OUTSTANDING WOMEN OF RA; KERRI TOTH
AN INTERVIEW WITH KERRI TOTH
What does women’s history month mean to you?
It is a time to celebrate the accomplishments of women in history. I view it as an opportunity to acknowledge and commemorate women’s many contributions and added successes to our great nation. It is also important to recognize their sacrifices and courageous initiatives that brought equality to women in the workplace, home, and society in general.
How did you get started in property management?
My mother was in the property management industry for many years. When I was 20 years old and attending college in Tallahassee, my mother had a colleague reach out to her looking for a leasing consultant at an apartment community. She referred me and the rest in history.
What positions have you held with RAM?
Regional Manager (1997), VP of Conventional Division (1999-2008), and President (2008- current)
What challenges did you have to overcome to fulfill your role?
Being female and very young when I started in a leadership position, people tended to underestimate my abilities and undermine my authority. For many years, I always felt I had to prove myself to everyone before I was taken seriously. Leadership positions in our industry and our company were predominantly held by older men so I had to overcome my challenges by keeping myself educated, maintaining my self-confidence, staying visible by serving on the boards of various of industry related organizations, and by being assertive when appropriate to make sure I was being heard. It took time but I gradually felt a shift in how I was being viewed as a leader.
How do you empower yourself and the women around you?
I like to share my story as I worked my way up from leasing consultant to president over many years of hard work and dedication. I did this while working full-time, being a young mother of two children, and finishing my bachelor’s degree in my 30’s. I want to encourage women of all socioeconomic backgrounds to strive for leadership positions if they desire to do so. I lived in affordable housing when I was younger and understand the struggle of living paycheck-to-paycheck. No matter your challenges, they can be overcome and you can earn your place in a leadership position in our company/ industry, you just have to stay positive and keep working at it. Always know that there are people who want to help you succeed, remember it is ok to ask for help along the way.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Do not take things personally. I could have avoided a lot of stress and anxiety by doing this earlier in my career.
What advice do you have for the women of our organization?
If you want to grow in our organization, which I hope you do, then raise your hand and let your supervisor know ASAP. Start working on your career pathing goals and developing your leadership skills. There are many ways to do this – our company has great resources for extra training, volunteering on committees, job shadowing, and mentoring. Take advantage of those resources and bring more visibility to yourself and your eagerness to grow and learn. Our company has been consistently growing over the years and we prefer to promote from within, always looking for those who are ready to move up in their career with RAM. Do everything you can to continuously improve and educate yourself. Remain strong, work hard, and stay persistent, you will succeed.
This is awesome Mrs. Kerri!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing.
She was someone I looked up to as well! She is one person I really miss from my RAM years. She was a mentor, a teacher, and I dare say a friend. I had/have the utmost respect for Kerri’s advice, guidance and ability . I knew that she had my best interest in mind and wanted me to succeed. Thank you Kerri for your example and very glad to see you celebrated!!
Woman of strength, integrity, someone you look up to, leads an organization that is one of a kind!
Thank you, Kerri, for being such an inspiration to so many.
I am so blessed to be back with RAM!
Thank you for your leadership Kerri. I really appreciate you and all you have done and continue to do for us!
This interview is such an inspiration to me. Thank you Kerri for sharing what you had to overcome to be where you are today. You are amazing. You are truly appreciated 🙂
In my second year at RAM, I became the Office Manager and Executive Assistant to Kerri- She interview me for the position and at the time I remember being so nervous because the President of the company was coming to interview me. Now looking back, I thank you Kerri for the amazing ability to bring out the best in me. You have been a great boss and I thank you for your kindness and guidance along the way. You have taught me a lot in these past 12 years, thank you for teaching me that there is always scope for improvement.