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35 under 35

35 under 35

Special Section

Special Section

Great talent is hard to come by—exceptional talent, even more so—which is why the women profiled on the following pages are a rare breed. Smart, driv-en, and dedicated to improving the housing industry from all angles, these 35 rising stars—all under the age of 35—are poised to make significant strides that will leave a lasting (and luminous!) impression for decades to come.

P r e s e n t s

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Kathryn AndersonNatioNal BusiNess DevelopMeNt, teNa

age: 31

Kathryn began her work in the industry at a time when it was collapsing. From her various roles at TenA, she’s watched as the world has picked itself up and begun moving again. She was a part of DECA while in high school, a national association of marketing students, and secured gainful employment during her final semester of college—at a time when many recent grads were having trouble landing jobs. She now stays on top of quality control and compli-ance while representing her company on a national level. She is set to attend 19 industry conferences in this year alone and feels that the open-minded ability to learn and enjoy challenges is a necessity in the world of mortgage finance.

Jenna Baum partNer, Mccalla rayMer, llc

age: 29

Jenna can see the home prices rising from her vantage point in southern Florida, which furnishes her day-to-day work in closings with much reward. Baum’s father dealt in real estate as she grew up, and the act of transferring land—a handover in which everything stays in the same place—always interested her. She studied law in Florida and eventually arrived at McCalla Raymer, where she is regularly able to tell buyers, “yes, we’ll be releasing the keys to your first home.”

Channelle Bellervp, Director of MarketiNg, NatioNal title coMpaNy

age: 33

Channelle grew up in bad neighborhood outside of Las Vegas, and despite being a good student in her youth, she lived in an area where not much hope was afforded to young girls wanting to become more. She went to the Southern Nevada School of Real Estate and practiced her craft until the demands of raising a family required Beller to get a desk job. But that wasn’t the end of her career. She started at National Title Company as a business development and marketing rep, jumped directly to her current role, and hasn’t looked back, preferring to spend her time supporting charitable causes.

Kayla Bryant

Director of MarketiNg, aci

age: 26

Bryant set out to work for advertising agencies with her education in graphic design, but she always possessed communications skills that would position her for high placement. Her talent for helping appraisers to learn new technology platforms and industry language during the UAD implementation saw her rise to her current role, and since then she has enjoyed the fast-paced nature of the industry and her work while employing the artistic skills she always wanted to use. The evolution of products from thumbnail images to being in the hands of users is, to her, a reward all its own.

Susan ConnallyDirector of surveillaNce, claytoN

age: 31

Working for Clayton, Susan Connally says her standout trait is her ability to identify the needs of the company’s clients—a necessary quality for her job, which sees her collaborating with customers and the rest of her team to isolate and address potential operational problem areas while meeting industry standards. From there, she’s able to draw on that collaboration to design a script or put together a project plan, incorporating regulatory requirements and legislative actions to give clients all the information they need.

Kristi LeeseNior coMpliaNce officer, tXl Mortgage corporatioN

age: 29 As a senior officer for TXL, Kristi heads compliance, from the company’s management system to its anti-money laundering program and all day-to-day functions in between. Having moved into her position only about two years ago, she has been both blessed and cursed to work in “interesting times.”

“It’s great to have a first-time buyer at the closing

table and make sure they’re comfortable with what they’re signing, and being able to say

‘Yes, we’ll be releasing the keys to your first home.”

—JeNNa BauM, mccalla raymer

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Jennifer Ditnesvp of aDMiNistratioN, peNNcro

age: 33

Jennifer Ditnes admits that she was always the proverbial “people person,” and the fact that her fam-ily all chose professions in the financial industry closed the deal. As early as high school she worked in collections with Penncro, returning after college as a marketing associate. From there she worked upward to become the VP of administration and the head of human resources that she is today. Ditnes is quick to point out that her job and company is customer-facing, like she is, and that hearing tales of her Penncro associates successfully helping bor-rowers is something that keeps her going each day.

Laura Ferris

vp of coMpoNeNt services, greeN river capital

age: 35

Laura Ferris joined Green River Capital when the company was still finding its footing in the fertile housing landscape. She’s seen it weather the storm as a battered industry tried to regain what was lost during the crisis. It was during that time that she utilized her housing expertise to offer new ideas in innovation—the same ideas, incidentally, that she recognized during her own homebuying experience. “To be a part of something so new was still so exciting,” Laura said.

Cindy Gainsforthevp of sales aND MarketiNg, rekoN techNologies

age: 34

Cindy knows better than most just how fickle certain document requirements can be across the 3,600 recording districts in the United States. She has seen failure to release liens because the wrong color ink was used by the signatory or because the font was a single point too small. While she initially saw herself becoming a scientist after graduating from Pace University in New York, she joined Rekon Technologies and quickly grew familiar with industry matters, reaching her current position in under 13 years. Her company’s clients include seven of the top 10 lenders in the nation.

eshna Ghosh

svp of BusiNess DevelopMeNt, WiNgspaN

age: 34

Watching and listening to executive partners on the phones in her workplace taught Eshna that sales was her calling, and she used her education in finance to get the business acumen she needed to succeed. With a diverse work history—Morgan Stanley, Robert Half, and Accenture, moving up all the while—Eshna built up her repertoire to overcome the things that can hold back women in the corporate workplace. She is proud of the mentoring she has performed and is thankful for the mentors she has had, and tries to take the wider view of the industry and of life.

Lauren Godfreyassociate attorNey, QuilliNg, selaNDer, loWNDs, WiNslett & Moser, p.c.

age: 31

Lauren represents financial institutions in state and federal litigation involving consumer mortgage, real estate, title, lien priority, contract, foreclosure, and debt collections issues. Having started her career at a foreclosure firm, Lauren learned the intrica-cies of the default services industry and foreclosure process. In 2012 she brought the experience she gained in the trenches to her current practice, where she zealously represents mortgage servicers and investors in various issues that arise from residen-tial mortgage lending. And Lauren’s zealousness shows, as she consistently obtains favorable results for her clients.

Angela Farmervp, BaNk of aMerica

age: 34 Angela has 15 years of Mortgage Servicing experience in collections, foreclosure, and litigation just to name a few. Angela currently supervises default litigation and title curative for Bank of America, but this is far from where she began.

“I’ve gotten to work with a lot of people. I work with younger

women that I get to mentor, I love that opportunity and being able to strengthen them and have

them fearless.”—eshNa ghosh, wingspan

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Nicole B. ehrbargoverNMeNt affairs associate, QuickeN

age: 35

Ehrbar provides Quicken with a seat at the table of power. As an advocate for the corporation, Nicole has her finger on the pulse of Washington, D.C. to help shape Quicken Loans’ position and priorities on relevant legislation and reg-ulation. She has knowledge of both the legislative and regulatory process on a variety of issues, including the new financial services landscape and the begin-ning of the Dodd-Frank era of implementation. The experience she earned at the Michigan state delega-tion level shaped her ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with policymakers, industry leaders, and other opinion leaders to further of the company’s objectives.

Samantha Sue Friedmansvp of proDuct DevelopMeNt & clieNt services, hope loaNport

age: 30

Technology drives Saman-tha almost as much as she drives technology. She studied communications and business at George Washington University, and she began her own tech consultancy and implement-ed loss mitigation software for Radian Guaranty by the age of 25. Samantha’s current company is the nonprofit Hope LoanPort, developed out of Washing-ton, D.C.-based Hope Now Alliance, which attempts to improve the mortgage industry for all involved. Its current web portals help 19 different servicers, 1,500 housing counselors, hundreds of attorneys, and countless homeowners per-form transactions and track their documents.

Dena Jalbert

svp, aDMiNistratioN operatioNs, Digital risk

age: 35

Every good organization needs a backbone, someone to make sure that things get done so that it can operate the way it was intended to. As SVP of administration operations at Digital Risk, Dena oversees all of the corporation’s administrative, back-of-the-house operations. She has to be constantly adaptable because the industry is constantly changing. Her creativity, collaborative skills, ability to recognize where the industry is going, and knowledge to best serve her constituency all distinguish her as a standout performer.

Zan James

coo, valuatioN visioN

age: 34

Zan James is an entrepreneur. After spending several years in the industry and working her way up she and a few others took it upon themselves to form Valuation Vision. As the COO, she oversees the full breadth of company functions to maximize revenue for the company. Her ability to adapt to new challenges and learn quickly allow her to assimilate to new roles seamlessly. She recognizes that the mentorship she received paved the way for her success and she takes the role of being a mentor to others very seriously.

Katie Jo “KJ” KeelingMaNagiNg partNer, foreclosure practice area, Mccarthy & holthus, llp

age: 31

KJ is not interested in doing something if she can’t be the best at it. This sentiment echoes in her top-of-the-class ratings from law school, the Series 7, the Series 66, and her pending acceptance into a second state bar association. (She cleared the hurdles; now it’s just a matter of paperwork.) In line with her motto, she became the most knowledgeable person in her office on the disposition of assets when a commercial bank client of her firm entered receivership in 2009. KJ has worked in default servicing ever since.

“Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, ‘She doesn’t have what it takes’; They will say, ‘Women

don’t have what it takes.’”—clare Boothe luce, editor, diplomat,

journalist, politician

Ramie Word vp - foreclosure at NatioNstar Mortgage

age: 35 Ramie entered the industry in 2001 handling loss mitigation and asset recovery at Beal Bank while attending SMU in Dallas, Texas. She joined Nationstar Mortgage in 2004 in the REO division and quickly rose through management, and was recently promoted to VP of Foreclosure in 2009.

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Angela Kleine

associate iN Mortgage aND fair leNDiNg, MorrisoN & foerster, llp

age: 34

With beginnings in Indiana working for her family’s concrete con-tracting service, Angela always knew she wanted to be a lawyer. Working throughout her school-ing, she graduated from NYU and now serves on the Financial Services Litigation and Fair Lend-ing groups at Morrison & Foerster in California. Angela feels that joining the firm, which prides it-self on not having a “glass ceiling,” was her breakout role in the legal profession, but also believes that the future of jobs and home-ownership is bright for all women, who are becom-ing heads of households and college grads more than ever before.

Amanda MacalusoaccouNt eXecutive, caMpBell leWis

age: 22

A graduate of advertis-ing and public relations at Manhattan College, Amanda has been an account executive with Campbell Lewis since October 2013, working before then in various internships in the public relations and entertain-ment industries. At age 22, she’s one of the young-est additions to MReport’s 35 Under 35, but she sees her age as an asset. As a recent recruit, she brings a fresh perspective and new ideas to Campbell Lewis—like how to take advantage of social media, which is just one of her responsibilities.

Stephanie Martynvp, MarketiNg aND coMMuNicatioNs, WiNgspaN

age: 30

It was while selling medical uniforms that Stephanie Martyn decided upper management was for her, because, as she says, “it was where I needed to be and to go.” She is unafraid of change and feels that embracing it was one of the factors that elevated her from being a Nordstrom sales associate to a Wingspan company VP. Stephanie maintains that life doesn’t move in straight lines, but determining where one wants to go is the first step. She uses her skills today to organize branding events and charity fundraisers for Wingspan because, though change is good, being the change for someone else is better yet.

Margaret MooneyDirector, the colliNgWooD group

age: 26

Mooney got her start in the housing industry working as a college intern in the HIV/AIDS housing office of HUD. It was during that time that she saw that access to the American Dream is not equally granted to everyone. So, she’s made it her life’s mission to help society’s most vulnerable by helping them find sustainable and enduring housing. This Villanova graduate is currently working with the nation’s foremost thinkers in the industry at the Collingwood Group. There, she is able to interact with the most important people in the industry, and analyze the current housing finance economy to provide insight to their clients.

Kristin NakamaMarketiNg MaNager, peMco

age: 29

PEMCO once had a marketing team of only a single member: Kristin Nakama. She began as an intern and quickly rose to be marketing manager, expanding the company’s presence onto the Web with a multimedia-laden site and weekly webcasts to educate agents and brokers on the REO in-dustry. Focus and passion for her work drive her, and she curates a dedi-cated team to ensure that agents know foreclosed homes can find new life during the nation’s recovery. Nakama feels that her duty is to set not merely her best example, but the example that all other companies aspire to.

“I feel like in the network of people I’ve had contact with, it has been women who have been able to make it, and they focus on their success and not what has held them back.”

—kristiN NakaMa, pemco

Angel Lynn aNgel lyNN realty

age: 30s In 21st-century America, no responsible member of society, Realtor or otherwise, can be content to exist in a vacuum of business,” explains Angelica “Angel” Lynn. It’s under this precept that Angel has lived her life. As a proud Latina business owner and dedicated, passionate, and market-savvy real estate professional, Angel has become widely known for placing her clients’ satisfaction above all else.

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Vicky Nguyen

strategic eveNts MaNager, first aMericaN Mortgage services

age: 32

After earning her mar-keting degree, Vicky’s first corporate job out of college was in the ac-counting department of First American’s Mortgage Services Division. When a position opened up in marketing she made the transition to join the team and was soon asked to help coordinate an event as a side project. This ser-endipitous opportunity led Vicky and First American to discover her true pas-sion and prowess. Today, Vicky organizes branding events and trade show appearances as a certified professional. What was once a hobby of hosting parties has become her full-time career with a fo-cus on promoting causes, brands and fun.

Natalie owens

avp of BusiNess relatioNs, Butler & hosch

age: 29

Graduate work is most often a method of specializ-ing one’s skills for a limited sector of jobs. Getting a master’s degree in orga-nizational dynamics, like Natalie, ensures that all of corporate America is your playground. While she is proud of her personal addi-tion to President George W. Bush’s bookshelf, Natalie’s interest in law and her in-nate grasp of business ethics has led her professionally from Buckley Madole to Butler & Hosch, where she grows her business teams through education and intuitive collaboration. She feels that education and learning are paramount for men and women equally in today’s world, and that ex-pecting change is necessary to go forward.

Jessica Ruiz-KroutaccouNt eXecutive, caMpBell leWis

age: 34

An account executive at Campbell Lewis since 2009, Jessica develops media plans, coordinates conference panels, and generally promotes the media presence of some of the housing industry’s biggest names, including CoreLogic, Clayton, and Ellie Mae. According to Jessica, the greatest asset she brings to her role is her sheer enthusiasm for the job she does and the people she works with. “I think a big part of what I do is helping my clients tell their stories in advertising, articles, and interviews and making sure that they look good. And I do my very best at that,” she said. “I feel like we definitely contribute to that.”

Danya Sawyer

svp of Mortgage operatioNs, WJ BraDley

age: 32

Danya began working in M&A, but attributes her success and current position at WJ Bradley to luck, timing, and her ability to take advantage of each. Her career to date has included work for Bank of America, Coun-trywide, and New Penn Financial, doing work in warehousing, credit, sales, government lending, cor-respondent lending, closed loans, HARP refinances, flow pricing, bulk pricing, and more. Danya likes be-ing where the action is fast and dynamic, saying that regulatory changes need constant refinement to work well. She is particu-larly proud to work for WJ Bradley, a company headed with analytical skill and integrity.

Amy Smith

MarketiNg coorDiNator, DiMoNt & assoc.

age: 33

Amy worked for an online startup magazine before her resume caught the eye of Dimont. She never imagined she would end up as the marketing coordinator for a major company, but she doesn’t regret it. She walks her team nimbly along the fine line of having fun in their work while ensuring that clients get the highest quality of service possible. She has represented Dimont at conferences and played an integral role in the ad designs for her company’s latest marketing campaign. But these accomplishments are underscored by a simple philosophy that she maintains: “Helping other people succeed is helping yourself succeed.”

Kendall YowattorNey, QuilliNg, selaNDer, loWNDs, WiNslett & Moser, p.c.

age: 32 Having worked at a foreclosure law firm early in her legal career, Kendall brings to QSLWM a broad-based knowledge of the various issues and complexities that can come into play when working in litigation involving consumer mortgage and title issues.

“Women can do an amazing job at decision-

making.”—aMy sMith, dimont & assoc.

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Anne Sodam

Director of surveillaNce, claytoN

age: 34

As director of surveil-lance, Sodam is in charge of overseeing Clayton’s servicer relations team, which works with servicers to identify and address risk and compliance gaps and otherwise acts as the company’s liaison with clients. In an industry that’s become increasingly challenging over the last several years, she credits her success to her willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done—whether its a monumental task or a more mundane job—and her ability to stay positive, which she tries to im-part to her team. “In this industry especially, it hasn’t always been a very positive environment to be in, so making the best of things is how to excel,” she said.

Tiffany StringfellowcoNsultaNt iN aDvisory services, corelogic

age: 31

Real estate agents may know that location is king, but it matters almost as much in office jobs as it does in the field. Tiffany learned this lesson sitting in the cubicle just outside her boss’s office, but instead of withering under the watchful eye of management, she thrived. Working both the Eastern Standard and the Pacific Coast time zones in a single day, she often stayed late and got her hands dirty in the realm of cold calls. She earned for herself the VP role of sales at CoreLogic and now acts as a consultant for the company in advisory services.

pierrette Tierneyvp of operatioNs, NortherN califorNia, taylor MorrisoN

age: 34

CNN’s London newsrooms are far removed from real estate development offices in Northern California, but Pierrette has occupied both in her varied career. Her desire for a job that changed each day drew her to education and work in journalism while in school, but she found that real estate shared a common thread in that no two days are ever the same. Her talent for managing teams of people showed itself as she worked for Pulte in hybrid roles that capitalized on her skills, but she modestly credits her family and past mentors for investing their time and teaching in her.

erika Vaughn

Director of clieNt relatioNs, guarDiaNDocs

age: 30

Erika is responsible for managing a group of different teams that all work to handle client issues that come up during daily production, ranging from IT complications to compliance. She also oversees a project team in charge of enhancing and creating new services and a training team that performs internal training and functions. For managing it all, she says her strategy is to think of all problems as challenges to improve things: “I try to look at it as an opportunity to make things better, and I think that keeps the stress level down and helps clients stay stress-free.”

Lindsey ViehmannDirector of clieNt relatioNs & BusiNess DevelopMeNt, MartiN, leigh, laWs & fritzleN, p.c.

age: 31

Being brought on as a temporary receptionist didn’t slow down Lindsey one bit. She worked for less than three months before the senior partners took note of her personable nature and intelligence and promptly promoted her to a full-time post. She learned to run a law office as a paralegal, quickly moving upward in the company ranks. While she says her time as the director of operations taught her the most about the company, she hasn’t stopped educating herself and happily delves into new avenues of learning each day.

“There are a lot of great women who have been in the

industry for 30 years who put in the elbow grease so that women

like me don’t have to...”—tiffaNy striNgfelloW, corelogic

“I think there is a lot to be said that this was a male

dominated industry for a long time, but women are making great strides and becoming

leaders in this industry.”—liNDsey viehMaNN, martin, leigh, laws

& Fritzlen, p.c.

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Michelle Villarealvp / accouNt eXecutive, arcaNa iNsuraNce services

age: 32

Michelle Villareal is responsible for the relationship between Arcana Insurance Services and its mortgage servicing clients. She leverages her creativity and 12 years of insurance industry experience to ensure that her clients are given a tailored experience when they come onboard to the company’s program. Despite her youth, she has risen quickly in the industry, which has allowed her to touch multiple aspects of insurance from marketing to excess flood underwriting. Quick on her feet and adaptable in the face of adversity, Villareal undoubtedly has a bright future ahead.

Angela e. WatsonDirector, crosscheck coMpliaNce llc

age: 33

Angela is all about rela-tionships and connecting people. As a Director at CrossCheck Compliance, she leverages her extensive experience in the mortgage servicing industry to focus primarily on marketing and business development in the Texas market. She believes that cultivating relationships is all about the right people coming together at the right time to create something bigger than themselves. She’s eager to help her custom-ers solve their problems directly or through offering a great referral. Watson has moved up in the industry at an impres-sive rate and her current trajectory doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon.

heidi Weinzetl

of couNsel, Baker DoNelsoN

age: 34

Working in Bakel Donelson’s Fort Lauderdale office, Weinzetl counsels and defends in mortgage and real estate litigation and other creditors’ rights issues, but she says her legal focus is not simply to “fight for the sake of fighting.” Rather, she prefers to look for global solutions that benefit her clients, homeowners, and even the local housing market. To that end, she often works with both clients and homeowners to ensure a win all-around, reasoning, “At the end of the day . . . it’s better for my client to have a performing loan, [and] it’s better for the economy in general.”

Trixy Weiss

presiDeNt aND ceo, geNesis capital

age: 35

Trixy Weiss, founder of Genesis Capital, a Minori-ty/Women owned business, has a unique capability to understand key issues that limit efficiencies within the industry. She is committed to developing high-result resolutions to her clients’ needs. That commitment most recently resulted in the development of the interactive web-based real estate marketplace, the Property Exchange, a plat-form designed to cater as a one-stop shop for buyers and sellers seeking a fast and customized experience. Weiss strives to set herself apart in this competitive business by being able to connect with industry and non-industry professionals with her pioneering concepts and exceptional leadership qualities.

Sarah Wroble

accouNt supervisor, WilliaM Mills

age: 30

Sarah Wroble makes her living telling the story of the industry. As an Account Supervisor at William Mills Agency she has successfully led strategic public relations plans for more than a dozen agency clients in the banking, mortgage, payments, and insurance industries. Constantly growing as she continues to climb the industry ladder, her ability to asses her client’s unique needs and find creative ways to present their public relations strategies to the general public position her for success in the years to come.

“At the end of the day . . . it’s better for my client to have a performing loan, [and] it’s

better for the economy in general.”—heiDi WeiNzetl, Baker donelson