The FOAM Series Author

Ian Knight, MBA, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, is a community association executive, industry researcher, and educator with experience across all types of community associations, including master-planned communities, single-family homeowners associations, condominiums, townhome associations, and mixed-use developments. His background spans governance, financial oversight, vendor management, and day-to-day operational leadership, bringing a practical, systems-based approach to association management.

In addition to executive leadership experience, Ian contributes to the advancement of the industry through ongoing subject matter expert work, independent research, and volunteer service focused on improving professional standards, education, and operational consistency within community associations.

Through Texas Active Enterprise, he developed the FOAM (Fundamentals of Association Management) education series to bridge the gap between volunteer boards and professional managers by translating complex governance, operational, and financial concepts into clear, actionable frameworks.

His work focuses on improving decision-making, strengthening financial literacy, and building repeatable operational systems across community associations. His teaching approach emphasizes real-world application, disciplined execution, and clarity — helping boards and managers understand not only what to do, but how to do it effectively in practice.

Ian’s perspective is shaped by a foundation in business and finance. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing — with coursework spanning business finance, accounting, economics, and data analytics — from the Lutgert College of Business at Florida Gulf Coast University, and a Master of Business Administration focused on business strategy and project management from Louisiana State University Shreveport, both AACSB-accredited institutions.

On the practitioner side, Ian holds the field’s principal professional credentials — Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA), Association Management Specialist (AMS), and Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) — and is a licensed Community Association Manager in Florida. That combination of academic grounding and day-to-day management experience is what allows the FOAM series to move comfortably between the why and the how.

Ian also works to strengthen the profession beyond his own portfolio. He contributes to the Common Interest Community Standards Council, and his research paper, “The Five Stages of the American Community Association: An Organizational-Lifecycle Framework for Governance, Operations, and Policy,” introduces the lifecycle model that informs much of his teaching.