Managing with 'dedication, clarity and attention to detail'. (Profile of the Week).

As president of Roseland Management Company, Sharon Burkey is responsible for maintaining Roseland's stellar relationships with its residents, building vibrant residential communities, and strengthening the company's financially robust portfolio of more than 8,000 homes throughout the Northeast, with the Gold Coast of New Jersey's premiere community of Port Imperial at its heart. Besides representing one of the nation's largest portfolios, she is recognized as one of the region's leading property management professionals. Burkey currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors of The New Jersey Apartment Association (NJAA), and is the organization's president-elect.

"There is more to property management than just knowing what apartment homes are available for leasing or when the new Canine Country Club will be completed," explains Burkey. "Property management is about customer service, getting to know who lives in the apartment homes and what you can do to help keep them happy -- it's the details that turn a property into a community."

Burkey's tenure at Roseland can be characterized by a focus on innovation and customer service. She leads monthly training sessions for on-site personnel on critical topics like "Effective Leasing in a Competitive Market" "Balanced Efforts: Focus on leasing while taking care of your current residents." and "Fair Housing Practices: What you don't know can hurt you." Training sessions focus on the human interaction and professionalism that is the trademark of each Roseland community. At the core of each of these sessions is the basic Roseland Management Company philosophy for success: strong relationships established between the inhouse personnel and the apartment home resident are of paramount importance.

For instance, in "Effective Leasing," Burkey illustrates that it is more important to emphasize the overall lifestyle at the community, rather than simply list the available amenities at a Roseland property. "Potential residents can see for themselves that Roseland communities offer the best luxury apartment homes with fabulous amenities at a great price. Our leasing representatives express the human factor -- once a maintenance requested is fulfilled -- we call to ensure that a residents is satisfied, we offer dog and cat treats in the leasing offices so our residents with pets are encouraged to stop that's just one way we can get to know who they are and help make their living experience more enjoyable," explains Burkey.

Dedication, clarity and attention to detail are the hallmarks of Burkey's management style. The excitement exuded by Roseland representatives is rooted in the career development programs that encourage employees to have pride in the communities they represent as well as a sense of belonging to the larger Roseland community. Burkey implemented development initiatives like Roseland's Career Apparel Program, where employees receive significant clothing discounts that feature appropriate business-casual attire. All of the career enhancement programs offered express an appreciation for each employee's commitment to creating unique luxury communities.

In addition to keeping a constant and accurate tally of Roseland's occupancy levels in her mind, Burkey also knows the status of every capital improvement program, the specialty of each vendor, and the name of every employee at each property. Marketing programs she directs have captured the attention of thousands of residents.

Recently, the industry has become enamored of the so-called "Yield Management" tools, but Burkey and Roseland were ahead of the curve with their own yield management tool years ago. Dubbing it the "cruise ship," Burkey a proprietary pricing structure for the launch of new communities and for stabilized properties that categorizes apartment homes based on square feet and premiums offered, spelling out the rationale and relative pricing for every home. Through this straightforward color-coded system, Roseland is able to maximize the finances of each asset, while providing a valuable tool for leasing professionals to use as a guide to offer prices and availability.

"The cruise ship is an invaluable to tool for leasing representatives and management. We know hour-by-hour and day-by-day, which apartment homes are leasing first, allowing us to gauge the success of the premiums offered," says Burkey.

One stand-out of Roseland Management Company's portfolio is its Port Imperial, the a 15 million-SF mixed-use, master-planned development with five apartment buildings in two distinct communities. Parks, restaurants, offices, retail and hotel facilities will round out the community, which offers, magnificent views of Manhattan, rich finishes and an unparalleled complement of amenities for its residents and visitors. Each apartment home at Port Imperial is completely wired with Roselink technology package which features high-speed shared T -1 Internet access with DirecTV satellite television, built-in Surround Sound speakers in living rooms, four-line telephone wiring, person[sim]1 safety alarms and a host a computerized valet and maintenance services -all starting at less than $100 a month. Roseland is the first management company to offer this high-quality, comprehensive bundle of services to residents in rental communities in the New York City area.

Burkey's confidence in her management style and expertise comes from the breadth of her experience in the multifamily housing industry. She started as a leasing agent for The Trammell Crow Company in 1986. Since then, Burkey has been an assistant property manager, a manager, a marketing manager, a regional manager, a district training director, a vice president of operations, and now the management company president. In these positions, she has been responsible for annual budgets, monthly executive packages, and rent growth potential, as well as advertising and the staffing, training and preparation for new acquisitions. This year, under her guidance, Roseland Management Company won the coveted New Jersey Apartment Association's Management Company of the Year Award. "I've really seen it all," says Burkey, remembering that she has managed and leased communities across a wide range of demographics and a variety of economic markets. Burkey's journey within the industry began with The Trammell Crow Company. Later on, Burkey joined Lincoln Property Company. When Lincoln spun off its Northeast Division, Burkey went with the division as it transformed into Roseland Property Company.

Other Roseland properties in New Jersey include luxury apartment rental communities at The Highlands at Cherry Hill, The Highlands at Westwood as well as The Portofino, ultra-luxury apartments in a 25-story tower overlooking Lower Manhattan from Jersey City. Three new communities are currently under construction in New Jersey: Marbella, a 40-story apartment community which will be Jersey City's tallest residential high-rise; The Highlands at Morristown Station, will feature luxury apartment homes with retail space adjacent to the historic Morristown train station and the Harrison Waterfront Redevelopment, a joint venture with Millennium Homes to redevelop 31 acres on the Passaic River. In Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. is Lighthouse Landing, Westchester County's premier mixed-use riverfront community, offering majestic views of Manhattan, the Tappan Zee Bridge and Haverstraw Bay.

Roseland Management Company has four communities currently under construction in the Boston area including Pier One with over 510 luxury apartment homes on Boston Harbor waterfront along with a boat slips, restaurant, retail and commercial office space. Along the East Boston Waterfront is the MassPort Redevelopment project, which will include multi-family residential units and condominiums. Just five miles north of Downtown Boston will be Overlook Ridge, a mixed-use development with multifamily homes and retail space. Just a breeze away from Boston in Quincy, Mass is the Highlands at Faxon Woods, an active senior community with 196 luxury apartment homes.

Burkey received a bachelors degree from Middle Tennessee State University. She serves on the Board of Directors For the New Jersey Apartment Association and is chair of the Legislative Committee. She resides in Alpine, N.J.