Her Story
About Cynthia
I've been with New Albany Housing Authority for 10 years, starting as a case manager for residents for the first 6 years before becoming a housing counselor and MLO focused on first-time homebuyers. I handle one-on-one appointments helping clients with budgeting, building savings, and debt management, plus financial education classes. I'm proud to be the only HUD-certified counselor serving Floyd and Clark Counties in southern Indiana, and I'm also a licensed mortgage lender in both Indiana and Kentucky. Before this, I worked 3 years at the Family and Social Services Administration in the Food Stamp Office and 10 years as an aide at a psychiatric hospital for children. I completed my bachelor's degree in general studies from Indiana University in 2013 after initially pursuing art and then geology.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Cynthia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the people around me, especially my manager who pushed me to take on new roles and training, and my mom who is constantly encouraging me and there for me when I fall. Having good people in my corner has made all the difference.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received is that it's not just about the money. It's about what you enjoy and what you're going to want to get up and do every day, and do it better than you did it the day before. When it becomes just about the money, it's not going to be worth it anyway.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
In my industry, people think it's about knowing how to do math and the numbers, but it's not always just about the numbers. People respond better to kindness and understanding, and sharing your expertise and experiences. It's about building relationships with people and having a community around you that you can get answers from. As long as you're building those relationships, you don't have to know all the numbers yourself.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is the economy, high interest rates, and inflation making it rough for people, especially those with credit issues. But the opportunity is that this situation is creating more assistance programs, down payment help, and resources from banks and communities to help first-time homebuyers and those on the lower end of credit scores get into better positions.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are being compassionate and understanding with people because everyone has their own story. When it comes to money, people are sensitive, so I let them know there's nothing on their statements I haven't seen or dealt with myself, and there's no shame in working to fix it now.
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