Collection Agency Executive Earns Dedicated Community Association Leader Distinction

Andrea Behrens, vice president of collection agency Nevada Association Services, Inc. (NAS, Inc.), has received her Dedicated Community Association Leader Designation (DCAL) from the Community Associations Institute (CAI) Nevada Chapter.

With this accomplishment, NAS, Inc. is the first collection agency in the state of Nevada to have a DCAL in its ranks.

“I wanted to become a DCAL because I wanted to learn more. I wanted to be more educated in the homeowner association industry. It’s changing every day,” said Behrens. “I also thought that it would make us a better collection agency. I could bring what I learned back to the company.”

The CAI Nevada Chapter created the DCAL designation to encourage HOA board members and community managers to become more educated and further their roles as leaders.

The educational requirement to receive a DCAL is to attend 26 hours of classes. The Nevada CAI chapter is the only chapter in the nation offering the DCAL accreditation.

In presenting her with her designation at the CAI-Nevada chapter luncheon on October 11, CAI-Nevada President Patricia Taylor, of Taylor Association Management, said Behrens is the chapter’s first business partner to receive the DCAL designation.

Mary Rendina, executive director of the CAI Nevada Chapter, said that Behrens is a true leader in her field. “In her pursuit of greater knowledge of an HOA board member’s role and responsibility, Andrea Behrens has paved the way for our chapter business partners as the first to receive her DCAL,” said Rendina. “I applaud Andrea for her dedication and commitment to the CAI Nevada Chapter and the HOA industry as a whole.”

Andrea Behrens

For a year, Behrens attended Saturday morning classes about budgets and reserves, building community, ethics, risk management, insurance and more. She also wrote a number of articles on the topics of insurance and volunteering in her community, which CAI published in its trade magazine, Chapter Magazine.

David Stone, president of NAS, Inc., said Behrens’ efforts reflect well on the company, which specializes in homeowner association collections. “Andrea Behrens becoming a DCAL is wonderful for the company,” said Stone. “I’m very proud of Andrea, she did this all on her own.”

Behrens, who is also executive producer of Homeowner Talk Television, said she looking forward to applying her education to her job and sharing what she’s learned with others. “This will help me provide education to board members, managers and people in the community. I’m very excited about it,” she said.

Behrens emphasized that this is just the beginning. Now that she has her DCAL, she said she plans to enroll in more classes and continue her education. “I’m going to take some advanced classes and I’m looking forward to doing more with the DCAL program next year,” she said.

Behrens discusses the DCAL process in the video below: