The fashionista herself, Judy, gives us all the tea on where she started 18 years ago at Walnut Capital and how she became a Resident Manager over time.

Starting as an assistant property manager at the corporate office in 2004, Judy described her beginning as entertaining and a completely different switch from her previous background in retail. Yes - her fashion sense stems from her days as a manager and buyer.

Judy began her career in retail when she was 16, becoming a manager at various stores, and later an assistant buyer. After she had her son, she realized a career change might be in her future to spend more time with him. One of her friends who worked at Walnut Capital was moving to Florida and suggested that Judy interview as her replacement. She had a day to train with her and the rest is history.

Even though she left the retail world behind, she still keeps up with today's fashion and shops like there's no tomorrow. I mean - look at her!

Walnut Capital and property management were very different from what Judy was used to, but she was happy and ready to embrace the change. Working for Gregg and Todd and having a 9-5 work day was the best part of her new position. She assisted the property manager with all city properties. You would find her checking keys, setting up vendors, and putting in work orders - actually faxing them to the maintenance team, yeah we know...it's crazy how times have changed. She also helped out with the commercial properties. She basically did a little bit of everything for her first 14 years.

Do you remember Cricket Wireless? They had us on that system through walkie-talkies and it didn’t work out because the guys would lose connection from all the trees in Squirrel Hill.

Over time, the company got bigger and they moved people around, property and position-wise.

There was word that townhouses were being built in the North Hills area, and Walnut knew exactly who could help out with the development. This marked Judy's transition to Resident Manager at Highland Village. The promotion was something that she had been working towards and was ready to jump into - and she's been on Pinehurst Drive ever since.

Although Judy was excited about her move, it meant she was going to be solo at a new property, and she'd leave behind all her City Office pals. At first, it was lonely, but the independence grew on her. "It's a happy medium with tenants popping in and out and I like getting the chance to visit everyone at the city office from time to time."

Everyday life as a property manager can be hard to predict. One day things might be crazy with work orders, and the next you might be learning a new software program - which Judy says is the most challenging part of the job. "The hardest thing to adapt to is the new computer systems." The positive outcome of things being online is being able to send emails, work orders, and all information in a quick and efficient way. But when Judy first started, documents were either faxed or written down because there always needed to be a paper trail.

Some of her greatest memories are back to the days when Walnut Capital's holiday parties were more intimate and she got to hang out with the OG's. They would shut down the office for lunch and return later to reopen. The company was pretty small back then, but she loves seeing how much it has grown over the years and has enjoyed meeting and interacting with all the different personalities.

Judy explained that having new people enter the company is great because they bring innovative, new ideas. A company should always be inviting and excited to bring on the younger generations - even if they are the same age as her son.

What makes someone stay at a company for nearly 20 years? “Well, this is a company that is growing and doing new things. I miss the small hominess at times, but you always want to be at a company that is moving forward.”

We think it’s safe to say that Judy will be here for a little while longer, and hopefully she’ll start sharing some of her fashion secrets because it’s just not fair.