Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2024 · Filings through 2026-04-28

Elme Communities (WRE)

Fiscal year 2024 executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.

$3,980,371
Paul McDermott total, FY2024
42nd
CEO pay percentile vs peers
CEO-to-median pay ratio
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against WRE
No companies currently name WRE as a compensation peer in their most recent disclosure.

This is the complete answer, not a partial one — the list is never padded.

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2024

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Paul McDermott$750,000$0$2,081,671$0$990,000$0$158,700$3,980,371
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tiffany Butcher425,0000773,6820439,238075,2001,713,120
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Steven Freishtat325,0000416,7780254,150061,6621,057,590
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Susan Gerock315,0000426,7710218,768054,4361,014,975
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
W. Drew Hammond315,0000298,8940212,468055,386881,748
Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Treasurer

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2024 totalFY2023 totalFY2022 totalΔ FY20232024
Paul McDermott$3,980,371$3,707,826$5,279,117+272,545
Tiffany Butcher1,713,1201,010,347+702,773
Steven Freishtat1,057,590973,809+83,781
Susan Gerock1,014,975968,760972,052+46,215
W. Drew Hammond881,748725,809+155,939

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

No insider equity transactions reported since the proxy statement.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2024

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
W. Drew HammondRSU2024-02-143$122,462
Tiffany M. ButcherRSU2024-02-143313,942
Steven FreishtatRSU2024-02-143170,577
Susan GerockRSU2024-02-143174,513
Paul McDermottRSU2024-02-143801,856
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
W. Drew Hammond$122,462$0$00.0%
Tiffany M. Butcher313,942000.0%
Steven Freishtat170,577000.0%
Susan Gerock174,513000.0%
Paul McDermott801,856000.0%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2024

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
ButcherRSU23,801$363,441
Steven FreishtatPSU20,858318,500
ButcherPSU35,324539,404
W. Drew HammondPSU14,378219,555
Steven FreishtatRSU13,473205,733
Susan GerockRSU11,570176,674
Paul McDermottRSU153,1642,338,814
Paul McDermottPSU101,5721,551,000
Susan GerockPSU21,289325,080
W. Drew HammondRSU10,650162,626
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

The primary goals of the executive compensation program are to attract and retain the best executive talent while aligning the interests of executives with those of shareholders. The program emphasizes performance-based compensation, with a substantial portion of total compensation being 'at-risk' and tied to the achievement of strategic and financial objectives.

CEO STI target (% of salary)
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantFerguson Partners Consulting L.P.
Clawback policytrue
Anti-hedgingtrue
Anti-pledgingtrue
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2024

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Benjamin S. ButcherIndependent · Lead Independent Director · Audit · Compensation$122,500$99,974$222,474
Ellen M. GoitiaIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Corporate Governance/Nominating82,50099,974182,474
Thomas H. Nolan JrIndependent · Audit · Compensation (Chair)80,00099,974179,974
Vice Adm. Anthony L. Winns (RET.)Independent · Audit · Compensation · Corporate Governance/Nominating (Chair)76,50099,974176,474
Jennifer S. BannerIndependent · Audit · Corporate Governance/Nominating72,50099,974172,474
Susan CarrasCompensation · Corporate Governance/Nominating70,00099,974169,974
Paul T. McDermottEmployee director · Board Chair0
Ron D. SturzeneggerIndependent · Newly elected
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$55,000
Annual equity retainer$100,000
Per board meeting fee$0
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)100,000
Stock ownership guideline$5
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2024
Cash retainers and fees$504,000
Equity awards (grant-date value)$599,844
All other compensation$0
Total cost of the board$1,103,844

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

10

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2024

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

10a

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies Elme Communities names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including Elme Communities.

10b

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company's own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Apartment Investment and Management Company2025Wes Powell$700,000$2,956,757$0$1,841,595$10,762,352
2Easterly Government Properties, Inc.2025Darrell Crate825,0008,508,5190930,00010,277,519
3Veris Residential, Inc.2024Mahbod Nia800,0004,400,00002,169,7507,393,104
4Brandywine Realty Trust2025Gerard Sweeney800,0003,472,94001,520,0005,812,631
5Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.2025C. Brent Smith710,0003,766,34201,250,0005,757,342
6JBG SMITH Properties2025W. Matthew Kelly750,0003,499,99401,260,0005,521,861
7Independence Realty Trust, Inc.2025Scott Schaeffer800,0002,825,67501,127,2625,266,937
8Elme Communities2024Paul McDermott750,0002,081,6710990,0003,980,371
9CTO Realty Growth, Inc.2025John Albright870,0001,778,42101,239,7503,905,735
10Global Medical REIT Inc.2024Jeffrey Witherell643,7501,799,9800620,0003,108,503
11Centerspace2025Anne Olson600,0001,391,37801,096,3193,105,197
12UMH Properties, Inc.2025Samuel Landy842,6001,599,9980315,7502,909,784
13Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc.2024William Armstrong750,000587,9230344,5051,751,376

Each peer's compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer's figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

10c

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
Elme Communitiesnot disclosedPRSU 60 · RSU 40not disclosedFerguson Partners Consulting L.P.
Apartment Investment and Management Company175.39%PSU 67 · RSU 33NoFerguson Partners
Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosedFTI Consulting, Inc.
Brandywine Realty Trust95%RSU 50 · PSU 50NoPay Governance LLC
Centerspace182.7%RSU 50 · PSU 50Yes — TSR relative to FTSE Nareit Equity IndexFerguson Partners Consulting L.P.
CTO Realty Growth, Inc.150%PSU 61 · RSU 39Yes — Relative TSRFerguson Partners Consulting
Easterly Government Properties, Inc.78%LTIP Units 100Yes — Absolute TSRFTI Consulting
Global Medical REIT Inc.not disclosedRSU 50 · PRSU 50not disclosedFerguson Partners Consulting L.P.
Independence Realty Trust, Inc.203.4%PSU 75 · RSU 25Yes — Relative 3-year TSRnot disclosed
JBG SMITH Properties168%not disclosedNoFerguson Partners Consulting
Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.117%PSU 60 · RSU 40Yes — Total Shareholder Return (TSR) relative to peersFerguson Partners Consulting L.P.
UMH Properties, Inc.100%MSU 34 · RSU 33 · PSU 33Yes — Relative TSR vs MSCI US REIT IndexKorn Ferry
Veris Residential, Inc.271.2%RSU 50 · PSU 50Yes — Absolute TSRFW Cook

Read from each company's Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company's filing does not state the item.

11

Source register

Each figure's location is given both for the eye (section · page · table · row · column) and for a script (table/row/column index and exact character span in the filed document). Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, Paul McDermottDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 63. As printed: 3,980,371. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c27 · span 631991–632000
2Section 01, Tiffany ButcherDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 63. As printed: 1,713,120. Filing ↗machine: r12 · c27 · span 644926–644935
3Section 01, Steven FreishtatDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 63. As printed: 1,057,590. Filing ↗machine: r9 · c27 · span 639813–639822
4Section 01, Susan GerockDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 63. As printed: 1,014,975. Filing ↗machine: r18 · c27 · span 650967–650976
5Section 01, W. Drew HammondDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 63. As printed: 881,748. Filing ↗machine: r21 · c27 · span 657513–657520
6Section 03, W. Drew Hammond RSUDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 762195–762202
7Section 03, Tiffany M. Butcher RSUDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 751773–751780
8Section 03, Steven Freishtat RSUDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 746506–746513
9Section 03, Susan Gerock RSUDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 756979–756986
10Section 03, Paul McDermott RSUDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: span 739065–739072
11Section 08, Benjamin S. ButcherDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 222,474. Filing ↗machine: span 330777–331015
12Section 08, Ellen M. GoitiaDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 182,474. Filing ↗machine: span 333021–333297
13Section 08, Thomas H. Nolan JrDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 179,974. Filing ↗machine: span 334155–334393
14Section 08, Vice Adm. Anthony L. Winns (RET.)DEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 176,474. Filing ↗machine: span 335264–335502
15Section 08, Jennifer S. BannerDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 172,474. Filing ↗machine: span 329683–329919
16Section 08, Susan CarrasDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 169,974. Filing ↗machine: span 331865–332103
17Section 08, Paul T. McDermottDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
18Section 08, Ron D. SturzeneggerDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: —. Filing ↗
19Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)ComputedcomputedΔ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
20Section 03b vehicle mix (computed)ComputedcomputedRSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
21Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 504,000 + equity 599,844 + all other 0 = 1,103,844, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,103,844
22Apartment Investment and Management Company, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-240001193125-26-177149CEO total compensation as printed in Apartment Investment and Management Company's own proxy. As printed: 10,762,352. Filing ↗machine: r4 · c38 · span 1693533–1693543
23Easterly Government Properties, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-230001622194-26-000008CEO total compensation as printed in Easterly Government Properties, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 10,277,519. Filing ↗machine: t32 · r4 · c14 · span 1314670–1314680
24Veris Residential, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-04-290000924901-25-000035CEO total compensation as printed in Veris Residential, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 7,393,104. Filing ↗machine: t79 · r2 · c22 · span 686400–686409
25Brandywine Realty Trust, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-070001193125-26-145566CEO total compensation as printed in Brandywine Realty Trust's own proxy. As printed: 5,812,631. Filing ↗machine: t214 · r4 · c24 · span 3086750–3086759
26Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-180001174947-26-000393CEO total compensation as printed in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,757,342. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c6 · span 848772–848781
27JBG SMITH Properties, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-180001104659-26-030932CEO total compensation as printed in JBG SMITH Properties's own proxy. As printed: 5,521,861. Filing ↗machine: t286 · r3 · c17 · span 1302909–1302918
28Independence Realty Trust, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-190001437749-26-009071CEO total compensation as printed in Independence Realty Trust, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,266,937. Filing ↗machine: t171 · r1 · c25 · span 836781–836790
29Elme Communities (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-04-170000104894-25-000041CEO total compensation as printed in Elme Communities's own proxy. As printed: 3,980,371. Filing ↗machine: r3 · c27 · span 631991–632000
30CTO Realty Growth, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-280001104659-26-050405CEO total compensation as printed in CTO Realty Growth, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,905,735. Filing ↗machine: t23 · r1 · c35 · span 620653–620662
31Global Medical REIT Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-04-280001171520-25-000158CEO total compensation as printed in Global Medical REIT Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 3,108,503. Filing ↗machine: r1 · c12 · span 469279–469288
32Centerspace, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-030000798359-26-000029CEO total compensation as printed in Centerspace's own proxy. As printed: 3,105,197. Filing ↗machine: t47 · r7 · c7 · span 589259–589268
33UMH Properties, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-170001493152-26-017167CEO total compensation as printed in UMH Properties, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,909,784. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c31 · span 608102–608111
34Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-04-080001193125-25-075061CEO total compensation as printed in Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 1,751,376. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c29 · span 574394–574404
35Section 10a, Veris Residential, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0000924901-25-000035Veris Residential, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
36Section 10a, Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001174947-26-000393Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
37Section 10a, UMH Properties, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001493152-26-017167UMH Properties, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
38Section 10a, Apartment Investment and Management Company reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-177149Apartment Investment and Management Company's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
39Section 10a, Brandywine Realty Trust reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-26-145566Brandywine Realty Trust's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
40Section 10a, Global Medical REIT Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001171520-25-000158Global Medical REIT Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
41Section 10a, CTO Realty Growth, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001104659-26-050405CTO Realty Growth, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
42Section 10a, Independence Realty Trust, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001466085-25-000037Independence Realty Trust, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
43Section 10a, Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001193125-25-075061Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
44Section 10a, JBG SMITH Properties reciprocityDEF 14A0001104659-26-030932JBG SMITH Properties's most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗
45Section 10a, Easterly Government Properties, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001622194-26-000008Easterly Government Properties, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include Elme Communities. Filing ↗