CAI-NJ November 2025

EMPOWERING GROWTH: Lessons from a Woman of the Year By Erin O’Reilly, CMCA, AMS PCAM, FirstService Residential

“For me, education has always held an important value in my growth.”

T his past year, I was nominated and had the honor of winning the Denise M. Becker, Woman of the Year Award. Denise was a true leader within CAI, serv ing as Past President, numerous committees, and previous awards recipient. Like many of you, I found Denise to be an inspiration. To win an award named for her is as special as it gets. One of the things that resonated with me the most during my conversations with Denise was her commitment to continuing education and being a mentor to others. Being in the last quarter of the year, it’s important that we focus on creating both personal and professional goals for next year. Some questions to ask yourself are: • Where does my focus need to be in order to reach these goals? • Have I set myself up for success and are these goals realistic to achieve? • It’s important to push yourself but it’s equally as important to set parameters that can be reached and are measurable.

“Learn to be Comfortable with being Uncomfortable”

The above quote is often credited to Peter McWilliams and is some of the best advice that I have ever heard. The more comfortable we get, going through the difficult/chal lenging times, the easier it is for us to change our mindset. Whether it is through career advancement or personal growth, you are exposed to a variety of opportunities through education, networking, industry insight, and advocacy. One question should be, “How can I use my CAI mem bership more effectively? For me, education has always held an important value in my growth. CAI offers many opportunities both on a local and national level to increase your knowledge through educational accreditations, webinars, updates, articles, and roundtables. These educational opportunities review changes to the Federal, State, and Local laws, and discuss best prac tices and other areas of our industry which allow us to stay CONTINUES ON PAGE 26

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NOVEMBER 2025