All you need to know from the ones who know it best.
Edge2Learn was born from a deep understanding of the needs of multifamily professionals, and our leadership team embraces the challenge to educate our next property management generation. Our affiliate, Ellis Partners in Management Solutions, has been offering services to optimize the customer experience since 1984 and realized an industry need for training and development centered around real property management issues. Those same seasoned management professionals lead Edge2Learn.
Our Edge2Learn Leadership Team represents over 240 years of Multifamily training experience.
“For
leadership to be effective, it must be built on a solid foundation consisting
of a clear mission, a vision for the future, a specific strategy, and a culture
conducive to success.”
We know the success of our organization begins with our leadership. We strive for superior service, and we incorporate that commitment at all touchpoints. Our leadership team is available, approachable, and involved day-to-day for our clients and each other. Our clients gain 24/7 access to a wealth of Multifamily industry knowledge and expertise, as well as the peace of mind that comes from being partnered with the best. We offer the highest quality service through the effective collaboration of a select group of skilled professionals.
If you are seeking an experienced eLearning company that specializes in all facets of property management, you can feel confident in trusting Edge2Learn to help you make the most of your investment. We offer professional, personalized property management services within all the major disciplines in the industry. Our leadership team comprises highly skilled individuals with decades of experience possessing expert qualifications, education, and the ability to offer the best service effectively. Our goal is to exceed the expectations of our clients, industry partners, and each other. We strive to bring a fresh and creative approach to learning in the Multifamily Industry.
Executive Team
Joanna Ellis, CAPS
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
With a decades-long understanding of the sales and retention process, Joanna created Edge2Learn as a natural progression of her commitment to help property management companies improve sales and customer service while avoiding liability. She is a strong proponent of the integrated customer experience, and thrives on working with companies to impact the performance of onsite teams through coordinated feedback and training solutions.
Joanna has spent more than 25 years in the multifamily industry and holds both the Certified Apartment Manager (CAM) and Certified Apartment Property Supervisor (CAPS) designations from the National Apartment Association. She is also a licensed Texas real estate agent. Joanna earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business degree from Texas A&M University.
In honor of EPMS’ reputation for integrity, the Dallas Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals awarded Ms. Ellis, on behalf of the company, the 2008 Greater Dallas Business Ethics Award for mid-size companies.The Society of Financial Service Professionals established the American Business Ethics Award to honor companies that demonstrate a firm commitment to ethical business practices in everyday operations, management philosophies, and responses to crises or challenges. More information is provided at http://www.gdbea.org.
Francis Chow, CPA
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
As the Chief Strategy Officer of Edge2Learn and Ellis Partners in Management Solutions, Francis’ expertise includes the development and evolution of Ellis’ customer experience programs geared toward the internal customer (employee) and the external customer (resident), bringing those experiences to life.
Francis’ previous background and expertise in the retail and consumer products industries, lends well to creating value for each employee and customer experience.
Francis is a Certified Public Accountant. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Business Arts degree in Accounting, Organizational Behavior and Business Policy and a minor in Economics.
Lan Lam
Chief Learning Innovation Officer
Lan has spent the last 20 years educating, engaging, motivating, and connecting with learners. Her career has been built around helping organizations to transform their learning and performance solutions into leading programs that leverage technology and keep pace with the shifting needs of modern learners.
Lan holds a Master’s Degree in Instructional Systems Design and Technology and is most passionate about creating innovative and effective learner experiences. Lan joins Edge2Learn with a vision that anticipates the future potential of learning and technology. Her approach is anchored by proven learning and cognitive processing methodologies and her expertise is drawn from decades of collaborative efforts with forward-thinking clients spanning various industries.
Management Team
Laurie Allen
Director of Strategic Performance
Laurie has well over 30 years of experience in the multifamily industry. She began her career with Lincoln Property Company, where she held operations, marketing, and training positions. Following a business development position at Trammel Crow and a Regional Manager position at Merryland and Investment, Laurie served as a Regional Education Director and a Regional Vice President of Operations at Equity Residential.
As a vendor, Laurie has held positions involving support in educational content and learning management and pricing and analytics that drive revenue, combining her experience in both analytical and practical applications. She is also certified in leadership measurement tools, including Myers Briggs Type Indicator, FIRO-B, and Emotional Intelligence, and is an IREM Certified Facilitator.
Laurie’s background and experience provide a perfect fit with our integrated approach leveraging data to create relevant solutions focused on performance improvement.
Valerie Bailey
Director of Client Success
Valerie began her career in the multifamily industry over 20 years ago as an onsite leasing agent for Cornerstone Realty Income Trust. After working her way up and successfully managing several properties onsite at Cornerstone, she accepted a role at AIMCO focused on sales training and leadership where she saw her portfolio grow from 27 properties spanning two states to 48 properties spanning five states.
Shortly after getting married, she stepped back into a role with Gumenick Properties in her hometown of Richmond, and enjoyed less travel while overseeing a small portfolio of four entities that included a mix of multifamily, single family, and commercial space. During her time in operations, Valerie earned her CAM and CAPS, was awarded a NAA Paragon Award for one of the properties she managed, and received multiple National and Platinum Awards for Excellence in Customer Service.
In 2012, Valerie shifted her focus to the vendor side of the multifamily business and has enjoyed helping clients utilize eLearning and evaluation tools in their training and development programs.
Valerie joined the Edge2Learn team in 2021 to continue her passion bringing an innovative new approach to our clients with a focus on performance improvement utilizing Mystery Shopping, Resident Surveys, eLearning, Employee Surveys, and Policies and Procedures.
Emily Garner
Director of Client Experience
Emily joined Edge2Learn in 2017; she is a 20 year veteran of the multifamily industry and true training professional. Emily has displayed her talents as a Regional Trainer, Marketing Coordinator, and Marketing & Training Director in addition to leading national training client accounts.
Rachelle Ellington
Performance Strategist
Rachelle began her career in the multifamily industry, starting onsite. After an excellent record in asset financials and team development, she was provided the opportunity to serve as a Regional Training Manager.
Her skills have been successful in evaluating the needs of learning content, course design, and facilitation on all platforms. Rachelle is also a Certified Development Dimensions International Facilitator (DDI).
Rachelle joined the Ellis team in 2019 as a Performance Strategist for the Resident Survey Program. Her vast experience and skills in dealing with internal and external customers, including how onsite performance can impact business results, allow her to aid our clients in developing action plans that lead to loyal customers and employees. In 2022, Rachelle also joined the Edge2Learn team to share her training knowledge with our client partners!
On a personal note, Rachelle grew up in New Mexico where she attended the University of New Mexico and Eastern New Mexico University. Rachelle lives in Austin with her husband and two dogs, her two Golden Retrievers Dallas and Annie. In her spare time, she enjoys painting, healthy cooking, doing home improvement projects with her husband, and having fun with her nieces and nephews.
Dawn Ramey
Director of Client Experience
Dawn has been in the Multifamily Industry for over 20 years and began her career as a weekend leasing consultant for Cornerstone Realty. After taking on a successful role as a Property Manager, she then joined AIMCO and Gumerick on her path to the eLearning industry. She is very skilled in all aspects of marketing and training in the property management arena and brings that knowledge to our company.
Dawn enjoys working with our Edge2Learn clients as she joined our team in 2020. She provides solutions and best practices to assist with growing training programs to drive learner engagement. If there is a new learning solution or functionality, she can bridge these strategies into current learning programs.
Carla Samford
Director of Learning Strategy Solutions
Carla found her passion for the property management industry after earning a degree in Residential Property Management from Virginia Tech. She immediately began her career with Trammell Crow Residential Services where she remained for 11 years as the company evolved, later joining Cornerstone Realty as their Director of Training and ultimately becoming Vice President of Training and Development for Colonial Properties. Carla then focused her expertise exclusively on multifamily eLearning and development for the next 11 years, directly prior to joining the Edge2Learn team in 2017.
Carla knows individual performance leads to organizational success. For this reason, she enjoys working with leaders in the industry and getting to know each company and their unique training needs. Carla provides custom solutions to meet specific company training goals and objectives.
Kathy Vance
Learning Strategy Consultant
With a proven history of providing learning and development solutions designed to support critical corporate initiatives and improve individual and team performance, Kathy is a key member of the Edge2Learn team. Her expertise encompasses teaching adult learning in the classroom, developing webinars and designing eLearning content.
Kathy is an NAAEI Certified Instructor and has facilitated CAM courses online and in the classroom since 1999. Previously Kathy worked for Equity Residential for almost 20 years in operations and learning and development. She is passionate about inspiring others to be their best self through coaching, personal and professional development support, and delivering exceptional learning events, all in a motivational and engaging environment.
Kathy graduated from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and is also a graduate of Accomplishment Coaching, an affiliate of the International Coach Federation. She is certified in facilitating Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation and Behaviour (FIRO-B), and California Psychological Inventory (CPI).
Madison Walczak
Learning Systems Support Specialist
Madison graduated from the University of Michigan in 2018 and began working as an editor for Ellis, Partners while also assisting with Edge2Learn Concierge clients in 2021. She developed a passion for the Multifamily Industry and pursued her interests by joining a management company. After a few months, she was excited to come back to Edge2Learn full-time to assist with customer support and account management. She fits right in with the E2L team, and she is passionate about helping others. Madison passes this along to everyone – “I am always here to help our clients”!