Appraisal Institute Terminates CEO Who Pushed For Board Reform

The Appraisal Institute's board of directors has fired the professional association's CEO, Cindy Chance. Chance received notice that her employment was terminated following a “secret board meeting” on Thursday night, she told Bisnow on Monday.

Chance, who stepped into the role last August, has been well-liked by the industry, according to several senior appraisers who spoke to Bisnow. Her post about leaving the AI on Linkedin received a flurry of supportive comments from high-ranking appraisers.

In her year on the job, Chance said she has pushed governance reforms and advocated for appraiser independence in their work. That has included taking a critical look at the AI’s board. 

“We've had challenges with the staff organization not operating well to achieve goals,” Chance wrote in an email. “Although a CEO can fix challenges like that, through reorganization and realignment, transparency and accountability, the issues cannot be fixed if the board doesn't function well or at the strategic level.”

The board consists of 24 members along with audit committee members and 12 “Thirds," who Chance has described as “board members in training.”

“When you have people in roles for long periods of time, who are friends for years, and they work in the regulatory space and then in the non-profit advocacy space, and then in the for-profit space, and all of these interests get entangled, it is a situation that is ripe for corruption and self-dealing,” Chance wrote. “Appraisers and the public are the ones who suffer when these bodies don't function as well as possible.” 

When asked if she is considering a lawsuit, Chance said she is "not one to back down in the face of injustice."

Appraisal Institute President Sandra Adomatis said in a statement that John Udelhofen, the organization’s current chief financial officer and chief operating officer, will serve as interim CEO as AI searches for someone to fill the position.

“As a matter of best practice and law, we do not comment on personnel matters for any Appraisal Institute employee, current or former,” Adomatis wrote. “We’re going to continue to focus on the things members need from us, including the programs that will empower valuation professionals with the resources they need to compete and provide credible valuation services.”

Rumors circulated in the industry earlier the month about Chance being potentially ousted by leaders within the organization.

Former AI CEO Jim Amorin wrote to Adomatis and other AI leaders in February expressing his displeasure with the direction Chance was taking leading the organization, according to an email obtained by Bisnow, including “negative and damaging statements that she continues to make about me and ‘past leadership.’”

“The emphasis has immediately moved away from the collective voice and leadership of our members towards a more centralized representation by our CEO,” Amorin wrote on Feb. 23. 

When asked to comment on Chance's firing and the message he wrote to AI leadership earlier this year, Amorin told Bisnow in an email that the “comments were directed at leadership, encouraging them to support the elected officers' role in member engagement. As a member, I feel like I have a right to communicate with the leadership.”

Amorin, who is also a two-time past president of the institute, added that he hasn't been involved with the organization since he resigned as CEO in November 2022 and didn't send any further communications to AI's board.

“I have no inside information regarding the Appraisal Institute’s decision involving Ms. Chance,” Amorin wrote. “I have never met or communicated with her, and my knowledge is limited to what has been publicly reported.”

Chance said that she had asked leadership to pass along to Amorin a challenge to a public debate, which was declined.  

“Here you see the kind of politics and pressure that has impacted the organization's effectiveness,” Chance said.

Chance's firing has triggered alarm among many appraisers about the remaining leadership of the organization, which provides online coursework and credentials for valuation professionals and has over 16,000 members.  

“When you take a very popular CEO with the appraiser population, have a secret meeting and let them go, one can only look at the situation and say, ‘Where is the corruption?’” said Phil Crawford, who has been an appraiser for more than 20 years and hosts a podcast on the industry.

The recent speculation surrounding Chance by members and others in the industry prompted the AI to release a statement earlier this month, before Chance's firing, denouncing "false rumors" about actions the board “may or may not have taken.”

“We are aware of the false rumors circulating about the actions the Board may or may not have taken at its recent meetings,” Adomatis said in a statement posted on Linkedin. “Rest assured, however, that the board is acting at all times in the best interest of the Appraisal Institute and that it is working together with staff and the CEO to carry out the mission and objectives of the Appraisal Institute.”

Crawford, who is not an AI member, fears that Chance’s termination will cause the AI to shed fee-paying members. 

“What Cindy was bringing, which was a breath of fresh air to me, was the fact that a lot of appraisers that were not associated with the Appraisal Institute or carrying designations were looking seriously at joining,” Crawford said. “At the end of the day, what does a leader of an organization want? More members.”

The sentiment has already been shared in comments under Chance’s post, which now totals more than 140 responses. 

“After paying dues for nearly 50 years, I am just now understanding that some think we are a secret society,” one appraiser commented. “It might be time to shine a little sun on those meetings as nothing should be kept from membership.”

The upheaval comes as appraisals are expected to play a vital role in revaluing a giant swath of real estate that has depreciated during the pandemic.

The profession has an aging workforce with strict requirements preventing new employees from entering. The median appraiser is 60 years old and 80% are over 50. More than 77% of the AI's members are white and just 2.2% are Black, and large industry players have faced accusations of allowing discriminatory barriers, preventing change and resisting oversight, Bisnow found in a four-part investigation earlier this year.

The issue of the organization being dominated by older, white men was also something that was brought up to Chance.

“I've heard it referred to as an ‘old boys club’ so many times, and that is a shame,” Chance said. “Given the importance of the profession for upholding the public trust, it is critical that the organization function professionally with best practice governance.”

The Appraisal Foundation, which writes the rulebook the industry must follow, has also come under scrutiny from federal regulators over dodging oversight, Bisnow reported as part of its investigation earlier this year. 

“There's much more to say,” Chance said of her situation. “But the public should know that what is happening in this small profession is important.”

Matt Wasielewski contributed reporting for this article.