Think back to when you were a kid. Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? Doctor? Fireman? Astronaut? For one RMWBH attorney, the answer was and has always been an attorney, and she is getting to live out her dream daily in our Houston office working with POAs from across Texas. That attorney is Noelle Hicks.
Noelle’s journey to becoming an attorney was inspired by family friends and one particular inspiration – Judge Belinda Hill. Noelle says she has carried Judge Hill’s influence throughout her career because of the countless hours she was able to spend under her mentorship and the way Judge Hill showed her this career was possible.
That career has taken Noelle to a couple of different firms, but for the last seven years, Noelle’s home has been RMWBH.
Noelle has had many memorable moments in her time at RMWBH and in the POA industry. “I’ve had some pretty good wins, some memorable jury trials, but not one particular matter stands out. What stands out are complex moments within the matters that test your skills as an attorney,” Noelle said.
Noelle’s involvement in the POA industry has only grown in her time at RMWBH. Over the last few years, Noelle has become increasingly involved with Community Associations Institute (CAI) at both the local chapter and national levels. Noelle routinely appears at local events, conducts educational presentations at national conferences and serves as a board member for the Community Association Managers International Certification Board’s (CAMICB), which helps shape education and certification for community managers across the POA industry. This involvement with CAI has changed Noelle’s perspective on the POA industry. “It’s really shown me how important and impactful community associations are all over the country. From CAI’s advocacy efforts in state and federal legislation to its education programs for everyone involved in the community association process, it’s really important for people because everyone has some sort of interaction with a community association, whether they live in one or maybe they just know about it,” Noelle said. Noelle adds that it is a joy to “see all of the different people that are involved in CAI and getting to know them and how committed they are to this industry is pretty cool.”
Noelle has shown her commitment to the POA industry by trying to bring change and spotlight sensitive, not easy to discuss topics. “Beginning during COVID and in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder, we identified an issue that people were dealing with not only in society but specifically in community associations – a rise in discriminatory behavior and acts, and we felt like it was important to tackle racism and how to handle discrimination in our communities,” Noelle said. Through those efforts, Noelle began examining other elements of the industry that often go overlooked, such as the mental health issues facing many Americans, how community associations are having to respond to firearms in the community and spotlight how DEI plays an important role within our communities. “I felt like it was important to make sure that community managers and even other lawyers were educated on these topics and bring to the forefront things that would be useful for them to handle different situations that they encounter. I think it is different coming from me as a different perspective because there aren’t a whole lot of attorneys in this industry, a lot of attorneys in general, but a lot of attorneys in this industry that look like me. So, for me to be able to have this voice and help people understand why these topics are so important is really a big deal to me,” Noelle said.
Noelle’s commitment to the POA industry and to CAI has been recognized with numerous awards over the last several years, including back-to-back Best Manuscript Awards at the CAI Law Conference in 2021 and 2022, the 2022 CAI Rising Star Award and 2023 CAI Award for Excellence in Chapter Leadership.
The work does not just stop with CAI for Noelle. She is focused on ensuring all community managers and board members are educated on the laws and procedures impacting their communities. “Board members need to take time to understand their governing documents and corporate governance and how they work together,” Noelle said, but she is quick to point out that board members also “need to keep in the forefront of their mind that while they are the board and have authority over the community, they’re still neighbors in a community and to remember to behave that way when making decisions on behalf of the community.” The same is true for managers. “Education for managers is really important so that they know the laws and proper procedures and can be looked to as an expert and/or a resource. Board members are looking to managers to guide them on the best decisions to make and the best way to manage the community, so if they’re not educated, then they can’t impart any sort of education to the board members and the community operations will lack cohesiveness in turn,” Noelle said.
She adds education now is crucial because of the challenges she foresees POAs facing in the future. AI, new technologies in the home and people’s growing impatience with their neighbors, are issues that POAs could have to address in the coming years that board members and managers need to have a knowledge of and be prepared to make decisions for the benefit of the community as a whole.
The future is not all negative though. Noelle sees a bright future coming for the POA industry. “We see more and more property owners associations every day, and I feel like there will be a time when there’s only property owners associations. Therefore, as an industry we are going to have to make sure that we continue to do our best to stay up to date on the laws and continue to improve our management practices to ensure POAs maintain their right to self-governance,” Noelle said. The future of the industry is something Noelle looks forward to being a part of, by continuing to share her knowledge, educating community managers and board members. Educating and providing counsel to communities to keep this ever-evolving industry bright for everyone.
