乐竞体育赛事直播

Although she鈥檚 been working in property management for just shy of a decade now, since her graduation from Georgia State University with a degree in journalism, Sylvester鈥檚 been making an imprint. She joined Pine Tree in 2020 and was responsible for launching the Atlanta office. Jasmyn currently manages some 1.4 million square feet of retail shopping centers in Tennessee and Alabama.聽

And here鈥檚 where the 鈥減ay it around鈥� part of her goals fits in, a focus that will clearly benefit her employer. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to see Pine Tree鈥檚 footprint continue to expand across the Southeast,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd I want to be the one to help make that happen.鈥�

That growth would be only the latest bullet point on her resume. An active 乐竞体育赛事直播^庐 member, she was among the 30 Under 30 in 2017 and was named one of this year鈥檚 finalists for an 乐竞体育赛事直播 Real Estate Management Excellence (REME) award in the 乐竞体育赛事直播 Excellence category. Sylvester serves on the national Diversity Advisory Board (she was 2020 chair) as well as on the 乐竞体育赛事直播 Presidential Task Force. At the local level, she鈥檚 currently membership co-chair at her local Georgia chapter, and will become VP of Membership next year.

A common theme

In that list of connectivity, you鈥檒l find a strain that runs through all the most successful young CPMs, and certainly through all of those featured in this 鈥淏uilding the Future鈥� series, namely the recognition that advancement has to be taken, not given. Or as Sylvester says, it鈥檚 a matter of 鈥渋ntention. If your desire is to be great, you must have the intention of connecting yourself with those who can help you. That doesn鈥檛 mean a handout or only attaching yourself to someone who can hire you, but someone who can share their wisdom.鈥�

It means getting over any fear of rejection and simply asking, she says. 鈥淢ost mentors are more than willing to share their knowledge,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat fear can drive you to either forget everything and run, or forget everything and rise. Choose to rise.鈥�

One of the people who helped Sylvester rise was Dr. Debbie Phillips, CPM^庐, the force of nature who Sylvester describes as 鈥渙ne of the angels who walk this earth.鈥� It was that career coach and president of the Stockbridge, Georgia-based Quadrillion who turned her toward property management as a career, based largely on Sylvester鈥檚 college job managing student and university centers.聽

Of course, no amount of mentorship can prep anyone for what befell the industry with COVID-19 last year . . . especially a retail manager . . . and especially one with a newborn. (Sylvester鈥檚 first child was born in March of 2020.) Mother and son are doing very well, thank you.聽

鈥淲hen I returned to the workplace it was chaotic, to say the least.鈥� But she reports the retailers in her properties fared well, all in all. 鈥淲e certainly took a few hits,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd some local businesses didn鈥檛 survive.鈥� But the owners she represents were 鈥渁menable to assisting their tenants, local players, and the national chains alike.鈥� That assistance came in the forms of rent abatements in exchange for term extensions and 鈥渞ent deferrals over time,鈥� depending on the size and condition of the tenant. Always, the team was on hand to 鈥減rovide them with the resources they needed to self-help.鈥澛�

Outside of the shops that are internet-resistant, such as dry cleaners and hairdressers, there鈥檚 been a greater focus on omnichannel strategies, another pre-COVID development that accelerated last year. 鈥淕rocers and restaurants were already headed along the path of buy-online-and-pickup-in-store,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd a lot of vendors are allocating spaces for pickup. The combination of both makes the customer experience a little more personal.鈥�

That personal experience also relates to her own relationship with her retailers. 鈥淚 enjoy establishing that rapport with local vendors and business owners,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 like seeing them succeed, knowing I have a role in the community.鈥�

Miles to travel in DEI

As is evidenced by both her volunteer track record and her thoughts on mentorship, the property management community is also of great importance to her, particularly as a woman of color. 鈥淚鈥檝e been working in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) space for the past two years, and I see us at a crossroads. As property managers, if we鈥檙e going to state that we stand on principles of diversity,鈥� it has to be reflected in our hiring and vendor choices.聽

鈥淎n approach to diversifying our leadership teams would be to set up pipelines for diverse talent to enter the industry,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut we cannot stop at hiring. There must be continuous engagement, mentorship, and leadership development to ensure retention and cultivation.鈥澛�

And that approach extends to vendors. 鈥淲e have to engage the local community, and especially the minority businesses there,鈥� she says. 鈥淢ost cities have a directory for small business owners that identify as minority-owned. Why not reach out to see if these vendors want to submit a proposal? We can change the trajectory of these minority businesses by giving them the opportunity to earn their contracts and prove they鈥檙e active players.鈥�

As diverse as the property management industry is, and Sylvester notes that it far outpaces other disciplines in commercial real estate, she鈥檚 also very aware that 鈥渢here aren鈥檛 a lot of people in the C-suites who look like me.鈥澛�

In this respect, advancement has a double meaning. With a focus on DEI, advancement of diverse cultures also advances our industry.聽

We began this blog by summing up the goals of her career. Whether her focus is on DEI, on other volunteerism within 乐竞体育赛事直播, on mentorship, or on her community focus, this too can be summarized with her own words: 鈥淐hoose to rise.鈥�