Introducing the very first President of the Fort Worth Apartment Association, Bryan Downer, CEO at Community Enrichment Center.
Bryan started his tenure as a volunteer at AATC beginning in 2018 as AATC’s IRO Chair. Once he started serving, it was immediately evident that he had the aptitude for servant leadership. He was then invited to be a member of our Executive team, where he became Treasurer in 2022. His passion for people, along with his business experience in multifamily, made him the perfect candidate for executing FWAA’s mission. Bryan hasn’t looked back and is focused on pushing FWAA into the future.
Bryan has been happily married for 40 years to the irrepressible Nansii Downer. They are proud California transplants and are the parents of three children. Tragically, their oldest son and his wife passed away two years ago in an automobile accident. Their daughter and son-in-law share five children and two grandsons and currently live in Southern California. That’s right, Bryan and Nansii are great-grandparents! Their youngest son and his wife live locally in north Saginaw with their three beautiful granddaughters.
Bryan received a graduate degree from Tyndale Theological Seminary and is a practicing church pastor and local minister—talk about servant leadership!
Bryan and his wife love to camp. They spent a few years overland camping with friends in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Utah. Since then, they have upgraded their camp experience by purchasing an Airstream trailer and are loving every minute of it. Bryan also loves to garden and is looking forward to being a little more intentional about that in 2024. The volatile Texas weather always makes gardening a challenge.
“We are very fortunate that our association has always been very forward-thinking and developed programs that are now industry standards.”
Bryan has been in the property management world for 11 years. Prior to that, he and Nansii ran a residential maid service for several years. Bryan also has extensive construction experience.
“My goal as president this year is to help the FWAA continue to evolve and move forward as an industry leader,” says Downer. “We are very fortunate that our association has always been very forward-thinking and developed programs that are now industry standards.”
Bryan goes on to suggest how FWAA can continue to innovate and make the multifamily industry better.
“I am very concerned about the lack of affordable housing in the DFW and Texas area. I will work with other great non-profits and owner managers to help slow the spread of homelessness and keep families and individuals in their homes,” he says.
Some things you may not know about Bryan. He says growing up in Orange County, CA, was a huge blessing for him. He was in the right place at the right time for a lot of fun things. For example, he could go to Disneyland for $2.95; he spent most teen summers at Huntington Beach sharing the water with surf legends from the 60s and 70s. He was also there in the middle of the Jesus Freak movement of the 70s and went to concerts and events at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa.
If you haven’t met Bryan face-to-face, I encourage you to seek him out at our next membership event, where he’ll likely be there waiting to greet you with arms wide open.
Congratulations, Bryan, on being our next President!
Kevin Pellegrino is FWAA’s CEO. For more information, you can contact Kevin at kevin@aatcnet.org.
