20 Years Leading NARPM: Gail Phillips on Property Management’s Evolution

In this episode of Peter Lohmann’s Podcast, I’m joined by Gail Phillips, the retiring CEO of NARPM (National Association of Residential Property Managers), after more than 20 years of leadership.We dig into how NARPM evolved from a few hundred members to the national force it is today - from the early “mom-and-pop” days and paper rent checks to COVID-era virtual everything.Gail shares the real story behind NARPM’s antitrust saga, how fee models and tech reshaped the industry, and what she’s learned about leadership, delegation, and culture after decades in the trenches.We also talk about why some local chapters thrive while others struggle, what the “haters” get wrong about NARPM, and her advice for the next generation of association leaders.If you’re a property management operator or NARPM member, this episode is a must-listen.(00:00:00) - Intro(00:03:07) - Gail’s background and career(00:08:17) - The early day’s of NARPM conferences and the industry as a whole(00:16:30) - The state of conferences in the early days(00:18:23) - Sponsor - PropertyManagerWebsites.com(00:20:00) - Late 2000’s concerns and focuses(00:22:02) - How NARPM has evolved(00:27:47) - Success and Failure amongst different NARPM chapters(00:29:38) - Behaviors of great NARPM leaders(00:31:56) - Sponsor - SecondNature.com(00:33:27) - The state of the industry in 2025(00:36:01) - Antitrust philosophies(00:41:15) - FTC guidance for Trade Groups(00:47:53) - Effective membership drives(00:53:41) - What the haters get right about NARPM(00:59:14) - Thoughts for the incoming NARPM CEO(01:01:05) - Gail’s futureLearn more and connect with Gail here: Gail on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gailphillips/Organization Management Group - https://www.managegroup.com/NARPM - https://www.narpm.org/Learn more & connect with me here:⁠Crane⁠, the private community for property management business owners.⁠My Free PM Newsletter⁠⁠RL Property Management⁠