

Community management: Advancing the profession with purpose
Whether you chose community management or it chose you, you are part of a mission with profound significance. This profession offers the rare opportunity to blend practical skills with meaningful purpose, creating spaces where life’s most important moments unfold. To elevate our industry, we must establish clear pathways for professional development.

Effective communication: 8 tips for delivering clear messages with empathy and respect
Effective communication skills are vital to relationships and interactions among community association managers, boards, residents, and colleagues. “We’re dealing with peoples’ homes, and there is a huge emotional component there. We need to embody a mutual respect and be nonjudgmental and allow community members to feel heard.”

New leadership: Bauman to become CAI’s next chief executive officer
Dawn M. Bauman, CAE, has been named the next chief executive officer of Community Associations Institute, the leading international authority on the community association housing model that includes condominium associations, homeowners associations, and housing cooperatives. Bauman begins her new role on July 1. She succeeds Tom Skiba, who is retiring after 23 years of service.

Managing mental health: Permission to pivot
A community association management company executive shares her mental health journey. She argues that managers need to give themselves permission to reshape their roles because success isn’t always linear. It needs to take the shape that makes them happy.

Management milestone: Maryland manager becomes 25,000th to earn CMCA
Jordan Ritter, CMCA, AMS, recently became the 25,000th professional to earn the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) credential — a milestone that demonstrates the history, strength, and success of the program administered by the Community Association Managers International Certification Board. As a valued member of Property Management People in Maryland since 2019, Ritter’s journey into the world of community association management is as inspiring as it is rooted in personal connection.

Community NOW continued: CAI Annual Conference attendees continue to learn
The 2025 CAI Annual Conference & Exposition: Community NOW continued Friday as participants networked with friends and colleagues, attended various education sessions to learn about important issues, browsed the latest tools and resources, and toured the expo hall. Education session topics on the agenda included customer service, leading effective meetings, and civil communication.

Community NOW roundup: Conference sessions educate, inspire
The 2025 CAI Annual Conference & Exposition: Community NOW got underway in earnest Thursday as participants met up with friends and colleagues, attended various conference sessions to learn about important issues, browsed the latest tools and resources, and toured the expo hall to network.

Community NOW: How board members make the most of CAI’s conference
Community association professionals, volunteers, and business partners are gathering next week in Orlando, Fla., for the 2025 CAI Annual Conference & Exposition: Community NOW to soak up the Florida sunshine — and all the education and networking opportunities the conference offers. First-time participants to the 2024 conference in Las Vegas have some practical suggestions for navigating the annual industry gathering.

Volunteer leadership: 5 questions to guide a board’s fiduciary duty
April is National Volunteer Month, an excellent time to celebrate the volunteers that help community associations thrive. Fiduciary duty is a critical component of successful volunteer leadership. It governs every decision and every action a board takes.

Putting down roots: Community garden flourishes
The Green Hill Condominium Association has spent the last couple of years developing a comprehensive community garden that is reinvigorating the Wynnewood, Pa., community. The garden is enhancing community spirit, volunteerism, and helping the community go green.