Speakers

Gary Acosta is the Co-Founder & CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals® (NAHREP®). NAHREP is the nation's largest Hispanic business organization with over 40,000 real estate professionals and 100 local chapters. In his capacity as CEO of NAHREP, he created the Hispanic Wealth Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a strategic plan to triple Hispanic household wealth by 2024. In 2018, Mr. Acosta co-founded L'ATTITUDE, a mega-event that celebrates the achievements of the Latino community in business, entertainment, technology, and politics.

Julie Aguilar is a Sr. Policy and Research Analyst at the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). Her research focuses on housing and economic policy to help increase Latino homeownership and bridge racial and ethnic wealth gaps.

Esther Aguilera is President & CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), the largest national network of Latinos at the pinnacle of corporate leadership and governance. She built LCDA, a premier and consequential organization focused on advancing the inclusion of Latinos in the boardroom. She is the executive producer of the LCDA Annual Board Leaders Convening and launched the BoardReady Institute (BRI) to advance top Latino executives onto boards. She was named among the 2022 50 Most Powerful Latinas, recognized by Bloomberg Linea among the 500 Most Influential in Latin America in 2022, and 2021 Person of the Year by Al Dia News Media.

Nora Aguirre is an associate with Century 21 Americana. She has been in the real estate profession for 16 years, rapidly growing her business to become one of the top agents in the country. As a first-generation immigrant from Mexico, she is passionate about educating buyers about real estate and helping them find their next forever home. Ms. Aguirre has grown her business to more than 200 transactions per year resulting in an average of $1.5 million in gross commissions.

Lisa Applegate is the head of Strategic Quality Management within the Capital Markets division of Wells Fargo Home Lending. In this role, she is responsible for a range of activities in support of the revenue-producing lines of business in Home Lending – origination products and programs, including the policy change process and related rules automation. Applegate also oversees investor and insurer relationship management, contracts, and program compliance; HFS origination quality and deficiency management activities, and HFS investor reporting, custodial accounting functions related to assets sold by Wells Fargo. Applegate joined Wells Fargo in April 2014.

Laura Arce is Senior Vice President for Economic Initiatives at UnidosUS. Laura is responsible for leading the “Economic Trajectory Big Bet”, a multi-year initiative to build Latino wealth by reshaping the homeownership landscape. Prior to joining UnidosUS, Laura was Senior Vice President for Public Policy for Wells Fargo & Co. where she was responsible for public policy analysis and engagement on consumer banking, consumer lending, and community reinvestment, among other high-impact public policies.

Clara Asimakopoulos served as Government Affairs Director for three years at NAHREP Temecula Valley and is currently serving her fourth year on the chapter's Board of Directors. She has been an independent broker since 2004. Ms. Asimakopoulos also sits on the iBroker Core Committee, Legislative Committee, and Professional Standards at her local Board of REALTORS®.

Jon currently serves as the Vice President of Immigration Policy at the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. He joined the U. S. Chamber of Commerce in June 2014. He works with Chamber member companies to form Chamber policy positions on various issues and he advocates for sensible immigration policies before Congress and the executive branch agencies. Prior to joining the Chamber, Jon served as an advisor to Senator Rubio for 3.5 years. He held a very important position as one of the Senator's lead immigration advisors during the Senator's involvement with the Gang of 8 and his push for comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the 113th Congress.

Cerita is a former JPMorgan employee. She is now returning to the Firm as the Affordable Lending Strategy Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase. She was with the firm for over 8+ years. Cerita comes to the firm with 31+ years of experience in the financial industry, 23 years specifically dedicated to mortgage. Prior to rejoining the firm, Cerita was the Senior Vice President and Head of Retail Diverse Segments for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. While there, she was responsible for establishing the company's strategic plan and lending goals to increase and enable sustainable homeownership among low-to-moderate income homebuyers and communities as well as ethnic minority homebuyers across the full economic spectrum.

Sandra Bonilla has dedicated herself to helping individuals, families and small businesses with everything from retirement planning, college planning to wealth preservation and charitable giving. She takes the time to examine every element of a client's financial life — including cash reserves, liability management, investments, employee stock options, insurance, estate planning strategies, and tax-efficient investing strategies. She provides a high level of personal service to our clients and produces Investment Plans to help clients create a wholesome picture of their financial standing.

Janis Bowdler has spent the last two decades advancing economic equity solutions for communities of color and breaking down the barriers that underpin the disparities in wealth and financial security by race and gender. Ms. Bowdler's career has spanned local service, national advocacy, and international philanthropy. She launched her career in her native Northeast Ohio with Famicos Foundation, a community development corporation working in the Hough and Glenville neighborhoods of Cleveland, Ohio. She then spent 10 years at UnidosUS, then National Council of La Raza, advocating for economic mobility opportunities for Latino families.

Contessa Brewer is a correspondent and substitute anchor for CNBC appearing throughout Business Day as well as the network's 7 PM ET newscast "The News with Shepard Smith." She covers major news stories for CNBC including presidential elections, hurricanes, the coronavirus pandemic and trade wars. Her specialty coverage areas are casinos, the gaming industry, and the insurance industry. Brewer joined the network in 2017 and is based at CNBC Global Headquarters.

Robert (Bob) Broeksmit is President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Mr. Broeksmit is a senior finance executive and corporate officer with over 35 years of experience in the mortgage sector. He has directed all aspects of lending activities, including marketing, sales, operations, secondary marketing, loan servicing, and default management. He has also served as a mortgage underwriting expert testifying on many large, high-profile cases.

Cecil Burrowes is a Senior Lead Business Growth and Acquisition Consultant within Wells Fargo's Consumer and Small Business division. In his role, he and his partners work to bridge gaps by bringing the bank's full set of resources to the diverse communities Wells Fargo serves. He leads efforts focused on providing diverse customers access to all physical and virtual banking channels through creation of relevant products and services.

Katherin Cabrera is a successful REALTOR® who has established herself as an industry leader by leveraging her drive, personality, and status as a social media influencer, named "#1 Latina Realtor on Social Media" by Property Spark. She has developed a solid foundation of problem-solving and negotiation skills, which she now employs to advocate for her clients to help them buy and sell homes. Ms. Cabrera believes that a home is more than just four walls and a roof over your head, and she approaches every transaction with the same dedication and care she would give if it were her own.

Martin Cabrera is the CEO and Founder of Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM) and Cabrera Capital Partners (CCP). Cabrera Capital Markets (CCM) provides global investment banking and institutional brokerage services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes financial institutions, states and municipalities, corporations, unions, foundations, and endowments. CCM has issued over $330 billion in debt for municipalities and over $400 billion in debt and equities for corporations nationally and internationally. CCM’s taxable fixed income and global equities trading desks are transacting over one billion in securities daily.

Joe Castillo is a second generation REALTOR® following in the footsteps of Maria and Jose Castillo, co-founders of Mi Casa Real Estate, Inc. He grew up in the business that he now loves, talking real estate at the kitchen table and spending many summers at the office helping out. Mr. Castillo obtained his real estate license at the age of 21 while continuing his studies, graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Irving Cham is a thorough and professional real estate professional who is ready to assist you with your real estate needs. He proudly offers exceptional residential/commercial real estate services to the people of New Jersey. Awards and accolades have come naturally to Irving throughout his career in real estate. He is consistently ranked in the top quintile of realtors and was selected to lead his peers as a Regional Growth Manager. Irving has driven operational excellence and shared his proven client service techniques while continuing to run his own successful business. He is happy to assist all types of professionals whether you are new to the business or just looking for guidance and direction.

Rob Chevez is the CEO of the CAZA Group, a real estate team that consistently sells over 100,000,000 in volume and one of the top real estate teams within the Keller Williams Franchise. In 2019, Mr. Chevez was interviewed by Gary Keller in front of 10,000 of his peers on his "ZONE Methodology " where he discussed how he has grown and expanded his business. Mr. Chevez is also the Founder of the GRID Investor Network, the largest real estate investment network in the DC Metro area with 12 local chapters and 13,000 members.

Gavin Coffaro has been in his current role as head of Strategic Markets for Mortgage since December of 2016. He has over 21 years of banking experience which started at JPMorgan Chase in 2002. Mr. Coffaro joined Citi in 2011 as the Performance Manager for the Distributed Retail Sales channel which included responsibilities such as volume forecasted, P&L management, performance reporting and annual budget formulation. He heads up the Strategic Markets team which partners with Mortgage Sales to provide lending opportunities for low-to-moderate income as well as multicultural clients.

Ahtis Davis joined Wells Fargo & Co in 2021 to lead business development for diverse customers in the Consumer and Small Business Bank. She leverages her global leadership experience to develop, lead and activate the bank's strategy to drive customer growth and brand reputation. Prior to joining Wells Fargo & Co, Ms. Davis has enjoyed a 20+ year career in financial services at JPMorgan Chase in the Corporate Investment Bank in New York and London and most notably, established Advancing Black Pathways as the Program Manager, leading their strategy to help more Black Americans achieve economic success.

Gabe is President & CEO of Homeownership Council of America (HCA) and thought leadership in solutions for underserved communities in homeownership. He serves this work by providing vision, technical assistance, and lender services to CDFIs and investors in affordable and minority lending. Gabe has extensive experience building products, delivery systems, and technology focused on increasing access to credit for underserved communities. Gabe has been instrumental in providing transformational consulting to nonprofit lenders through HCA’s CLIMB program nationally. Gabe has spent decades implementing best practices in housing counseling & education, down payment assistance lending, affordable housing, and mortgage lending for underserved communities.

As the Neighborhood & Community Lending Production Manager supporting the Southern California Region, Rose Ann Djelmane is responsible for ensuring Multicultural Census Tract and Community Reinvestment Act goals are met by working with Regional teams, Market Leaders and Loan Officers.

Latonia Donaldson joined PrimeLending in February 2012 and serves as Vice President, National Director Multicultural Community Lending. She is responsible for creating mortgage opportunities within multicultural segments and underserved markets by providing homeownership education and financial literacy to potential homebuyers. Donaldson also provides training to PrimeLending loan officers on various down payment assistance and affordable housing programs, as well as coordinates educational events for homebuyers and real estate agents. Donaldson is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in the areas of mortgage banking, management, and community development.

Camilo Escalante serves as Guaranteed Rate's Executive Director of Diverse Segments, leading the company as it expands its service and marketing in diverse communities nationwide. A Chicago native, Mr. Escalante also volunteers as the Midwest Government Affairs Director of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, coordinating lobbying efforts that drive immigration, access to credit and housing policy. Additionally, Camilo Escalante is the founder of Escala Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on development projects that stimulate housing accessibility, business growth and wealth creation across the country.

Now one of North Carolina's leading onsite agents, DRB Homes with DRB Group REALTOR®-Broker Magda Esola originally came to New Jersey from Nicaragua, starting in real estate nearly 20 years ago. Among the Top 10 agents in the state (Real Trend 2019-2022), Magda has placed in NAHREP's Top 250 Latino Agents for the past 5 years. She has also received North Carolina Homebuilders Association Super Nova Award (2018-2019). She served as President of NAHREP Charlotte, and she is the Chair for Diversity NC REALTORS®, she also served on the Board of the Canopy Association of REALTORS® 2021-2023.

José Espaillat is the Head of Affluent Markets for the Northeast & Southern Divisions as a part of the WIM Diverse Client Segment Team. He is responsible of finding ways to better serving and growing diverse customer segments by expanding our penetration across all diverse segments. Mr. Espaillat is also responsible for helping build a workforce that is representative of the clients and communities the company serves. Mr. Espaillat joined Wells Fargo in 2018 and most recently served as the Latino Client Segment Leader in the Diverse Client Segment team for the Client Relationship Group.

As the Hispanic Segment Lead for Wells Fargo Home Lending, Valeria L. Esparza-Chavez partners across the business, and with external stakeholders, advocacy groups, and industry trade associations to increase lending opportunities to Hispanic families across all income segments. In her role, Ms. Esparza-Chavez is responsible for developing and executing strategy focused on the Hispanic consumer demographic consistent with Wells Fargo strategy and goals. Ms. Esparza-Chavez has spent most of her 16-year financial services career in consumer lending and has deep experience in developing and executing strategies to meet the needs of ethnically diverse families.

Armando Falcon is CEO of Falcon Capital Advisors LLC, a management consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Falcon Capital Advisors provides strategic advice and technical assistance to financial services companies, mortgage industry participants, technology providers and government agencies on matters involving process reengineering, project management, regulatory compliance, and data analytics. Falcon Capital Advisors is known to be on the cutting edge of market developments, including the digital transformation of the mortgage market.

Mark Fleming serves as the senior vice president for Decision Sciences and chief economist for First American Financial Corporation, a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions that traces its heritage back to 1889. In his role, he leads an economics team responsible for analysis, commentary and forecasting trends in the real estate and mortgage markets.

Secretary Marcia L. Fudge is the 18th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Throughout her career, Secretary Fudge has worked to help low-income families, seniors, and communities across the country. Secretary Fudge served as U.S. Representative for the 11th Congressional District of Ohio from 2008 to March 9, 2021. She was a member of several Congressional Caucuses and past Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. As a Member of Congress, Secretary Fudge earned a reputation for tackling the unique challenges of her district by working with her Congressional delegation and across political ideologies.

Jona Gamboa is a Team Lead and REALTOR®️ with the Gamboa Real Estate Group serving homebuyers and sellers as they navigate the real estate market. As a 16-year veteran of the housing industry, Jona is passionate about serving his clients transactional needs, as well as empowering them through educational mentorship programs, radio talk shows and classroom instruction. As a real estate investor and developer, Jona brings a wealth of knowledge to his clients and colleagues that go far beyond the residential transaction, including market analysis, investment vehicles, and personal finance.

Carlos García is an entrepreneur in the finance and tech industries. He is the CEO and Founder of Finhabits, a venture-backed, NYC-based fintech making financial services more inclusive of the Latino community. He is passionate about using technology to help Latina and Latino-owned businesses prosper and to close the wealth gap among their workers. Carlos started his career as an investment expert after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He has 18 years of financial experience working on Wall Street and building his companies.

Born and raised in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, Hipolito Garcia has been in the mortgage banking industry for 20 years. As of January 2018, Mr. Garcia has been with Caliber Home Loans as an Area Manager. Mr. Garcia was the 2019 President for NAHREP Chicago (2019 Chapter of the Year) and 2019 - 2020 board director with the Chicago Association of Realtors. He is currently one of NAHREP's Midwest Regional Corporate Governors, a NAHREP Coach, and a NAHREP 10 Certified Speaker. He is a board director with the Illinois Mortgage Bankers Association and Chair for the Affordable Lending Committee.

Victoria Garcia DeLuca is Guild’s first vice president of marketplace diversity strategy, leading the company’s long-term initiatives promoting minority homeownership and sustaining diversity, equity and inclusion in lending. Victoria’s responsibilities include recruiting and retention of minority loan officers, developing new products for minority markets and serving as a liaison with Government Sponsored Enterprises, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A Chicago native of Mexican and Honduran descent, Victoria is bilingual in English and Spanish. She has over 20 years’ experience in the mortgage industry creating programs for underserved markets in the Midwest and South.

As a native Houstonian, Olga Martinez-Garza is a seasoned residential agent. Being bilingual in English and Spanish enables her to help dozens of families find their dream home and/or investment property in Greater Houston/North Harris County and surrounding areas. In 2023, she will serve as the NAHREP Houston Chapter President, focusing on sustainable Hispanic homeownership. Olga served as the lead for the team she co-founded, earning the distinct recognition of the Circle of Excellence - Diamond Award for their 2022 production. In March 2023, Olga made the move to Nan and Company Properties.

Abel Gilbert's fascination with real estate has led him through various aspects of the business starting from real estate agent to now leader of Miami's #1 Team owned brokerage. Throughout his career Abel and his team have helped thousands of families buy and sell homes. He has also single handedly purchased and sold 100+ fix and flip opportunities, handled the acquisition and disposition of over 30 million dollars in non-performing loans, and has also successfully developed construction projects.

Melody Gonzalez is Executive Director of the White House Hispanic Initiative, an office created by President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14045 and housed under the leadership of Secretary Miguel Cardona at the U. S. Department of Education. The Initiative works to: advance cradle to career education, equity and economic policy goals in partnership with the White House, federal agencies and external stakeholders; lead a 21-member commission that was recently announced; run a federal Interagency work group centered in advancing equity and access to federal resources for the Latino community; and lead in-person and virtual public engagement efforts.

Julia R. Gordon serves as the Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Ms. Gordon was nominated for this role by President Biden and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 12, 2022. Throughout her career, Ms. Gordon has been both a strong advocate for and hands-on practitioner working to achieve equal justice, fairness and equity in housing, and consumer protections. As Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, Ms. Gordon is responsible for HUD's policies, programs, and operations supporting the nation's homebuyers, homeowners, renters, and communities.

Nicolas Guillen is a self-starter, business strategist, and entrepreneur with more than 14 years of experience in Financial Services and Technology. Prior to Co-Founding BaseCap, Nick Guillen built teams to develop algorithms and implement innovative risk management technology solutions at Morgan Stanley, and other clients. Mr. Guillen started his career analyzing investment portfolios at UBS Financial Services. He has worked in several tech entrepreneurial projects, and served as the CFO of a sanitation and a solar energy company in East Africa. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Oralia Herrera is Broker/Owner of Century 21 TK Realty Inc. She came to this country as a child from La Purisima Durango Mexico with her parents and five siblings. Her family established in Franklin Park where she attended school and has raised three children together with her husband. On her 21st birthday, Ms. Herrera became a real estate agent and made it her profession and passion. With over 25 years of experience in real estate, she has made a mark in her community with professionalism, integrity and care.

Jerry Howard, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Home Builders, has over 25 years of association experience and a lifetime in the housing industry. Mr. Howard began his association career at the National Association of REALTORS, where he served as a Legislative Analyst for tax issues. Prior to joining NAHB, Jerry Howard served as the Chief Lobbyist for the National Council of State Housing Agencies where he was instrumental in the development of the low-income housing tax credit as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Caroline Isern is responsible for building, implementing and ensuring the execution of New American Funding's strategic plan and goals to increase and enable homeownership in our local communities across the U.S. In this capacity, through the implementation of creative solutions like the Buyer Accepted Program, New American Funding is laser-focused in helping our clients overcome some of the biggest barriers to homeownership, bridging the inventory gap by providing tools to our real estate partners to win in today's market.

Mia Jones is an affordable lending manager on the Affordable Lending team in the Freddie Mac Single-Family Mission and Community Engagement division. She facilitates broader credit access to underserved families through strong key client relationships with Lenders, Housing Finance Agencies, and other industry stakeholders. Ms. Jones utilizes a data-driven approach to promote awareness, educate industry stakeholders on business solutions, and increase utilization of Freddie Mac's offerings to support responsible lending and assist in meeting affordable lending, community outreach, and CRA goals.

Shawn holds degrees from Ricks College and Brigham Young University in English and Communications with a Business Emphasis. He has worked for 18 years in the real estate and finance industry, but his passion has always been teaching. He considers the ability to dynamically interact from C-Level to entry-level employees as his greatest asset, and he is grateful to have worked alongside mortgage and real estate professionals all over the country.

With 25 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Rosario is dedicated to ensuring that her team of Loan Consultants provides the ideal products and services to borrowers in California. Personal integrity has always been at the heart of her success, and as Branch Manager, Rosario keeps this in mind while building Caliber Home Loans' professional business presence in Ventura County.

Voltaire Lepe is a born and raised native San Diegan. He grew up in Logan Heights and has been in the real estate industry for 20 years. He started in real estate right out of high school and has grown to own his own property management company and brokerage. Mr. Lepe has made it his purpose over the years to give back to his community by volunteering his time and donating over $100K. While he is quite busy with work he always finds time for balance and knows the importance of enjoying his time with extended family.

Mr. Madrid has been selected to serve as Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED) at the U. S. Small Business Administration. In this role, Mr. Madrid will lead the OED, which is the SBA's technical assistance arm with a national resource network including Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women's Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, and the Office of Entrepreneurship Education. Previously Mr. Madrid served as CEO of Latino Business Action Network, a national 501(c)(3) organization focused on strengthening America through funding and supporting U. S. Latino entrepreneurial research and education-impact programs at Stanford University.

Lourdes Maestres is the Team Leader for The MPH Team at Compass in Fort Lauderdale and has been working as a real estate professional since 2009. After many successful years in the banking industry, including working as a commercial real estate lender & asset manager serving business clients, Lourdes decided to pursue a career in real estate. Since 2009 she has specialized in Broward county. Her financial experience, credit expertise, and impressive negotiating skills have helped Lourdes find hundreds of families a fresh start, whether in the buying or selling process.

Imelda Manzo is the Broker Owner of Premier One REALTORS® and has been an active and successful real estate practitioner since 2004. She is a very passionate member of The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals® (NAHREP®). Ms. Manzo is a founding director of the NAHREP Temecula Valley Chapter where she had the honor to serve as President in 2019 and currently serves as the Emeritus Director. Ms. Manzo is a proud ambassador for NAHREP's Hispanic Wealth Project and is a regional director for NAHREP' s National Advocacy Committee.

Eric McDowel is the Deputy Director of the Philadelphia Homeownership Center, PHOC. He has been with HUD for the past 12 years. Prior to assuming his current role, he was a Single Family Program Advisor and previously served as a Senior Underwriter in Philadelphia. Prior to McDowel's time with HUD, he held various positions in the Mortgage Industry including, Mortgage Loan Officer, Loan Processor, Underwriter, Processing Manager and Underwriting Manager. With his experience Mr. McDowel has a thorough understanding of the mortgage industry with a specialization in FHA underwriting guidelines, policies, and procedures.

Victoria McGroary is a political strategist with extensive experience working on competitive races to get diverse candidates elected up and down the ballot. She most recently served as the Deputy Political Director of the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, where she helped defend the Democratic House majority by overseeing a recruitment program with 31 nationally ranked candidates and helping re-elect 22 frontline Members. Before joining the New Dem Action Fund, Ms. McGroary served as the Early Vote Director for Senator Elizabeth Warren's 2018 Senate campaign.

Chris Medellin is a self-made Mexican-American mentor, speaker, podcaster and thought leader born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He is an award-winning producing leader and coach in the lending space, recognized nationally within and beyond his industry. After leading the most profitable team at the nationally-recognized mortgage company loanDepot in 2020 and 2021, Mr. Medellin was promoted to Regional Vice President in 2022. Today, he leads and mentors multiple teams throughout the southwest United States, including Hawaii. He has achieved Chairman's Elite each year since 2015, an award afforded the top performing leaders in the company.

As a real estate industry leader with over 18 years of experience, Carmen is passionate about connecting industry professionals with resources and tools to help them growth their business and increase homeownership rates for underserved communities. Carmen's commitment to the housing and affordable lending industry stems from her experience in the real estate industry, working directly with consumers, leading a national non-for-profit trade organization, influencing industry professionals, and building a network of individuals that are passionate about housing and finance issue.

Mike Miedler is President & CEO, Century 21. He believes the emotional connection a buyer has with their home and the memories they make while living there is what makes homeownership so special. Named CENTURY 21 Real Estate's president and chief executive officer in January 2019, he is a leader in residential and commercial real estate franchising, brokerage, and management. A 20-year plus veteran with the CENTURY 21 brand, Miedler has served in numerous positions throughout the company including Chief Growth Officer and Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales.

Mr. Mills is Chief Strategy Officer for The Change Company CDFI and its wholly owned subsidiary Change Lending, both United States Department of Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) which originated $30 billion in prime first trust deed mortgages over the last three operating years. He focuses on capital aggregation and product distribution primarily to low-and-moderate income and underserved communities. In 2019 he participated in the development of Change Lending's Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCP) which provide Black and Hispanic/Latino borrowers with affordable prime residential mortgages.

Vanessa Montañez is senior vice president and community lending national sales manager at City National Bank. She is responsible for building and implementing strategies to encourage sales growth, as well as managing an external mortgage sales team to expand loan sourcing channels. Dr. Montañez has more than 25 years of experience in residential lending and sales and business development management. Prior to City National, she worked at U.S. Bank, where she served as vice president and national strategic markets and diverse segments manager.

Rafael Montano is a Mexican American born in California now living in Michigan. For the past 8 years, he has worked with bilingual Hispanics helping them in the mortgage process so they can reach their financial goals and the American Dream of Homeownership. As a Director of Mortgage Banking for Rocket Mortgage, Rafael led a team of 14 Spanish speaking bankers that supported the efforts of offering a better service and expansion of this audience. In 2016 and 2017 he was awarded the NAHREP Top 250 Mortgage originator.

Chris Moreno, also known as "Mr. PropTech", loves to invest and support founders in the PropTech and Real Estate space. Mr. Moreno currently serves as the Head of Commercial Real Estate Channel Partnerships at Xeal Energy focused on EV charging. Chris Moreno has invested in 70+ early stage startups, multifamily real estate, and been a part of several proptech focused funds including Scotch Capital and On Deck. Mr. Moreno relocated with his wife and kids to Atlanta from San Francisco. He loves sports (golf, tennis, basketball) the outdoors and working with founders on their startups, Real Estate, and PropTech.

As President and Chief Executive Officer, Murray leads the Forum. Formed by her experiences in an immigrant family, throughout her career she has focused on ensuring immigrants have the services and skills they need to succeed while the country has the immigration system needed to prosper. Murray brings two decades of experience to this role, having worked at the intersection of immigration services and the private sector, as well as in refugee resettlement and workforce development, all while creating and driving policy change to support robust and dignifying immigration policies.

Joseph Nery is one of the members of Nery & Richardson LLC and his practice is focused in four areas: real estate, corporate and business law, estate planning and commercial and civil litigation. Mr. Nery represents individuals and companies in litigation matters such as foreclosure prosecution, consumer protection, breach of contract and landlord/tenant disputes. Prior to establishing his own law practice, Mr. Nery was a transactional attorney with two of Chicago's most prominent law firms.

Hasan Oberoi is the National Neighborhood and Community Lending Performance Executive at Bank of America. He leads a team of production managers who support the bank's work to ensure broad-based and equitable access to lending and capital for individuals, families, and small businesses across the economic spectrum. He and his team engage with nonprofits, community advocacy groups, real estate professional organizations, and industry leaders, advocating for housing stability, affordability, and generational wealth creation for underrepresented groups.

Luis C. Padilla is the Co-Owner of RE/MAX Oceanside Realty along with his wife Debbie. He emigrated from Cuba to Miami, Florida in 1973 and has been a part of the real estate industry for 33 years. His financial background began at St. Thomas University, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in finance, and a minor in business. He has worked in various sectors of real estate, including commercial and residential lending, REO listing agent, numerous real estate businesses and traditional real estate sales.

In 2020, Teresa Palacios Smith was elevated to the role of chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for HomeServices of America. In her role, she has grown diversity and inclusion initiatives across the company’s networks, providing training for its 52,000 network agents, working with the sales team in expanding its minority- and women-owned franchises, expanding their multicultural reach worldwide and serving as liaison with the multicultural associations focused on growing minority homeownership.

Kenny Parcell (ABR®, AHWD, CRS, C2EX), a REALTOR® from Spanish Fork, Utah, is the 2023 President of the National Association of REALTORS®. Mr. Parcell is broker/owner of Equity Real Estate Utah and has sold more than 3,200 homes during his 25-year career. At the national level, Mr. Parcell served as NAR's Vice President of Government Affairs in 2018. He was the REALTOR® Party RPAC Fundraising Liaison in 2017, Regional Vice President for Region 11 (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming) in 2016, and REALTOR® Party Director in 2015.

Leo Pareja entered real estate at 19 years of age and by 28 he was the #1 Keller Williams Agent in the world. During his 15 years selling, Pareja sold close to 4,000 homes. In 2012 he co-founded and continues to co-own Washington Capital Partners, one of the largest private lending companies in the east coast. Today, he is the Chief Strategy Officer of eXp Realty. Pareja served as NAHREP's 2017 National President.

With over 21 years of experience in the San Diego real estate market, Mauricio Perez leads an office of over 140 agents in Chula Vista and has prior experience managing over 220 REALTORS® at the KW La Jolla Market Center. Mr. Perez has ranked on the NAHREP Top 250 Latino Agents for three years in a row and was recently recognized as Broker of the Year for both of the local REALTOR® Associations in San Diego County.

Adriana Perezchica has been working in real estate since 2005, and brings with her a proven sales and closing track record. Clients and real estate professionals alike seek out Ms. Perez because of her commitment to excellence and knowledge of the real estate industry. Her depth of understanding around market trends and impressive negotiation skills quickly propelled her to her status as one of the top producing brokers in the greater Seattle area. Adriana sees every transaction as an opportunity to create a new future for her clients, while protecting their interests above all.

Peggy Pratt Calle didn't let the pandemic stop her from doing what she loves, selling homes. Calle, a broker with Century 21 North East, sold the highest-priced piece of real estate in her 24-year career this year: a $1.7 million five-unit building in East Boston. Remarkably, she closed more transactions in 2020 than the previous year. "Real estate has given me the flexibility to be present, involved and set a good example for my children that hard work does pay off," Calle says.

Janneke Ratcliffe is Vice President of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Over a career that spans industry, the nonprofit sector, academic research, and the federal government, her work focuses on increasing access to financial systems that foster economic security and prosperity. Ratcliffe came to Urban from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where she served as assistant director, leading its Office of Financial Education. Previously, she was the executive director of the University of North Carolina Center for Community Capital, leading research on how mortgage markets and financial services can promote financial security and economic opportunity. Ratcliffe has also served at GE Capital Mortgage, the Center for American Progress, and Self-Help, where she was instrumental in high-impact programs in affordable and Community Reinvestment Act mortgages and community development finance.

Tanya Reu-Narvaez serves as chief people officer for Anywhere Real Estate, Inc (formerly known as Realogy). Promoted to this role in January 2021, Reu is responsible for all aspects of the employee experience, including diversity & inclusion, engagement, talent management, and compensation and benefits for the Anywhere Real Estate, Inc. enterprise. She serves on Anywhere Real Estate, Inc. Executive Committee and reports to Anywhere CEO Ryan Schneider. Reu has served Anywhere Real Estate, Inc. for 18 years and prior to her role as chief people officer, was senior vice president of Human Resources for the Realogy Brokerage Group (RBG) and Realogy Franchise Group (RFG) business units.

Jason Riveiro serves as Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining NAHREP, Jason served as Sr. Director of Industry Relations at Notarize and held notable roles at Realogy including Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Vice-President of Global Affiliate Service. Riveiro has served on several boards including the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's Business Advisory Board, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, iHeart Radio's Community Advisory Board, and the Pittsburgh Pirates Diversity Advisory Board.

Nuria Rivera sits on the National Board of Directors and serves as a chapter coach for NAHREP. She is a millennial entrepreneur and launched a title and escrow company in 2015, Novation Title Insurance Agency, of which she is CEO. Although it is a newer company, Novation Title has received Utah's "Best of State" award for four years in a row since in 2016, which was a very humbling experience for Ms. Rivera and her team. Ms. Rivera came to the United States when she was 11 years old and learned a new language and culture.

Sara Rodriguez is the CEO/Owner of Titan Title and a partner at Mendez Rodriguez, PLC. Her practice specializes on all matters related to residential and commercial real estate transactions. She served as 2016 President of NAHREP Northern Virginia and has served on the chapter's board of directors since 2013 in various leadership roles. Since 2005, Mrs. Rodriguez has taught DPOR approved courses through various state-licensed schools in both English and Spanish. She also teaches Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for the National Business Institute in Virginia.

Considered by many as the leading authority on leadership and influence, René Rodriguez is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, leadership advisor, and transformational speaker coach. For the last 27 years, he has been researching and applying behavioral neuroscience to solve some of the toughest challenges in leadership, sales, and change. As an entrepreneur and CEO of multiple companies, Mr. Rodriguez integrates a practical business approach that inspires his audiences to take action. His best-selling book AMPLIFY YOUR INFLUENCE can be found on Amazon and all major retailers.

For the past 20 years, Wilson Santiago Soler has been working in executive sales, non-profit and marketing strategy roles that support minorities with different types of financing. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Wilson has degrees in Marketing, Human Resources, and a minor in Development of New Businesses from the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez Campus. In 2018 Wilson created the first multicultural role inside the Quicken Loans/Rocket Mortgage marketing team. Since then, he has been leading the Hispanic marketing strategy creating diverse, inclusive, and culturally relevant messaging for the Hispanic audience.

Jay Sethi was appointed CMO, Diageo Beer Company & Head of Smirnoff NA in 2019. In his role, Jay manages the North America Marketing and Business team for the World's #1 Vodka brand, Smirnoff, and a portfolio of Beer brands, including the iconic Guinness Beer brand. In addition to his business responsibilities, Jay is a passionate leader of diversity and inclusion. He was instrumental in creating the WorldPride campaign for the Smirnoff brand in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and proudly accepted the Corporate Equality Award on behalf of Diageo in 2018.

Diana Sifuentes is co-owner of Berkshire Hathaway HSA Action office located in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Born in a small town in Tamaulipas, Sifuentes has flourished without formal marketing education, simply relying on referrals from friends, family, and previous customers. Her inspiring customer service has contributed to her success resulting in recognition as one of the NAHREP Top 250 Latino Agents in the USA. Sifuentes served as Chapter President of NAHREP Texas Plano/Garland from 2019 to 2020 and currently serves as the Regional Co-chair for the NAHREP Mountain Region.

Baron Silverstein has served as President of Newrez LLC since joining the company in May 2020. In his role, Mr. Silverstein oversees all origination, servicing and other enterprise-wide corporate functions. Mr. Silverstein brings over 30 years of industry leadership, including senior roles at Bear Stearns, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America Securities. Prior to Newrez, Baron was Head of Residential Mortgage at Banc of America Securities, where he worked for over 12 years.

Lauri Ann Smith is a national business growth strategist with Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management. Ms. Smith brings to the team more than 24 years of experience in financial services and a producer's perspective on how basic and advanced wealth planning can make a lasting difference in clients' lives. Her focus is to grow the understanding and utilization of Advice and Planning resources; she has seen over the years the value that can be provided to business owners, successful professionals, and multi-generational families.

Neily Soto joined the real estate industry 17 years ago to help the Hispanic community achieve their dream of homeownership. Shortly after September 11, she was laid off from managing a hydroelectric plant in Methuen, MA and decided she wanted to connect more with her community. Ms. Soto focused on making connections with local officials and helped develop the down-payment assistance programs currently in use to help low- to moderate-income families buy their first home. Ms. Soto was the Founding Chapter President for NAHREP Boston and currently sits on the board for the largest CAP agencies in Massachusetts.

Armando Tam is Senior Vice President, Chapter Development at NAHREP. Tam has extensive experience as a mortgage broker and owned a successful real estate company. He is primarily known for his extensive understanding of All Things Latino. His diverse and eclectic background includes stints in the food scene and Latin music industry as a performer and a producer. Tam's artistic vision led to the creation of NAHREP's weekly webcast, Esta Semana en NAHREP, which enjoyed a 100-episode run.

Marta Tataje has been with SunTrust Mortgage, Now Truist for nearly 17 years as a senior mortgage consultant. Ms. Tataje has always championed efforts to support and educate her clients, teammates, and community in sustainable homeownership, seeing mortgage consulting as a part of economic development due to the importance of providing a solid education in the homeownership process which leads to a thriving community. Ms. Tataje is an avid SunTrust, now Truist volunteer in inclusion activities within in the Hispanic, Veterans, and LGBT Business Resource Groups.

With over 15 years in technology and real estate industries, Neil Terc took his experience to create real estate platform SuCasa.com. The platform helps educate, prepare and connect thousands of monthly registered clients with the company's network of partner lenders and referral agents that can serve them throughout the country. In the last 5 years more than 85,000 prospective clients have been assisted by SuCasa's network of agents and lenders throughout the country for a path to homeownership and long-term wealth.

Lisette Torres is the Director of State Government and External Affairs at Rocket Companies. In her role, she manages community and stakeholder relations that forward the mission of the organization. She brings 15+ years’ experience working in the financial sector and is passionate about increasing equal access to wealth vehicles for marginalized communities. Through her work, Lisette has spearheaded alternative lending experiences for multicultural segments and helped establish Fair Housing and DEI programs at the California Association of REALTORS®. Her goal is to continue empowering communities by bridging resources, technology and people.

John Tuttle is Director, homegenius Sales and an experienced sales leader with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. With 25 years of experience in sales and mortgage banking, seven of those with Radian, Mr. Tuttle brings extensive knowledge of the mortgage industry. Mr. Tuttle's ability to translate his knowledge and experience to practical application has led to his strong relationships with his customers. He has been recognized by Radian for winning the Pinnacle Club for two consecutive years.

Ramphis Velasquez, Sales Manager for Prosperity Home Mortgage's Community Lending Division, has 15+ years of financing and mortgage sales experience. His team of consultants provides world-class service while driving operational excellence. As a lifelong Floridian and Nicaraguan American, Mr. Velasquez takes pride in helping Hispanic communities and advancing minority homeownership.

A Nevada native, Esmeralda or better known as "The Wonder Woman of Real Estate" was born and raised in Las Vegas. She is the proud daughter of immigrant parents, a first-generation Mexican American, a first-generation high school graduate at Rancho High School, graduating in the top 3% of her High School class, and the first in her family to attend college and received numerous scholarships. Esmeralda also worked in the hospitality industry where she led successful workforce training and mentoring programs. Her professional experience complimented by her dedication to and deep roots in the community has furthered NAHREP's mission, reach, and impact. With just a few years in the industry, the Wonder Woman of Real Estate has earned numerous recognitions for her production levels and leadership in the industry. Today Esmeralda serves as the Government Affairs director for the Greater Las Vegas chapter, has been appointed by Councilman Isaac Barron to Planning Commissioner, and is the Policy and Community Outreach Manager for The Governor's Office of Workforce Innovation. Esmeralda is driven by the needs of her community and is proud to be a public servant for her clients, family, and friends.

Nadja Vital is the affordable lending manager in the Single-Family Client and Community Engagement division of Freddie Mac. Ms. Vital supports the sales and lending partners to develop and execute Seller plans for meeting affordable lending, community outreach and CRA goals. She analyzes market data to identify trends/opportunities and develops strategic direction from market information. A veteran of more than 20 years in the mortgage industry, she joined Freddie Mac in 2015 and has held leadership positions in production and sourcing areas, including multicultural and low- to moderate-income segments.

Leticia Vu is an esteemed real estate professional in Houston, Texas. With over 26 years of finance and real estate experience, Ms. Vu is a real estate agent with Keller Williams Metropolitan where she helps people reach the ultimate dream of homeownership. Ms. Vu has spent the past two decades dedicated to helping, coaching, motivating, and inspiring others. She has been heavily involved in the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and served as 2014 President of NAHREP Houston. She is presently a National Coach and helps chapters build success by providing value to their members and sponsors.

Kara Ward is the General Counsel and Managing Director at Falcon Capital Advisors. She has over 14 years of experience in banking, finance, housing, and legislative and regulatory analysis. Ms. Ward focuses her practice on the intersection of consumer financial services innovation and government. She is especially well-versed in running complex, cross-governmental matters with intricate legal, policy, and financing components. Ms. Ward is highly knowledgeable in several areas, including the single-family mortgage market, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Depository Institutions (MDI), subsidized small business lending, distributed ledger technological (blockchain) applications, cryptocurrency, and federal grants/loan guarantee management.

Montell Watson is the Director of Movement Mortgage's Consumer Direct channel. In his 5 years at Movement, Watson has helped lead and implement several corporate initiatives within the organization including Movement's Consumer Direct channel and the Black American Homeownership initiative. Watson started his career in mortgage originations in 2008 at Wells Fargo and RBC Bank. He then transitioned into an Investment Advisory role at TD Ameritrade where he was a regular Presidents Club member. While at TD Ameritrade, Watson lead sales teams and helped role out strategic technology and business strategies within the region.

Skylar Welch, founder of Maine Pointe Lending, rose from LOA in 2011 to $100M in production in five years. A speaker who helps mortgage and real estate professionals build their businesses, Ms. Welch has earned top industry awards such as the Scotsman Guide Originator and AIME's Impact Award. Her entrepreneurial spirit dates back to selling snow cones at little league games. Her creative marketing ideas, such as video and social media, have propelled her referral partners' businesses.

Sarah Wheeler is the Editor in Chief at HW Media, overseeing editorial content at HousingWire, RealTrends and Reverse Mortgage Daily. She joined HousingWire in 2013 as the sponsored content editor and went on to be the magazine editor and managing editor before assuming the EIC role in 2020. Her previous experience includes work in advertising, corporate communications and on newspapers.

Lawrence Yun is Chief Economist and oversees the Research group at the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). He supervises and is responsible for a wide range of research activity for the association including NAR's Existing Home Sales statistics, Affordability Index, and Home Buyers and Sellers Profile Report. He regularly provides commentary on real estate market trends for its 1.4 million REALTORS®.