Mission Success: HR’s Strategic Role in Shaping Company Culture

June 19, 2025

Podcasts Affordable Housing Featured Operations & Technology More West

MidPen Housing’s Amy Steadman on creative problem-solving, meaningful connections, fresh perspectives and… laughter.

“You need culture to create a thriving company,” is the phrase that shaped Amy Steadman’s career. While studying at UCLA, she heard one of her professors say this and it stuck with her ever since. After graduating, she worked for a tech start-up in the Bay Area and naturally gravitated toward the HR leadership responsibilities. It surprised her how naturally this role came to her and how satisfying the work felt.

Following a difficult year on a personal level, she started reflecting on what matters most to her. She wanted to focus more on doing good and making an impact, and that’s when a recruiter reached out to her and shared MidPen’s story.

“It did feel a little bit like the universe hearing me,” she reminisces a year after not only joining MidPen Housing as Chief People Officer, but also joining the affordable housing multifamily industry.

“Coming in with everything being new does allow you to see things in a different way,” Steadman said in this month’s Mission Success: Women in Multifamily podcast episode.

READ ALSO: How Well Can You Do by Doing Good?

She saw a lot of opportunities for creative problem-solving that helped her contribute to MidPen’s mission. To her, HR is a strategic business partner that focuses on creating meaningful connections among the company’s nearly 700 employees spread over 12 counties in California. How does she do it? What are the principles that guide her work? Tune in to find out!