StreetLights Residential, a Dallas-based, design-focused developer of luxury multifamily and mixed-use communities, announced the promotion of Rachel Koonsman to Chief People Officer.
Over the past eight years, Rachel Koonsman has helped shape and amplify the company’s unique culture, which prioritizes transparency, collaboration, and a commitment to every team member’s success. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Engagement and under her leadership, StreetLights has implemented initiatives that set the company apart as an exceptional workplace.
Koonsman has streamlined the company’s unique approach to hiring, with the first round of interviews focused on ensuring candidates resonate with the organization’s core values and culture, and the second round focused on functional proficiency.
“We believe that StreetLights team members are the greatest assets that we have” says Koonsman. “Crafting best in class apartment homes takes the entire team working together, not one superstar working independently.”
She was instrumental in developing the firm’s onboarding program called “Becoming StreetLights,” a two-day session for new hires which introduces them to the company’s purpose and values. She also supports each employee’s personal growth with the firm’s extensive training programs, including “SLR Way,” ensuring professional development is supported at all levels.
Koonsman fosters StreetLights’ ongoing commitment to employee engagement, leading interoffice programs such as Culture Ambassadors, an Associate Senior Management Team program, a quarterly book club, and an office Team Day. Rachel leads monthly company-wide huddles to provide updates on organizational changes and give team member recognition. When StreetLights was sheltering in-place at the start of COVID, Koonsman increased the huddles to weekly updates to increase transparency during the time of upheaval. Additionally, Koonsman has implemented systems for accountability in all directions, including 360 quarterly reviews for team members and anonymous monthly feedback for leadership.
“Rachel’s leadership has been invaluable in creating a culture where people feel valued, heard, and empowered,” said Robert de Bruin, CEO of StreetLights Residential. “We look forward to seeing her continue to shape our workplace in meaningful ways.”
StreetLights was founded in 2011 with a focus on complicated mixed-use and high-rise multifamily properties with a design-first approach. StreetLights takes pride in crafting the details which create the place that someone will call home with its in-house architecture and interior design teams as well as general contracting team.
StreetLights Residential specializes in new urbanist apartment homes and mixed-use developments. With in-house development, design, and construction expertise, the StreetLights team focuses on custom luxury communities which rival the experience, lifestyle and amenities of living in an urban boutique hotel. StreetLights has numerous urban infill projects throughout the country with more than 15,000 multifamily units completed, in progress or projected in 11 cities across six states. Since StreetLights’ inception in 2011, the company has grown with offices in Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego, and Charlotte.
