Humans of Multifamily

Shiv Gettu sits down with Holly Johnson, VP of Marketing, who shares her journey from growing up on a 700-person farm town in the Texas panhandle to becoming a respected leader in multifamily marketing. Born and raised in a blue-collar farming community, Holly developed a strong work ethic helping with livestock, picking cotton weeds, and even earning a hardship driver's license at age 13. Aft...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Joana Nosewicz, Marketing and Training leader at Presidium, who shares her journey from being born on a German army base to becoming a respected multifamily professional. Growing up as a military child across multiple states, Joana developed an adaptability and outgoing nature that would serve her well throughout her career. Her strict military father and social worker mo...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Danielle Koontz, Senior Managing Director of Business Development at RangeWater Real Estate, who shares her journey from a small town of 750 people in Illinois to becoming a multifamily industry leader. After graduating during the 2009 financial crisis, Danielle found her way into multifamily through a temporary leasing position that turned into a fulfilling career path....

Shiv Gettu sits down with Ann-Marie Bomba, CEO at Strategic Properties, who shares her extraordinary journey from being on her own at age 14 to building a property management company that grew to 17,000 units before being acquired. Born in South Texas, Ann-Marie's early life took a dramatic turn when she left a difficult home environment at 14, navigating situational homelessness and supportin...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Ed Wolff, President of Aerwave, who shares his journey from humble New York beginnings to becoming a multifamily technology leader in Dallas. The son of a NYC detective and secretary, Ed developed an early entrepreneurial spirit—starting a fish pond company at 14 and working 70-hour weeks by 16. After earning his MBA from Georgia Tech and becoming the first in his family...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Amy Barricelli, SVP at RR Living, who shares her journey from selling apartment guides in the late 90s to becoming a respected multifamily leader who refuses to view work as separate from her identity. Growing up in South Jersey with divorced teacher parents, Amy developed independence early, even taking out loans at age 13 to attend the private high school of her choice....

Shiv Gettu sits down with Amanda Cox, COO of Bellaire Multifamily Management, who shares her journey from an only child with a wholesome country upbringing to multifamily leader handling distressed properties. Growing up outside Houston with strict parents and an entrepreneur grandfather who inspired her, Amanda developed a natural drive to lead. After starting as a college leasing agent in 2008 t...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Ian Mattingly, President of Luma Residential, who shares his journey from growing up "under leasing desks" to transforming his father's real estate legacy. Raised in Dallas with the family business as an unwelcome "sibling" competing for his father's attention, Ian initially resisted the property management world. His path took unexpected turns—from theater studies at Nor...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Dom Beveridge, a renowned multifamily proptech expert and publisher of the influential "20 for 20" industry research paper. Born and raised in the UK, Dom's journey into multifamily began through his expertise in revenue management, working first in hotels before transitioning to multifamily about 14 years ago. Through candid conversations about industry tre...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Crystal Moya, Vice President of Operations at Luma Residential, who shares her extraordinary journey from homelessness to multifamily leadership. Born to Mexican immigrant parents, Crystal experienced profound instability in her early years - living in a car between ages 8-11, moving constantly across multiple states, and briefly joining a gang as a way to find belonging....

Shiv Gettu sits down with Tony Sousa, newly independent multifamily consultant ( https://tony-sousa.com/ ), who shares his journey from a nine-year-old Elvis impersonator to a respected industry leader launching his own consulting business. Born to a Portuguese father and Italian mother in the Bay Area, Tony grew up in a blue-collar household that instilled a strong work ethic and family values. A...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Sheri Killingsworth, AVP of Marketing at Avenue 5, who shares her journey from small-town Texas to multifamily marketing leader. Growing up in a town so small her high school graduating class had just eleven people, Sheri developed values of hard work and making people proud that continue to drive her today. Through candid conversations about her 23-year tenure at Lincoln...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Margette Hepfner, Chief Operating Officer of Willowbridge (formerly Lincoln Property Company), who shares her remarkable journey through the multifamily industry. Growing up in Dallas after her family relocated from Denver, Margette developed an early passion for cities and real estate through her father's commercial appraisal career. Through candid conversations abou...

Shiv Gettu sits down with mother-daughter duo Melanie and Sara Stiles for a candid conversation spanning generations in multifamily. Growing up in different environments – Melanie in small-town Oklahoma after her parents divorced when she was four, and Sara in suburban Grapevine with the same experience of early parental separation – their parallel paths reveal both striking similarities and diffe...

Shiv Gettu sits down with John Carlson, President of Mark Taylor, who shares his remarkable journey from Minnesota farm boy to multifamily leader. Growing up with a single mother who had him at 17, John experienced a transformative moment in fifth grade when he was labeled a "geek" at his new school - an experience that forever changed how he views and treats others. Through candid conve...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Jill Hinton, President of GoldOller, who shares her journey from military child to multifamily leader. Born in Iceland and moving every two years until age 12, Jill developed adaptability and people skills that would serve her throughout her career. After losing her father at 14, she grew up quickly, taking on responsibilities beyond her years and developing a drive for c...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Sarah Gencarella, VP of Marketing at Olympus Property, who shares her journey from shy kid to industry leader. Growing up constantly relocating, Sarah's parents pushed her out of her comfort zone, making her introduce herself to strangers and join speech and debate. After working as an accountant at KPMG, she took a leap of faith into multifamily, starting as a leasin...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Demetri Themelis, co-founder of Knock, who shares his journey from finance to entrepreneurship. Growing up in a Greek-American household where money struggles were frequent, Demetri developed an early drive for financial security. After working as an equity sales trader at UBS during the financial crisis, he and his co-founder Tom took a leap of faith into tech. Through r...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Chase Harrington, who shares his remarkable journey from aspiring dentist to tech executive. As the youngest of four siblings in a middle-class family, Chase's path took an unexpected turn when dental school rejection led him to a plasma company, where he discovered his true calling in business leadership. Through candid conversations about childhood insecurities, bul...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Christian Belew, Managing Director at RPM Living, as he shares his unconventional path from drumline captain to marketing leader. Through stories of finding his tribe in college and joining RPM on the first day of COVID lockdown, Christian reveals how he helped grow the marketing team from 4 to over 100 people by leading with trust. He discusses the power of being in the...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Devin Shurtleff, CEO of Opinion, as he opens up about losing his co-founder and best friend Justin Bingham. Through stories of building a fortress of support, finding product-market fit in multifamily, and processing profound loss while leading a company, Devin provides a raw look at the human side of entrepreneurship. In an emotional conversation, he shares their last in...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Melanie French, CEO of RR Living, as she shares her remarkable journey from weekend leasing agent to industry leader. Through stories of standing in line with police escorts to deposit rent checks and creating self-service maintenance closets, Melanie reveals how property management has evolved over four decades while its core mission remains unchanged: creating homes whe...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Spencer Rascoff, co-founder of Hotwire and Zillow, as he shares his journey from competitive chess player to transformative tech leader. From facing potential business collapse after 9/11 to scaling Zillow into a household name, Spencer provides candid insights about founder psychology, navigating crises, and the delicate balance between optimism and pragmatism in leaders...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Tara Samuels for an intimate conversation about overcoming childhood trauma, the power of mentorship, and creating safe spaces in the multifamily industry. Through candid stories about finding love at a trade show and healing family relationships, she illustrates how authenticity can transform both personal life and professional leadership. Humans of Multifamily is presen...

Shiv Gettu sits down with Melania Armenta, Director of Resident Strategy at Gallery Residential, as she shares her journey of personal and professional reinvention. Born into a family of Mexican migrant workers, Melania opens up about her transition journey, her deep connection to spirituality, and how she's revolutionizing the multifamily resident experience through art and authenticity. From org...