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Rob Chrisman
Stratmor Group
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Rob Chrisman began his career in mortgage banking – primarily capital markets – 36 years ago in 1985 with First California Mortgage, assisting in Secondary Marketing until 1988, when he joined Tuttle & Co., a leading mortgage pipeline risk management firm. He was an account manager and partner at Tuttle & Co. until 1996, when he moved to Scotland with his family for 9 months.
He returned to the United States in mid-1997 and ran Secondary for Standard Financial, a sub-prime lender in northern California. In late 1997 Rob was hired by CrossLand Mortgage to start, and be the president of, a sub-prime company named OnCall Mortgage (a division of CrossLand). OnCall Mortgage was in existence until Wells Fargo purchased First Security Bank (the owner of CrossLand) at the end of 2000.
Rob then joined CMG Mortgage, a wholesale mortgage bank, as the Director of Secondary Marketing. In early 2003 and re-joined Tuttle Risk Management Services, Inc. TRMS (now Compass) provides mortgage pipeline risk management for mortgage companies and thrifts that seek to originate and sell loans into the secondary mortgage market. In November of 2006 Rob left TRMS to become the Director of Capital Markets for RPM Mortgage, a retail residential lender you all know, leaving there in late 2008 to focus on not only publishing a widely read daily market commentary on current mortgage events but also on his family.
He is on the board of directors of Inheritance Funding Corporation, a financial services company which advances capital to heirs, of Doorway Home Loans, of AXIS Appraisal Management, and of the California MBA. He is also a member of the Secure Settlements Advisory Board, an associate of the STRATMOR Group, and of the Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas and its membership committee. Rob has provided expert witness services for mortgage and real estate-related cases, has lectured to groups around the country.
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Bill Cosgrove, CMB
President & CEO
Union Home Mortgage
2015 MBA Chairman
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Bill Cosgrove, CMB is the president and chief executive officer of Union Home Mortgage, a high-growth, full-service retail, wholesale, consumer direct, correspondent & in-house servicing platform - independent mortgage banking company headquartered in greater Cleveland, Ohio. A recognized thought leader, Mr. Cosgrove has more than 35 years of mortgage banking experience and is the first and only mortgage banker in Ohio to lead the Ohio MBA as president in 2007 and the national MBA as chairman in 2015.
He is also the founder of the MBA Independent Mortgage Banking Conference. Mr. Cosgrove joined Union Home Mortgage in 1994 and became its sole owner in 1999. Under Mr. Cosgrove’s leadership, Union Home Mortgage has experienced incredible growth, expanding to 165 branches and more than 1,600 Partners nationwide. UHM closes more than 13 billion in first mortgage lending.
Bill serves the community as chairman of the Union Home Foundation. He is a board member of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, The Playhouse Square Foundation and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
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Cyndi Garza, CEO
Optimized Success
Mortgage Girlfriends
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Cyndi Garza is a leader, owner of multiple businesses, speaker, trainer, and executive coach. Cyndi’s coaching career began when she joined a national mortgage firm to build a sales team in Michigan, which at the time was non-existent. She strategically recruited and trained a sales force of over 130 people, which — through her coaching — became the highest grossing team nationally for seven straight years by averaging just under a billion dollars in sales each fiscal year.
Since 2001, Cyndi has held leadership positions where she has had the opportunity to identify strengths within her team, and develop those strengths to push people to grow and achieve more than they had imagined possible for themselves.
Cyndi is the founder of Optimized Success — a coaching and training company with a focus on helping people find success in business ownership and leadership. Her personal motto is “You are entirely up to you”, and with his motto at the forefront of her coaching approach, Cyndi has helped countless clients to rapidly grow in their business and mindset. In fact, while utilizing her own 12-step coaching model, Optimized Success became profitable within the first 30 days of its founding and continues to experience significant monthly growth.
Finally, Cyndi’s dedication to the mortgage industry and helping her community find immense success inspired her spearhead Loan Officer Magazine — the ultimate resource for mortgage professionals. She looks forward to using her expertise and experience to help others in the mortgage industry grow and achieve their personal visions for success.
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Mark Jones
Chair Elect
Mortgage Bankers Association
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Mark Jones Mark Jones is a co-founder of Amerifirst Home Mortgage, a company he established in 1983 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Under his leadership, Amerifirst expanded from a single location to over 80 full-service branches nationwide, employing 900 personnel. In January 2023, Amerifirst merged with Union Home Mortgage, resulting in the formation of a top 40 national mortgage lender, where Mark currently holds the position of President.
Mark's achievements extend beyond his role at Amerifirst. He is the Chairman-Elect for the Mortgage Bankers Association of America and is set to assume the Chairman position in October. He serves as the Chairman of the MBA's DEI Advisory Committee and was previously the co-chair of the Independent Mortgage Bankers Executive Council.
Prior to the merger with Union Home Mortgage, Amerifirst held prominent positions as the top USDA lender and the third-ranked FHA lender in Michigan, as well as the 13th-ranked FHA lender in Florida. Amerifirst also acted as a Ginnie Mae issuer and managed a $6 billion loan portfolio in-house. The company received recognition as a Best & Brightest Company to Work for in the Nation for five consecutive years (2016-2020) and was named one of the top 50 Best Mortgage Companies to Work For in 2021.
Mark's contributions have been acknowledged by prestigious accolades, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Michigan and Northwest Ohio in 2016. In addition to his professional engagements, Mark serves as a board member and chairs the Public Policy Committee at Southwest Michigan First, A regional economic development council. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was a member of the Varsity Swimming & Diving team. During his time at the university, Mark won the 1979 Virginia Intercollegiate State Championship in 1-meter springboard diving and qualified twice for the NCAA Regional competition.
Mark resides in greater Kalamazoo with his wife, and they are proud parents to three adult children and grandparents to two grandchildren.
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Kristin Messerli
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Kristin Messerli is passionate about improving financial wellness in our communities because I believe some very basic education could change a lot of lives, from income inequality to improved health outcomes.
She started her career in social work, primarily working in the unhoused and immigrant communities, where I found that the way we deliver education is just as crucial as the education itself. For people who have lost trust in a system, creating a safe space with consistency and empathy is the only way to making any impact. She has since taken that model to helping educators and professionals build trust in their communities with a consumer base that feels the system (many systems) have failed them.
Kristin studied psychology, philosophy, financial planning, and holds a Master in Public Administration, and has leveraged all of these fields to bring a unique perspective to business strategy.
Kristin has presented her research on the psychology of money and building trust with Millennial and Gen Z consumers to over 500 audiences in a variety of industries, including: The Mortgage Bankers Association, The National Realtors Association, American Bankers Association, Housingwire, American Bar Association, and Harvard Business School.
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Steve Richman
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Steve Richman has spoken in every state to more than 500,000 professionals at more than 1,000 companies. He draws on his experiences as a litigation attorney, business consultant, account executive, disc jockey, father, and husband to deliver a practical message. 90% of Steve’s bookings are actually rebookings from people who have seen him in the past.
The most common thing heard after he presents is, “If I knew it was going to be this good, I would have had more people here.” All presentations are customized to the client and he does not sell a book or a system from the stage. He is a presenter first and foremost.
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Steve currently resides in Raleigh, NC.
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Sue Woodard
STRATMOR Group
Independent Consultant, Public Speaker and Media Columnist, Commentator, Contributor
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Sue Woodard brings more than 30 years of financial services and mortgage industry experience, strategic vision and leadership to her role as a Strategic Advisor at STRATMOR Group. Having held many executive and leadership positions throughout her career, Woodard’s specialties are in customer experience, operationalizing excellence in the customer and employee journey, content strategy, and developing personal brand and presence via speaking, media and social media.
Woodard started her career at the ground level in financial services, became a top producing originator, then leveraged her knowledge to become a highly acclaimed industry speaker, subject matter expert and technology executive. Sue has been awarded numerous industry honors, including the NMP Most Powerful Women in Mortgage Banking, the MPA HOT 100 list, the Housing Wire Vanguard Award, and the NMP Most Innovative Award.
Sue is known for her genuine enthusiasm and passion for the mortgage industry, the people working in it, and the customers across the nation that the industry helps create “home.” She applies her breadth of experience and depth of relationships to add tremendous value to each of the clients she serves. Throughout her career, delivering an excellent experience that goes beyond what is expected is the standard – which made joining the team at STRATMOR a perfect fit.
A graduate of Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Woodard completed a double major in Finance and Business Management with a minor in Economics. She serves on the board of HOPE4Youth, a non-profit working to end youth homelessness, as well as on the board of Axis Lending Academy, an industry non-profit. As a bit of a thrill seeker, she has sky-dived over Vegas, fire walked on hot coals, Harley-ed down Route 66, run a Ragnar through the desert and cage dived with great white sharks, but claims nothing has been more exciting than raising her millennial daughter.
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Chris Gassel
SimpleNexus
Senior Strategic Account Executive
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Chris Gassel is a Senior Strategic Account Executive at SimpleNexus, an nCino Company. Chris spent his early career as a real estate agent, later worked for a builder and then served as a loan officer for Paramount Bank and USA Mortgage. These experiences allow him to understand mortgage technology from the end user's perspective.
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Jeff Marchetti
Homebot
Vice President of Enterprise Sales
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Over the last 2.5 years the former Ice Mortgage Technology (Ellie Mae) Vice President, Jeff Marchetti, joined the Homebot team as their Vice President of Enterprise Sales. Marchetti brings more than 23 years of experience in mortgage banking. Marchetti’s career has been split 50% in mortgage banking production where he held executive sales positions and the balance of his 23 years has been spent in mortgage technology. His current experience for the last 12 years focuses specifically on mortgage technology and services that drive efficiencies and revenue for lenders. Marchetti has held positions on the national level at H&R Block Mortgage, Servicelink ICE Mortgage Technology. As the Vice President Client Executive at ICE, Marchetti was responsible for bringing digital transformation to national lenders, banks, and credit unions with their mortgage banking technology platform and now at Homebot, Marchetti is able to bring the value of growing and scaling the enterprise foundation. Marchetti is also part of the executive leadership team at Homebot, driving scalable sales strategy and product insight. Homebot brings immense value to homeowners, buyers, and sellers alike," said Marchetti. "It also delivers an unmatched return on investment to lenders — unlike any technology I have represented in my past roles. Homebot is a game-changer. I am excited to assist our largest prospects and customers in retaining their clients for life and generating new business by engaging consumers with a product they love."
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Colleen Flynn
Optimal Blue
Capital Markets Solutions Specialist
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Colleen Flynn is a Capital Markets Solutions Specialist at Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight with over 25 years of service in a variety of roles within the mortgage industry including originations, operations, correspondent lending and secondary services. In her role within Optimal Blue’s Secondary Marketing Technologies group, Colleen supports the Optimal Blue Secondary Services and CompassPoint suites of solutions by providing lenders with the education, consultation and customized solutions for their hedging and pipeline risk management strategies and needs to grow their business.
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