JUNE 1 – 3, 2022 | ORLANDO, FL
Speakers
Click on their photos below to learn more about this year’s speakers. Check back for updates as our roster continues to grow.
Keynote Speaker
Chris Mygatt
Senior Vice President – Core 4 Engagement Leader
Coldwell Banker Realty
Chris Mygatt
Senior Vice President – Core 4 Engagement Leader
Coldwell Banker Realty
Chris Mygatt become a Realtor in 1985, selling real estate and managing an independent real estate office in Boulder Colorado. By 2000, Chris joined Coldwell Banker Colorado as the company’s Executive Vice President and in 2004 he began serving as President & COO of Coldwell Banker Colorado, a position he held until early 2021. During this time, Mygatt led the company to #1 market share with over 1,300 high producing sales agents serving 14 locations and closing over 10,000 homes sales a year.
In early 2021, Mygatt was promoted to Coldwell Banker Realty’s Senior Vice President – Core 4 Engagement Leader due to his instrumental role in developing and launching “Core 4”, the company’s iconic agent value proposition. In his current role, Chris focuses his time and expertise on expanding Coldwell Banker’s growth in primary services (Mortgage, Title and Home Warranty), increasing agent adoption of the company’s products, tools and services, as well as creating consistency across all launches of the Coldwell Banker brand’s suite of tools and services.
Chris and his wife are long-time Colorado residents and enjoy cycling, hiking and skiing. In addition to supporting a number of local non-profits, they spend their limited free time in Delray Beach, Florida where their daughter Lindsey is a top-producing Coldwell Banker agent and was recently honored as a national “30 under 30” recipient.
Keynote Speaker
Rick Barry
NBA Legend and Business Innovator
National Basketball Retired Players Association
Rick Barry
NBA Legend and Business Innovator
National Basketball Retired Players Association
Hall of Fame forward Rick Barry is the only player ever to lead the NCAA, NBA, and ABA in scoring. His name appears near the top of every all-time offensive list. He scored more than 25,000 points in his professional career and in four different seasons averaged more than 30 points. He was named to 12 All-Star teams, four All-NBA First Teams, and five All-ABA First Teams and most recently honored by being named to the NBA 75 Anniversary Team.
When he left the game, Barry was sixth on the NBA-ABA all-time scoring list with 25,279 points. And although his defense was sometimes criticized for being less-than-intense, his 1,104 career steals ranked 10th.
Known for his fiery competitiveness and legendary scoring ability, he is famed for his unorthodox, but extraordinarily effective underhand free throw technique, known as “the granny shot.” At the time of his retirement, Barry’s .900 career free-throw percentage was the best in NBA history. In one season, 1978-79, he missed only nine free-throw attempts.
Barry started his pro career with the San Francisco Warriors, who selected him in the first round of the 1965 NBA Draft. He scored 25.7 points per game, made the All-Star Team, was named NBA Rookie of the Year and earned a berth on the All-NBA First Team.
In his second season, 1966-67, Barry hit for a career-high 2,775 points and led the league in scoring with an average of 35.6 points (five points better than runner-up Oscar Robertson). Only Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor had previously averaged more, and only Michael Jordan did better over the next quarter century. On Dec. 6, 1966 against the New York Knicks, Barry set an NBA record for most free throws made in one quarter when he canned 14, a record later matched by others. (That record has since been broken by Vince Carter, who made 16 free throws in a 2005 game.) He made the second appearance of his eight NBA All-Star selections and won the game’s MVP Award in 1967 after pouring in 38 points.
Over a period of 30 years, Rick proved himself to be an accomplished sports broadcaster and covered a wide range of sports on both radio and television. At one point teaming with Bill Russell to form a highly opinionated announcing duo.
Basketball is a family business for Rick and his wife Lynn who was an All-America basketball player at the College of William & Mary where she became the first female athlete to have her jersey retired. All of Rick’s five grown sons received NCAA Division I basketball scholarships and played professional basketball. They made history when they became the first family to have a father and three sons in the NBA.
In recent years, Rick discovered pickleball and got addicted. In 2021 Rick won two Huntsman World Senior Games Championships in pickleball in men’s doubles 5.0 skill level. In the US Open Pickleball tournament he won a gold medal in men’s doubles 4.5 skill and the mixed doubles, 4.0 skill. Finally, he won gold in the USA Pickleball National Championships in men’s doubles, 4.5 skill, along with a gold in mixed doubles in the 4.5 skill category and 4.5 skill level.
He is also a two-time world champion in the Grand Champions division, a one-time world champion in the Legends Division, and a one-time world champion in the Masters division of the Remax World Long Driving competitions.
Rick has been involved in over a dozen different companies, including those based around real estate, health and wellness products, consulting, sales, agriculture, medicine, and software. Rick enjoys investing in new products and services that combine competitive sports with helping people.
Rick has been a motivational speaker and basketball clinician over the years and enjoys fishing, hunting, road and mountain biking, golfing, and tennis. He is a member of the National Basketball Retired Players Association.
For more details on Rick’s incredible basketball accomplishments over the years, please visit https://www.nba.com/news/history-nba-legend-rick-barry.
La Rue Martin Jr.
National Basketball Retired Players Association
La Rue Martin Jr.
National Basketball Retired Players Association
La Rue Martin, Jr. is Manager of Community Relations/Public Affairs for United Parcel Service, UPS, a publicly traded Fortune 500 company.
He joined UPS in 1987 as a delivery driver in Portland, Oregon and quickly rose through the ranks securing roles in Customer Service, Employee Relations and Human Resources. In his current role as Manager of Community Relations and Public Affairs Mr. Martin is responsible for advancing the company’s reputation and supporting key business priorities through the development of proactive and reactive communications strategies. He also coordinates educational initiatives and community sponsorship events and programs and identifies engagement opportunities to maximize UPS’s presence in the community. As a result Mr. Martin has forged strong working relationships with business, community and political leaders across the State of Illinois.
Prior to joining UPS Mr. Martin had a NBA career as the first draft choice for the Portland Trailblazers in 1972. After four (4) years with the Trailblazers, Martin was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics. A native of Chicago, Mr. Martin was recruited to play college basketball with Loyola University on a full athletic scholarship where he was twice named All-American athlete in men’s basketball and Loyola’s all-time leading rebounder. His number 20 basketball jersey with Loyola University was retired in 2002.
As a result of his successful transition from a basketball career to corporate America, Mr. Martin is a nationally sought after speaker addressing athletes across the country about “life after basketball” and the significance of having a career strategy off the courts. He has been interviewed by Bryan Gumbel, host of “Real Sports with Bryan Gumbel” and showcased on ABC7 “Heart and Soul”.
Mr. Martin has received numerous awards for his service to the community, including the Leadership in Community Relations Award from the Human Resources Development Institute, Chicago Urban League Beautiful People Award, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award, and the Black Heritage Award.
His board memberships and civic affiliations include City Club of Chicago, YMCA Mentoring Program, the African American Advisory Council of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, the Urban League of N.W. Indiana, M.L.K. Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, The Leverage Network, NBA Retired Players Association Board of Directors, and De La Salle H.S. Board of Directors.
Mr. Martin attended De La Salle High School and Loyola University of Chicago where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. He currently resides in Chicago, IL.
Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D.
Chief Economist
GraphsandLaughs, LLC
Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D. is an internationally acclaimed economist and public speaker specializing in making the arcana and minutia of economics fun, relevant and educational. He earned a B.A. in economics with first class honors from McGill University in Montreal, as well as a Masters and Ph.D. in public administration from Syracuse University. Eisenberg, a former Senior Economist with the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C., is the creator of the multifamily stock index (the first nationally recognized index to track the total return of public firms principally involved in the ownership and management of apartments), the author of more than eighty-five articles, serves on the Expert Advisory Board of Mortgage Market Guide and is a regular consultant to several large real estate professional associations, hedge funds and investment advisory groups. He has spoken to hundreds of business groups and associations, often as keynote speaker. Dr. Eisenberg has been invited to testify before lawmakers and is often asked to comment on proposed legislation. His research and opinions have been featured in Bloomberg, Business Week, Bureau of National Affairs, Forbes, Fortune, and many other publications. He is a regularly featured guest on cable news programs, talk and public radio.
Dr. Eisenberg is the Chief Economist for GraphsandLaughs, LLC, a Miami-based economic consulting firm that serves a variety of clients across the United States. He writes a syndicated column and authors a daily 70 word commentary on the economy. He is a frequent speaker on topics including economic forecasts, economic impact of industries such as home building and tourism, consequences of government regulation, strategic business development and other current economic issues.
Tim Anderson
President, eMortgage Division
eVolve Mortgage Services
Tim Anderson
President, eMortgage Division
eVolve Mortgage Services
Tim Anderson is President of the eMortgage Division for eVolve Mortgage Services. He is responsible for developing product and corporate strategy and strategic partner relationships that enhance and drive adoption of their digital mortgage platform and services. Prior to joining eVolve he was SVP of Digital Strategy and Product Innovation for MortgageConnect.
He brings over 35 years of industry experience having worked on both the lender and vendor side of the business. He has held executive management positions with Pavaso, DocMagic, Docutech, Black Knight Financial Services , Stewart Title, FreddieMac and HomeSide Lending where he ran the eCommerce Division and worked at technology companies like Microsoft, Dexma and Tuttle Information Services. He was also the original founder of the eMortgage Alliance™ which promoted MISMO standards for delivering legally compliant paperless processes.
He has served on the Advisory Boards of Microsoft and the Housing Roundtable. He is a past member of the MBA’s Board of Technology, (BodTech), eMortgage Adoption Task Force and MBA MISMO Governance Board and is a current member of the MBA Residential Technology Committee (ResTech), MISMO eMortgage Workgroup, the Electronic Records and Signature Association, (ERSA), ALTA Technology Committee and both FannieMae and FreddieMac Vendor Technology Advisory Committees. Known for promoting strategic applications and trends in technology such as eSign and MISMO category one SMARTDocs®, Tim has received many industry awards and accolades including the prestigious Steven Fraser Award from Mortgage Technology Magazine, Mortgage Professional’s Hot 100, Top Tech Innovator Award, Progress in Lending Thought Leader Award and named Mortgage IT AllStar by Mortgage Banker Magazine and HousingWire’s Tech Trendsetter award.
Ankur Bansal
President
HomeLight Closing Services
Ankur Bansal
President
HomeLight Closing Services
Ankur Bansal is the President of HomeLight Closing Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HomeLight, leading a team of title and escrow professionals across the country. He has over a decade of experience scaling and managing businesses as a founder, investor and CEO in the technology industry.
Prior to HomeLight, Ankur founded SnapSaves, which was later acquired by Groupon. He was the founding executive at SnapTravel, where he scaled the business from inception to $175m+ in revenue in 2.5 years. He holds a BA with honors and distinction from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
Logan Barno
Editor, Dodd Frank Update
October Research
Jeff Bluhm
Executive Vice President
Old Republic National Title Insurance Co.
Jeff Bluhm
Executive Vice President
Old Republic National Title Insurance Co.
Jeff Bluhm is Executive Vice President of Old Republic National Title Insurance Company (ORNTIC), and Executive Liaison for Attorneys’ Title Fund Services (The Fund), which is a subsidiary of the Old Republic Title Insurance Group (ORTIG).
Jeff joined Old Republic Title almost 39 years ago as an auditor and has held progressively significant positions in the Company’s direct and agency operations in: auditing, financial, strategic and leadership roles. He most recently served as Executive Vice President, Agency Services & Administration, a Corporate department that he played an integral part in forming 10 years ago.
Jeff is a prolific speaker at various industry related organizations, as he has a deep knowledge of the title insurance business and a well-rounded understanding of direct and agency operations.
In his current leadership role, Jeff supports The Fund, which has nearly 500 employees, who provide title insurance and related services to approximately 3,000 member/agents on behalf of ORNTIC. In addition to his responsibilities with The Fund, Jeff is a key member of the Company’s innovation team that explores efficiencies and disruptions in the title insurance industry. Jeff provides subject matter expertise, strategy contributions and acts as a liaison to the Company’s field operations regarding technological and digital initiatives that will shape the title insurance industry in the future.
Jeff is a graduate of St. Could State University with a degree in accounting. He is a long-time member of the Minnesota Land Title Association, the American Land Title Association’s Best Practices Executive Committee and Task Force, Underwriter Section Executive Committee and TIPAC Committee.
Nathan Bossers
President
Boston National Title
Nathan Bossers
President
Boston National Title
Nathan began his tenure at Boston National Title in 2013 when he joined as Chief Operating Officer. He spent the next seven years building out BNT’s industry-leading production platform, establishing a truly national service footprint, developing a host of product innovations and providing clients with guidance and direction for optimizing their own title and settlement processes.
Now, as President, Nathan continues to support these initiatives on a daily basis while also assuming ultimate responsibility for BNT’s growth strategy, its ongoing financial success and its role as a core component of the Incenter vision and mission.
Prior to joining Boston National, Nathan spent the first 17 years of his career as Vice President of ATM Corporation of America and ServiceLink, who merged when they each sold to Fidelity National Financial in the mid 2000’s. He oversaw their Client Relations and Operations departments during his tenure.
Nathan also serves on the Board of Directors of the Bartko Foundation – a non-profit organization founded by his family in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that provides financial support to single minority mothers seeking to build a life of stability and independence for themselves and their families. He lives with his wife Barbara and two young children in Charlotte.
Laura Brandao
Chief Growth Officer and Partner
EPM
Laura Brandao
Chief Growth Officer and Partner
EPM
Laura Brandao is currently the Chief Growth Officer and a partner at EPM. Prior to joining EMP Laura launched the wholesale channel for American Financial Resources and served as their President and only female partner. Laura is the Chair of NAMMBA’s Visionary program, The Chair of the MBANJ Women’s committee, The Chair of Women with Vision, a board member of Mortflix and a mortgage executive coach.
Laura is a coveted speaker, and well-regarded champion for the industry as well as a 3 -time best-selling author.
Her recent honors include: 2022 10 Most Inspirational business women, 2021 MPA housing industry icon, a 4 time winner of most powerful women in mortgage, a 3 time Woman of Influence and a 3 time “Women with Vision, as well as a 2022 NJBIZ Top leaders in finance.
Rick Bruhn
SVP and Head of Commercial Deposit and Payment Solutions
U.S. Bank
Rick Bruhn
SVP and Head of Commercial Deposit and Payment Solutions
U.S. Bank
Rick Bruhn is a Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial Deposit and Payments Solutions for U.S. Bank. Rick has 21 years of banking experience with 5 of those coming from Retail Banking and the last 16 years in commercial banking. In his current role, he leads 4 industry verticals for U.S. Bank including a Title and Escrow Industry segment, as well as leads strategy for deposits and payments for U.S. Bank’s Commercial Bank. He resides in Springboro, OH with his family. In his free time, you’ll probably find him out running as many miles as humanly possible.
Tai Christensen
Director of Government Affairs and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
CBC Mortgage Agency
Tai Christensen
Director of Government Affairs and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
CBC Mortgage Agency
Tai Christensen is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer and the Director of Government Affairs for CBC Mortgage Agency, a national down payment assistance provider, and has 17 years’ experience in the mortgage industry. She has been a loan processor, the manager of a mortgage brokerage focusing on modifying loans for families facing foreclosure, and the manager of a law firm specializing in negotiating mortgage terms for families facing Trustee Auction dates.
Christensen was also just named chair of the American Mortgage Diversity Council (AMDC). She will lead the organization’s efforts to promote DEI throughout the mortgage industry.
Carrie Courtney
Team Leader and CEO
Changing Latitudes Real Estate
Carrie Courtney
Team Leader and CEO
Changing Latitudes Real Estate
An entrepreneur at heart, Carrie Courtney started and sold two successful businesses in Central Florida. That spirit led Carrie to earn her real estate license in 2006 and she soon became a top RE/MAX agent and recipient of multiple industry awards.
Carrie and her husband Dave launched their boutique-style brokerage in 2012: Changing Latitudes Real Estate & Property Management. As COVID changed everything in early 2020, Carrie was chosen as a HomeLight Elite Agent, a new standard of excellence in real estate recognizing agents ranked in the top 1% of their respective markets.
Born and raised in Michigan, Carrie has lived in Central Florida for more than 30 years. Carrie has a passion for marketing and providing quality experiences for each one of her clients. Carrie has formed relationships with the most dependable, honest affiliates in the real estate industry. Combined with her skills in problem-solving and negotiating, these relationships helped build Carrie into one of the top-producing agents in the market.
Carrie is selective about company growth. Her agents are sometimes recruited pre-license, and chosen based on their skill set like self-motivation, willingness to learn, and passion to serve others. Having an innovative team dedicated to serving clients with care, consideration, and knowledge remains Carrie´s primary focus.
Carrie enjoys time away from work by enjoying the Florida lifestyle. She loves traveling the Sunshine State and creating amazing memories with her best friend and husband, Dave, and their seven grown children – or as Jimmy Buffett put it: “Living her life like a song”.
Tom Cronkright
Co-Founder and CEO
CertifID
Tom Cronkright
Co-Founder and CEO
CertifID
Tom serves as the Executive Chairman of CertifID, a digital identity and device verification solution used by title companies, law firms, lenders, realtors, and home buyers and sellers to prevent wire fraud. He and his business partner, Lawrence Duthler, created the solution in response to a fraud incident they experienced in 2015 and the accelerating instances of fraud in real estate transactions.
He is also the CEO of Sun Title, one of the largest commercial and residential title agencies in Michigan and has been recognized as an Inc. 5000, 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, and 50 Businesses to Watch in Michigan. Tom is a licensed attorney and national subject matter expert on cyber security and wire fraud and has been featured in Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Good Morning America, Forbes, and other national publications.
Stephen Dougherty
Cyber-enabled financial fraud investigator
U.S. Secret Service Global Investigative Operations Center
Stephen Dougherty
Cyber-endabled financial fraud investigator
U.S. Secret Service Global Investigative Operations Center
Stephen Dougherty has over 15 years of investigative experience. His career as a Financial Fraud Investigator, in support of the federal government, has played a pivotal role in criminal investigations surrounding cyber-enabled financial crime, money laundering, human trafficking, identity theft, healthcare fraud, embezzlement, tax/government program fraud, dark web crimes, among others. Stephen’s main area of expertise is combating money laundering in all its forms. Aside from this, Stephen has been proactive in identifying new and future trends in the world of financial crime. Such trends include the cyber security nexus of financial crimes and its ever-growing relationship in major financial crimes such as Business Email Compromise and the rise of the dark web and the use of virtual currency as a vehicle for the facilitation of financial crimes. Stephen has been a leader and a mentor to other investigators teaching them how to uncover fraud internally and externally. Stephen is currently a Financial Investigator/Forensic Analyst assigned to the U.S. Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC).
Emilio Fernandez
President
Doma Title Insurance, Inc.
Emilio Fernandez
President
Doma Title Insurance, Inc.
Emilio Fernandez has been in the real estate industry for nearly 30 years. Prior to joining Doma (fka North American Title Insurance Co. or NATIC) in 2002, he was a partner at the international law firm of Holland & Knight LLP, where his practice included the acquisition and sale of commercial and residential real estate, institutional and private real estate financing, commercial leasing, condominium development and title matters. During his years in private practice, Emilio routinely issued title insurance policies to clients as an agent for all major title insurance underwriters. A member of the Florida Bar, Emilio has served on numerous committees of the American Bar Association, Florida Bar and Dade County Bar Association, and he currently serves on the American Land Title Association’s Underwriter Executive Committee. He is based in Doma’s corporate office in Miami.
Ed Fisher
Executive Management Consultant
AcuMax Index
Ed Fisher
Executive Management Consultant
AcuMax Index
Ed Fisher has been active in the Human Resources field as an executive, a consultant, and a business counselor for over 35 years working with companies from start-ups to billion-dollar organizations. He has an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and a doctorate from the University of Detroit Mercy.
Due to his interesting and creative writing style, Ed has authored numerous articles on various topics including staffing, assessments, HIPAA, ERISA, healthcare and employment litigation defense in both business and legal publications.
Ed has been a featured speaker or presenter for the National Association of Professional Employers’ Organization, the Michigan Bar Association, WWJ-950 News Radio Leaders and Innovators Series, the Michigan Chapter of the National Association for Surface Finishing, the Metro 25 Dealers Association, Vistage Michigan, Rotary Clubs and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
On a personal level, Ed is also an “expert” on Disney World having made 100 or more trips to the parks over the years and has been active in his community as an adult volunteer for a youth fraternity and a youth soccer coach.
Alan Frelix
Chief Executive Officer
The Closing Exchange
Allen Frelix
Chief Executive Officer
The Closing Exchange
Alan Frelix is the CEO of The Closing Exchange and CEO of Nexturn Management Group. Frelix has more than 25 years of experience in financial and business services and has held senior executive roles in strategy and operations.
Prior to building The Closing Exchange, Frelix was the Managing Director, Strategic Development for Stewart Lender Services, a division of Stewart Information Services Corporation (STC), where he was responsible for developing and implementing strategies, products and services to serve lenders.
Frelix also previously served as Senior Vice President, Title & Closing Executive for Bank of America, where he was responsible for originations title & settlement vendor selection and management and as President of LandSafe Services LLC, a title and closing agency, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America. He also previously served as Managing Director of Strategic Planning for Countrywide Financial.
Frelix holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Andrea Golby
Editor, The Legal Description
October Research
Linda Grahovec
VP, FNF National Agency Director of Education and Marketing
FNF Family of Companies
Linda Grahovec
VP, FNF National Agency Director of Education and Marketing
FNF Family of Companies
Linda has been in real estate transactions services since 1986. She was a full-time real estate broker for 10 years and still holds her managing broker’s license in Illinois. She expanded her knowledge base by working for a law firm as a real estate paralegal for 8 years. She worked closely with attorneys, lenders, realtors and consumers from contracts to closings. The next open chair at the closing table was that of a title officer. Linda spent 8 years working in a direct operation with responsibilities from new construction to sales management. For several years she worked with title agents of all sizes in Illinois and a 15 State Division. She now supports title agency business development, web and digital technology, marketing strategy, national communications, internal and agent education on various topics (CLE and non-CLE), and business plan analysis for FNF National Agency. Linda has presented for ALTA, FBI, FNF, HUD OIG, IDFPR, ILTA, IRELA, NBI, WLTA and other organizations across the country. She is part of the IL Mortgage Fraud Task Force and administers regulatory compliance laws, Industry Best Practices and CyberSecurity for Title Agents of Alamo Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Fidelity National Title and National Title of NY. When not at her job, she enjoys her 6 children, 9 grandchildren, loves to cook, entertain, photography and water sports.
Chris Gulotta
Founder
Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC and Real Estate Data Shield, Inc.
Chris Gulotta
Founder
Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC and Real Estate Data Shield, Inc.
Christopher Gulotta is a founding partner of The Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC and Real Estate Data Shield, Inc. (REDS) and was one of the very first to speak to our industry on the importance of cybersecurity compliance. He possesses a unique combination of sophistication in real estate transactional processes, regulator expectations and data security compliance obstacles and solutions.
Mr. Gulotta is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), having successfully completed the International Association of Privacy Professional’s course and certification examination. Chris is also an Adjunct Professor at the Fordham University Real Estate Institute, where he teaches courses in commercial real estate law and practice.
Mr. Gulotta is a graduate of Fordham Law School. He has served as a continuing legal education faculty member at Fordham Law School, Pace Law School, The Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the New York State Bar Association. He has been a featured columnist for and interviewed for articles in: The New York Law Journal, The National Law Journal, The Title Report; The Legal Description; Valuation Review, TitleNews etc., on topics including: Service Provider Compliance; Lender Oversight; Information Security Compliance for real estate professionals; Privacy Law; title escrow funds; RESPA reform; new media and Internet law.
The Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC, covers all of NYS and focuses on both:
(i) Transactional Real Estate: representing buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate; and
(ii) Mortgage Finance: representing mortgage lenders in such transactions. His firm has proudly served as a preferred vendor to some of the leading institutional lenders.
He is a member of ALTA’s Best Practices Task Force, working with industry leaders to develop timely and prospective regulatory solutions for title and settlement agents as a member of both “Lender” and “Settlement Agent” workgroups.
REDS, named ALTA’s Inaugural Best Practices Elite Provider, is the first industry-specific company to provide real estate professionals with security compliance tools through its Compliance Management Platform. Its clients include national title underwriters, title agents, settlement agent, law firms, realtors, notary networks, etc.
Cheryl Gurz
RTP Product Manager
The Clearing House
Cheryl Gurz
RTP Product Manager
The Clearing House
Cheryl joined The Clearing House in 2019 as their Real Time Payments Product Manager. In this role she is tasked with driving product adoption and usage of the TCH Real Time Payment Network which went live in the US in November 2017. This is the first new payments infrastructure in the US since the ACH network was introduced in the 1970’s. Cheryl advises financial institutions and businesses on Real Time Payments best practices and market trends.
Prior to The Clearing House, Cheryl held a variety of diverse roles including product/market management, bank operations, auditing and solution consulting. She has held leadership roles in the Financial Services industry specializing in providing strategic payment solutions while at CGI, Citi, BNY Mellon, and MBNA.
Cheryl holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting from Niagara University and Masters in Organizational Leadership (MS) rom Wilmington University.
Craig Haskins
Chief Operating Officer
Knight Barry Title
Craig Haskins
Chief Operating Officer
Knight Barry Title
Craig’s initial areas of expertise focused on title insurance, complicated closings and troubled titles. Now Craig spends most of his time growing Knight Barry Title via acquisition and organic growth. Currently he oversees all 65+ offices and 400+ employees in five states – Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Florida and Texas.
Craig is also quite a title nerd. He is a Past President of the Wisconsin Land Title Association and has a seat on the ALTA Agent Board. Craig established the rules for electronic recording in Wisconsin and recorded the first electronic deed in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, he wore an awful blue sweater for the picture in the newspaper detailing the accomplishment so you won’t be seeing that on social media.
In college, Craig barely studied yet received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida (Go Gators). Then he really studied to earn an MBA from Marquette University. He has three sons and spends all summer coaching baseball and mowing straight lines in his lawn. He is the co-host of the title insurance podcast THAT FLOATS which you can watch on most social media networks. Like we said, he’s quite a nerd.
Kim Holbrook
Chair
Utah Title and Escrow Commission
Vice President
Old Republic Title
Kim Holbrook
Chair
Utah Title and Escrow Commission
Vice President
Old Republic Title
Kim is a Vice President and the Assistant Manager of the Rocky Mountain Region at Old Republic Title, an insurance group within Old Republic International (NYSE: ORI). She brings over thirty years of Title Industry experience in Utah and National Alignment to her role of Process Administration and Business Development within the company.
Prior to joining Old Republic Title, Kim was a Founder and Owner of Aspen Title Insurance Agency, LLC, a Utah independent title agency which provides title insurance and settlement services for Real Estate Professionals, Lenders, Homeowners, and Residential and Commercial Developers. During the fifteen years Kim worked at Aspen Title, she served in a variety of positions, including that of Senior Title Officer and Escrow Officer, where she partnered in developing and overseeing all functions of the agency.
Kim began her career in the Title Industry as a delivery driver while still in high school. She is a licensed Title and Escrow Officer who has been engaged at every level of the business including Title Plant Manager, Underwriting Advisor, and Special Administration Projects Coordinator. Understanding the integral parts of the business is important, and Kim prides herself on being involved in all aspects, from the newest technology efforts in the Title Industry, to the needs of the independent agents. With her innate desire to dig into the details, Kim works to benefit stakeholders and establish connections within the industry.
Kim is a Utah native who is active in her local community, and in addition to her civic service, she also serves as Membership Section Chair on the Utah Land Title Association’s Executive Board, and within the Insurance Department, she functions as Chair of the Utah Title and Escrow Commission.
Rich Horn
Founding Partner
Garris Horn LLP
Rich Horn
Founding Partner
Garris Horn LLP
Richard Horn is a founding partner of Garris Horn LLP, a boutique financial services law firm of highly experienced attorneys. Richard is a former Senior Counsel & Special Advisor in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Regulations. At the CFPB, Richard led the final TRID rulemaking and the CFPB’s design of the TRID disclosures. As a key architect of TRID, Richard is one of the foremost experts on the rule.
Prior to joining the CFPB, Richard was a Senior Attorney at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the New York Regional Office. At the FDIC, Richard worked on supervisory and enforcement matters in both consumer compliance and risk management, including in fair lending, UDAP, and RESPA section 8.
Richard currently advises on all federal and state consumer finance regulatory issues. Richard advises clients on enforcement defense as well, including responding to civil investigative demands. Richard’s clients include community, regional, and large depository institutions, non-depository lenders, technology companies, title insurance underwriters and agents, due diligence firms, and investors.
Christopher Kiblin
Area Branch Leader
Movement Mortgage
Christopher Kiblin
Area Branch Leader
Movement Mortgage
Christopher Kiblin is an Area Branch Leader at Movement Mortgage, Real Hustle Podcast Host, and Author of Amazon’s bestselling motivational book “Own Your Day.” He is part of the Top 1 percent of Mortgage Loan Officers in the Country. Chris also holds multiple certificates such as Grant Cardone Ambassador Program, John Maxwell Master Coaching, and DISC Program. As an ARMY Veteran, Chris knows hard work and determination. He is always improving his knowledge and skills with continuing education and leadership programs. Christopher is a Motivational Speaker and owns Real Hustle Podcast and Gear Company. He started Real Hustle Podcast because his passion is to help his listeners learn about successful entrepreneurs and the best strategies in the market place. Chris’ Motto is to “Attack the day before the day attacks you.”
Kris Kully
Partner
Mayer Brown
Kris Kully
Partner
Mayer Brown
Kris Kully is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and a member of the Consumer Financial Services group. She concentrates her practice on federal and state regulatory compliance matters affecting providers of consumer financial products and services. Her practice includes advising clients on compliance with licensing, consumer protection and other practice requirements facing mortgage and consumer lenders/brokers, servicers and investors, as well as other participants in the real estate finance and consumer credit industries. She helps clients understand their obligations under all the authorities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including TILA, RESPA, ECOA, HMDA, the SAFE Act, the Consumer Leasing Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and FDCPA, as well as similar state laws. She advises clients in connection with originating, purchasing and servicing all types of consumer finance products, including residential mortgage loans, consumer loans, credit cards, lease agreements and deposits. She also participates in regulatory compliance due diligence activities.
Kris is a former lawyer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In that role, she provided legal counsel to the department on the mission oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the interpretation of the RESPA and the implementation of the department’s various housing assistance and community development programs. She also worked in the financial services industry for a number of years.
Kris is a Past President and board member of the Women in Housing & Finance in Washington, DC. She attended Cornell Law School.
John Melvin
Vice President, Working Capital Consultant
U.S. Bank
John Melvin
Vice President, Working Capital Consultant
U.S. Bank
John Melvin is a member of the bank’s Working Capital Consulting team. With more than 25 years of treasury management experience, John provides strategic leadership, business process re-engineering, change management expertise and thought leadership to numerous industry segments with the aim of reducing costs and improving liquidity. He also works with the bank’s payments innovation lab to enhance and revolutionize payment and data streams. Through agile discussions, clients and prospects are engaged to reform the end-user experience.
John joined U.S. Bank in 2012 as a team lead for the 11-state Mid-Mountain Team, providing working capital solutions for mid-market companies and government entities. He’s been a Minneapolis-based working capital consultant at the bank since 2015.
Previously, John served in treasury management and relationship management roles at several financial institutions. He was also president of a consulting firm helping businesses address issues such as financial restructuring, real estate advisory needs, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy and turnaround management.
John has published numerous articles regarding payment strategies and operational enhancements for receivables, payables and liquidity management. He has also presented at a number of industry events sponsored by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).
John attended the University of South Carolina and is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP). He provides volunteer support to GiGi’s Playhouse, a nationwide Down syndrome achievement center network.
Chuck Myers
Supervisor RESA Investigations
Virginia Bureau of Insurance
Chuck Myers
Supervisor RESA Investigations
Virginia Bureau of Insurance
Chuck Myers supervises the Real Estate Settlement Agents Investigations Section for the Virginia Bureau of Insurance. Prior to working with the Bureau, Chuck was a Special Agent Accountant with the Virginia State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Chuck has 37 years of experience in the insurance industry and has a Master’s degree in Risk Management and Insurance from Florida State University. Chuck’s certifications include: Senior Professional in Insurance Regulation, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Certified Economic Crime Forensic Examiner.
Dennis Newman
Market Conduct Examiner
Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Insurance
Dennis Newman
Market Conduct Examiner
Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Insurance
Dennis W. Newman, JD, CPCU, AIE, MCM (he, him, his) is the Examiner in Charge at the Colorado Division of Insurance, Market Regulation Section. He is a licensed attorney in both Florida and Colorado, practicing for more than 20 years.
Dennis is a nationally recognized speaker on several legal topics, including Insurance Regulation, LBGTQ law, Legal Privilege, and Estates and Business Planning. He has been a guest speaker at CU Boulder Colorado Law School, CU Anschutz Medical Campus, CU Denver, Florida State University, and multiple civic and professional organizations including the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (“IRES”), ENCANA, and the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (“CTLA”).
Dennis earned his Juris Doctor from Florida State University, cum laude, and a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from CU Denver, summa cum laude. Dennis is a firm believer in lifelong education and professional growth, and is proud to continue that tradition with October Research at NS3.
Tony Nuckolls
Executive Vice President
Rocket Mortgage
Tony Nuckolls
Executive Vice President
Rocket Mortgage
Tony Nuckolls is an Executive Vice President for Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest mortgage lender. In this role, he is responsible for creating strategic partnerships that deliver value to partners and their customers by extending the Rocket Mortgage experience.
He joined Rock Financial – the company that would later become Rocket Mortgage – in 1996 and quickly became one of the company’s top mortgage professionals. Since then, he has served as a leader in the company’s in-house Marketing Team, was the Vice President of Training & Development and has held many leadership positions within the Mortgage Banking Team.
Tony is an active member in his local community and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Detroit Police Athletic League, as well as the Advisory Board for Oakland University’s Galileo Institute.
Throughout his career, Tony has been recognized for his work with Rocket Mortgage and in the community. He was named a Man of Excellence by the Michigan Chronicle and the Community Leader of the Year by the University of Phoenix. He also received Michigan State University’s Clarence “Biggie” Munn Extra Effort Award – an accolade bestowed upon graduates who possess the highest standards of integrity and character, exemplifying the belief that “the difference between good and great is just a little extra effort.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a master’s degree from University of Phoenix.
Tony and his family reside in metro Detroit.
Erica Peterson
Editor, The Title Report
October Research
Chris Phillips
President and Chief Executive Officer
First National Title Insurance Co.
Chris Phillips
President and Chief Executive Officer
First National Title Insurance Co.
Chris Phillips began his career in the title industry in Douglas County, Colorado in 1975. He became involved with national underwriters early in his career and then spent 26 years working in several leadership roles, including president, at a Texas-based regional underwriter where he was responsible for building the agency network and increasing revenues throughout the Southwest.
Chris is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He is a member of the American Land Title Association, Land Title Association of Arizona, New Mexico Land Title Association and has been a board member of the Texas Land Title Association for many years. He recently served as the President of the Texas Land Title Association from June, 2017 – June, 2018. He also serves on the TLTAPAC board as a trustee and legislative liaison. In 2010, he was awarded the TLTA’s highest honor of Title Man of the Year, which recognizes significant and longtime contributions to the title industry and the association.
Jeremy Potter
Chief Evangelist
Stavvy
Jeremy Potter
Chief Evangelist
Stavvy
Jeremy Potter is the Chief Evangelist and former Head of Legal and Capital Markets for Stavvy. Stavvy is a Boston-based, fintech company digitizing the workflow and solutions for lending, banking and legal transactions, like foreclosure. At Stavvy, Potter works on legal, policy and product development.
Prior to Stavvy, Potter was Senior Director of Strategy & Innovation at Rocket Mortgage leading a team of product managers and housing policy analysts. In that role, Potter worked closely with large mortgage investors like Fannie & Freddie as well as start-ups and fintechs looking to disrupt the real estate market. Potter also led digital products and product managers for innovation across Rocket Companies on digital real estate platforms (iBuyers), ESG strategy, and other fintech companies.
He currently sits on the Board of Directors for CATIC Financial, a title insurance company and the Board of the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association (MMBA). He’s also an advisor to several startup and growing companies. Potter graduated from University of Connecticut School of Law and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Mary Washington.
Tali Raphaely
President
Armour Title Company
Tali Raphaely
President
Armour Title Company
Tali Raphaely is the President of Armour Title Company, a nationwide real estate title company. He’s also an attorney, real estate and tech investor, and an author. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, he now resides in Miami, Florida.
In 1996, he was awarded a full tuition scholarship by the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad School of Law. While in law school, he was selected to serve as an intern for one semester at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where he worked closely on developing policies and structuring agreements with world leaders on a daily basis. Raphaely was also one of the few who had the honor of being a member of the Law review. He graduated from law school in the top 5% of his class with Magna Cum Laude Honors in 1999. After graduating law school, he had the great honor and privilege of starting his legal career as a Law Clerk for two Judges in the very prestigious Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, where he worked on, and was actively involved in, the drafting of numerous published appellate court opinions that still remain the authoritative law on the legal topics these cases and opinions addressed. Subsequent to providing his service as a law clerk in the Court of Special Appeals, he joined a prominent law firm as a litigation attorney prior to becoming involved in the real estate industry.
Raphaely specializes in real estate law, real estate transactions, complex commercial transactions, and all title matters related to real estate. He has become a leader and prominent figure in his field through his role as President of Armour Title Company, a nationally recognized real estate title company that conducts thousands of real estate transactions nationwide annually. Armour has often been recognized as a true leader in the title insurance industry and has pioneered many programs, systems and processes currently being used by many of Armour’s counterparts in the real estate title industry.
Raphaely’s title company works regularly with the nation’s leading real estate brokerages, banks, and mortgage companies. Among his regular clients are Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc., Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC, RE/MAX, LLC, Keller Williams Realty, Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, and countless other industry giants throughout the country.
Having always had a passion for teaching and enriching the lives of those around him, Raphaely is also an author. The focus of his writing is primarily on self-help topics, business advice and on providing others with motivation and inspiration to live greater, more fulfilling lives. His writing topics are derived from over a decade of experience in sales, marketing, management, recruiting, the ownership of his business, buying and selling real estate, buying, and selling businesses, negotiating with clients, vendors and employees, and his intense research and involvement in countless self-help, self-improvement, and self-awareness seminars, books and hands-on programs and events. His new book, The Complete Guide on How to Negotiate, is available for sale on Amazon and in select bookstores.
Tali Raphaely has been at the forefront of blockchain technology since its early days. Being involved with this growing technology for so long has granted him unique insights on how blockchain affect our world. As an expert on blockchain, and regular speaker for blockchain events, Raphaely helps to make sense of this evolving technology. Tali Raphaely speaks on a regular basis to groups and conferences on a variety of Blockchain-related topics in a way which makes sense of this technology and provides quality insight. People who have come to hear him speak have said great things about his ability to translate this subject and engage with audiences in a meaningful way.
Mike Ridgway
CEO and President
Community Title Network, LLC
Michael Ridgway
CEO and President
Community Title Network, LLC
Mr. Ridgway brings 36 years of experience in successful entrepreneurship, business strategy, business development, organizational leadership, and executive management, with a significant focus in all aspects of the title industry. He has directed, acquired and organically grown title agencies throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region, spearheading two successful exits to title insurance underwriting companies.
After his agency was acquired by Lawyers Title in 1995, Ridgway was asked to serve as a Senior Vice-President of the national management team of LandAmerica, with a specific role of leading Direct Operations for the Northeast Region, where he oversaw the operations of 43 closing offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, Maryland, DC, and Virginia.
In 1999, he led the repurchase of his agency from LandAmerica and embarked on a path of successful growth while also standardizing systems, creating economic efficiencies in workflow production, and driving improvements in customer service. In 2005, he sold his title agency to First American and exited the company in 2007.
From 2007 through 2015 he was engaged periodically by principals and executives of small to mid- size title agencies to assist in sales or acquisition strategies, design and implementation of strategic marketing initiatives, analyzing and implementing operational improvements and resolving employee issues. Outside of the title industry, Ridgway has also consulted to regional and international service companies, and assisted executives in strategic M&A planning and execution. In 2016, envisioning that compliance and regulation would drive mergers and acquisitions within the title industry, he started Community Title Network with the vision to deliver modern business solutions to title agents and to initiate an acquisition and organic growth strategy. Community Title Network has become one of, if not, the fastest growing title agencies in the mid-Atlantic, growing in less than 5 years to 20 office locations across Maryland, DC, Virginia, and Delaware.
Ridgway is a proactive and passionate leader, deeply committed to both internal and external customers. He is dedicated to ensuring people, process and profit are aligned properly for the purpose of achieving sustained and profitable relationships among the organization, its management and staff and its customers and clients.
Ridgway has been very active in the Washington Region community, volunteering his time and often taking leadership roles in many non-profit organizations and efforts that serve youth- particularly underprivileged youth. In 2016 he was named the Catholic Business Network for Montgomery County Community Person of the Year. He has been named the 2021 Catholic Businessperson of the Year by the Catholic Business Network of Washington, DC.
Ridgway holds a JD degree from The Columbus School of Law, Catholic University, 1984, and a BA in Economics from Dickinson College, Carlisle PA, 1981. He is a lifelong resident of the Washington Metro Area and resides in Chevy Chase, MD with his wife, Nancy, of 36 years. He and Nancy have 3 adult children and 3 grandchildren.
Loretta Salzano
President
Franzén and Salzano, P.C.
Loretta Salzano
President
Franzén and Salzano, P.C.
Loretta Salzano founded the firm in 1997 to provide practical legal solutions to mortgage lenders. The firm takes pride in its unique ability to counsel clients on how to achieve their goals while navigating the complex tapestry of federal law and the laws of all 50 states. Loretta focuses on fair lending, compensation and RESPA. She also prepares contracts (including warehouse and loan purchase agreements); troubleshoots to mitigate damages; and advocates with regulators.
Among her many honors, Loretta was named a Top Compliance Lawyer by Mortgage Compliance Magazine and serves as Legal Counsel to the Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia.
Chris Sauerzopf
Co-Owner
World Class Title
Chris Sauerzopf
Co-Owner
World Class Title
Chris Sauerzopf is the co-owner of World Class Title and is the creator of SafeWire which was sold in 2021.
Recently, under Chris’s direction, World Class Title has launched CryptoClose to help buyers use their cryptocurrency holdings within real estate closings.
Chris is an active real estate investor, past licensed REALTOR, notary and was the co-founder of Blockchain startup SafeChain. SafeChain existed to use Blockchain technology to make real estate property transactions safer, faster and transparent. The technology product SafeWire was created in 2016 to combat the real estate wire fraud epidemic that has plagued the real estate industry. It was sold in late 2021 to ClosingLock.
Chris has been in real estate since 2004 and has a degree in Industrial Design from the Columbus College of Art & Design. Chris is passionate about staying on the forefront of technology and educating real estate professionals how to leverage it. In addition to his work at World Class Title, Chris enjoys spending time with his daughter and being in the woods.
Lindsay Smith
Chief Strategy Officer
Title Alliance
Lindsay Smith
Chief Strategy Officer
Title Alliance
As Chief Strategy Officer for Title Alliance, Lindsay focuses on developing strategies to strengthen their family of companies and to position them for success. Her emphasis is on overall growth, communication, and strategic development from both a corporate and joint venture perspective. As one of the culture drivers in the organization, Lindsay is integral in creating recruitment and retention strategies providing an environment that recognizes the team members as both employees and as humans with families outside of the office. In 2021, Lindsay identified and implemented a strategic 180-day onboarding program as well as developed a people centric approach to employee relations through the addition of a Director of People and Employee Experience Manager.
On the growth side, Lindsay works closely with partners during the sales cycle to assure cultural alignment and the proper expectations are set and executed upon. Since 2016, under Lindsay’s strategic leadership, Title Alliance’s Western Division has increased by over 700% in profits.
Lindsay is an inspirational leader that inspires and focuses on goal setting, personal growth opportunities and motivation for team members and partners in both live and virtual formats. Attention to detail and standards of excellence are apparent in all events, meetings, and client gatherings.
Lindsay graduated from LaSalle University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and English Writing, Cum Laude in 2004. She has post-graduate education in Survey Design, Data Analysis & Statistical Charting, and Social Networking. Lindsay is also an expert in Meeting Planning. She joined the Title Alliance Family in 2005 and has made valuable contributions to the team as she has climbed each rung of the corporate ladder.
Lindsay is the mother to three children, an Alumnae Member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, a member of the COO Alliance, a Founding Member of the GoBundance Women’s Tribe and an XChange Certified Facilitator.
Tara Smith
Group President, Agency Operations
Stewart
Tara Smith
Group President, Agency Operations
Stewart
Tara Smith serves as Group President of Stewart’s Agency Operations. In this role, she oversees Stewart’s independent title agency network of Trusted Providers™ and all products and services offered to Stewart’s agency network. Tara joined Stewart in 2013 with 12 years in public accounting through which she provided strategic guidance to clients in the oil-and-gas and financial services industries. Her leadership, deep knowledge, strategy implementation and problem-solving led to her rising through leadership roles at Stewart that included the positions of Vice President, Agency Financial Director, and Executive Vice President. Ms. Smith was named one of Housing Wire’s “Women of Influence” in both 2017 and 2021 for her contributions to the industry. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from the University of Texas at Austin and serves as a member of the American Land Title Association’s Board of Governors.
Josué Soto
CEO
Soto Legacy Group / Powered by EXP Realty
Josué Soto
CEO
Soto Legacy Group / Powered by EXP Realty
Josué Soto is the CEO of Soto Legacy Group / Powered by EXP Realty. He is a REALTOR with over 14 years of experience in the Central Florida market. Mr. Soto has been a member of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) for many years. Mr. Soto believes in NAHREP and its mission and as a result, he became involved in leadership in 2015. In 2017 he became President of NAHREP Central Florida, leading the chapter to achieve NAHREP’s Chapter of the Year. After his term as President, he became a National Coach and is now a National Director. As a result of this opportunity, Mr. Soto has had great success: He doubled his income, has sold over 100 million in his career and is in the top 1% of the Central Florida market due to the education he has received and the important connections and relationships and mentors established through NAHREP. This has elevated him and put him front and center with high-ranking executives and top producers. He has grown personally and professionally. In gratitude of all he has experienced, Mr. Soto shares advice with others and takes pride in helping them grow their businesses.
Wayne Stanley
Owner
Bowe Digital
Wayne Stanley
Owner
Bowe Digital
Wayne M. Stanley is the owner of Bowe Digital, a marketing agency offering custom services for small businesses with hundreds of clients all around the United States.
Wayne started Bowe Digital to provide marketing services to small businesses that needed innovative marketing content without breaking the budget. Under Wayne’s direction, Bowe Digital proudly services businesses of all shapes and sizes with branding, superior content, custom social media engagement, website creation and much more.
Wayne is also part owner of Title Success – Powered by Bowe Digital. Title Success helps real estate title companies through the mergers and acquisitions process.
Wayne also owns Railroad Marketing, a turn-key marketing company for real estate professionals.
Prior to founding Bowe Digital, Wayne worked at the American Land Association (ALTA) in Washington, D.C. While at ALTA, he helped to develop the Homeowner Outreach Program (HOP) and grew the Title Action Network and ALTA’s social media presence. As a testament to Wayne’s innovative ideas, he was named a Top Association Innovator in Washington, D.C., by BizNow.
Wayne got his start in marketing and communications after college a staffer for Senator Richard G. Lugar in the United States Senate. He served as a communications director and deputy campaign manager.
Kate Steineman
Senior Vice President, Business Execution Senior Manager
Wells Fargo Home Lending
Kate Steineman
Senior Vice President, Business Execution Senior Manager
Wells Fargo Home Lending
Kate Steineman is Senior Vice President, Business Execution Senior Manager within the Title and Closing Operations team at Wells Fargo Home Lending. Her current teams have responsibilities within the title and settlement space; from the relationships with title underwriters, to managing title and settlement agent performance, title and settlement strategy, and managing the internal database of those agents who close Wells Fargo Retail transactions. She is also accountable for the team that supports strategic initiatives, procedure and process updates for Home Lending Operations. She has been with Wells Fargo for 24 years and has held positions in Sales, Sales Management, Vendor Management, Implementation, Risk, Customer Excellence, and her current role.
Marx Sterbcow
Managing Attorney
Sterbcow Law Group LLC
Marx Sterbcow
Managing Attorney
Sterbcow Law Group LLC
Marx Sterbcow is nationally recognized as one of the leading legal authorities in the financial settlement services industry. Sterbcow’s practice focuses on RESPA, UDAAP, TILA, Fair Lending Act, FTC, and other administrative and regulatory compliance issues. He advises banks, mortgage lenders, title insurance agencies and underwriters, law firms, and real estate brokerage companies across the United States on matters involving affiliated business arrangements, third-party vendor management auditing, CFPB & state regulatory enforcement, social media oversight, mergers and acquisitions, marketing and advertising agreement compliance, lead generation programs, and promotional advertising program guidance.
Sterbcow graduated from Tulane University with a B.A., Gonzaga University School of Law with a J.D., and the John Marshall School of Law’s Center for Real Estate Law with an LLM. Among his many accolades, he was recognized as a Trendsetter by The Title Report.
Fred Stewart
President
Vanport Escrow and Title Company, Inc.
Fred Stewart
President
Vanport Escrow and Title Company, Inc.
Fred Stewart has spent the majority of his life serving his beloved city of Portland through military service in the marine core, civil participation, and as an entrepreneur. Founding the Stewart Group Realty Inc. in 1993 kickstarted a decades-long commitment to helping locals navigate the complexities of Portland’s housing market. Drawing upon this extensive experience in real estate and banking, Fred founded Vanport Escrow & Title to help home buyers, sellers, Mortgage brokers, and Real Estate Brokers achieve streamlined and smoother transactions. Fred has a vision of encouraging more minorities to join the industry and remains focused on providing unrivaled escrow services to clients.
Darryl Turner
CEO
The Darryl Turner Corporation
Darryl Turner
CEO
The Darryl Turner Corporation
Darryl Turner is the CEO of The Darryl Turner Corporation, Author and Key Note Speaker at over 100 events across the nation, and internationally, each year. He is also CEO of The Leader’s Life Executive Coaching where Darryl personally coaches the top executives from many of the nation’s largest real estate settlement services companies.
Some of Darryl’s books include “The 9 Undeniable Principles of Uncommon Sense” and “Quote Me On That, 365 Daily Quotes To Live By”.
The Darryl Turner Corporation have coached and trained over 6400 settlement services salespeople, over 3,000 escrow / closing professionals from over 1,100 title companies and agencies since 1994.
Darryl & his wife, Raquell, live in South Reno, Nevada and have 5 children and 3 grandchildren. Along with watersports, boating and skiing, Darryl & Raquell love aviation & spending time together working on strategies to help their title and settlement clients achieve their giant goals.
For more information, visit www.DarrylTurner.com or email Info@DarrylTurner.com
Eric Waddell
Partner and Co-Founder
Landmark Custom Builder & Remodeling Keller Williams Legacy’s Meraki Group OneRes International Realty
Eric Waddell
Partner and Co-Founder
Landmark Custom Builder & Remodeling
Keller Williams Legacy’s Meraki Group
OneRes International Realty
Eric Waddell is a Partner & Co-Founder of Landmark Custom Builder & Remodeling, LLC, Keller Williams Legacy’s Meraki Group and OneRes International Realty.
Mr. Waddell created and managed a Boutique Private Equity Firm that specialized in the residential and vacation home real estate market. His activities funded over $850 million in real estate projects throughout Florida.
An experienced leader, Mr. Waddell retired from UPS after 27 years to open the boutique Real Estate Investment Company. During his tenure with the investment company, Mr. Waddell chaired investment committees, developed investment strategies and was responsible for monitoring and evaluating the performance of acquisitions.
Mr. Waddell’s initiatives lead to the acquisition of a commercial and residential construction company Landmark Custom Builder and Remodeling, the establishment of OneRes International Realty and the merger into Keller Williams Legacy’s Meraki Group, a full-service real estate company.
Landmark Custom Builder & Remodeling is an Award-Winning luxury home builder, creating homes from 4,000 square feet to over 21,000 square feet that has generated over $60 million in sales. Landmark’s homes was featured as Metropolitan “Orlando’s Home of Distinction,” a chartable event benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charites of Central Florida.
Mr. Waddell was voted KW Legacy Growth Partner of the year for bringing in a group of agents that became the KW Legacy’s first Luxury Group generating over $19 million in closed transaction during the first year. KW Legacy closed $240 million in transactions last year.
Mr. Waddell has been an active member or board member in several civic and non-profit organizations including a variety of charities. Eric Waddell and Landmark Custom Builder & Remodeling is a supporter of the Ronald McDonald Charities of Central Florida.
Ray Wenger
Chief, Bureau of Investigation
Division of Insurance Agent & Agency Services
Florida Department of Financial Services
Ray Wenger, FLMI, CPM
Chief, Bureau of Investigation
Division of Insurance Agent & Agency Services
Florida Department of Financial Services
I started with the Department in April 1995 and worked from our Orlando Field Office. I transferred to Daytona Beach in 1996, which is when I became certified as an investigator by the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR). By 1998 I had established an investigative office at the Ocala Fire College covering eight (8) counties in North Central Florida.
I was asked to assume the role of Bail Bond Coordinator for the state in 2005. By March 2006 my duties were expanded to include overseeing the bureau’s activities in title insurance. Since I knew little about title insurance, I attended classes and earned my title insurance agent license that year. By January 2008 I was assigned the supervision of the Legal Processing Unit within the Bureau. At various times I supervised other units in the Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Licensing until 2016.
I became the Chief of the Bureau of Investigation in April 2016. I oversee the operation of our bureau in Tallahassee and in our other nine (9) field offices across Florida. I work closely with the Division of Legal Services to assist in the prosecution of cases and serve as the agency’s representative or expert witness at hearings and trials.
My other responsibilities include analyzing proposed changes to the insurance code, assisting with revisions to the Florida Statutes and Administrative Code, reviewing and updating the questions on our pre-licensing examinations for the various lines of insurance, mapping key processes, writing internal policies and procedures, answering questions or complaints involving our licensees.
I have received the CFO Recognition Award for creative Innovation, A Certificate of Excellence for Outstanding Performance and Lasting Contribution, a Certificate of Appreciation for mentoring interns, and four (4) Davis Productivity Awards.
Robert Wineman
Executive Vice President, Division Manager
FNF Family of Companies
Robert Wineman
Executive Vice President, Division Manager
FNF Family of Companies
Rob has spent much of his early career managing high volume title operations. He has managed numerous residential and commercial/national business operations throughout the country. While in the Chicago marketplace, he managed the highest volume residential operation in the United States. After this he managed the Chicago Title Commercial Center/NBU in Chicago, IL which is the largest commercial/national operation in the country. Since 2003, Rob has primarily managed various underwriter agency operations and is currently Fidelity National Financial’s Division Manager for the Mid-West and Mid-South agency operations covering 18 states. Rob is also the author of various title insurance and business metric focused training materials.
Rob earned his law degree from Syracuse University and holds a BS degree in Finance from Michigan State University. Clearly, he chose his schools based on basketball.
A few fun facts about Rob:
He currently resides in Michigan with his wife and has 2 sons both working in finance. He enjoys reading, playing the guitar, running and mountain biking. Rob was formerly in a “rock band” with his sons so that he could re-live his college days. Sadly, he was kicked out of the band after his sons cited artistic differences and replaced him with a younger talented musician. His wife is still his only groupie.
Evan Zanic
EVP, Division President Agency Division
First American Title Insurance Co.
Evan Zanic
EVP, Division President Agency Division
First American Title Insurance Co.
Evan Zanic has served as executive vice president for First American Title Insurance Company and president of the company’s Agency Division since May 2014.
With extensive experience in the title industry and a track record of increasing responsibilities at First American Title, Zanic has held a number of leadership roles since joining the company as Western Pennsylvania area manager in 2001. During his tenure, he also has served as Pennsylvania state manager, regional vice president and as the Agency Division’s senior vice president and chief operating officer.
Zanic is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Federal Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Land Title Association and the American Land Title Association. He earned his law degree and a dual-major bachelor’s degree in political science and business from the University of Pittsburgh.
First American Title Insurance Company, the largest subsidiary of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), traces its history to 1889. One of the largest title insurers in the nation, the company offers title services through its direct operations and an extensive network of agents throughout the United States and abroad. The company has its headquarters in Santa Ana, Calif. Information about First American Financial Corporation’s subsidiaries and an archive of its press releases can be found on the Internet at www.firstam.com.
Ask The Experts
Andrea Alessandro, Esq.
Director of Industry Relations & Education
CATIC
Andrea Alessandro, Esq.
Director of Industry Relations & Education
CATIC
Upon graduating from law school in 2002, Andrea joined a high-volume conveyancing firm, representing lenders, buyers, and sellers for thousands of real estate transactions. In 2013, Andrea joined CATIC and in 2016, Andrea moved to the company’s Industry Relations Department, eventually becoming Director of Industry Relations and Education. Andrea also serves as co-chair of the company’s employee-led social justice committee, The Initiative. This committee is dedicated to improving communities through equitable treatment for all, focusing on fair and equal home-ownership opportunities and other social justice concerns.
Perla Aparicio
Industry Relations Manager
Paymints.io
Perla Aparicio
Industry Relations Manager
Paymints.io
Ryan Cabrita
Information Security Officer
Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC
Ryan Cabrita
Information Security Officer
Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC
Annette Cotton
Vice President, Data & Client Solutions
DataTrace
Annette Cotton
Vice President, Data & Client Solutions
DataTrace
With more than thirty years of industry experience, Annette Cotton possesses expert knowledge of real estate data and has extensively managed all asset types including title plant data, real property data, property tax and assessment, and data analytics.
Beginning with TRW Information Services, Ms. Cotton built her career by following her unrelenting passion for superior data content and quality. She earned her leadership status by the knowledge gained from working in every role that supports data manufacturing including source acquisition, data extraction, research, quality and delivery. Through various acquisitions, Ms. Cotton took on larger roles and eventually served as VP, Data Operations for First American Real Estate Solutions, which later became CoreLogic. Along with overseeing a significant domestic data organization, Ms. Cotton managed client fulfillment, captive offshore production, and vendor oversight. Since 2014, Ms. Cotton leads both the data and client services organization, and has contributed to building the market leading suite of data assets serving the financial services market segment at DataTrace. Along with data, Ms. Cotton is also passionate about supporting women by sponsoring leadership events to promote networking, mentoring and career development.
Steve Gold
Product Director
American Land Title Association
Steve Gold
Product Director
American Land Title Association
Chris Gulotta
Founder
Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC and Real Estate Data Shield, Inc.
Chris Gulotta
Founder
Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC and Real Estate Data Shield, Inc.
Christopher Gulotta is a founding partner of The Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC and Real Estate Data Shield, Inc. (REDS) and was one of the very first to speak to our industry on the importance of cybersecurity compliance. He possesses a unique combination of sophistication in real estate transactional processes, regulator expectations and data security compliance obstacles and solutions.
Mr. Gulotta is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), having successfully completed the International Association of Privacy Professional’s course and certification examination. Chris is also an Adjunct Professor at the Fordham University Real Estate Institute, where he teaches courses in commercial real estate law and practice.
Mr. Gulotta is a graduate of Fordham Law School. He has served as a continuing legal education faculty member at Fordham Law School, Pace Law School, The Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the New York State Bar Association. He has been a featured columnist for and interviewed for articles in: The New York Law Journal, The National Law Journal, The Title Report; The Legal Description; Valuation Review, TitleNews etc., on topics including: Service Provider Compliance; Lender Oversight; Information Security Compliance for real estate professionals; Privacy Law; title escrow funds; RESPA reform; new media and Internet law.
The Gulotta Grabiner Law Group, PLLC, covers all of NYS and focuses on both:
(i) Transactional Real Estate: representing buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate; and
(ii) Mortgage Finance: representing mortgage lenders in such transactions. His firm has proudly served as a preferred vendor to some of the leading institutional lenders.
He is a member of ALTA’s Best Practices Task Force, working with industry leaders to develop timely and prospective regulatory solutions for title and settlement agents as a member of both “Lender” and “Settlement Agent” workgroups.
REDS, named ALTA’s Inaugural Best Practices Elite Provider, is the first industry-specific company to provide real estate professionals with security compliance tools through its Compliance Management Platform. Its clients include national title underwriters, title agents, settlement agent, law firms, realtors, notary networks, etc.
Marcus Hunt
Founder and Partner
Title Success Solutions
Marcus Hunt
Founder and Partner
Title Success Solutions
Marcus is a growth-minded entrepreneur and attorney with experience launching and building successful title companies. With a background in franchise and real estate law, he has assisted numerous companies in all stages of growth. Recognizing the need for acquisition and exit planning in the title industry, Marcus co-founded Title Success Solutions to serve the needs of growth minded title companies and title company owners exploring ways to successfully exit their business.
Donna Inman
President
American Escrow Association
Donna Inman
President
American Escrow Association
Donna has been in escrow since 1976 – she was 2 years old at the time.
In those few years she has been an escrow officer, a title company county manager, an auditor, a compliance officer, an instructor and various other related positions.
A native of California, she has lived in Colorado and Hawaii.
She was instrumental in the formation of CACC, Inc. and two of its chapters – Northern Colorado and Ski Country. She holds the Professional Designations of Certified Real Estate Closer (1981) and Certified Senior Real Estate Closer (1992) from CACC, Inc.
She is a past President of the Colorado Association of Certified Closers, Inc. (1993/1994) and a member of its Hall of Fame (1996).
Donna was the 2013 President of the California Escrow Association. She holds a Certified Senior Escrow Officer (1998) and a Certified Escrow Instructor (1999) credential from CEA.
In 2018 she was awarded the Earl G. Barrett Memorial Award by the American Escrow Association. The Earl G. Barrett Memorial Award is given in honor of commitment to the escrow/settlement industry at local, state and national levels.
She is currently the American Escrow Association President. She previously served as the President-Elect and Government Affairs Committee Chair, First Vice President and Bylaws Committee Chair, Second Vice President and Conference Committee Chair, Third Vice President and Membership Committee Chair, the AEA Education Committee Chair and the CEA Director to AEA. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away she served on the AEA Board; serving one term as the Treasurer (1995/1996) and two terms as the Secretary (1996/1997 and 1998/1999). Donna holds the AEA Senior American Settlement Industry Professional designation (2014).
For fun, Donna teaches Escrow at Mt. San Antonio College and at the Escrow Training Institute.
Donna earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in English (1975) from Colorado State University. She also has a Master’s Degree in Education (2005) from Colorado State University.
At home she is the obedient servant of Phoebe, Princess Fluffy Butt Cat.
Shelly Mannebach
AVP Florida Business Development
Investors Title Insurance Co.
Shelly Mannebach
AVP Florida Business Development
Investors Title Insurance Co.
Shelly Mannebach has been in the real estate industry for over 25 years & holds a BA of Communication from the University of Madison-WI. As a Realtor in Wisconsin, her team specialized in relocation business, niche subdivision marketing and first time home buyers. After moving to Florida she was recruited by North American Title as a Senior Business Consultant to help Realtors increase their productivity. Shelly was then promoted to North Florida Sales Manager where she coached 10 Business Consultants, helping them grow market share & help their realtor clients increase business. While under Shelly’s direction, her North Florida team won National Awards for production and commitment to service.
Shelly currently works for Investors Title Insurance Company as AVP, Florida Business Development. In this role, she is also responsible for educating title agents, Realtors and lenders for increased productivity, compliance and business etiquette. She has been invited to speak at numerous National, State and Local conferences for the real estate industry.
Shelly is an active Realtor member at the Orlando Realtor Association (ORRA) where she has held the following positions and won the following awards: Guest speaker at ORRA Leadership Institute, Board of Directors at ORRA for 2 elected terms, Chair of Knowledge Services Committee, and Strategic Planning Committee Member.
Shelly has been married to the love of her life and soul mate, Thom for 30 years. They enjoy traveling and in her free time she likes to read, cook, swim, hike, and spend time with family.
Peter Martinez-Fonts
Director, Customer Success
Snapdocs
Peter Martinez-Fonts
Director, Customer Success
Snapdocs
Peter Martinez-Fonts is a Senior Manager on the Customer Success team at Snapdocs, where he is responsible for ensuring that all customers get the most value out of the Snapdocs product and ecosystem. Prior to Snapdocs, he spent ten years at CEB as a consultant and executive advisor working with CFOs, procurement leaders, and supply chain executives at the world’s largest companies to identify and implement the most impactful management strategies. Peter holds a bachelor’s in political science from Wake Forest University and a master’s in business administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Becky Tassell
Chief Marketing Officer
PropLogix
Becky Tassell
Chief Marketing Officer
PropLogix
CMO at PropLogix who is intimately involved in the overall company strategy. With 15 years of marketing leadership experience at high-growth companies, her expertise lies in product marketing, demand generation, branding, events, content marketing, internal company culture, and technology. She strongly believes in collaborative environments, strengths-based leadership, and empowerment. When she’s not working to make the real estate transactional process more simple and transparent you’ll find her in the kitchen experimenting or hanging out with her Frenchie Pepper!
Women in Business Breakfast
Joanna Jones
Vice President, Georgia State Manager
FNF Family of Companies
Joanna Jones
Vice President, Georgia State Manager
FNF Family of Companies
Joanna G. Jones has been part of the Fidelity National Title Insurance Company’s Georgia Agency team for nearly two decades. She currently serves as Vice President and Georgia State Manager. Joanna was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama but got her start in the title insurance agency in 1986 after moving to Atlanta. She has vast experience on the sales side of the industry and is always working diligently for her agents and customers as well as leading her team to successfully grow -and having achieved record breaking numbers year over year since 2015.
Joanna founded and hosts, along with her team an annual GRACE & GRIT leadership retreat exclusively for female real estate attorneys in Georgia – empowering and inspiring women in title. She also took initiative to launch a FLOCK TO FIGHT campaign in order to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research and to celebrate breast cancer survivors. Joanna is an active volunteer for Act Together Ministries (an organization helping single moms and their children). She loves traveling, entertaining and most of all she loves spending time with her family!
Erica Meyer
CEO and Publisher
October Research, LLC
Erica Meyer
CEO and Publisher
October Research, LLC
Erica Meyer is Owner and Publisher of October Research, LLC. October Research is dedicated to educating and empowering professionals in the real estate transaction to strengthen their business and enhance their position in the marketplace, ensuring the integrity of home ownership. The company provides education through their five B2B publications, annual conferences, webinars, websites, email newsletters, marketing and advertising services, social media and custom publishing.
Prior to purchasing October Research in 2011, Ms. Meyer worked in the online business unit at Sears Holdings Corporation and spent 10+ years with UPS in sales management, technology, revenue management and marketing.
Ms. Meyer earned her BA from the University of Dayton and MBA from National-Louis University. She has been a member of Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA), Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), serves on the Talent and PR Committees for the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and works closely with numerous industry associations. She has completed the Aileron Course for Presidents, spoken at the Kent State 2019 Spirit of Women in Business conference and other industry conferences.
In 2019, Ms. Meyer was recognized by Crain’s as a Notable Woman in Entrepreneurship and in 2014 a Women of Influence in Housing by HousingWire Magazine. In her free time, she has tutored high school students for the ACT, fundraised and coordinated numerous community service events, ran half marathons but her favorite pastime is spending time with her husband and kids.
Emily Traxler
CEO
Bank Shot
Emily Traxler
CEO
Bank Shot
Emily is the CEO of Bank Shot, a payments solution for title companies. She oversees their expansion into new payment methods, partnerships, and new and emerging markets. Based in Atlanta, Emily has been the first female employee at every technology company she has worked with, except Bank Shot, which is female founded. As a mother and as a leader, Emily is determined to create more opportunities for women in technology. She prides herself on guiding young women on their journeys to success!
Leslie Wyatt
Director of Regulatory Compliance
SoftPro
Leslie Wyatt
Director of Regulatory Compliance
SoftPro
Leslie Wyatt is the Director of Regulatory Compliance at SoftPro. She began her career in the real estate industry over 20 years ago, and joined SoftPro in 2002. She currently oversees the Compliance Department with her primary focus being on regulatory issues at the Federal, state and county levels.
Leslie is a member of the ALTA Implementation Task Force, the Title Action Network Steering Committee, the ALTA Government Affairs Committee, the ALTA Membership Committee, the ALTA Education Committee and the TLTA Federal Issues Committee. She has represented ALTA at a congressional briefing regarding the CFPB and the TRID changes. Leslie travels though out country speaking on our industry’s hot topics with a focus on regulatory and compliance. Leslie continuous to work with the CFPB on various projects regarding TRID, UCD, MISMO and other industry hot topics.