Vidya started in property management in California, and like many, her jobs in management included everything from compliance to painting and picking up the grounds of properties.
“I definitely had hands-on experience, starting out as a leasing agent and working my way up. Because with that real-life hands-on experience is where you’re going to grow, and I really grew to believe in working your way up.”
Vidya worked at a company in California and spent two to three hours stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic every day, and eventually, she got to a point where she just couldn’t do it anymore. The traffic and commuting back and forth to properties drove Vidya to look for something that didn’t require so much travel time.
She lives in the “Wine Country” part of California, and now she gets to enjoy her days at her home office instead of staring at other cars on the highway, and spends her lunch break walking her very high-energy dogs, Mocha Bean and Lola Jean.
“I’m saving so much on gas, and even more importantly, I got my time back, like, Oh my goodness, those two things are huge.”
But more than the lack of expense and personal toll, Vidya has discovered more time for her favorite hobbies, which range from tennis, relaxing at local coffee shops or wineries, and simply spending time with her dogs and husband.
Becoming a Compliance Expert
Vidya says that her property management experience proved to be an invaluable tool for transitioning to a career in affordable housing compliance. Like many in property management, compliance focused on the needs of the portfolio and not a labyrinth of state and local funding programs, which is what US Housing specializes in understanding.
“It was hard adjusting to working with US Housing, it definitely opened up my mind, learning all sorts of funding programs and meeting all different kinds of people from different backgrounds and states. I always explain that it can be a fast-paced environment. No two days are alike.”
Vidya received training and mentoring from leadership and learned what she needed to know to succeed and grow. But more than the mentoring and training, Vidya grew her knowledge and experience with the help of her team.
“I may not know everything, but I know there’s someone else on the team who maybe has dabbled in something and you can reach out to them and everyone’s super collaborative. And once you get to know your team. It really does feel like a family.”
Hard Work is Nothing New
Vidya’s work experience started from the ripe young age of 15, when she started working at Build-A-Bear, putting hearts into bears and making them come to life. Her career went from bringing bears to life, and eventually she moved into property management. Vidya grew in her career all while attending college part-time and getting married. Vidya found an employer that allowed her to grow, and eventually she worked her way up to a leadership position.
“I’m not a typical millennial who jumps around. I very much stayed and grew up at the company I was with before US Housing, I was with for over 13 years.”
If Vidya could go back in time and offer that young person working at Build-a-Bear and her first property some advice, it would be,
“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And it’s OK to make those mistakes, because once you’ve made them, they hopefully should stick with you.”
A Career and a Mission to Help
Work ethic and drive to grow was always part of Vidya, as well as a deep sense of empathy for others. With her work with affordable housing, she says that she is reminded of the overall mission of helping families in financial need.
“You don’t want to see anyone out on the streets and you want to see people using the program and furthering themselves. But it’s an opportunity to help them. Maybe not forever in their life, but we all go through things, and these programs help people get back on their feet and I love that about it.”
She brings that sense of empathy to her leadership role with US Housing Consultants, too. She leads a team of compliance analysts who review and approve resident files, which, as she says, is often difficult and no two days are the same. But when it comes to providing leadership, her instincts reach back to her hands-on days in property management and to lead by example.
“I always think, if you’re gonna ask your team to do something, are you willing to do it too? Having the ability to be challenged makes it fun. Like I like this stuff. I know it’s weird, but I like the challenge. I wouldn’t make my team do it if I wasn’t willing to get in there and do it myself.”
No matter how much Vidya grows, her humble beginnings are part of what she brings to work everyday, and that shines through in her leadership style.
When you kind of start at the bottom, you also gain understanding of how it is to be in every role too. Because when you know the why behind it, you can also teach others.
Vidya’s best advice for someone looking to work their way up? “Don’t forget to take time and give themselves grace and learn from your mistakes.” Vidya’s career path reflects how working your way up takes not only patience, but a whole lot of grace.
