Up Close and Personal With Glori Houston
Glori Houston first got involved with property management when her husband at the time was getting out of the military. A cousin told her she could receive a rent discount in exchange for taking care of the property. Houston started as a janitor. She learned about curb appeal, maintained the pool properly and cleaned out vacant units.
One day, the manager was out of the office when someone came in to see a unit. So, Houston gave them a tour. She discovered she liked interacting with people and helping them find a home.
For the last 21 years, Houston has been with the Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington, now serving as senior vice president of property management.
“When I took the job with Catholic Charities, it was my first introduction to affordable housing. All the acronyms were like Greek. It was terrifying,” Houston said. “I knew how to do tax credit certifications, but not the whys. At Catholic Charities, I only did HUD; it was a whole new world.”
When Houston started, the nonprofit used third parties to manage its properties. In 2007, she convinced her bosses that the company could self-manage its own properties.
“I was totally naive,” she admits. “I was just getting my certificate and thought we could do this. At the time, I thought, why are we doing it this way?”
They now manage nine properties with 68 total units.
“I went from conventional housing to affordable housing. The focus is so different; I love the mission. Now, I go home, and it was a hard day, but I made a difference in someone’s life.”
Houston said, for example, at one of the properties, they have a weekly meal with the residents. She said, staff know people aren’t there just to be social, but to feed their children.
“Your most successful staff are the ones that understand the mission and use it as a lens in how to approach people,” Houston said. “I love being a cheerleader for the staff.”
She said she has always had a “mission-based life” because she grew up on Guam, where her parents were missionaries. She called the island home until she married an Airman and eventually settled in Spokane.
“I lived with islanders and the military. I didn’t know any different. It was a good life,” she said.
Houston has also been involved with the AHMA of Washington. In April, her two-year term as president ends; however, she has been involved with the association for 15 years.
“I wanted to take a look at the mission and bylaws to see what the AHMA was really about. There had been lots of people wanting to do a lot of things,” she said.
Houston and the board refocused the association around their strategic plan and goals.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve really invested in our annual conference. Here I was, a new president, and I was saying spend, spend, spend,” she said. “We really did refocus on who we are and what we are, and we’re going in a good direction.”
The single mom said that when she isn’t working, she enjoys window shopping with a cup of coffee, especially early in the morning when the fog is coming off Liberty Lake. She listens to audiobooks and talks with her adult children, daughter Lindsey and son Aaron. She also has a dog named Ripley, after the heroine in the Alien movie series.
Jennifer Jones is the senior director of communications and public relations for NAHMA.