Evergreen Commercial Realty associate Blaire Moreland recently made property management history—this year, at age 22, she was the youngest person ever to receive IREM’s Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation. It’s only one part of the real estate journey for Blaire, now 23, who as an undergrad aspired to be in economic development. She began her career at the City of San Angelo Economic Development Corp in Texas, working on the city’s historical buildings. After making a decision to move back to Houston, she met with a recruiter, who found the skills she gleaned at the EDC a perfect fit for property management. She was hired by Griffin Partners, where she learned about the management business at the River Oaks Bank Building. At the time, colleague Janie Snider was president of IREM’s Houston chapter and encouraged Blaire to get involved in local real estate organizations, including IREM, BOMA and CREW, as well as to consider a CPM designation.

“When I went to the classes, it was instant connection,” she says. “I loved that people wanted to help others out and better the industry as a whole.” (Above, she's pictured with Stream Realty's Jessica Jordan when they took their CPM oaths.) What heartens her is the influx of the younger generation into real estate. “The availability of mentors and technology has made property management more appealing to Millennials, who now see the profession as one with a clear progression and where you can climb your way up the ladder.” Currently, she’s attending the University of Houston for her MBA with the goal of becoming a developer. “Property management is only one of the pieces,” she says, and at Evergreen Commercial Realty, she’s developing leasing and investment knowledge to bring the whole picture together in the end.