Samantha Snooks is a high-rise Condominium Association Manager in downtown Chicago. She possesses both the CMCA (Certified Manager of Community Associations) and AMS (Association Managing Specialist) designations through CAI and has a background in Real Estate. Her goals as a high-rise Property Manager are providing strong leadership for Associations, enhancing buildings to its highest potential, and creating solutions to difficult problems.

Years in Property Manager: 23 years.

In my time as a Community Manager I have managed Condominium, Townhome and Single Family Associations as a portfolio and as a hybrid manager of onsite and portfolio properties. I enjoy my job because no two days are the same and I never stop learning. 

Charles Freitag Jr. is a highly experienced Real EstateBroker and Community Association Manager with nearly two decades of expertisein managing condominium associations, homeowners associations, and other real estate ventures. He hasbeen an integral part of his third-generation family owned and operatedbusiness, Real Estate Investor Service, and is known for hisintegrity, problem-solving skills, and dedication to fostering successfulcommunities. Charles's deep market knowledge andexcellent interpersonal abilities have earned him a stellar reputation in theindustry.

Toni started out 20 years ago in customer service and took care of 6 managers and customer service for a year.  The owner of the company, Janet Lang,  offered her a position in property management because she stated that she had the personality and organization skills to be a great manager. 

Toni worked for Lang Property Management for 12 years and then with Advocate Property Management to the present day.   Toni enjoys working with boards and helping them to figure out what is best for the associations. She enjoys helping the homeowners as best as she can and if not, will work between the board and the owners to resolve any issues that may come along. 

Toni is very grateful for all the people that she has met in the 20 years of doing this line of work and hopefully will continue until I she retires. 

Jennifer has been with CISA since 1994, and manages the Customer Service Department, quotes new clients, underwrites accounts, and handles renewal accounts. Prior to that, Jennifer managed condominiums in the Chicago land area.   Jennifer served as the CAI Illinois Board President and CAI Wisconsin Board President for two years each and has served on countless committees with both chapters.  She also currently serves on the Illinois Legislative Action Committee. In 2012, Jennifer obtained her CIRMS designation through CAI, Community Association and Risk Management Specialist through CAI National; one of about 100 throughout the United States and less than 5 in Illinois. 

CISA Insurance Meet Our Staff

Many association directors are interested in the background of the owners of the management company.My background consists of a Bachelor degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois - Urbana.I am a licensed Structural Engineer in the State of Illinois and Professional Engineer in Wisconsin.For the five years prior to starting Kalman Management, I was president of the board of directors of the condominium association where we resided.At that time, I decided there must be a better way to organize the Association activities and to coordinate the functions of the Association.That is why we started Kalman Management.

As a structural engineer I worked on projects including TRW World Headquarters, facilities for IBM, McDonald's Corporate Headquarters along with other large and small projects.Working on these projects, one learns the advantage of being a team player which is necessary as part of your property management team.

Project management techniques learned in the years of engineering are used in the maintenance and supervision of contractors working on Association properties.Having the right person on the job is an advantage to all parties concerned.

With a background in Architecture and a good knowledge of accounting principles I strive to direct the Associations in a path that will lead to a good fiscal position that will increase property values and maintain a high level of standards.

I am an active member of the Community Association Institute, a national organization with a regional Illinois chapter that was established for the benefit of community associations.I currently hold a CMCA® “Certified Manager of Community Associations” title from the National Board of Certification for Community Association Mangers as well as the AMS “Association Management Specialist” designation.I just recently received the PCAM® “Professional Community Association Manger” designation which is the highest level designation provided by CAI. There are only 2100 PCAMs in the country.

I have served as a Trustee of the Cook Memorial Library District in Libertyville and was appointed to fill a vacant position.The Board assumed my background in architecture, engineering, and building maintenance would assist them in their pursuit of the expansion of the Cook Memorial Library District facilities.I was endorsed by the Daily Herald and the Pioneer Press (Libertyville Review and Vernon Hills Review) for reelection as Trustee.

Thomas C. Engblom is a vice president and regional account executive in First Citizens's Community Association Banking business, where he is responsible for supporting community associations in the northern Midwest region.

Engblom’s territory covers Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio. In Minnesota and Michigan, he served as a member of the Community Association Institute chapter’s board of directors, and in Illinois he served as both chapter president and director.

Engblom's career as an as an association banker began in 2004 when he became part of the CAI Business Partners Council.

In 2018, Engblom was awarded his doctorate in business administration from Northcentral University. His dissertation was dedicated to a qualitative analysis of job satisfaction and education for community association managers. In addition, he has been named as a Certified Property Manager (CPM) by the Institute of Real Estate Management, and as a Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) by the Community Associations Institute.

KSN attorney Paul Ochmanek practices community association law (condominium, homeowner, townhome) and handles commercial/residential transactions. Paul provides his association clients with a variety of corporate legal services including amendments to declarations and by-laws, drafting rules, and rule enforcement. He provides guidance on the special assessment process, board elections, assessment collection, foreclosures, bankruptcy issues, and developer turnover. Paul counsels the board of directors for an association on general matters, corporate actions, contracts, and dispute resolution. Paul assists condominium associations in working with developers in the complex process of condominium deconversion (converting a condominium building into an apartment building.

Prior to community management, Nikki was a regional manager for rental communities throughout the Chicagoland area for over 10 years and worked in the insurance industry for over 5 years. She serviced the self-managed Graue Mill Homeowners Association and their 5sub-associations for 10 years as an assistant manager. Projects within this community included 2 natural flood disasters and a claim process with FEMA as well as a multi-million dollar flood mitigation project in 2018. Nikki has been with RealManage in September of 2019,  briefly stepping away to continue her formal education.  As a Portfolio Manager, she oversees homeowner associations, condominium associations, mid-rise condominium associations, townhomes, and a build-out community.  She is now a Senior Community Association Manager at RealManage. She holds the CMCA (Certified Manager of Community Associations) and AMS (Association Management Specialist) designations and graduated with honors in 2022. She also belongs to the National Society for Leadership and Success. With a passion for this industry, you can find articles written by Nikki in the CAI-Illinois Common Elements magazine about the importance of financial planning as well as hear her on the Wayne’s World podcast speaking about the benefits of community members and managers working cohesively. She is also the Chair of the Homeowner Leader Education Committee with CAI and a volunteer committee member of CAMICB (Community Association Managers International Certification Board).

Kerry Bartell is a principal with the law firm of Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit and has been practicing with the firm for over 16 years. She concentrates her practice in the area of Common Interest Community Association
(condominium, townhome, homeowner, Master) law.

Kerry's expertise includes providing guidance on general matters relating to associations, as well as counseling the board of directors for an association on corporate actions, contracts, dispute resolution and other issues relating to the association as a corporation.

Kerry conducts seminars and webinars on community association law for homeowners, property managers and community associations in the Chicago land area. She is a frequent speaker at industry tradeshows and has written numerous articles featured in publications such as the Chicago Tribune, Common Interest, and Chicagoland Cooperator.

Kerry is also actively involved with Community Association Institute (CAI), where she served on the Board for six years and as Illinois Chapter President for two years. She currently serves on the Chapter Awards and Nominating Committees.

Kerry received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

KSN attorney Nicholas Mitchell serves as Chairperson of KSN’s Litigation Department. Nick focuses his practice on general litigation and construction defect litigation as it applies to condominium, homeowner (HOA), and townhome community associations. Nick has extensive experience at representing clients with various backgrounds through all phases of litigation. 

David Burke is the Executive Account Manager at Custom Installations based out of Lake Forest, IL. David manages creative consultation pertaining to large loss prevention. Operating with an advanced construction management team, performing work on the outer envelope of residential and commercial structures. 

Prior to his time with Custom, David spent extensive time contributing in Sales, Marketing and IT services with a specialty in improving systems. Automating modern processes while implementing construction efficiencies, allow large scale savings capitalization. He has also worked with the founder of Groupon in collaboration of two startup companies, Innerworkings and Echo Global Logistics where he introduced many Enterprise revenue generating activities, successfully securing lucrative accounts. 

David is an active member in his community, assisting many to secure a solid connection to religious studies. David gives his large family up-bringing much of the credit for his success in life. As he puts it, “having to negotiate others for breakfast every morning increases your willingness to work hard.” 

Brian Butler is Senior Vice President in Chicago, Illinois for FirstService Residential, North America’s largest professional community association management firm. A CAI member since 2012, Brian oversees a dynamic team of vice presidents, operational leaders, regional directors and community managers, serving hundreds of high-rise communities in downtown Chicago.

Brian currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Chapter of CAI, where he is a past recipient of the CAI Olympus Award and Rising Star Award. He is a licensed attorney and also serves as the co-chair of the CAI Illinois Legislative Action Committee (ILAC). Brian holds a Community Association Manager license, earned his CMCA and AMS designations, and has attained the industry’s highest professional accreditation, the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) designation.

Brian also serves as the Vice President of the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR) which is dedicated to preserving, promoting and enhancing the quality of life and community in this highly-visible downtown Chicago neighborhood sitting between the Mag Mile/Michigan Avenue, the Chicago River, and Lake Michigan. 

Howard S. Dakoff is a partner heading the Community Associations Practice Group of Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC.  He concentrates his practice in condominium, real estate, and general corporate law.

 Howard is the co-author of the current chapter on "Condominium Management" for the Condominium Law textbook published by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education.  Howard also regularly publishes articles on a variety of community association topics and lectures extensively at state and national seminars and is an elected member to the College of Community Association Lawyers of the Community Associations Institute.  

You may recognize Howard’s name as the Condo Adviser columnist for the Chicago Tribune, Sunday Edition.

Todd Walter, a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in Illinois,is the Great Lake Regional Executive Director for Reserve Advisors, which is dedicated toserving community associations throughout the United States.  Mr. Walter has conducted nearly 2,500 ReserveStudies since starting with Reserve Advisors in 1999, primarily in the Chicago andMinneapolis areas.  Mr. Walter severed asthe Vice President of Engineer at Reserve Advisors for numerous years and wasresponsible for building at team of 30+ engineers.