2018 Conference Speakers

Dottie Herman, CEO, Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Dottie Herman is the quintessential New York success story. After attending Adelphi University, Dottie began her real estate career in 1978 working for the national real estate division of Merrill Lynch on Long Island. In 1989, Merrill Lynch sold their real estate division to Prudential, who did not want to own a national real estate company and decided to franchise. With the change in ownership, Dottie was convinced she could run the company herself, so in 1990 she borrowed $9 million dollars (with NO money down and NO personal guarantees) from Prudential to purchase Prudential Long Island Realty. She then turned the company into the powerhouse brokerage on Long Island and then in the Hamptons. Ready to conquer the Manhattan market, in 2003, Herman and her business partner Howard Lorber purchased Douglas Elliman, Manhattan’s largest and most prestigious brokerage firm. Since then, Douglas Elliman has become the largest and fastest-growing real estate residential brokerage in New York and Dottie the most successful woman in real estate.

In only two decades, Dottie climbed to the pinnacle of the housing industry –when she became the CEO of Douglas Elliman, ranked the third largest independent real estate company in the United States. Today, thanks to her extraordinary leadership, Douglas Elliman is New York’s largest residential brokerage, with over 7,000 real estate professionals and 675 employees working in more than 110 offices. Moreover, Douglas Elliman has a strategic global alliance with London-based Knight Frank Residential for business in the worldwide luxury markets spanning 60 countries and six continents.

Throughout her distinguished career, Dottie has received several honors and accolades for her work in real estate and her success in business. In 2008, she was honored at the 12th Annual Heart of the Hamptons Gala, receiving the Distinguished Community Leadership Award for her continual support and contributions. In 2009, the Guardian Angels honored Dottie with the Outstanding New Yorker Award. In 2009 and 2011, Crain’s New York Business named her among the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York. For the last four consecutive years, Dottie has been celebrated on The New York Observer’s The Power 100, a list recognizing New York City’s most influential people in real estate. In 2016, Forbes named Dottie as “America’s Richest Self-Made Women in Real Estate.” In 2017, Dottie was honored at the United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship Day where she was awarded the prestigious, Business Pioneer Award.

She is also host of WOR’s popular Saturday morning radio show, Eye on Real Estate, focused on the latest real estate market trends and news. She’s also a partner in an all- women’s syndicate, Lady Sheila Stable Two, which invests in thoroughbreds. It’s the rush of winning that keeps Dottie chasing new and exciting ventures.

Dottie is an honored contributor to The Sunrise Fund at Stony Brook University Medical Center, a program established to raise awareness and funds for pediatric oncology programs. Dottie is a long time supporter of the American Heart Association, the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, the Southampton Hospital, the Katz Institute for Women’s Health and Katz Women’s Hospital located at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and LIJ Medical Center in New Hyde Park. She is also involved with the Every Woman Matters Walk: A Walk for Women and Their Families.

When she’s not traveling internationally and domestically, she resides in New York City, Southampton and Palm Beach.

Erica Courtney, CEO and President, 2020vet

Erica Courtney is U.S. Army combat veteran having served in various positions to include; military police, a cavalry helicopter scout pilot and paratrooper. Her staff work included flight operations, senior logistical, contracting and budget management positions in charge of $750M in equipment, 200 million-dollar budgets and 2,500 people in the most deployable units in peacetime and in war.

Upon leaving active duty, she worked as a corporate executive and then founded a company focused on government business development growing on average of 45% year-over- year for five years. Erica is now the CEO of 2020vet (www.2020vet.com) specializing in two arms: supply chain/logistics optimization and forensic engineering services which includes drone as a service for delivery and data capture.She is continuing to serve the nation as a Major in the U.S. Army Reserveunder the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a Military Political Advisor to the United Nations, was a Commissioner representing more than 650K women in Florida, is on the Board of Directors for Women Impacting Public Policy and President Emeritus for the Disabled Veterans Business Alliance-the longest running veteran organization focused on veterans and entrepreneurship.

Erica has received numerous awards to include being named as a woman with the leadership background and ability to change the world by Oprah and the White House Project, 40 under 40 doing good things in business and the community by the Jacksonville, FL Business Journal, a2015 Woman of Influence by the Silicon Valley California Business Journal, 2016 National SROTC Cadet Instructor of the Year, 2016 nominated change maker by the White House Summit on the United State of Women and the 2017 Small Business Innovation award by AT&T. Erica has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Hawaii, an Executive MBA from Florida International University and EMBA program internships in India and China.

Sharron P. A. Levine, Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

She is responsible for oversight of diversity and inclusion programs at FHFA’s regulated entities, which include Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks, and the Office of Finance. She also oversees theAgency’s efforts to promote diversity and ensure inclusion internally inFHFA’s workforce andits contracting activities. Sharron advises the FHFA Director on the impact of Agency policies and regulations on minority- and women-owned businesses, and develops standards and procedures for assessing whether such businesses have failed to make a good faith effort to include minorities and women in their workforces. She leads a dedicated staff of equal employment opportunity specialists, diversity and inclusion specialists, and diversity and inclusion financial institution examiners.

Previously, Sharron worked in FHFA’s Office of General Counsel as an Associate General Counsel.Before joiningAgency in 2012, shespent more than a decade at Fannie Mae in the General Counsel’s office and left as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. At Fannie Mae, she managed a team of attorneys and paralegals supporting the Multifamily Housing Division’soperations, debt and equity production,and asset management businesses, among other areas.

Her legal career, which spans over 30 years, also includes practicing real estate finance law at large multi-national law firms and corporations involved in diverse sectors of the real estate and finance industries.Sharron earned both her B.A. and J.D. degrees fromNew York University.

Vanessa Montanez, Sales and Business Development Manager for the National Specialized Sales & Strategics Markets at US Bank Home Mortgages

Vanessa has been in residential lending for the last twenty years where she has applied her expertise in loans. She has worked for major lending institutions such as Countrywide Home Loans, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and most recently was the Regional Business Development Manager for JPM Chase. In this capacity she oversaw the business development, CRA, REO, Short Sales, and Builder/Condo in California. For the last fifteen years, she has been managing loan officers, sales managers, and processors. She is the former Vice President, National Mortgage Business Development Manager at East West Bank, responsible for the overall strategic plan and execution of increasing mortgage production in existing territories and reaching underserved borrowers. Demonstrating her abilities as an entrepreneur, she owns and operates a Farmers Insurance agency since 2008 and is a real estate investor/developer. Vanessa holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a MBA from Pepperdine University.

Victor Christiansen Chief of Minority and Women Business and Diversity Inclusion Branch of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion,
 FDIC

Victor Christiansen is the Chief of Minority and Women Business and Diversity Inclusion Branch of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Arlington, VA. He is responsible for spearheading
FDIC outreach activities and for implementing Section 342 of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Mr. Christiansen was formerly employed by the United States Department of the Interior in a number of different managerial positions. He worked in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development where he worked with Native American and Alaskan Native businesses to assist them in developing and improving business opportunities through a nationwide outreach program that provided technical assistance and training. Previously, Mr. Christiansen worked at the Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office) where he was responsible for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of a variety of Federal Government programs. Mr. Christiansen has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Lincoln University (PA) and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

Desiree Patno, CEO and President, Women in the Housing and Real Estate Ecosystem (NAWRB) and Desirée Patno Enterprises, Inc. (DPE). With almost three decades specializing in the Housing and Real Estate Ecosystem, she leads her executive team’s expertise of championing women’s economic growth and independence. Representing Fortune 100 companies in their relocation needs and selling thousands of properties across multiple platforms, she brings insider knowledge to NAWRB’s mission of advancing women and women-owned businesses.

As Chairwoman of NAWRB’s Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Council (NDILC), she oversees accountability of increasing women-owned and small business utilization and women’s inclusion at all levels. NAWRB has raised awareness of diverse opportunities, supporting the development and implementation of workforce and supplier diversity standards for the multi-trillion dollar housing sector since 2010.

Desirée resides on the Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) Leadership Advisory Council and Enterprising Women Advisory Board. In 2017, she was named the Highest-Ranking Woman and 4th Overall Top Real Estate Influencer to Follow by Entrepreneur.com, presented On the Margins of the 72nd U.N. General Assembly, The Intersection between Gender Diversity, Innovation and Economic Sustainability, and received the Connected Women of Influence Women’s Advocate of the Year Award and Walker’s Legacy Power25 Award. In 2016, she was honored with HousingWire’s Women of Influence Award and was selected as the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Women in Business Champion of the Year.

In 2012, Desiree won the prestigious Enterprising Women of the Year Award, as well as HousingWire’s Women of Influence Award for the first time. NAWRB is honored to be one of only 11 organizations listed as a Women’s Entrepreneurship Partner for the SBA.

Desiree is the Publisher of NAWRB Magazine—winner of the APEX Award for Publication Excellence in 2015, 2016 and 2017—and is a monthly contributor to RISMedia’s Real Estate Magazine, National Mortgage Professional Magazine, Inman and various industry publications.

Karen J. Collins, Founder and President, Collins Collaboration

A trusted resource and advisor, as Founder and President of Collins Collaboration, Karen leads with pedigree and offers proven expertise in building early stage organizations, specializing in geographical expansion and consolidation, successful integration of workforce and assets following corporate acquisitions, and in creating successful client engagement for corporations, not-for-profit organizations and universities.

Prior to launching Collins Collaboration, Karen’s senior management leadership over a 20-year span was a key catalyst in the tremendous growth of multinational,real estate financial data services organizations, The First American Corporationand CoreLogic, Inc.

Karen’s board service is comprised ofThe National Alumni Association Board of Directors at North Carolina A&T State University, The Board of Trustees at North Carolina A&T State University,The American Heart Association-American Stroke Association, and where she is a layco-author of the November 2017 published blood pressure medical guidelines, offering doctors’ new tactics on detecting, treating and preventing high blood pressure in their patients.

She also served as President of the Board of Directors for TheCoreLogic Foundation and as President and Chairman of the Board of The First American Homeownership Foundation.

She earned her Master of Business Administration degree at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at North Carolina A & T State University.

Diana Mendley Rauner, First Lady of Illinois

Diana Mendley Rauner became the first lady of Illinois when her husband, Governor Bruce Rauner, was sworn in as governor on January 12, 2015.

As first lady, Mrs. Rauner focuses on issues that affect the state’s most vulnerable children. She works closely with the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development and the Governor’s Cabinet on Youth and Children. She is also the driving force behind Illinois Family Connects (IFC), a program that offers nurse home visiting services to families of newborns. Pilot IFC programs are underway in two Illinois counties and their success could result in statewide implementation.

Mrs. Rauner is a nationally recognized expert on early childhood policy and programs. She holds a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Chicago. She is the president of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, a public-private partnership which supports early learning programs for at-risk children and their families (including the Educare Learning Network of schools). She carries out her executive duties as a volunteer.

The first lady chairs the Illinois Governor’s Mansion Association and has led the Mansion’s privately funded renovation. Mrs. Rauner began the Campaign to Restore the People’s House in 2015, and will celebrate the reopening of the restored Governor’s Mansion in July 2018.

In addition to her Ph.D., Mrs. Rauner earned a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.

The Rauners are the proud parents of six children and one son-in-law.

Amy Brandt, Chief Executive Officer, Docutech

Amy is President & Chief Operating Officer of Docutech Corporation. Prior to Docutech Corporation, Mrs. Brandt formed Vantium Capital, Inc. and Vantium Capital Management with Apollo L.P., served as the President and CEO of WMC Mortgage, founded the Residential Servicing Coalition, and was Chief Operating Officer of Prospect Mortgage. She serves on the Board of Directors as Co-Chair of the Women’s Committee for the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund, and she sits on the Board of Directors of the AmeriCatalyst Idea Lab. She has also served on the boards of SourceCorp, Inc., Bluebeam Software, Inc., and other privately held companies. Mrs. Brandt is an expert in the mortgage and secondary market industry and has led both turn-around efforts and start-ups to profitability, spearheaded the sale of two companies, and participated in numerous capital markets transactions, creating tremendous shareholder value.

Rebecca Steele, Chief Operating Officer, Spring EQ

She brings more than 20 years of mortgage origination, community and consumer housing communications and solutions, working with the nations largest banks. She also has significant default servicing industry expertise, and operations, production, and project/change management (Lean Six Sigma) leadership experience. Steele was the national mortgage outreach executive for Bank of America, where she also managed default servicing management within home loans servicing and was head of national servicing and centralized retail mortgage sales. She has led many of the mortgage process improvements and projects related to controls, risk and compliance, as well as implementation of many of the new requirements for Dodd Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She most recently founded and was CEO for the Steele Advisory and Services LLC, where she led the strategic and business development efforts for several strategic national servicer and vendor management companies.

Cheryl Travis-Johnson Chief Operating Officer, VRM Mortgage Services

Since joining VRM Mortgage Services in 2008, she has been an agent for change and innovation at the company including championing the development and roll out VRM University (VRMU), which is one of the leading training vehicles for mortgage and real estate professionals. Cheryl also leads the development of non-traditional solutions for lenders, servicers and investors that mitigate losses associated with non-performing loans. Under her leadership, VRM Mortgage Services continues to grow and develop new, innovative solutions that encompass the entire mortgage and asset life cycles.

Cheryl’s career in mortgage banking spans over 30 years and includes leadership roles in lending, loan servicing and real estate. Her extensive experience enables her to recognize industry trends and proactively address operational challenges with creative perspective and innovative solutions.

Cheryl’s passion for community and commitment to diversity drive her to continually advocate for new approaches to developing small and diverse businesses including creating business mentoring and coaching solutions to assist them in participating in today’s dynamic market. Additionally, Cheryl is an executive participant on the MBA Diversity & Inclusion Committee. As a part of her involvement, she led the co-development of a new Diversity and Inclusion Self-Assessment Tool. The new tool will enable Lenders, Servicers and Investors to assess, document and measure their compliance with the proposed OMWI standards for diversity and inclusion developed in response to Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Her strategic vision and organizational leadership is deeply rooted in creating sustainable, complaint solutions that protect reputations and revenues while protecting and preserving communities. Cheryl serves as a director on the board of the non-profit organization, PCV|VRM Seeds of Hope where her leadership through philanthropy serves to educate, enable and empower homeowners in an effort to stabilize neighborhoods and breathe new life into communities.
Cheryl Travis-Johnson exhibits leadership, commitment to progress and dedication to change in every area of her profession. From philanthropy and thought leadership to driving operational excellence for her clients and the industry, Cheryl is making a lasting impact on housing and, more importantly, on the homeowners and families that each of those homes represents.

Tami Bonnell CEO, EXIT Realty International

EXIT Realty Corp. International’s CEO, Tami Bonnell, is an internationally renowned leader in the real estate industry and was instrumental in building three major brands. Among her many achievements, she was recognized by real estate trend-watcher, Stefan Swanepoel, as one of the 200 most powerful and influential people in residential real estate, among the top 20 corporate executives and among the top 10 women leaders. Ms Bonnell has been a featured speaker at the National Association of REALTORS® convention to the Top 500 Power Brokers, The National Women’s Council of REALTORS®, Inman News Connect Conference and the RIS Media’s Leadership Conference. She was named to the National Association of Women in Real Estate Business’ Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council. Ms Bonnell is a 30-plus-year veteran of the real estate industry and joined EXIT Realty in 1999. She was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2012. She is a wife, mother of three and grandmother of three. In her spare time, she is a martial artist, coach, judge and referee.

Carie Bires, MSW,is currently Senior Policy Manager at the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago where
she works to improve access to and the quality of early learning programs and services for the most at-
risk children. Prior to her work at the Ounce, Carie held the position of Systems Integration Manager at
Heartland Alliance, where she advocated on behalf of children and families experiencing homelessness,
and also previously managed a program for children at a long-term transitional housing program. Carie
holds a B.A. in music therapy from Western Illinois University and earned her graduate degree in social
work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Carie sits on the Board of Directors of the
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth and is a member of the Illinois
Early Learning Council and Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council.

Stacey Walker Director of Housing and Community Outreach, Freddie Mac

Stacey M. Walker is the Director of Housing Outreach in the Affordable Lending & Access to Credit Department within the Single Family Division. In this capacity, Ms. Walker is responsible for building relationships with National and Local Intermediaries and other Stakeholders to provide responsible lending opportunities to first time homebuyers, low-to-moderate income borrowers, and families in underserved markets. In her position, she also oversees various neighborhood stabilization initiatives that engage communities, consumers and customers to help achieve business objectives through outreach.

Ms. Walker joined Freddie Mac in 1992, as part of the Mortgage Acquisitions Department. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Ms. Walker began her career in single family affordable lending at the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, in Lansing, Michigan. In this capacity, she served as a single-family loan underwriter and loan servicer, responsible for ensuring loans were in compliance with the State of Michigan’s affordable program guidelines.
Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing.

Dr. Chitra Dorai, AI Scientist, Entrepreneur & Former IBM Fellow and CTO at IBM Global Services

Dr. Chitra Dorai is an IBM Fellow and a Master Inventor IBM, and is responsible for Cognitive Solutions and Services in IBM’s Global Business Services as its CTO. Chitra has received numerous awards and recognition both externally and at IBM for her groundbreaking research and client-facing work in Banking, Financial Markets and Media & Entertainment industries over the last twenty-six years. She was a recipient of IBM’s highest honor in 2011 – the Gerstner Award for Client Excellence, was recognized as an IBM Distinguished Engineer in 2012, and was appointed by the IBM CEO as an IBM Fellow, the company’s top technical honor in 2015. Her work on customer focused analytics in mortgage servicing helped thousands of struggling home owners through home ownership retention programs and alternative workout options during one of the most challenging times in the history of the U.S. housing market. In 2014, Chitra received the Tamil American Pioneer Award for Excellence in Finance and Business from the Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America. In 2016, Chitra was profiled as a “Societal Innovator” in the IBM headquarters that showcase IBMers and the impact they have on the world.

Chitra graduated from IIT Madras with an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and received her Ph.D. in Computer Science at Michigan State University with the Distinguished Academic Achievement award. She has co-authored 100+ technical papers in IEEE and ACM conferences and journals, edited a book and received 5 best paper awards at international conferences. She is also the co-inventor of more than 45 patents, receiving high-value patent awards and has been recognized as a Master Inventor thrice. She has presented keynote addresses and technical talks at academic research conferences, industry symposia and panels, and has served on committees at the International Conferences of IEEE and ACM for more than two decades. Chitra is frequently interviewed or cited in press, web articles and YouTube video on a wide variety of topics from Cognitive Computing, Big Data, to mortgage industry transformation. Her 2015 interview by HfS Research touched on a variety of topics including the future of analytics. The 2016 profile, The Voices & View from FemTech Leaders… Chitra Dorai discusses her work in cognitive computing. Some of her key invited presentations at recent events and conferences include 2017 Watson Summit in Australia, MBA Tech 2017, The 2017 Richey May Mortgage Banking Roundtable for CEOS and Presidents of independent mortgage banks, The Hackett Group’s 2017 Best Practices Conference, World of Watson 2016, Everest Group’s “On Point | Summit Series 2016,” and HfS’s 2016 Service Buyers Convention.

For a description of Chitra’s Big Data work, see Big Data Profile: Chitra Dorai, IBM and about her appointment to IBM Fellow by the IBM CEO, check out 2015 IBM Fellows. IBM’s marketing video, http://bit.ly/2fqSzCZ features Chitra discussing a recipe for digital reinvention. Her recent blog about AI and BPO is at https://ibm.co/2xKqcYo.

Sarah Goldfrank Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Fannie Mae

Responsibilities: Sarah Goldfrank is Fannie Mae’s Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel – Single-Family. Goldfrank reports to the Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. Goldfrank leads the team responsible for providing legal services related to Single-Family mortgage selling and servicing contracts, loan-level litigation, seller/servicer oversight, remedies against private label securities issuers, and lender counterparty management.

Experience: Prior to assuming her current position in October 2015, Goldfrank was a Senior Vice President in Bank of America’s Legal Department, where she led several of the bank’s most important mortgage-related legal initiatives, including the horizontal foreclosure review mandated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the joint OCC/Federal Reserve mortgage servicing consent order, and the multistate attorney-general National Mortgage Settlement. Prior to that, she served as counsel for O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where she specialized in representing financial institutions, particularly mortgage originators and servicers, in significant litigation, enforcement, and regulatory matters. During her tenure at both Bank of America and O’Melveny and Myers, Goldfrank had leadership roles in diversity and other talent development efforts. Earlier in her career, Goldfrank worked for Fannie Mae as a senior manager in the company’s Office of Diversity.

Education: Goldfrank has a bachelor of arts in African-American studies and Art History from Smith College and a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center.

Marcia Davies Chief Operating Officer of Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and Founder of mPower

As COO, Marcia is responsible for ensuring cross organizational alignment and facilitating the implementation of strategic initiatives, as well as maintaining oversight of key organizational priorities. She is also the lead strategist for MBA’s external activities, providing leadership, guidance and overall management to the public affairs and marketing divisions. In addition, Marcia provides strategic direction and management of MBA’s Conferences, Membership, Education,Information Technology and Office Services divisions. She also provides management oversight to and is a Board member of MBA’s Opens Doors Foundation.

Previously, Marcia worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner. She directed HUD’s industry relations program to strengthen relationships, garner support, streamline communications and resolve policy and regulatory issues. Before joining HUD, Marcia spent 21 years at Freddie Mac, where she held a variety of officer positions in communications, customer outreach, marketing, servicer relations and policy.

Marcia is the founder of mPower – MBA Promoting Opportunities for Women to Extend their Reach — MBA’s networking platform for women in the real estate finance industry. She is a member of the NAWRB Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council (NDILC).Marcia is also a member of Women in Housing Finance and the International Women’s Leadership Association. In 2015, she was honored by HousingWire as one of its 2015 Women of Influence.

Marcia is a graduate of the Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, N.J.

Lisa Dunn, Office Manager and Realtor, Casa Bella Realty Group

Entering her 25th year as a full time Realtor, Lisa Dunn has been highly involved with volunteerism in her profession for the past 14 years. She has been Treasurer for the Orange County Association of Realtors, and she is currently a Director for both the California and the National Association of Realtors. Lisa has served on numerous housing policy committees on a local & state level and is serving her 3rd year on the National Association of Realtors Federal Finance & Housing committee.

Instrumental in the passing of a California law and currently working on a second, Lisa has served as an advocate for homeowners rights on a local, state and national level. Her passion is educating homeowner associations and fellow Realtors as to the importance of obtaining & maintaining FHA and VA condo project approvals, which allow veterans & FHA buyers access to more properties to purchase. Her work in this area led to Lisa being named the 2013 Realtor of the Year for the 12,000+ member Orange County Association of Realtors and the 2017 recipient of the California Association of Realtors Bette Dobkin award given for helping to expand affordable housing in the state. The work of the FHA/VA task force Lisa led received nationwide recognition by the press after being presented at the National Association of Realtors.

Lisa is a Realtor and the Director of Business Development at Casa Bella Realty Group, a boutique brokerage with offices in Rancho Santa Margarita & Laguna Niguel. In addition to her service to the Realtor Associations, Lisa is currently the President Elect of the Women’s Council of Realtors South Orange County Network, a member of Connected Women of Influence and a proud member of NAWRB.

Tujuanna B. Williams, Williams Consulting LLC
Williams is responsible for leading the development, implementation, management, and evaluation of Fannie Mae’s corporate diversity and inclusion strategy, policies, and programs.  Williams has been instrumental in driving culture change through the organization using tools that access the cultural competence of the company and implementing coaching plans to address gaps.  She has created initiatives and platforms that encourage courageous conversations in the workplace to address conflicts and barriers to employee authenticity. Williams is committed to bettering the lives of the underserved by providing coaching, counseling and education to increase access for affordable housing.

Before joining Fannie Mae, Williams was co-founder and managing partner of New Season Coaching and Consulting Group, LLC, a management consulting and executive coaching firm. Prior to that, Williams was Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Freddie Mac. Her previous positions include Director – Diversity and Recruiting Strategies, Verizon Business; Director – Workplace Diversity, MCI; and Director – Diversity and Work Life Programs, US Airways Group.

Williams is a certified executive coach with a BA in advertising and public relations from Middle Tennessee State University, Executive Leadership Development Certificate from Harvard Business School (HBS), Executive Coaching Certificate from the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute (CaPP) and most recently selected to the class of 2018 Leadership Greater Washington.  She has been recognized for her work by MReport Magazine-60 Leading Ladies/ Women in Housing, Black Enterprise Magazine as 2016 Top Chief Diversity Officer, Working Mother Magazine- Working Mother of the Year, Profiles in Diversity Journal-Women Worth Watching, Diversity Inc., and Savoy magazines.

Tujuanna resides in Northern Va., where she is active in her community, church and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She is married to her college sweetheart and the proud mother of two beautiful daughters.

Rosalind Booker, Broker/Owner, Arbrook Realty Group, LLC.

Rosalind (Roz) Booker is Broker/Owner of Arbrook Realty Group, LLC. – A full-service real estate company in Dallas-Ft Worth. She is a trusted advocate in the community and remains true to her heart-inspired convictions to empower others. In 1996, Roz began her real estate career after leaving her Corporate career to pursue a higher education and to enrich her family’s lifestyle. Roz has been named a Top-Producer in real estate. In 2005, Roz earned her BS/BMGT. Since 1990’s, in her former position as Minority & Women-owned Supplier Development Coordinator at JCPenney and as an Elite Board Member & Certified Delegate Spokeswoman of National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB,) Roz has been an advocate of connecting the wealth opportunities for diverse classes and businesses to work together. Roz is also a member of the Allen/Fairview Chamber of Commerce. She is Women’s Ministry Leader and a Worship Leader at River of Glory Church in Plano, TX. She loves to sing, have fun, travel, and enjoy tasty food!

Stacie Rankey, Vice President, Client Relations Gerner & Kearns Law Firm 

Stacie Rankey has been in mortgage banking since 2001 with a concentrated focus in Client Relations, Business Development and Sales. She currently serves as Vice President of Client Relations for Gerner & Kearns Co. L.P.A., a real estate focused law firm in the Greater Cincinnati area, is co-founder of the Women’s Mortgage Banking Collective and founder of Survivor’s Voice.  She is a strong believer in mentorship and offering guidance to help other women reach their personal and professional goals.

Stacie is a survivor of both breast cancer and sexual harassment. She believes that we must share our stories with others to bring awareness to these types of subjects and create forums where they can be discussed openly and comfortably.  There is power in speaking your truth.

Ms. Rankey is married to her first kiss, Ron, and has 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren with a 6th due to arrive in September.

Esther Ayuk, Managing Broker/Owner, Bess Realty Professionals

Esther Ayuk, is originally from Cameroon, Central Africa. She is owner and managing Broker of Bess Consulting and Real Estate Services located in Mableton, Georgia, a Minority Women-owned Small business.

Prior to venturing into the business world, she served as a licensed Pharmacist in various capacities in the states of Maryland and Georgia. Currently, her passion in real estate has enabled her facilitate transactions between clients in the United States, Africa, Caribbean and Latin America for the past 16 years.
She is an advocate for women empowerment and believes the pathway to empower women is through education, collaboration and partnership, because women are critical catalysts for meaningful change.

Esther is a graduate of Howard University College of Pharmacy in Washington, D.C., a graduate of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, as well as graduate from the Mayo Clinic Wellness Coaching Graduate Certificate Program. She holds several designations from the National Association of Realtors including the following: Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR), Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), Certified New Home Specialist (CNHS) and Certified Residential Specialist (CRS). She recently became certified as a Delegate Spokeswoman with Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem (NAWRB).

Adenike “Nike” Fasanya-Osilaja, Owner, Marvel Ventures Mortgage, Inc

Adenike “Nike” Fasanya-Osilaja is a housing expert with over twenty years experience in the US industry, and has been the owner and President of her own company, Marvel Ventures Mortgage, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, since 2000. With a strong background in Law, Banking and Finance, Nike holds licenses and certifications in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA/HUD, VA, Commercial and Islamic Mortgage Finance. She is a National Association of Mortgage Professionals Certified Mortgage Consultant (CMC), the top mortgage broker industry certification in the United States. She is also a licensed insurance producer, and has previously held a real estate license in Illinois.
After facilitating an Executive level closed door white paper conference on behalf of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) in 2015, Nike took on the mantle of bridging the gap between the African Housing Industry and the Diaspora market of investors and home buyers. She is an extremely engaged Presenter, and speaks internationally at housing related events.

Nike is also a vocal advocate of women’s issues, especially on female wealth creation through homeownership, and access to homeownership for indigent women. Her series “Female Empowerment through Wealth Creation – Secrets of our Mothers” remains one of her most popular presentations. Her goal is to bring awareness to the difficulties faced by widows, divorcees and single mothers in the quest of affordable homeownership, especially in emerging markets. As a result of her personal experiences, Nike is also very active in the support and mentorship of professional women, and created the “Jackhammer the Glass Ceiling” seminar series to encourage young women in the housing industry to speak up, especially on issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Nike is most passionate about Affordable Housing Policy, Mortgage Education, Standardization, Compliance and Quality control. She trains and consults internationally on Real Estate/Mortgage Finance Company Set-up, Product Development, Underwriting, Processes and Procedures, Competence, Compliance and Quality Control.

Noemi Lujan Perez, VP of Government and Media Relations, ECO Diversity Media

Noemi Lujan Perez’s career is a merger of diversity-niche marketing, communications, public policy, and community relations across private industry and the public sector. Her portfolio includes outreach and relationship management across multicultural audiences on behalf of Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.

Previously, Noemi served as deputy chief of communications and director of nontraditional stakeholders for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service where she established the agency’s multicultural public relations platform and implemented the Agency’s first-ever national partnerships with African American and Latino stakeholder groups. She was the highest-ranking minority woman hired by the agency in 2011.

Prior work includes serving as communications director for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She has also driven diversity PR and stakeholder relations for numerous corporations and nonprofits including Microsoft Corp., MGM MIRAGE Properties, State Farm, and HITN TV. Her public affairs work includes the 2008 MSNBC Democratic Presidential Debate on Black-Brown Issues; 2008 HITN TV and HACU Hispanic Higher Education Town Hall Forum; and, 2004 DNC Una Nueva Esperanza tour. Her legislative portfolio encompasses civil rights, conservation, education, health access, and technology access.

Noemi served as the 2017 Honorary Convention Gala Co-Chair for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She is a cofounder of ECODiversity Magazine and the ECODiversity Top 50 Diversity Leaders Awards, the nation’s first corporate social responsibility platform focused on driving diversity and inclusion in the green, eco, and conservation industries.

Michelle Corridon, Deputy Director, USDA Rural Development

Michelle C. Corridon is the Deputy Director of USDA Rural Housing Service’s Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Division based in Washington, DC. She has over 28 years of housing finance experience encompassing strategic planning, community development, policy analysis, credit loss mitigation strategy, and communications. In her role as Deputy Director, she leads high impact policy and procedure implementation along with process improvement, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, and human resources for the $24 billion dollar loan guarantee program.

Prior to assuming her current duties in September 2015, she served as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy where she focused on project and program management. From 2008 to 2012, she was a Rural Housing Service loan specialist concentrating on lender eligibility, compliance, and program risk management. She began her career at the Farmers Home Administration originating and servicing single family housing and farm loans.

Michelle is a graduate of Virginia Tech and the Partnership for Public Service Excellence in Government program, and holds Project Management Professional and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certificates. She resides in Ashland, Virginia with her two children.

Sheri Orlowitz, Founding Partner, Artemis Holdings Group LLC

As a natural offshoot of her work to date Artemis is developing an investment thesis to create “The Artemis OZ Fund” and will seek to raise $100 million to invest in real estate, sustainable energy and VC companies.  The OZ Fund is based on the new tax initiative contained in Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 signed in late December 2017.  The Act provides for a capital gains deferral on the sale of any assets that have appreciated (a business, real estate, stocks, art, etc.), a 15% step up in basis and, in addition, an exclusion from taxes for any appreciation of assets in the OZ Fund if invested for 10 years. The goal of this law is to unlock some of the trillions of dollars in unrealized capital gains to help in community redevelopment.

Sheri has close to 30 years of legal, business and functional experience as a C level operator (CEO, CFO and COO) of various companies and has raised $100 million, identified and led her investors to through the LBO’s of 9 companies which she subsequently operated.  Ms. Orlowitz has taken those skills to create a new business practice area – CEGO- (Chief Exit and Growth Officer) and directs them to CEO’s she can guide to the next level by bringing connections, strategic advisory, capital investment (Artemis’ and others) and a time tested skill set in operational excellence to facilitate stability, organic and M&A growth. Artemis brings the wisdom and perspective of someone who has been there, learned from the failures and navigated into remarkable successes.

Sheri has been a US delegate to Greece and Portugal as part of the US Department of State Global Entrepreneurship Program and and taught entrepreneurship in University in the US and Saudi Arabia and works with entrepreneurs to scale and raise capital at the angel, VC and lower middle market level companies.  She is a sought after speaker on financing, growth, turn arounds and exitandhas been featured or quoted in NAWRB magazine, the NY Times, WSJ, Investor Business Daily, Barrons, and myriad magazines as well as appeared on CNBC and C-Span.  Sheri has served on numerous private and advisory boards and is proudest of her role in the founding of the Orlowitz-Lee Children’s Advocacy Center.

Representative awards include, Leading Women Entrepreneur of the World; INC 5,000; 50 Most Influential Minorities in Business, WPO Business Star; and Enterprising Woman of the Year.

John D. Veal Jr., Acting District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration’s Illinois District Office

As the leader of SBA’s operations across the state of Illinois, he directs the Illinois District team in implementing an efficient and effective strategy that strengthens the entrepreneurial ecosystem and helps small business owners access capital, comprehensive technical assistance, and government contracting opportunities.

Since May 2015, Veal has served as Deputy District Director for the Oklahoma District Office. He previously worked for the Richmond District Office as a Supervisory Business Opportunity Specialist and for the Oklahoma District Office as a Business Opportunity Specialist and Veterans Affairs Officer. He is a member of the 2018 Class of Excellence in Government Fellows Program.

Extensive experience in government contracting and a passion for empowering small business owners led Veal to make a difference with the SBA. He earlier served as the Defense Military Pay Officer at Fort Polk, Louisiana and Fort Sill, Oklahoma and as a Business Coordinator with the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center (OSBDC). While with the OSBDC he was recognized as the Region VI and the Oklahoma District Office Veteran’s Small Business Champion of the Year.

Veal holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from Oklahoma City University. He is a Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) from the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) and holds the Level I Contracting Certification from the Federal Acquisition Institute.

Veal is a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm as the Detachment Commander of the finance detachment. He was a member of the finance corps and retired in 1995 at the rank of First Sergeant, having served for more than 23 years.

A strong commitment to his community also motivates him to serve in other capacities. He is a Life Member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He is a past treasurer of the Ninth District of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He was named Ninth District Omega Man of the Year and recently inducted in the inaugural class of the Oklahoma State QUES Hall of Fame for fraternal and community contributions. He the current President of the Oklahoma State Ques Association and a member of the Ninth District Council. Veal has served in key roles in other community organizations, including serving as president of the Society of Case Research and a trustee for the Comanche County Industrial Development Authority. Additionally, he led Leadership Lawton/Fort Sill and served as District 5A governor for AMBUCS, a national charity dedicated to creating mobility and independence for people with disabilities.

Veal currently divides his time between Oklahoma and Chicago.

Felisa Garmon, Associate Ombudsman, CFPB

Felisa Garmon serves as an Associate Ombudsman in the CFPB Ombudsman’s Office. She has experience in several government agencies and joined the CFPB from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Prior to the GAO, she worked at the Internal Revenue Service for nearly 13 years, primarily as a Supervisory Tax Law Specialist in a variety of areas to include estate and gift taxation and individual taxation. Before the IRS, she worked as an Attorney Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Transportation for the U.S. Coast Guard. Felisa earned a BS in Psychology at the University of Maryland and a JD and LL.M. in Taxation at the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Riley Barrar, Associate Ombudsman, CFPB

Riley Barrar is an Associate Ombudsman at the CFPB Ombudsman’s Office. Riley served as Co-Secretary of the Coalition of Federal Ombudsman from 2016-2018 and Co-Chair of the Federal Conflict Coaching Group from 2013-2016. Prior to joining the CFPB, Riley was as an Associate Ombudsman at the Department of State, where she earned a Franklin Award, and an ADR Program Specialist at the Air Force Office of the General Counsel, where she received the Air Force Exemplary Civilian Service Award. She received her B.A. in Communication Studies and Justice Studies from James Madison University, with a concentration in Conflict Analysis and Intervention, and an M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University with a focus on Narrative Conflict Resolution.

David Hrobon, President and CEO, Wintrust Mortgage

With the company since 1994, David is responsible for managing all aspects of the organization. In addition to his duties at the mortgage company, David sits on several Boards and Committees for the WTFC Holding Company and participates in the MBA Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (CAAC) and MBA LO Comp Task Force.   An industry veteran since 1985, David has held many sales, mid-management and senior management positions prior to joining Wintrust.  His previous employers include:Medallion Mortgage, Sears Mortgage, Consumer Mortgage, CitiFed Mortgage and The Kissell Company.

Wintrust Mortgage currently employs approximately 1100 employees and lends in all 50 States through traditional retail, consumer direct and correspondent loan origination channels.  WintrustMortgage originated $4.4 billion of residential mortgage loans in 2017 and services approximately $7 billion of residential loans.  David is an active supporter of the Chicagoland Chapter of Habitat for Humanities, and was co-sponsor of the 2017 Habitat Heroes annual fund raising event.  David was also awarded the Illinois Association of Mortgage Bankers “Star Award” in 2016 and the “Who’s Who in Chicagoland Real Estate” award by Chicago Agent Magazine in 2014.

A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, and David holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, which included a study program in Geneva, Switzerland.  David has attended post-graduate classes at the University of Chicago, Ohio State University and University of Dayton.

Tomaneci A. Day, Director of Supplier Diversity, Freddie Mac

Tomaneci A. Day is the Director of the Supplier Diversity Program at Freddie Mac. She started her career in Supplier Diversity at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) in Laurel, Maryland as the Outreach Coordinator for the Small, Local and Minority Business Enterprise Office. She was responsible for supervising the branding and marketing of the core elements of the supplier diversity program– Outreach, Compliance, Advocacy, Supplier Development and Small Business Certification. Ms. Day led efforts that re-branded WSSC’s Supplier Diversity Program increasing diverse vendor registration and launched development workshops that are now institutionalized.

Deeply committed to the inclusion of diverse-owned businesses in all procurement engagements, Ms. Day continues to champion Diversity in her current position at Freddie Mac by pro-actively introducing program innovations, preparing remediation plans for deficiencies in diverse spend and advocating for transparency in contracting processes. As a Maryland native, she actively participates with local diversity councils such as the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Councils and the D.C. based Women Presidents’ Educational Organization (WPEO). She believes that diverse suppliers will be successful if we are purposeful in our inclusion efforts; focusing more on the development of diverse suppliers as well as the corporations that procure their services. Tomaneci and husband Charles reside in Prince Georges County Maryland with their one and half year-old Boston Terrier – named Tux.

Tamara King, VP of Residential Policy and Member Engagement, Mortgage Business Association

Tamara King is Vice President of Residential Policy and Member Engagement. She helps lead MBA’s engagement strategy for the Policy Team with several key member segments. Ms. King oversees MBA’s Independent Mortgage Bankers Executive Council and Network, the Community Bank and Credit Union Network, the Warehouse Lenders Executive Council, the Wholesale Lenders Executive Forum, and the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council. Prior to her current role, she managed MBA’s residential loan production areas where she helped direct the association’s policy development on regulatory, legislative, and industry issues.

Tamara has extensive experience in mortgage finance, community development, and state and local governments. Previously, Tamara was a Senior Business Manager for manufactured housing in Fannie Mae’s Single-Family Mortgage Business. In this role,Tamara was responsible for developing and managing new initiatives and products, and developing business and strategic relationships with manufactured-housing participants. She also managed the development of several affordable lending products at Fannie Mae. Tamara’s other positions have included Vice President of Community Development at HSBC Bank in New York, Director of the New Homes Program at the New York City Housing Partnership, Senior Project Planner in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations, and Senior Budget Examiner in the New York State Department of the Budget.

Karen Przypyszny, Managing Director of Special Initiatives at the National Equity Fund

Przypyszny is the Managing Director of Special Initiatives at the National Equity Fund where she is working on new programs, including Opportunity Funds, policy initiatives and implementing an internal strategic plan.  She spent the past ten years as Senior Vice President of Investor Relations where she was responsible for overseeing the placement of $500 million of product annually with of NEF’s proprietary investors.   Prior to that Ms. Przypyszny was SVP of Acquisitions where she helped to restructure the production process for the acquisition department and was responsible for overseeing the development of new programs and initiatives. She started with NEF in December, 2000.  NEF is a national organization and has offices in 11 locations.  Previous to her position at NEF, Ms. Przypyszny was the Senior Vice President of Equity and Lending at Banc One Community Development Corporation overseeing production in 15 markets.  From 1989-1997 she worked in various capacities at Enterprise Social Investment Corporation, assisting in structuring and managing state and local LIHTC equity funds.  She has also served as an underwriter with the Illinois Housing Development Corporation and a planner at the City of Chicago Department of Housing. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and received a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1982

Sandra Heidinger, AMP Affordable Lending Manager, North Central Region, Single-Family Affordable Lending and Access to Credit

Sandra Heidinger is an Affordable Lending Manager in the Single-Family Affordable Lending and Access to Credit organization. In this capacity, Sandra creates production strategies and lending opportunities for Freddie Mac’s lender customers. Working collaboratively with lenders, non-profit agencies, and government agencies, she creates outreach initiatives designed to increase homeownership opportunities and preserve homeownership for under-served families.

A veteran in the mortgage industry, Sandra joined Freddie Mac in 1997 and has held a variety of roles, which include Affordable Lending, National Lending Sales, Customer Education, Default Management Servicing, and Contract Management. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Sandra worked in the primary market in various roles which include underwriting, origination, processing, and closing.

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Today Freddie Mac is making home possible for one in four home borrowers and is one of the largest sources of financing for multifamily housing. For more information, please visit www.FreddieMac.com and Twitter @FreddieMac.

Deborah Baldwin, Deputy Director, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI)

National Credit Union Administration Deborah Baldwin is Deputy Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) at the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Since
joining NCUA in 2016, Baldwin has assisted the OMWI Director in developing, implementing, and monitoring progress towards a number of standards and procedures related to workforce diversity and inclusion, utilization of minority-and-women-owned businesses in NCUA programs and contracts, and credit union diversity.

Prior to joining NCUA, Baldwin spent four years with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago where she served as an Assistant Vice President, formerly establishing the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Baldwin has over 20 years of experience working successfully in both human resources and diversity leadership roles within varying industries.Deb holds a degree from Georgia State University.

James K. Joseph,Appointed by President Donald J. Trump and officially began his service with FEMA Region V on November 12, 2017 and was sworn in to Federal service by Administrator Brock Long in Washington, DC on Monday, November 13th.

Prior to accepting his FEMA appointment, Mr. Joseph was a member of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s cabinet to which the governor appointed him on February 1, 2015, to serve both as Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and as Deputy State Homeland Security Advisor. In these roles, Joseph oversaw Illinois’ disaster preparedness and response, nuclear safety and homeland security programs, as well as the agency’s 200 plus employees and a budget of nearly $500 million. He also served on numerous national organizations, including: Co-Chairman of the National Homeland Security Consortium, Executive Board of the National Emergency Management Association and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security State and Local Intelligence Executive Council.

Joseph has over 15 years of senior leadership experience in both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining the Rauner administration, Joseph served as the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for DuPage County, Ill. (Illinois’ second largest county) where he oversaw three county departments.

Joseph also founded his own company called Center for Security Intelligence, where he provided consulting services in security operations, workplace violence prevention and emergency management to both government and corporate clients.

Prior to owning his own business, Joseph was the Vice President of Security and Fraud Risk for HSBC – North America, the world’s third largest bank. There, he created and implemented security protocols for North American operations serving nearly 70,000 employees, in addition to global security policies utilized in over 70 countries.

Joseph has served in municipal government as well, both as Chairman of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, and the Chairman Pro-Tem of the Planning and Zoning Commission in Carol Stream, Ill.

Kaethe Morris Hoffer,the Executive Director (since November 2013) of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), a legal services, prevention, and policy reform organization serving survivors and working to eradicate sexual assault and prostitution.

Kaethe has been with CAASE since 2009, when a legal services and policy advocacy not-for-profit that she founded became part of CAASE. Kaethe has been working against sexual inequality and sex-based violence for more than twenty years, engaging in feminist advocacy and litigation in many venues.

Specific examples of Kaethe’s work include the following: Internationally, Kaethe represented Equality Now, an international women’s rights organization, in United Nations proceedings which created the international standard definition of and law against sex trafficking (the “Palermo Protocol”); she also served as project manager of a lawsuit led by Catharine MacKinnon on behalf of survivors of Bosnian-Serb rape death camps which resulted in a record-breaking multi-million dollar verdict against Radovan Karadzic. At the state level, Kaethe served on the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women in Illinois from 1999 to 2003, where she chaired the Working Group on Violence Against Women, co-authored the Gender Violence Act (a cutting edge civil rights remedy for survivors of sex-based violence), and assisted in the development and passage of the Civil No Contact Order Act and the Victims’ Employment Safety and Security Act. Locally, Kaethe served as a policy advisor to the Mayor of the City of Chicago, directed federal affairs for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, and represented low-income women at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago. Kaethe is a past member of the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence (2012-2013) and the Cook County Women’s Commission (2011-2012). She served on Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign Policy Advisory Committee on violence against women issues. In recent years Kaethe’s work and leadership has been recognized by the Chicago Foundation for Women (2012 Impact Award) and the YWCA Evanston/North Shore (2012 YWomen Leadership Award). Kaethe is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Michigan Law School.

Gail E. Bellefontaine,COO – Herbert Landy Insurance Agency Inc.

Gail Joined the Landy Agency in 1987 and after more than 30 years of employment she now proudly serves as the COO of this nationally recognized agency. In the infancy of her career her position was that of an accounting representative in the accounting department. Here she devoted herself to honing in on the skills needed to perfect her role displaying an innate desire to learn as well as dedication and loyalty to this family owned business At the time these traits did not go unnoticed by senior level management and as a result Gail began her tranisition into various management roles finally leading her to where she is today.

Gail is married and has a daughter who will be entering her junior year in college this fall seeking a BS in Earth and Climate Science.

Family is very important to her and although the work/life balance has presented its challenges she has found it to be very rewarding on both fronts.

Gail is an avid boater and enjoys her free time boating with family and friends on a nearby lake where she owns a cottage.

Judy Hoberman,President of Walking on the Glass Floor and Selling In A Skirt- International Speaker, Trainer, Coach, Author and Mentor

Her 30 years in business has given her both the knowledge and sense of humor about how men and women sell, work and live differently will enlighten you in learning how both genders can support each other’s successes in a more productive way.

Her audiences, from 10 to 10,000 are engaged with details wrapped in memorable stories that are easily implemented that same day. In 2016 she was a TEDx speaker talking about pre-judging people, something we all do without even thinking. She is the author of “Selling In A Skirt”, “Famous Isn’t Enough”, “Pure Wealth” and her latest book “Walking on the Glass Floor” already a best-seller, is about the soft skills of leadership. A complete training program rounds out the training and development of women in leadership and the men that champion them. As her book was coming off the printing press, Judy completed a program from Cornell University’s College of Business in Women in Leadership.

Judy’s mission…to help One Woman A Day by following an important philosophy-“Women want to be treated equally, not identically” ™

Quynh Palomino, CEO, majority shareholder and member of the Board of Managers of Virtua International Holdings

Quynh Palomino is the CEO, majority shareholder and member of the Board of Managers of Virtua International Holdings. Ms. Palomino is a Southern California based entrepreneur with experience in real estate development, construction, and asset management.

In addition to Virtua International Holdings, Ms. Palomino founded or co-founded a number of companies. Clear Vista Management provides specialized asset and property management services for a national portfolio of commercial real estate. Quyp Development develops horizontal and vertical projects across the Sunbelt, including multi-family, mixed use, SFR rentals, and industrial. Quyp Hospitality develops limited service hotels under the Marriott and Hilton flags, and provides specialty consulting services. Versant Commercial Brokerage Inc, provides market research, underwriting, acquisitions, brokerage and workout consulting. Virtua Credit Corporation originates senior and mezzanine debt,and develops structured finance products. Virtua Capital Management provides product development, investor relations, regulatory compliance, and fund management.

Prior to her current roles within the now fully integrated firm, Quinn was the Director of Business Development for a commercial real estate firm in San Diego, CA, where she worked on more than $2B of investments. Quinn was also a partner at a San Diego based construction and development firm, where she worked on development projects with government agencies, including the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the City of Pittsburg, California Redevelopment Agency.

Carmen Chong, CC Legacy Financial Corp.
President | Broker | Life Ins. Agent

Carmen Chong is a member of the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) since 2009, 2011
Founding president of the San Francisco Peninsula chapter, 2015 AREAA National Chairwoman and
currently serves as the CEO for AREAA Global, the for profit arm of AREAA. AREAA Global serves as an
exclusive platform for our members by connecting capital to business opportunity.

AREAA is a non-profit professional trade organization dedicated to sustainable homeownership
opportunities in Asian American Pacific Islander. AREAA has 39 chapters in the US including 2 in Canada
and are 17,000 members strong.

Carmen Chong is the President and CEO of CC Legacy Financial Corporation, a company that was
founded in 2006 providing excellent services and education in the Mortgage Lending, Real Estate and
Financial Services industries. With her 28 years of experience in the Mortgage Lending, Real Estate, and
recently adding Financial services specifically (Life Insurance and Annuities), she has created a complete
circle of services for her network.

Being of Chinese descent, but born and raised in Nicaragua, Carmen is trilingual in English, Spanish and
Cantonese.

Leora Ruzin, Vice President- Secondary Marketing Guaranteed Rate

Leora Ruzin has been a leader in the mortgage industry for over 10 years, primarily in operations, compliance and secondary marketing. She is a graduate of the University of Phoenix and Colorado Technical University, and holds an Associates degree in Accounting and a Bachelors degree in Business Management.

Over the course of her career in the industry, she has held seats on several committees within the Mortgage Bankers Association, and has volunteered her time as an officer on two different Employee Resource Groups with Flagstar Bank. Leora has also published articles for Mortgage Women’s Magazine and NFL Female, and has been a guest speaker at mortgage conferences across the country.

An Army veteran, she understands the importance of insuring no one is left behind, and truly feels that anything can be achieved through perseverance and teamwork. Her experience with trauma, both as a cancer survivor and a survivor of sexual and physical abuse, has given her the drive and passion to help other women find hope and strength during similar circumstances.

When Leora is not spending her time advocating for homeownership and spreading the word about the importance of investing in personal goals, she continues to expand her own knowledge through reading and attending industry workshops.

Leora currently lives in Michigan with her husband, four children, and her two cats. As a mother who lost two children during infancy, she is a fierce advocate for the March of Dimes, and other causes that bring awareness and support to those who have suffered from loss due to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death.

Brande Hampton, Vice President of Sales/Broker of Centered International Realty

Brande Hampton ensures that your transaction will be tended to with the utmost care. Brande Hampton exemplifies loyalty and integrity. Brande is committed to serving the needs of her clients, and placing their priorities first is just the beginning. Brande strives to understand the client and guarantee that all of their needs are both met and exceeded. Brande’s character is often described as experienced, attentive, tenacious, and comprehensive. Brande is cultured and involved in the real estate industry. Brande is a member of the Chicago Association of Realtors (C.A.R.), Women’s Council of Realtors, Illinois Association of Realtors (I.A.R.), National Association of Realtors (N.A.R.), Institute of Real Estate Management (I.R.E.M.), Realtor Political Action Committee (R.P.A.C.) Donor. In addition to Brande’s industry involvement she also appears monthly as a Real Estate Advisor on the popular Real Estate Radio Show “Market Overdrive” AM 560. Brande’s commitment to the industry and community are seen in her service on the newly formed Veterans Real Estate Council, where she is a community education board member for VAREP. This involvement allows Brande to further fulfill her personal duties to the Unites States of America and the men and women that protect this country current and veteran. Prior to becoming a Realtor Brande served in the U.S. Navy for over 9 years; while she served in our military she earned numerous awards including, Sailor of the Year, and the Navy Achievement Medal. The Navy Achievement Medal is described as follows: “award shall be presented for meritorious service or achievement in combat or non-combat circumstances based on sustained performance or specific achievement of a superlative nature, and shall be of such merit as to warrant more recognition than is possible.”

Following the Navy Brande attended and graduated The University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she obtained two Bachelor’s Degrees. Brande out of college worked as a Registered Dietician for Rush University Medical Center, as the Manager of Dietary Patient Meals. During her tenure at Rush she coordinating over 110 employees, 12 supervisors, and managed a $1M fiscal budget.
Brande’s wealth of experience in life and career has rounded her into an astonishing real estate broker. Brande prides herself on being connected to her craft, and she uses this awareness to both enlighten and prepare her clients. Brande’s transactional expertise spans sellers, buyer, and property owners for the management of their assets. When probed about where her passion from real estate developed, Brande’s answer is simply, “Being able to help others achieve their dreams, it gives me the ability to truly make a difference in an individual or a family’s life, I love watching the joy created in my clients.” When Brande is not serving her clients and impacting communities you can find her spending time with her two children and husband, or searching out a new “foodie” restaurant to sample. Brande lives by the motto “Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, and more happiness.”