Leadership Spotlight - Melanie Bamba Milinkevich
For this month's Leadership Spotlight, we're featuring Melanie Bamba Milinkevich.
Melanie Bamba Milinkevich grew up in a small town in Northern California called Rocklin. She attended college at UC Santa Barbara, where she fell in love with SoCal coastal living, and in 2012 she moved to San Diego. In 2013, she joined BOMA San Diego as an Associate Member and immersed herself in BOMA life.
Melanie’s first BOMA experience was as a tee sponsor at the Golf Tournament and found that it was a great way to network. (I met her there!) She immersed herself into BOMA Leadership, having served as the past Chairperson of Special Events and serving in various roles over the years on the Board of Directors - more recently as our Board Vice President. She also continues to volunteer on committees and takes the time to mentor our members, empowering them to become successful leaders.
Over the years, Melanie has earned numerous awards as a BOMA leader, including Chairperson of the Year, Ray Magnussen Associate Member of the Year, the President’s Award in 2018 and in 2021, and You’re The Greatest for Special Events, Finance, SLRP and Sponsorship.
A fun fact about Melanie is she found RSI Roofing through the BOMA Job Board! She was on vacation in
2016 when BOMA posted on social media an opening for a marketing person. She was hired at RSI Roofing that same year, and in 2019, along with her two business partners, purchased the Company! Another fun fact about Melanie is she’s had two babies in the last three years and supports all of her fellow working mothers out there!
Read the interview below to learn more about Melanie and her leadership journey:
BOMA San Diego: What or who sparked your interest in becoming a leader in BOMA?
Melanie: Years ago, I was sitting on an Executive Board of a different association, and we brought Audrey in for a consult. I must have made quite the impression because, by the end of the meeting, Audrey turned to me and told me to interview for the BOMA Board.
BOMA San Diego: What is the most important challenge that you’ve faced since joining our organization and how has your experience helped you grow in your career?
Melanie: I am a total type A, hard charger that wants to get it done, with the willingness to do the hard work to take us to the finish line. The challenge for me has been to let go of doing it all and really try to mentor the new leaders. Sitting back and watching is just not my strong suit, but over the years I’ve begun to shift my focus towards mentorship. I love being a part of someone’s professional journey. I love identifying a trait in someone that they maybe don’t recognize quite yet or haven’t figured out how to develop. I love helping people grow. I love seeing them walk on stage to win their next award. It’s truly rewarding to be a part of. There are people here that I am so proud of because they show up every day, do the work, and have truly earned the recognition and respect of their peers and the industry.
BOMA San Diego: How do you deal with stress?
Melanie: I look at my two sweet babies at the end of the day and absolutely nothing else matters. Whatever might have been in my head is immediately shushed because my family takes up all my emotional bandwidth. I want to show up for them in the most positive light possible, so I leave the stress at the door. Learning to compartmentalize is essential.
BOMA San Diego: The BOMA San Diego Leadership Collective was developed a few years ago by the Board of Directors. Can you tell us about your involvement and vision for this group?
Melanie: That’s my BOMA baby! I kick started the Leadership Collective in 2019 and collaborated with some of the most capable leaders I know. True leaders in the industry. People like me; that aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and do the hard committee work to accomplish their goals. We saw inconsistencies between committees and chairs. Not every committee was doing the same thing. Not every committee was reaping the rewards and recognition of Chairperson or Associate Member of the Year. And when we looked at the disparities, we realized that every Chairperson was operating differently. The Leadership Collective took best practices from the best committees, codified them, and shared them with all Chairpersons and Liaisons. Every quarter we had a different theme, but the underlying premise was always the same: get everyone on the same page. Get them all operating at the same level of efficiency. Give them the chance to really shine. Like most things, the pandemic slowed down the Collective. But I am committed to bringing it back, especially since all the committees are really starting to gain traction! The Leadership Collective is meant for liaisons, chairs, sub-chairs, really anyone that intends to step into a leadership role within BOMA. I hope to see you in the next session!
BOMA San Diego: How has being very involved in BOMA helped you as a business owner?
Melanie: People pay thousands and thousands of dollars for professional coaches and consultants to teach them how to be a better leader or a better person. But it doesn’t help unless you get the opportunity to actually hone those skills in real life. BOMA leadership offers hands-on, grassroots, real-world experience in dealing with all sorts of personalities and politics. And you’re surrounded by like-minded, wildly successful people that are pushing each other to be better. But more than that, and especially at the executive level, there is the business of running BOMA. There are financial decisions to be considered. There is a culture to be fostered. There is a future to plan for. The experience it has taught me and continues to teach me every year is that at the end of the day, we are in a people-oriented business and the best thing we can do is focus, invest and surround ourselves with good people that share our vision.
BOMA San Diego: What is your greatest success as a BOMA Leader? What is that saying?
Melanie: The best is yet to come!
Thank you for your BOMA San Diego Leadership, Melanie!
Melanie Bamba Milinkevich grew up in a small town in Northern California called Rocklin. She attended college at UC Santa Barbara, where she fell in love with SoCal coastal living, and in 2012 she moved to San Diego. In 2013, she joined BOMA San Diego as an Associate Member and immersed herself in BOMA life.
Melanie’s first BOMA experience was as a tee sponsor at the Golf Tournament and found that it was a great way to network. (I met her there!) She immersed herself into BOMA Leadership, having served as the past Chairperson of Special Events and serving in various roles over the years on the Board of Directors - more recently as our Board Vice President. She also continues to volunteer on committees and takes the time to mentor our members, empowering them to become successful leaders.
Over the years, Melanie has earned numerous awards as a BOMA leader, including Chairperson of the Year, Ray Magnussen Associate Member of the Year, the President’s Award in 2018 and in 2021, and You’re The Greatest for Special Events, Finance, SLRP and Sponsorship.
A fun fact about Melanie is she found RSI Roofing through the BOMA Job Board! She was on vacation in
2016 when BOMA posted on social media an opening for a marketing person. She was hired at RSI Roofing that same year, and in 2019, along with her two business partners, purchased the Company! Another fun fact about Melanie is she’s had two babies in the last three years and supports all of her fellow working mothers out there!
Read the interview below to learn more about Melanie and her leadership journey:
BOMA San Diego: What or who sparked your interest in becoming a leader in BOMA?
Melanie: Years ago, I was sitting on an Executive Board of a different association, and we brought Audrey in for a consult. I must have made quite the impression because, by the end of the meeting, Audrey turned to me and told me to interview for the BOMA Board.
BOMA San Diego: What is the most important challenge that you’ve faced since joining our organization and how has your experience helped you grow in your career?
Melanie: I am a total type A, hard charger that wants to get it done, with the willingness to do the hard work to take us to the finish line. The challenge for me has been to let go of doing it all and really try to mentor the new leaders. Sitting back and watching is just not my strong suit, but over the years I’ve begun to shift my focus towards mentorship. I love being a part of someone’s professional journey. I love identifying a trait in someone that they maybe don’t recognize quite yet or haven’t figured out how to develop. I love helping people grow. I love seeing them walk on stage to win their next award. It’s truly rewarding to be a part of. There are people here that I am so proud of because they show up every day, do the work, and have truly earned the recognition and respect of their peers and the industry.
BOMA San Diego: How do you deal with stress?
Melanie: I look at my two sweet babies at the end of the day and absolutely nothing else matters. Whatever might have been in my head is immediately shushed because my family takes up all my emotional bandwidth. I want to show up for them in the most positive light possible, so I leave the stress at the door. Learning to compartmentalize is essential.
BOMA San Diego: The BOMA San Diego Leadership Collective was developed a few years ago by the Board of Directors. Can you tell us about your involvement and vision for this group?
Melanie: That’s my BOMA baby! I kick started the Leadership Collective in 2019 and collaborated with some of the most capable leaders I know. True leaders in the industry. People like me; that aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and do the hard committee work to accomplish their goals. We saw inconsistencies between committees and chairs. Not every committee was doing the same thing. Not every committee was reaping the rewards and recognition of Chairperson or Associate Member of the Year. And when we looked at the disparities, we realized that every Chairperson was operating differently. The Leadership Collective took best practices from the best committees, codified them, and shared them with all Chairpersons and Liaisons. Every quarter we had a different theme, but the underlying premise was always the same: get everyone on the same page. Get them all operating at the same level of efficiency. Give them the chance to really shine. Like most things, the pandemic slowed down the Collective. But I am committed to bringing it back, especially since all the committees are really starting to gain traction! The Leadership Collective is meant for liaisons, chairs, sub-chairs, really anyone that intends to step into a leadership role within BOMA. I hope to see you in the next session!
BOMA San Diego: How has being very involved in BOMA helped you as a business owner?
Melanie: People pay thousands and thousands of dollars for professional coaches and consultants to teach them how to be a better leader or a better person. But it doesn’t help unless you get the opportunity to actually hone those skills in real life. BOMA leadership offers hands-on, grassroots, real-world experience in dealing with all sorts of personalities and politics. And you’re surrounded by like-minded, wildly successful people that are pushing each other to be better. But more than that, and especially at the executive level, there is the business of running BOMA. There are financial decisions to be considered. There is a culture to be fostered. There is a future to plan for. The experience it has taught me and continues to teach me every year is that at the end of the day, we are in a people-oriented business and the best thing we can do is focus, invest and surround ourselves with good people that share our vision.
BOMA San Diego: What is your greatest success as a BOMA Leader? What is that saying?
Melanie: The best is yet to come!
Thank you for your BOMA San Diego Leadership, Melanie!