Community Associations Institute (CAI) begins 2015 under the leadership of David I. Caplan, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, a long-time member of the Board of Trustees, former chair of the institute’s Association of Professional Community Managers (APCM) Board and recipient of several CAI national awards.

President and CEO of Community Association Management LLC, AAMC, in Maryland, Caplan will serve a one-year term as president of the 33,000-member international organization. He leads a slate of 22 newly elected or re-elected members of CAI’s 2015 Board of Trustees and three Membership Representation Groups (MRGs) that work on behalf of CAI's primary member constituencies--community management professionals, product and service providers, and homeowners.

Kelly G. Richardson, a partner with the law firm of Richardson Harman Ober PC in Pasadena, Calif., will serve as the 2015 president-elect.

"We have always been remarkably fortunate to have so many member volunteers committed to the success of CAI and the community association model," says CAI Chief Executive Officer Thomas M. Skiba, CAE. "CAI has enjoyed a long succession of national CAI leaders who have left important legacies. I’m sure Dave and Kelly will leave equally large footprints during the next two years. I look forward to working with them and members of the board and MRGs."

Caplan has been a CAI member since 1999. In 2005, he was appointed to the first APCM Board and served as its chair in 2010. CAI created three Membership Representation Groups—the APCM Board, Business Partners Council and Community Association Volunteers Committee—in 2005 as part of a new, more inclusive governance model. In 2008, Caplan was elected to the CAI Board of Trustees by his APCM Board colleagues. He has served on the board every year since, except for 2011.

Caplan has earned CAI national awards for chapter leadership and excellence in designations. In addition to his personal designations, including the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) credential, his company earned CAI’s Accredited Association Management Company (AAMC) credential in 2004. He has served for many years on CAI’s Designations Ethics Committee and Government and Public Affairs Committee. He lives in the Baltimore area with his wife, Mindy, of nearly 27 years, and their three sons, Jason, in law school, and Jared and Mitchell, both in college.

"CAI has been enormously successful and increasingly influential since its inception in 1973, but there’s still a lot of work to be done," Caplan says. "We have created widely respected best practices in community association governance and management; we have educated tens of thousands of community managers and homeowner leaders; and we have advocated for the almost 70 million people who live and work in common-interest communities.

"Education and advocacy remain critical priorities, but we also need to scope out the future," Caplan adds. "We know today’s emerging issues and trends are tomorrow’s challenges and opportunities. We need to imagine the future so we can help all community association stakeholders, including CAI, prepare for what’s next. That’s going to be a big part of our focus this year."

2015 Board of Trustees

The 2015 Board of Trustees includes seven new or re-elected members (*elected to a first term; **re-elected to an additional term):

• *Ursula K. Burgess, Esq., Rees Broome PC, Tysons Corner, Va.
• *John Connors, Canyon Creek Homeowners Association, Austin, Texas
• *James H. Dodson, IV, CMCA, AMS, LSM, PCAM, Ewa by Gentry Community Association, Ewa Beach, Hawaii
• **Vanessa Dreyer, PCAM, FirstService Residential, AAMC, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• **Bruce R. Gran, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Gran Community Association Consulting, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• **James P. Magid, CMCA, LSM, PCAM, FirstService Residential, AAMC, Eatontown, N.J.
• **Gregory G. Smith, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Associa Northern California, AAMC, Stockton, Calif.

In addition to Caplan and Richardson, the following members return to the 15-member board:

• Elbert Boothby, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Boothby Realty Inc., AAMC, Birmingham, Ala.
• Brendan P. Bunn, Esq., Chadwick, Washington, Moriarty, Elmore & Bunn PC, Fairfax, Va.
• Julie Hardy Cramer, Oakwood Homeowners Association, Westmont, Ill.
• John Hammersmith, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Hammersmith Management Inc., AAMC, Greenwood Village, Colo.
• Julie McGhee Howard, Esq. (immediate past president), Weissman, Nowack, Curry & Wilco PC, Atlanta, Ga.
• Joseph P. Waldron, AMS, PCAM, CIRMS, Robins Insurance Agency Inc., Nashville, Tenn.

2015 Membership Representation Groups (MRGs)

CAI’s three primary member constituencies are represented by the Association of Professional Community Managers (APCM) Board, Business Partners Council (BPC) and Community Association Volunteers Committee (CAVC). MRG representatives are elected by CAI members in that membership category.

APCM Board (*elected to a first term; **re-elected to an additional term):

• Elbert Boothby (chair), CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Boothby Realty Inc., AAMC, Birmingham, Ala.
• Vanessa Dreyer, PCAM, (chair-elect), FirstService Residential, AAMC, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• John Joseph “Joey” Carona, Jr., AMS, PCAM, Associa Inc., Dallas, Texas
• *Tracy M. Clay, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Lake Royale POA, Louisburg, N.C.
• Marge Imfeld, PCAM, I & I Property Management, AAMC, Fresno, Calif.
• Jeffrey N. Kutzer, CMCA, PCAM, The Management Trust—PMA Colorado Division, Aurora, Colo.
• *Patti Jo Lewis, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Zona Services Group Inc., Tucson, Ariz.
• James P. Magid, CMCA, LSM, PCAM, FirstService Residential, AAMC, Eatontown, N.J.
• *Gregory “Randy” Schmaltz, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Lake Kiowa Property Owners Association Inc., Lake Kiowa, Texas
• **Gregory G. Smith, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Associa Northern California, AAMC, Stockton, Calif.
• Jessica Towles, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Grand Dominion by Del Webb, Mundelein, Ill.
• Scott Williams, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, East West Resorts—Tahoe, Truckee, Calif.
• *Joseph C. Wise, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Wise Property Solutions, AAMC, Johnson City, Tenn.

BPC (*elected to a first term; **re-elected to an additional term):

• Joseph P. Waldron (chair), AMS, PCAM, CIRMS, Robins Insurance Agency Inc., Nashville, Tenn.
• Ursula K. Burgess, Esq., (chair-elect), Rees Broome PC, Tysons Corner, Va.
• **Cat Carmichael, CMCA, PCAM, Pacific Premier Bank, Irvine, Calif.
• Bruce R. Gran, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Gran Community Association Consulting, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Cyndi Koester, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Sunwest Bank, Irvine, Calif.
• *Stewart Masterson, CMCA, Kilowatt Partners Inc., Kemah, Texas
• **Joel W. Meskin, Esq., CIRMS, McGowan Program Administrators, Fairview Park, Ohio
• *Peter B. Miller, RS, Miller-Dodson Associates, Annapolis, Md.
• Howard J. Perl, Esq., AMS, PCAM, Becker & Poliakoff PA, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• Brandi Reynolds, Chaix Law, Phoenix, Ariz.
• *Tom Risalvato, Carr, Riggs & Ingram LLC, Mary Esther, Fla.
• Donna Seidenberg, CPA, Fuoco Group LLC, Boca Raton, Fla.

CAVC (*elected to a first term; **re-elected to an additional term)

• Julie Hardy Cramer (chair), Oakwood Homeowners Association, Westmont, Ill.
• John Connors (chair-elect), Canyon Creek Homeowners Association, Austin, Texas
• *Janet Newcomb, Springhurst Townhomes Homeowners Association, Huntington Beach, Calif.
• Robert Riddick, CMCA, Sunnymead Ranch Planned Community Association, Moreno Valley, Calif.
• *Crystal Ridings, Carriage Park Condominium, Fairfax, Va. 
• **Robert A. Rothwell, The Village Green Homeowners Association, Henderson, Nev.
• Judy Silva, Heritage Park Owners Association, Sacramento, Calif.

With more than 33,000 members dedicated to building better communities, CAI works in partnership with 60 chapters to provide information, education and resources to community associations and the professionals who support them. CAI’s mission is to inspire professionalism, effective leadership and responsible citizenship—ideals reflected in communities that are preferred places to call home. Visit www.caionline.org or call (888) 224-4321 for more information.