Meet The Team
Condominium Management Experts in Louisiana
Brent D. Couture, CPM, COS, TCS
President
I have worked in the real estate industry for my entire career after graduating from Ole Miss in 1992. My experience ranges from onsite property management to asset management to investment offerings. Working throughout the Gulf South, managing real estate from Texas to Florida, I have always been fortunate to remain close to my hometown of New Orleans. After working for a few of the industry leaders in the real estate field, I started Certain Management in 2012 to focus on the real estate industry in Louisiana and Mississippi. My company’s focus is customer service, financial management, and administration of condominium association communities.
At Certain Management, we understand the need to focus on a specific target market and to become an expert in that field. For us, that is multi-family residential communities. We provide third-party management functions for condominium/townhome association management to provide the board of directors and the entire ownership with relief of stress, an elimination of conflict and financial accountability for their association.
After graduating from Ole Miss in 1992 with a Bachelor of Accountancy, I began working in the Greater New Orleans area managing the financial aspects of a local developer’s multi-family portfolio. I furthered my career moving into the commercial real estate arena with my position as Chief Financial Officer of Property One from 1997 to 2001. The next stop in my real estate career led me to the investment division of The MBS Companies as Chief Financial Officer and eventually took control of the 17,000+ apartment unit empire as Chief Operating Officer in 2002. Closing over one hundred million in annual acquisitions and dispositions in the multi-family market, I was involved in the financing, investment offerings, and start-up of the property/asset management operations of each new acquisition.
Throughout my tenure with The MBS Companies, I managed over 15,000 apartment units throughout the South. I then joined Coldwell Banker Commercial Meridien Property Management in the fall of 2007 to both strengthen the companies’ financial management division and offer my experience to our clients for their asset management and investment needs. Helping clients regain their place in the real estate market in the “post-Hurricane Katrina” environment of the Gulf South led me to many successful relationships. In 2012, I began Certain Management to take my experiences over the years in the industry and combine them with my values to the work that I provide to my customers.
Haley Ladner
Director of Property Management
Haley Ladner attended The University of Southern Mississippi and studied History. She lives in Diamondhead, Mississippi with her husband and three boys. She has worked in the property management industry for nine years. Haley has grown in the industry from working in the apartment sector as a leasing agent, a manager, and then as a regional manager. As Certain Management expanded their portfolio, she also expanded her responsibilities taking on condominium associations. Haley was promoted to Property Management Manager over our association management and apartment management divisions. Haley also has a national designation as a Certified Property Manager that she received in 2012. She has worked for Certain Property Management since it began in 2012.
Megan Cox
Senior Operations Manager
Megan Cox is a New Orleans native, educated at both Louisiana State University and the University of New Orleans in the field of psychology. She began with Certain Management in 2019, working her way up from Property Assistant to Property Manager and finally landing on Senior Operations Manager, a role in which she enjoys putting her organizational and interpersonal skills to good use. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her loved ones, watching horror movies, and playing video games.
Carolyn Canulette
Senior Facility Manager
Carolyn Canulette is a New Orleans native who graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University in 2016. Her background is in English and Psychology, with a focus in Poetry Writing. Her work has been published both by the Tulane Review and the Academy of American Poets. Since graduating, she has worked primarily in Property Management and Marketing in the Greater New Orleans area. She has a passion for working with people and plans to one day earn her real estate license. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking for and spending time with her friends, family, and ten lovely kitties.
Kevin Sullivan, MAIOP
Human Resources Manager
Kevin Sullivan is responsible for Certain Management’s payroll, benefits, workers’ compensation, staffing, training, and many other employment matters. Kevin, a native and current resident of uptown New Orleans, graduated cum laude from Louisiana State University with a B.S. in psychology in 2020. During his time at LSU, he worked multiple jobs within the realms of disaster fraud, marketing, and early education. After LSU, he went on to earn his M.A. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Louisiana Tech University in 2022. While pursuing his Master’s, Kevin was a graduate research assistant studying the concept of workplace incivility and its impact on productivity. Before joining Certain Management, he was an Assessment Consultant for a Fortune-100 client and worked for a healthcare organization in corporate HR. Kevin’s goal at Certain Management is to foster a great working environment to expand our property services to more Louisianians.
Kellyann Patin
Corporate Property Assistant
Though native to New Orleans, Kellyann spent her childhood and young adult years divided between North and South Carolina. She returned to North Carolina to attend Salem College, the oldest women’s college in the U.S, where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Communication and a minor in Religious Studies. She moved back to New Orleans shortly after graduation in 2015. She has since held positions in a variety of industries, such as marketing, tourism, education and construction, usually in a customer service or hospitality role. Kellyann looks forward to using those skills to support the Certain Management team.
James Lambert
Financial Controller
James Lambert grew up in Mandeville, Louisiana and graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2021. After graduating from LSU, James moved to the New Orleans area and started working for Certain Property Management. While starting his career with Certain Property Management, James pursued his master’s in business administration from the University of New Orleans. He graduated from UNO in 2022 and has been in the role of financial controller since January 2023. In his free time, James is a supporter of the Pelicans, Saints, and LSU sports and enjoys spending time with friends and family.
Michelle Rodriguez
Communications Manager
Michelle Rodriguez, originally from Idaho, moved to New Orleans after a brief detour through the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in History, after studying for two years in London, England. Michelle has worked in Property Management for nearly six years and has over ten years of experience in Administrative Support and Customer Service. Outside of the office, Michelle is a promising screenwriter with several short films having been produced, along with a commissioned series. Michelle is looking forward to providing support to this successful and talented team of property experts.
Katherine Fike
Bookkeeper
Katherine Fike is from Baton Rouge and has lived in New Orleans for eleven years. She graduated from the University of New Orleans, earning a Bachelor’s Degree with a focus on Psychology and Film Production. Katherine brings over fifteen years of administrative and A/P experience from the tourism industry, wholesale distribution market, and now the property management realm here at Certain Management. Her interests outside of work include outdoor cardio, arthouse cinema, and Mid-century modern design.
Bruce Fritz
Property Manager
Bruce Fritz, a St. Augustine Alumni, got his start in property management with Multi-Family Mission Ministries, as an assistant property manager and later promoted to community site manager. He was involved in providing competent, comprehensive service in professional management, in addition to ministering to the physical, social, and financial needs of families, elderly and special needs residents of multi-family housing. He maintained housing tax credit compliance as well as provided safe, decent and affordable housing. In addition, Bruce has also been involved in successfully managing commercial property. He believes in competent, professional service which is transmitted daily in his management skills. He currently manages 731 St Charles Condominiums. Outside of work he enjoys traveling and reading.
Breion Duncan
Concierge
Breion Duncan is a native New Orleanian. After being in the hospitality industry for 5 years, Breion obtained her property & casualty license. She has a genuine desire to help anyone and that has led her to this role of concierge at 1205 St. Charles. If you are looking for Breion, she’s probably doing some arts & crafts, hair & makeup, or snuggling in her favorite blanket while watching a documentary or movie.
Sam Howell
Maintenance Technician
Sam Howell is a native New Orleanian. He attended the University of New Orleans and earned bachelor’s degrees in English and Psychology and did graduate work in Psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He began his first career as a technical editor for an aerospace company, a tech company and later in court reporting. In 2002, Sam returned to New Orleans from Northern Virginia and worked as assistant to the minister at a facility for retired Jesuit priests and brothers. While working with the Jesuits, he learned hands-on maintenance skills from Jesuit brothers. Since 2003, he has performed maintenance in a variety of settings, including the retirement facility, hotels, and resorts, and in student housing for a major university that included high-rise dormitories, apartments, townhouses, and industrial plant. He enjoys meeting owners and tenants and gets satisfaction through resolving maintenance issues. He enjoys spending time with his partner of 18 years, as well as creative writing and recording character sketches and vignettes that he has penned.
Michael John
Maintenance Technician
Michael John began his career in property management in 2000 as an assistant maintenance technician and matriculated to the position he currently holds. In 2003 the Apartment Association of Greater New Orleans honored Michael with an Award of Excellence as Service Technician of the Year.
Michael, affectionately known as, “Mr. Fix” It, among his family, loves helping others and the tenants he serves. Michael, who is the youngest of five siblings, is reliable, responsible, and hard working. He is a proud graduate of St Augustine High School, class of 1982. Michael attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he studied accounting for nearly three years. He also became a member of the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity during his time in college.
Michael went on to join the United States Navy after leaving college where he proudly served for four years. While in the Navy on the USS Midway, Michael learned his trade as a Machinist Mate, working in the engineering room, the boiler room and the generator room. He was also a member of the emergency fire team and served on the water crew, where he would conduct tests to make sure the water was safe for use. His experience in the Navy, where he earned an honorable discharge, allowed him to travel to many places in the western hemisphere of the globe, such as Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand, Africa and throughout the United States. It was during his time on the USS Jason when Michael was deployed to Operation Desert Storm. We cannot close Michael’s chapter in the Navy without mentioning the awards he received, which included, the US Navy Good Conduct Medal, US Navy Southwest Asia Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, the US Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with a Bronze Star, and the US Navy National Defense Service Medal.
Michael is a member of St. Peter Claver Catholic Church and often he attends the morning mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. He is the proud single father of a young female adult, Mikquel John who recently graduated from San Antonio College, at San Antonio Texas. Since Hurricane Katrina, Michael has spent many hours on the road traveling back and forth to visit the apple of his eye Mikquel. When he is not working or helping someone with a repair, he enjoys shooting pool and going to the gym to work out.