Kim Carlson, CEO of Cities Management Inc., Elected 34th Chair of the Minnesota Multi Housing Association Along With Other New Members

A National Pioneer of Environmental Property Management, Carlson is also the associations first chair to rent rather than to own & a fellow a the prestigious Humphrey Institute.

Minneapolis, MN, - March 9, 2000 - Kim Carlson, CEO and owner of Cities Management, Inc. (CMI), will take office as the 34th Chair of the Minnesota Multi Housing Association (MHA) on April 1, 2000, along with a slate of other new board members. A national pioneer in environmental property management with the 1994 Green Earth Initiative, Carlson is also the MHA's first chairperson who rents - by choice - rather than owns her own home.

Other new board members include: Douglas Strandness, President of Dunbar Strandness, Inc., and MHA's First Vice Chair; Robert Levine, President and CEO of KMS Management, Inc. and MHA's Second Vice Chair; Samuel R. St. Pierre, Chief Operating Officer of Asset management, Inc. was elected. MHA's secretary; and James Soderberg, of Soderberg Apartment Specialists, was elected Treasurer. The Minnesota Multi Housing Association is a non-profit trade organization dedicated to promoting the highest standards in management and maintenance of rental housing.

Created in 1967 of Cities Management, Inc., Carlson has built annual revenues of $1.5 million, and overseas a portfolio of nearly 7,000 residential units in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin and several commercial properties in the Twin Cities Metro area. Carlson combines her successful experiences in property management with a commitment to socially responsible business through strategic planning, community involvement and public speaking. She is dedicated to both client and community service. Some of her past accomplishments include:

• In 1994, Carlson launched The Green Earth Initiative (GEI). GEI is an innovative environmental program for property management targeted at leading the industry toward greater ecological awareness, health and resource conservation.
• In April of 1995, Cities Management received the prestigious Environmental Initiative Award. Presented by the Minnesota Environmental Initiative, Minnesota Monthly magazine, and the law firm of Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, the award recognizes and supports the state's most innovative, environmentally progressive, and ecologically minded businesses and individuals. CMI has also received the Business for Social Responsibility Earth Day Award for 1996 and the Minnesota Multi Housing MADACS Award that recognizes the Green Earth Initiative in the Innovative Maintenance Program category.
• In 1996, Carlson and business partner Tim Broms developed the first "green" building in Minnesota. The partnership created a model of sustainable building design for the CMI corporate headquarters using state-of-the-art environmentally friendly building supplies, deconstruction, natural fibers, air purification systems and recycled materials.
• In 1996, she was appointed by Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson to the Minnesota Round Table on Sustainable Development, a select group of citizen leaders working to protect the environment and encourage economic development in Minnesota. She was co-chair of the Roundtable subcommittee on Economic Regulation and Incentives in 1997.
• In 1997, Carlson founded the business school partnership between Bryn Mawr Elementary school and CMI. The partnership provides both entities with learning and growth opportunities through mentorship, school reading programs and fund raising.
• Carlson has co-authored the first series of practical guides on eco friendly property management called The Green Earth Guide to Alternative Cleaning Products, Paints and Chemicals. She has written a series of fact sheets for office building management titled Office 2000 Next Generation Building Management.
• In 1998, Carlson was appointed to a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency work group to discuss pollution prevention as it related to brown field development sites. In the same year, Carlson became a Fellow at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute in the Public Policy Forum Program. Carlson is pursuing a study of public policy and its relation to commerce and sustainable development.

Carlson is a member of the National CEO Committee for Community Associations Institute. She is a current member of The Executive Committee (TEC), an international group of CEOs that are committed to lifelong learning and the on-going development of leadership skills. She serves as a founding board member and co-chair of the Minnesota Center for Sustainable Development. She is a past vice president for Minnesota Women in Housing and past chair of the committee for diversity of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).

She holds a bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and is a Certified Property Manager through the Institute of Real Estate Management. Carlson is also a licensed real estate broker and a member of the Minneapolis Board of Realtors and a licensed insurance broker. She lives both in Minneapolis Minnesota and in the northwest woods of Wisconsin.