Today on Guilty by Association, Kathleen sits down with Sarah Hudson (Director of Continuous Improvement at Inframark)—a self-described problem solver who has literally spent half her life in this industry. Sarah traces her path from temporary admin to PM lead to CI director, and shares how project management principles, tiny habits, and a renewed focus on wellness can transform the way we lead at work and live at home.

They dig into building an onboarding program from scratch, why “progress over perfection” beats all-or-nothing health kicks, how to start with low-hanging-fruit habits (water, steps, smarter takeout), and the surprising ways sobriety and running unlocked long-term consistency. If your calendar is chaos and your energy is up-and-down, this one’s a blueprint.

• Careers aren’t linear: saying “yes” to interesting problems can create a 20-year arc across ops, AR, software integrations, and leadership.
• Onboarding = a project: treat new-client onboarding like mini projects with clear lifecycle, owners, and checkpoints.
• Start small to stick big: audit one week of life, pick two low-effort wins (e.g., +water, −one takeout), and track for 3–4 weeks.
• Intentional steps > magic numbers: break movement into short walks you can actually do; consistency beats intensity.
• Protein helps adherence: prioritizing protein supports satiety and muscle maintenance while you improve other habits.
• Progress over perfection: miss a day? Reset tomorrow. The goal is autopilot foundations, not a 90-day sprint.
• Leadership lesson: empower people—and explicitly hand off ownership so they know it’s theirs to run.

Sarah Hudson is Director of Continuous Improvement at Inframark. A PMP-certified project leader, she partners across departments to streamline processes, elevate client value, and coach teams through change. Outside work, Sarah is an avid runner and wellness advocate.

Host: Maegen Woytek, Director of Community Engagement at Vantaca

Guest: Adoni Kokkinos, CEO of Newell Property Management, Naples, FL

Episode Overview:

In this episode of Guilty by Association, Maegen Woytek chats with Adoni Kokkinos, CEO of Newell Property Management, about one of the toughest challenges facing community management companies today: finding—and keeping—great people.

Adoni shares how his team recruits new talent directly from universities across the country, and how they use location, culture, and career pathing to sell not just the job, but the lifestyle of community management. From training programs inspired by Disney to long-format interviews on the beach, this episode is packed with creative, actionable recruiting strategies.

• Why community management has a recruiting problem—and how to fix it
• How Newell uses Naples itself as a recruiting tool
• What “career pathing” really looks like for new grads
• Tips for turning community management into a lifestyle choice
• How structured onboarding (like Newell Academy) impacts performance and retention
• What other firms can learn—no matter their location

Want to turn recruiting into a competitive advantage?

Learn how Vantaca’s Community Management Performance Software supports hiring, onboarding, and retention.

👉 Visit vantaca.com

In this episode of Guilty by Association, Maegan Woytek sits down with Catie Marks, President at May Management, to talk about the real-world side of running a high-performing HOA management team.

With over a decade of experience in community management, Catie shares her journey from portfolio manager to president—and the lessons she’s learned along the way about building trust, optimizing workflows, and keeping people at the heart of every decision.

🔍 What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Catie structures processes to improve team performance
• Why communication, consistency, and documentation are make-or-break
• The power of listening before leading—and why small improvements add up
• How Vantaca’s tasking and dashboards help eliminate chaos
• Why leadership in CAM is about empathy just as much as efficiency

Whether you’re a community manager, team lead, or CAM executive, this conversation offers practical insights you can apply today.

🔗 Want to learn how Vantaca supports operational excellence

Visit www.vantaca.com to explore workflows, automation, and performance tools that power scalable community management.

🎧 Subscribe to Guilty by Association and leave us a review if you enjoyed the show!