Deborah Maietta oversees Sares-Regis Group’s portfolio of over 16,000 apartment units—nearly 1,500 under development in California, Washington, Portland and Colorado—and is involved in the due diligence and underwriting of acquisitions and development in SoCal. Among her recent accomplishments: reorganizing and defining the company’s training department; Deb values training as the foundation for success and strongly believes a company should invest in its employees' career growth. She got into property management as a residential tenant in Chicago—the landlord had raised rents significantly, and she asked if the leasing office needed help to offset the costs of the hike. It had been losing so many tenants and needed to extend office hours, so she was hired. She took on 321 units, and from there, grew her career by following opportunities in Minnesota, Denver, Seattle, the Bay Area and Dallas. They ran the gamut—senior to student housing, mobile home parks, and even transitioning 4,000 units at Tacoma’s Fort Lewis into private military housing. Her career certainly didn’t follow a straight line, and she says it’s important to remain open to opportunities and to be flexible. Outside of work, Deborah is an avid writer and reader. “It’s nice to have an hour of quiet with a book after a long day,” she says.