Influential Women spotlights Sioux Falls property manager Mara Day

Influential Women highlighted Mara Day, a Van Buskirk Companies property management professional in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on June 30, 2026. The profile underscores her rise from customer service and healthcare roles to management, along with the financial discipline and tenant-focused approach she says shape her work.

Why it matters: - Mara Day’s profile shows how property management roles increasingly reward a mix of customer service, financial discipline and conflict management. - Her experience also highlights a key industry pressure point: rising apartment costs are making tenant placement more difficult.

What happened: - Influential Women published a profile on Mara Day, a property management professional with Van Buskirk Companies in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. - The profile was published June 30, 2026. - Day’s career path moved from early customer-facing jobs into healthcare, then into property management. - She now works in property management at Van Buskirk Companies after advancing from administrative assistant to Property Manager, Leasing Agent and then her current management position. - Her Influential Women profile is available online.

The details: - Day worked at Burger King and a local daycare while in high school. - She earned her Certified Nursing Assistant certification while working at Avera Health. - In 2022, Day earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in Business Administration and Management from Southeast Tech. - She finished with a 3.8 GPA and made the Dean’s List in all four semesters. - In her current role, Day handles rent and invoice processing, tenant relations, lease renewals, property walk-throughs and maintenance work orders. - Day is a Certified Apartment Leasing Professional. - She belongs to the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association and the National Apartment Association. - In 2024, she received a Core Value Award for Teamwork. - Day credits former supervisor Lori Meier with helping her learn to take on challenges and grow through experience. - Day says her parents taught her financial responsibility early by requiring her to pay for items such as phone bills, car insurance and gas. - She says her mother’s work at Wells Fargo also helped build financial literacy for her and her brother.

Between the lines: - Day’s background suggests property management values calm judgment as much as operational experience. - Her emphasis on not taking things personally points to the emotional side of managing stressed tenants and owners. - Her comments on budgeting and financial literacy show how personal habits can shape professional confidence in cost-sensitive housing work. - Her focus on teamwork and transparency reflects the coordination required to verify tenant histories and make fair placement decisions.

What’s next: - Day says she wants young women entering property management to be patient with themselves and treat mistakes as part of learning. - She expects the work to keep demanding strong communication, trust and collaboration as housing costs stay elevated. - Day continues to balance her career with reading, volleyball, church involvement and time with her dogs.

The bottom line: - Mara Day’s profile presents property management as a field where empathy, organization and financial discipline can matter as much as technical know-how.