-
Katie Ward
President, Texas -
Eugene Patillo
President, San Antonio -
Gerry Poe
President, Austin -
Rocco Valentino
Rocco Valentino
President, Houston -
Patrick Droesch
Senior Vice President, Community Management -
Jeff Dowdle
Regional Vice President, Sales -
Michelle Malegni
Vice President, Client Accounting -
Kristin Nowak
Vice President, Human Resources -
Susan Ward-Freeman
Vice President, High-Rise Management -
Jesika Land
Director, Marketing -
Tanya Mendenhall
Vice President, Management
Katie Ward
Katie received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Irvine. She also completed a leadership program through the Urban Land Institute. Prior to joining the Texas region in 2019, she participated on the Finance and Advancement committees at St. Francis of Assisi in Yorba . In addition, she served as a volunteer for the Orange County Young Leader Organization.
Eugene Patillo
As President of FirstService Residential in San Antonio, Eugene Patillo leads all aspects of association management to ensure each client experiences superior customer service, professional management and exceptional value. He also oversees management and partnership growth with local developers.
Eugene returns to FirstService Residential after spending nearly five years as an executive for a highly respected San Antonio developer.
His industry experience spans four decades within the San Antonio market. In upper management or executive-level roles, Eugene's background includes residential home construction and subdivision development, commercial construction and management, and facilities operations. His career also encompasses more than 30 years of community association management, including some of San Antonio's most distinguished communities. Eugene earned his PCAM and CMCA designations.
Gerry Poe
Gerry is an accomplished leader in Austin residential development circles. His in-depth knowledge of working with local municipalities and building communities adds value to our organization and directly supports the company’s efforts to protect property values and enhance the lives of our residents.
Before joining FirstService Residential, Gerry worked for KB Home where he led government and public affairs and was responsible for directing the organization’s policies and objectives as it pertains to municipality management. Through the strategic development of key relationships and identification of opportunities for process improvement, Gerry was successful in supporting valuable land negotiations and local permitting enhancements.
Gerry received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University. He is a long-standing member and actively serves on the boards of both the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin and the Center for Child Protection.
Rocco Valentino
Valentino comes to FirstService Residential with over two decades of management and operations experience, notably with Landry's Inc., where he rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the vice president of international operations and franchising.
Patrick Droesch
Patrick has held previous executive roles in the hospitality industry, including Front Burner Restaurants, Lone Star, Brinker International and Club Corp. He also serves as vice chairman for Legacy Christian Academy, a nonprofit K-12 school in Frisco. Patrick is a graduate of California State University.
Jeff Dowdle
He comes to FirstService Residential from CoreLogic, where he recently served as the Senior Leader of Global Sales & Marketing and was responsible for the growth and retention of over $600 million in revenue. He began his career at Marcus & Millichap as a multifamily broker and quickly achieved success, receiving multiple productions awards during his more than 10 years with the firm.
Dowdle brings more than 20 years of sales experience in multifamily and property management, with nearly half of that time in sales leadership and executive management. His expertise in building strong performing sales teams with process-driven methods to achieve growth has made him adept at developing great talent.
He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Michelle Malegni
Michelle spent much of her career at ClubCorp where she held multiple financial and management leadership roles. She also started and led several business ventures, including a Dallas-based debt settlement company that services clients throughout the country.
Kristin Nowak
She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Kristin lives in Dallas with her husband, Kevin, two children, Kaitlyn and Kaden, and dog Harper.
Susan Ward-Freeman
Following a 30-year career in luxury hospitality, Susan joined FirstService Residential in 2011 as general manager of The House at Victory Park. She's worked with the finest names in hospitality, including the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, St. Regis, the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and, most recently, as general manager of a luxury boutique hotel in Houston.
Originally from Upstate New York, Susan attended Endicott College in Massachusetts with a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management and Tourism, cum laude.
Jesika Land
Before joining FirstService Residential in 2018, Jesika worked in nonprofit healthcare and managed day-to-day marketing projects, and system initiatives and campaigns. With more than 20 years in product and services marketing, Jesika has a proven track record of building strong marketing teams and as well as award-winning campaigns.
Jesika is a cum laude graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas. She lives in Dallas with her two children, Olivia and Samantha, and two dogs, Shep and Jake and two cats, Oliver and Bitty.