about clarity, originality and understanding renter behavior—whether for a luxury apartment, a boutique rental, or a large mixed-use project. This episode of Multi-Housing News’ Top Marketers podcast explores how innovative approaches to New York City multifamily marketing translate into measurable lease-up results. Joining us is Michelle Easterlin, vice president of leasing and marketing at Avery Hall, who also manages high-profile Brooklyn projects including 544 Carroll, a luxury rental bridging Gowanus and Park Slope. With a fashion background and years of experience in New York City multifamily marketing and leasing, she brings a consumer-driven perspective that blends creative branding, problem-solving and on-the-ground strategy. Previously, Easterlin led leasing for Nancy Packes and advised on One Boerum Place, while her brokerage experience at Compass and Douglas Elliman generated over $150M in GCI. Key topics include how innovative multifamily leasing strategies, authentic branding and community engagement can drive performance in the highly competitive New York City rental market. From Fashion to Real Estate (01:35)Defining Creativity in NYC (04:23)NYC Market Reality Check (06:47)Authentic Marketing That Sells (10:10)Resident Events That Retain (16:54)Selling Lifestyle Over Units (20:13)

Savas Karas, COO & Chief Transformation Officer at CAPREIT, discusses why so many tech-forward initiatives stall or fail in property management.With more than 30 years of management and technology leadership experience, he shares his approach to aligning strategy with execution, from observing on-site teams firsthand to eliminating the hidden workarounds that drain employees.Listen to hear his advice on where to start if your organization has never had a formal change management plan. Here are some of the topics we cover: (3:31) Why you should begin with the end in mind before launching any initiative(4:53) The importance of failing fast and redeploying resources quickly(7:52) How observing on-site teams can reveal hidden friction and inefficiencies(18:06) Why skipping change management derails transformation efforts(19:21) Why one-and-done training doesn't work and what to do instead(26:20) How to define success as an organization before investing in change

What keeps great employees from leaving, especially when they have every reason and opportunity to do so? In this episode of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily, Multi-Housing News Senior Editor Laura Valean sits down with Christine Gilmore, vice president of learning and development at Bell Partners, to unpack one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: retention. And not just any retention—the kind that keeps your best people engaged, growing and, most importantly, staying.

At a time when housing affordability debates are often driven more by perception than data, taking a closer look at what’s actually behind a rent payment matters more than ever. The National Apartment Association’s Dollar of Rent tool provides a clear, data-driven view of the expenses tied to operating a multifamily property, drawing on tens of thousands of audited, property-level financial statements. In this episode of NAA Insights, host Laura Valean, senior editor at Multi-Housing News, sits down with Leah Cuffy, director of advocacy research at NAA, to explore how the tool can be used in practice.

Student housing’s fundamentals are as familiar as ever: high occupancy, steady demand, a pipeline that’s still selective, but the real story in 2026 is where the wins are concentrating and how investors are underwriting them. Harrison Street Asset Management, one of the largest owners in the sector, is leaning into that shift with strategic moves and fresh momentum.In this episode of Student Housing Unlocked, Senior Associate Editor Olivia Bunescu is joined by Beau Garot, co-head of education transactions in North America at Harrison Street Asset Management, to unpack what that activity says about the market right now. They also touch on why flagships remain the focus, the redefinition of affordability and what precision looks like as debt gets more attractive and competition returns. Here’s what they discussed: Three trends shaping 2026 student housing (01:24)Why owner–operator alignment matters more right now (02:00)Rent growth normalizes, efficiency matters (04:35)Debt is improving and competition is returning to deals (05:32)How they’re reading demand today (06:25)Concentrated supply, bigger projects (07:39)The “Power Four Plus” thesis (08:43)Testing demand durability before the asset (09:45)How does precision underwriting look in practice? (10:56)2026 advice: don’t overpay (14:09)

Few people in the multifamily industry have a better bird’s eye view of multifamily tech than Kevin Donnelly, executive director and chief advocacy officer of the Real Estate Technology and Transformation Center. In this inaugural episode of MHN Tech Pulse, Donnelly outlines the state of multifamily technology and speculates what the next few years will look like. “We’re in a period of acceleration, and I don’t really see that slowing down,” Donnelly tells Multi-Housing News Associate Editor Matthew Kaufman. The industry veteran sees technology as a key tool in addressing the nation’s housing and affordability crisis, and he views AI in particular as a way to increase efficiency while leading to better renter experiences. Here are some highlights of the conversation: (00:58): An overview of RETTC and its goals (03:05): Donnelly’s background (06:02): Where the industry stands with tech adoption (08:23): Operational & economic pressures driving tech investment (10:46): Policy pressures (14:06): The role of AI (21:47): What’s next?

In this episode, Cerwin Thompson, VP of facilities at RPM Living, and Avery Rouse, regional maintenance director at The Breeden Co. discuss how they’re navigating the staffing challenges in maintenance operations and the strategies they’re implementing. Both leaders started in on-site roles and worked their way up to corporate leadership. Now, they see technicians entering the talent pipeline who lack some of those basic skills that are so important for day-to-day community maintenance. Focusing on the fundamentals and sequential training is what’s needed to strengthen teams from the ground up. Here are some of the topics we cover: (3:20) The current state of the maintenance workforce (5:04) Recruiting strategies that work (7:58) How to prevent burnout and create support systems (9:53) Which factors most impact retention (14:37) How training can reveal employee mentality and buildcollaboration (18:00) Why rushing promotions without basic skills can leadto failure (26:36) What the industry needs to do differently

With a background spanning architecture, design, cultural tourism, teaching and public service, Innovative Housing Opportunities CEO Rochelle Mills brings a holistic lens to development—one that views housing not simply as "heads and beds," but as a catalyst for thriving, high-performing communities.In this deeply personal conversation with MHN Senior Editor Laura Valean for the Mission Success: Women in Multifamily podcast, Mills opens up about the realities of working in affordable housing, sharing hard-earned lessons on leadership, bias, responsibility and why mission-driven work must be grounded in honesty, resilience and hope.

Denile Doyle chats with Cassandra McFadden, vice president & global head of sustainability at Cortland, about how sustainability is becoming a meaningful lever for long-term performance across multifamily. McFadden recounts what it took for Cortland to earn top GRESB ratings and how the company has applied a policy-to-practice approach, from waste diversion to utility management to resident education. How does she manage misconceptions about sustainability? The right language and goal alignments, says McFadden, can help you counter the naysayers and get the results you want for your firm. Here are some of the topics we cover: (5:26) What drove Cortland’s GRESB journey from 2 to 5 stars(10:18) What residents actually notice when it comes to sustainability (17:12) Earth Month initiatives that resonate with residents(22:30) The two metrics that matter most in proving real sustainability impact.(25:19) Why the industry struggles to price sustainability improvements

Digital marketing success is no longer defined by clicks alone. As platforms grow more complex and AI becomes increasingly embedded in campaign execution, today’s top marketers are being challenged to think more strategically, balancing performance metrics with long-term business impact. This episode of Multi-Housing News’ Top Marketers podcast, explores the dos and don’ts of digital marketing, the importance of aligning digital strategies with broader business objectives and how AI is reshaping the way marketers measure and optimize performance. As digital marketing continues to evolve, the conversation centers on blended metrics, transparent communication and maintaining strategic alignment across teams. Joining us is Aaron Donofrio, senior manager of Digital Media at Fairfield Residential, a San Diego-based multifamily owner, developer and property manager. Donofrio leads paid media strategy across Fairfield’s national portfolio, overseeing performance-driven campaigns that support everything from luxury lease-ups to stabilized and affordable housing communities. With a background in political digital media, he brings a data-first, audience-focused approach to multifamily marketing, translating complex performance metrics into clear insights that drive ROI and property-level success. Known for his collaborative style, Aaron works closely with cross-functional teams to deliver media strategies that are both highly effective and strategically aligned. Key topics include identifying the most meaningful metrics for campaign evaluation, the continued importance of human judgment in an AI-driven landscape, strategies for addressing underperforming campaigns and the nuances between upper-funnel branding efforts and lead generation initiatives. Introduction to Digital Marketing Journey (1:38)Defining Success in Digital Marketing (5:42)Evaluating Digital Media Campaigns (7:40)Balancing Optimization and Performance (16:37)Human Side of Digital Marketing (21:04)

“You have to believe it to see it—not the other way around,” said Lynn Jerath, founder & president of Citrine Investment Group, in this anniversary podcast episode of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily. MHN Senior Editor Laura Valean sits down with Jerath for a deeply personal conversation that goes well beyond titles and transactions. As Mission Success: Women in Multifamily enters its sixth year, this episode is a reminder of the series’ original purpose: spotlighting women who are shaping the industry with intention and clarity, and asking not just what they do, but why they do it.

Welcome back to Management Diaries. Jim Cunningham, president of Marquette Management, sits down with MHN’s Denile Doyle to discuss where he believes AI truly adds value for property managers. Cunningham unpacks what thoughtful adoption really looks like when it comes to new technology. He explains how AI is adding value across Marquette’s portfolio, where its limitations show up and why there is such a thing as too much tech. He also stresses that operators have a responsibility to implement AI carefully. What seems like a game changer at the corporate level can turn into a bad idea once site teams start using it at the property level. Here are some highlights from our conversation: (3:38) Getting real about what AI can’t do—and will never be able to do(6:10) Lessons learned and challenges from testing different tools(9:09) Why Marquette is shifting its approach to AI integration(17:50) The unintended consequences that can surface when teams use AI

With nearly 40 properties in the U.S. and the U.K., Korman Communities—now in its fifth generation of family ownership—has long been at the forefront of lifestyle-driven rental housing. Across its communities, the share of renters by choice continues to climb, spanning young professionals, mid-career movers and a rapidly growing demographic of downsizers. In this episode of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily, Multi-Housing News Senior Editor Laura Valean sits down with Lea Anne Welsh, COO of Korman Communities and president of its high-end AVE brand, to explore how the American Dream has changed.

What are the forces that will shape the multifamily landscape in 2026? Multi-Housing News Senior Editor Laura Valean asked George Ratiu, vice president of research at the National Apartment Association, to answer this question and many others in the final episode of this year’s NAA Insights podcast series. This episode also dives into the expenses most likely to pressure NOI, the conditions needed for transaction activity to accelerate, and the role multifamily AI and analytics will play in driving operational efficiency next year. For owners, developers and managers preparing budgets and strategies, this conversation provides a clear look at the dynamics that will define multifamily in 2026.