Employee background:

Kansas City has been home for nearly my entire life. I attended college at the University of Missouri – Kansas City and majored in Business Administration with a Real Estate focus. During college, I was also part of the Real Estate Club and worked full time in the insurance sector. Just before graduating, I secured my position with Valbridge and have been here ever since. Currently, I am preparing to take the state licensure exam and then move on to MAI designation immediately after.

What is your title and what do you do at Valbridge?

I am an appraiser with the Kansas City office and have been a part of the team for six years. I mainly work on hospitality properties, but I have also appraised many other property types including office, industrial, retail, and many different special-use projects.

How did you become a part of Valbridge and VWC?

While in college I was perusing the job postings on the university’s website and saw a listing for a researcher position with Valbridge. After reading the job description I knew this would be a perfect fit. I contacted Laird Goldsborough and after a series of phone calls and interviews, he gave me the opportunity to become part of his team. When the VWC began I joined because I strongly believe in empowering women both personally and professionally, especially in a historically male-dominated sector such as CRE. This year I am a co-chair of the membership committee where our main role is to facilitate and manage the membership of VWC.

What are your specialty areas?

I specialize in appraising hospitality properties, such as hotels, motels, bed and breakfast properties, etc. Although they are notoriously intricate and complex assignments, I thrive off the challenge and the learning process, so it is a great fit. It has been especially interesting to navigate appraising hospitality properties in a pandemic. I’ve recently completed the CHIA designation course and will be testing for the designation soon. This course is aimed at helping individuals better understand the STR reports used in hotel appraising. I am also on the Hospitality and Gaming Specialty Practice Group within Valbridge where we collaborate and support each other.

What are some of the most interesting projects you've worked on at Valbridge?

Several years ago, I worked on an assignment where I appraised Kemper Arena, an indoor arena in Kansas City that seated 20,000 people but was slated for redevelopment into a multi-level youth sports facility with a track, courts, retail, and office space. The other assignment that stands out to me is when I appraised an observation wheel (think a smaller version of the London Eye) in Panama City Beach, Florida which also included a mini-golf course, ropes course, etc. Working on these projects expanded my ability to think outside the box and learn ways to find creative solutions to unique assignments.

What do you like most about working at Valbridge and being a member of the VWC?

I appreciate that Valbridge is dedicated to being a forward-thinking appraisal company that invests in innovative technology, methodology, and most importantly, its people. What I like most about being a member of the VWC is the mentorship and growing community of appraisers willing to support one another. I am happy to be part of both organizations and am eager to see what the future holds.