The more things change, the more they stay the same and build for the future. We’ve mentioned pending staff transitions over the past year. Bob Bono, 20+ year property manager, has reduced his time to 3 days per week and will fully retire in the next 6-8 months. He is focused on preparing Tiffany, Samantha and Gus to carry on the “Alliance way.” Barb Jeanetta, Director, will retire by June 30, 2022. The board has a recruitment and hiring process underway.
When Alliance Housing looks for new staff, we look for people that “get” our tenants – either through personal experience, work experience or personal attributes. The mechanics and law of property management can be taught and learned. Tiffany Simmons joined Alliance in October 2020. She had previously worked at Better Futures MN with men coming out of prison. She took on many roles there, including assisting with lease-up of Great River Landing, a new residence built by Beacon Interfaith Collaborative for Housing for men coming out of prison – including the Better Futures participants. Alliance hired Tiffany to manage its housing funder compliance reporting and to lease up and manage Stevens Square Residence. “Tiffany transitioned easily into both roles,” says Barb. “She sets clear and positive expectations of tenants and has no problem holding them accountable.”
Gus Weah Jr. joined Alliance in July 2021 after several months of unsuccessful recruitment of experienced maintenance workers. Gus came with private sector maintenance work but the mission focus of Alliance appealed to him. Bob says, “Gus jumped right in to a list of deferred work orders. When perplexed by tenant behavior, he looks for advice.” Gus is comfortable with a work routine that sometimes gets interrupted by more priority tasks and has strong computer skills which will be an asset with Alliance property management and maintenance software.
After Tamuno Imbu left for a promotional opportunity at PPL, Samantha Giarrusso was hired in September 2021. Samantha arrived with 5+ years of property management experience in the private sector where she managed at least one affordable housing property. “Tiffany and Samantha have good chemistry and work well together,” says Barb. Tiffany noted, “between Samantha and I, we ask Bob a million questions a week. We want to learn all we can from him before he retires.”
