Meet the Houston Market!

Did you know that InterSolutions has markets in 32 states and DC? Today, our focus is on our Houston, TX team! We sat down with our HOU team to get to know them a little better, and here’s what they had to say.

First, a quick introduction to our HOU team:

 

Martha Serrano, Regional Operations Manager – Martha has been on her multifamily journey for over 10 years. 2021 was the year that she found her home with InterSolutions as a staffing specialist, and in 2022, Martha was promoted to ROM. Martha loves her job and is results-driven. She leads her team with integrity, a sense of humor, and a strong work ethic, all of which are attributes that she has witnessed in her counterparts and team members here at InterSolutions. “We are good people is not just something we say, but something that we actually live on the day-to-day.” Camaraderie is something that Martha strives for, and working with individuals and cultivating relationships brings her joy!

Anita Alberger, Regional Sales Manager – Anita has a son, Tucker, who is 14 and he is the light of her life! Anita was born outside of Chicago but moved to Houston when she was 10, so in her mind, she’s a native Houstonian! She enjoys spending time with family and friends, is a news and talk radio junkie, a lifelong General Hospital Super Fan, and a Facebook Meme poster! Anita’s career in Multifamily started in 1986 as a leasing agent where she worked her way up through the ranks to Regional Marketing Director for over 20,000 units. After accomplishing her goals on the Property Management side of our business, Anita transitioned to the supplier side. She spent about 15 years total in Advertising with Apartment Guide, Apartment Data Services, and eventually Apartment Finder where she spent 11 years. When the company was sold, Anita found her new passion, STAFFING! It was everything she loved… Fast-paced, never a dull moment, definitely never the same day and so rewarding!  Anita says that putting people in jobs and helping them reach their career goals is amazing!

Ashley Wendt, Sales Executive – Ashley is the North Houston Sales Executive, and a proud mom to three incredible kids who fill her time outside of work with baseball and cheerleading. This August marks Ashley’s second anniversary with the wonderful Intersolutions team!

 

 

Tyler Barbier, Sales Executive – Tyler is originally from Houma, LA, and he loves to sing, dance, act, play piano, and teach barre and cycle in a group fitness setting in his free time! His journey with InterSolutions started in December 2022 as the Houston Southeast Sales Executive! Fast forward to today, Tyler is now covering the entire South Houston market and he says that things are only getting more exciting! Tyler loves working with the best in the staffing biz!

 

 

Paula Watson, Staffing Specialist – Paula is a newly promoted Staffing Specialist for Houston Southwest. She has two amazing boys and two stepchildren whom she calls her own and they are her everything. Paula is engaged and lives on an 88-acre ranch in Cushing Texas. She is a Breast Cancer Survivor, and her motto is to enjoy life and live it to its fullest! Paula’s career started in 1999 as a leasing agent at a brand-new lease-up in the Woodlands Texas, and she grew from there. She started with Intersolutions in Oct 2023 as an administrative assistant and now she is a staffing specialist which she loves.

 

Madison Kniss, Staffing Specialist – Madison has worked with InterSolutions on the HOU team for a little over a year! She has a 2-year-old and 2-month-old who motivate her daily! Madison started with InterSolutions as a recruiter and has now worked as a Staffing Specialist for almost a full year!

 

 

Mark Critendon, Staffing Specialist – A majority of Mark’s professional life has been in the multifamily world, including 8 years on-site in leasing, assistant, and property manager roles, most of which was with Trammell Crow. Additionally, Mark spent about four years as a construction and renovation project manager in multifamily, where he learned fluent Spanish. About 16 years ago, Mark stumbled into this amazing world of multifamily staffing and operations management, and it has been an incredibly fulfilling path, where he gets to have a direct hand in helping others find “the most rewarding career they never knew existed” (one of Mark’s favorite taglines for multifamily). He gets to have mountains of fun building client relationships with his “dirty little secret” objective: Every client becomes so enamored with our level of service and commitment to their success that they would rather opt for unnecessary dental surgery over calling a competitor. (Same objective for our associates, by the way…just replace “calling a competitor” with “working for a competitor”.)

 

Which part of your day do you look forward to the most?

Martha Serrano – “I most look forward to the playful, yet super competitive banter from our entire Region when we drop those competitions! It really gets the blood going!”

Anita Alberger – “I started with InterSolutions in July 2023 as a Sales Executive with a focus on corporate accounts. I was recently promoted to Regional Sales Manager, and I could not be happier! InterSolutions culture fosters teamwork and growth, and embraces every employee’s passion! It was everything I did not even realize that I was looking for!”

Ashley Wendt – “My mornings are sacred to me; there’s something special about sipping my coffee and greeting the day with a fresh start, even though I joke about eagerly awaiting the “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere” moment.”

Tyler Barbier – “Happy hour with friends and dinner! I love nighttime as it’s not as hot, and I’ve always been a night owl.”

Paula Watson – “The part of my day I look forward to the most is spending time with my family after work.”

Madison Kniss – “I look forward to our meetings the most because we are able to connect, laugh, and encourage each other which helps us grow as a team!”

Mark Critendon – “I love the energy and dynamic that happens during morning check-ins, our team comradery, communicating with our clients and associates, working backfills, and overall, just setting the tone for a successful day.”

 

What do you hope to be doing 5 years from now?

Martha Serrano – “I plan to continue to exceed targets and milestones with excellence, aka smashing goals!”

Anita Alberger – “In five years, I see myself married, (I say that every year), enjoying college visits with Tucker, and doing whatever Jessica tells me to because I will still be working with her!”

Ashley Wendt – “Looking ahead, I aim to be in a leadership position within five years, offering guidance and support to my colleagues, much like the mentorship I’ve received.”

Tyler Barbier – “Within 5 years I hope to be leading a team of my own already for a few years and building on all of my prior successes!”

Paula Watson – “Where I see myself in 5 years is growing into different roles with Intersolutions and doing lots of traveling.”

Madison Kniss – “In 5 years, I hope to be a ROM or work on the payroll team for InterSolutions.”

Mark Critendon – “I plan to progressively improve our understanding of evolving client and associate pain points to achieve an unparalleled level of service that our competition cannot touch. This also involves exploring and learning new technologies and scalable processes on how we communicate and build relationships, improving speed and efficiency while not losing that personal touch. I want to play an integral part in helping our organization reach its full potential and dominate the competitive multifamily spectrum.”

 

How do you maintain a work-life balance? What is your favorite way to spend time outside of work?

Martha Serrano – “Admittedly, when I am not working hard to smash these goals, I love spending time with my dogs and playing poker. I am a dog mom! I am fully committed to that “work hard play harder” saying.”

Anita Alberger – “As far as work-life balance, I am a work in progress! When your office is from home it is easy to just “jump on the computer”, real quick!  Outside of work, I love spending time with friends, binge-watching a good show, chauffeuring Tuck around town, and on Saturday you will usually find me at El Patio having brunch!”

Ashley Wendt – “I strive for a healthy work-life balance by keeping my professional and personal lives separate, ensuring work stays at the office and home life remains a sanctuary. Leisure time might find me cheering on the Houston Astros, diving into a true crime series, or attending one of my children’s sporting events.”

Tyler Barbier – “I love to relax and spend time with my fiancé, go to the gym, spend time with friends/family, and travel! Love a fun happy hour, meal, and fun night out on the town!”

Paula Watson – “I love watching new series and scary movies, the outdoors, and living a very healthy lifestyle. Seafood is my weakness. I could eat it every day.”

Madison Kniss – “I maintain a work-life balance by managing my time inside and outside of work, and spending time with family and friends in my free time!”

Mark Critendon – “I am very much a homebody and love family time, hanging out with my wife and kids.”

 

If you could star in a movie with any famous actor/actress of your choice, who would be your costar?

Martha Serrano – “My costar would be Uma Thurman (specifically Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2) version of Uma Thurman, but I will take my look-alike version and equally badass Jessica Cantu! My headspace is forever in that killing-it-beast mode!”

Anita Alberger – “If I was going to meet someone famous, It would be a politician! My supporting role….maybe VP!”

Ashley Wendt – “Given the chance to share the screen with a celebrity, I’d choose Jennifer Aniston—because come on, it’s Jennifer Aniston—or Reese Witherspoon. Not only am I often told I resemble her, but her role in Legally Blonde was unforgettable!”

Tyler Barbier – “I would have to say Angelina Jolie because she is tough, independent, and such an amazing actress. It would also be so much fun to star in an action movie with her! She’s my fave!”

Paula Watson – “If I were to Costar with a famous actress, it would definitely be Angelina Jolie!”

Madison Kniss – “I am not sure what movie I would co-star in as I do not watch much TV.”

Mark Critendon – “This is tough because I can’t think of one actor or actress who wouldn’t run for the hills if I was their costar. But what the hey, I’ll go with Denzel Washington because he is an incredible actor.  I love just about every one of his films.”

 

Thank you, Martha, Anita, Ashley, Tyler, Paula, Madison, and Mark, for taking the time to share about yourselves and for letting us get to know you all a bit more!

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