Kylanetra “Kyla” Whittington is the CEO and Founder of Petite Luxury Homes, LLC, which is a full-suite of affordable housing services that accompanies potential homeowners on their tiny home journey. Aside from her strong educational background and professional experience, she has bold optimism and personal ambition to drive positive change, as well as the dedication to find the right resources to meet the objective of true affordable housing.

After two weeks in Sharp Machine training, Kyla started her professional career in 2007 as a Bank Teller at Compass Bank, now BBVA. Upon graduating from the University of North Texas (UNT) in 2010 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, she joined ConAm Management as a Leasing Agent at a 360-unit multifamily property. Kyla quickly scaled the ladder and held a total of four positions, from on-site management to regional management, including the Regional Operations Specialist role for the Southeast region. She focused on computer hardware installation, computer software and web-based application training, and risk and compliance audit for over 5,300 multifamily units across six states, including Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.

After eight years in multifamily property management, Kyla decided to continue her career in multifamily, and pursued a Loss Mitigation Business Analyst position in the multifamily division of Fannie Mae in 2018. As a Senior Business Analyst, she acquired a strong business acumen for data analytics, risk management, project management and software development.  In 2019, Kyla, who is dedicated to continuous learning and personal growth, applied to the UNT graduate program for a Master of Science in Advanced Data Analytics, which would complement her marketing degree, financial services, and commercial real estate background. As she was completing her first year of graduate school, the COVID-19 pandemic began and her work at Fannie Mae increased exponentially as tenants all over the country were unable to pay their lease obligations. While devastating to watch homeowners and tenants lose their homes through foreclosure or eviction, the pandemic magnified the need for affordable housing, which sparked the concept of Petite Luxury Homes.

In 2021, just before graduating with her master’s degree in Advanced Data Analytics, Kyla was recruited to join the Asset Management Platforms team at Fannie Mae to continue designing an origination to liquidation asset management application. As Kyla had already been a Subject Matter Expert (SME) since joining Fannie Mae, this opportunity would allow her to pivot into a career in information technology. While at Fannie Mae, she actively participated in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts for the multifamily division, volunteered at the North Texas Food Bank, in addition to making blankets and creating school packs as a part of Fannie Mae’s dedication to the local community.

Since January 2022, Kyla has joined Citigroup, Inc. as the Vice President – IT Lead Business Analyst and manages large scale technology projects for Citi Commercial Bank small and medium-sized business clients. She currently enjoys her role, as it is the perfect fusion of her experience in the financial services, commercial real estate and information technology industries.  While working at Citigroup, inc., Kyla has leveraged the opportunity to volunteer at the North Texas Food Bank, participate as a Mentee in the Black Leaders of Tomorrow Mentoring Circle Program, participate in the ICG Tech DEI Initiatives, and will serve as a mentor in the new mentoring program Forward in partnership with Citigroup and the Yunus & Youth nonprofit organization.

Kyla is currently based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas with her husband, daughter, and dachshund. She is an artist at heart; so, when she is not managing technology projects or spending time with family, she fills her time with painting, photography, graphic design, outdoor gardening, and audiobooks.

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