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Photographed by MARK HIEBERT, Hiebert Photography
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hen Kathy Clem stepped off the plane at Houston’s Intercontinental Airport fresh out of the University of Georgia in 1980, little did she know she was stepping into a long and successful multifamily career. Encouraged by her Aunt Virginia, who had been in the apartment industry working with then Houston Apartment Association Treasurer Foy Midkiff at Lincoln Property Co., Kathy took her first step as a leasing consultant for Lincoln at the Deer Creek Apartments, a 624-unit community near the Astrodome. From there, Kathy moved up the ladder through onsite and executive positions with the Dinerstein Companies, Duddlesten Management, Winthrop Management, AIMCO and ConAm Management before retiring in January 2015 from UDR and moving into career of professional and personal development coaching for individuals and teams and consulting for the multifamily industry. Kathy is also the author of “Speak it in Spanish, Workplace Spanish Made Easy for the Multifamily Industry.” Let’s catch up with Kathy as she joins the HAA Hall of Fame. How does it feel being selected as this year’s Hall of Fame recipient? Wow! It feels a little surreal. It is such a great honor to be recognized by the industry and by my peers who I feel like I have grown up with in this business. When I look at the list of 33 Hall of Fame and Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, many, if not all of these individuals helped shape my career in the multifamily industry. I worked for the Dinersteins (Bill and Jack Dinerstein and Gary Blumburg) and for Wayne Duddlesten. The other recipients have been people that have impacted me both personally and professionally throughout the years. This recognition fills my heart with pride and with a responsibility to continue to work with others within the industry to reach and exceed their goals
Can you tell us more about your career trajectory since your HAA presidency in 2003, when you were with ConAm Management? In 2004, after my presidency, I joined UDR Inc., a Denver-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) as a Vice President and Area Director. During my 11 years with UDR, I oversaw portfolios throughout Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, Arizona and California. Working for a public company can be very demanding and the focus is more on quarterly than year end results. I had worked with Tom Toomey, Martha Carlin and several others at UDR who I had also worked with at AIMCO from 1996 to 2000. UDR was and is very technology forward and was also focused on new and better business and customer service initiatives. Even though my portfolios changed over the years, I focused on developing high performing teams, allowing them to be some of the best in the business. While at UDR, I obtained my Master of Arts in Organizational Management and Development and completed a one-year Evidence-Based Coaching certification from Fielding Graduate University. I will always be grateful to UDR for this development opportunity that I have used both professionally and personally. UDR started selling out of some of the Texas markets throughout the years and at the beginning of 2014, we discussed that a large part of my Texas portfolio would be selling by the end of the year. With 35 years of multifamily experience behind me and since my son Jordan had recently graduated with his MBA, this was the right time to re-“tire.” Like changing the tires on a car, it does not change how the car looks, but it can change performance and how you feel about the ride.
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ABODE
November 2025
Kathy and son Jordan’s cover for her presidential profile for the January 2003 ABODE.
Kathy with Alison Hall on the March 1995 cover promoting that year’’s Membership Campaign
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