Roshan Alavi

Executive Vice President, Operations, First Heritage Mortgage LLC

Coming from a background in sales and operations, Roshan Alavi, executive vice president of operations at First Heritage Mortgage LLC, understands the business from both sides. Knowing the pressure on sales teams to take care of borrowers and prepare loans for closing, and the operational discipline and risk management required to get there, led to the belief that the two areas have the same goal.

“We may approach the loan differently, but we all want to close it on time, do it right, and give the borrower a great experience,” she said.

Alavi believes leaders should deliver results and create opportunities for others. She is intentional about identifying talent, particularly women and individuals whose potential isn’t necessarily visible, and allowing them to take on greater responsibility and be heard. Some of the best leaders she has developed weren’t the most outspoken or seeking promotion, but consistently solved problems, earned trust, and found ways to make the organization better.

A turning point for her was the opportunity to expand a bank’s mortgage department from roughly $80 million in annual production to $460 million in less than a year. She derived meaning from the volume she and her team built and the people, processes, and infrastructure to support that growth. The experience shaped her philosophy that sustainable growth requires people who believe in what they’re building, processes that support it, and leaders willing to roll up their sleeves.

Rebecca Clapham

Chief Operating Officer, Citywide Home Mortgage

Clapham has spent 16 years at Citywide Home Mortgage, advancing from vice president of administration to senior vice president of operations before stepping into her role as chief operating officer. She has spent much of her career advocating for a different measure of advancement in mortgage lending, one built on judgment and contribution. At Citywide, she put that philosophy into practice by helping remove layers of hierarchy and opening decision-making authority to people who once needed sign-off for basic approvals from headquarters. Regional managers and branch teams now handle those calls directly, a shift she helped execute and continues to refine.

Clapham has built training programs that give new hires practical tools from their first week. In interviews and industry profiles, she has spoken directly about the need for mortgage lenders to evaluate performance by results and loosen the assumption that career growth requires constant travel or long hours.

As COO, she helped build the technological infrastructure and decentralized systems that allowed Citywide to grow origination volume by 400% in 2024 while its footprint expanded from 32 states to all 50. That growth happened without the wave of centralization most companies reach for when scaling quickly. Clapham is SPHR-certified, a human resources credential reflecting the organizational depth behind her operational work. Across her tenure, her clearest achievement is the shift in how her teams operate. Professionals who joined as processors or loan officers have grown into operational leaders, developing judgment and authority that used to sit only with her.

Linda Dorsey

Executive Vice President, William Raveis Mortgage LLC

Linda Dorsey, vice president at William Raveis Mortgage LLC, has had a lasting impact on the mortgage industry and the people within it. With more than 41 years of experience in the industry, she has helped transform William Raveis Mortgage into a full-service lender with multiple warehouse lending relationships while driving sustained growth and operational excellence. Dorsey has built the infrastructure, processes, and culture that enable others to succeed.

She began her career in banking in 1985, transitioned to the real estate–affiliated mortgage model in 1993, serving as assistant vice president of operations at DeWolfe Mortgage. In 2003, she co-founded Covenant Mortgage, and later joined William Raveis Mortgage.

Dorsey has influenced industry standards by serving on Fannie Mae’s Risk Advisory Board, participating in Lenders One advisory panels, and contributing to various industry committees. Through these roles, she has provided operational expertise and helped inform discussions around underwriting practices, risk management, and secondary market initiatives that have impacted the broader mortgage industry. She also remains actively involved with the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Foundation and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together Boston.

For the past 23 years, Dorsey has been instrumental in transforming William Raveis Mortgage into a full-service lender with multiple warehouse lending relationships and an expanding footprint across 11 states. Under the operational platform she helped build, the company has funded more than $13.7 billion in residential mortgages while supporting sustained year-over-year growth.

Stacey Duncan

Chief Production Officer, VanDyk Mortgage Corporation

Chief production officer at VanDyk Mortgage Corporation, Stacey Duncan’s perspective comes from a career as a top producer and at the executive table shaping strategy. She understands how to win business, serve borrowers, build referral relationships, and navigate operational realities. As a leader, she asks if what she is doing works for the producer, improves customer experience, is executable, financially sustainable, and can be scaled.

While acknowledging that mortgage banking is approaching gender parity on the front line, with women representing roughly 45% of loan officers, Duncan noted that representation declines significantly among top producers and executive leadership. Therefore, she is working to do more than give women a seat at the table; she endeavors to create pathways to production, P&L responsibility, influence, and the authority to build the table.

Throughout her 24-plus year career, Duncan has sold two mortgage brokerages and helped establish 17 joint ventures, demonstrating an ability to build, scale, and strategically position lending businesses.

“A consistent Top 1% originator, I have built a reputation for delivering results while evolving beyond personal production into building scalable businesses and high-performing teams,” she said.

In 2024, she was recognized as Mortgage Broker of the Year, followed by being named one of the Top 50 Executives in 2025, further solidifying her national influence. She has also been a national keynote speaker on NAR settlement changes and an advocate for transparent loan officer compensation, contributing to industry-wide education and progress.

Mandi Feely

Leader and Loan Officer, Premier Mortgage Resources LLC

Mandi Feely, leader and loan officer for Premier Mortgage Resources LLC, has seen the industry from most angles — processing, document preparation, underwriting, origination, and team and executive leadership. She has learned success isn’t built on a great market or year, but on understanding the entire business and consistently doing the fundamentals well.

“I’ve been a Top 1% originator for more than a decade, but I’ve also experienced difficult markets, setbacks, and rebuilding,” she said. “That combination shapes how I lead today.”

Feely endeavors to use her platform to give others opportunities to learn, lead, speak, and be seen. That includes developing professionals within her team and using her podcast “Origination Boost” to create a broader platform where mortgage and real estate professionals can share the experiences, strategies, and lessons that have shaped their careers. She wants women to recognize that they don’t have to wait until they feel ready or confident to step forward, but that confidence is built through action.

Feely said her turning point came through rebuilding after a period of market shifts, financial pressure, and personal challenges. Rather than allowing those circumstances to define what came next, she focused on showing up, building the pipeline, doing the work, and being consistent. That comeback led to closing 83 loans in a year and realizing that action creates confidence. She stopped thinking leadership means having all the answers and started understanding it means being willing to move first, create clarity, and then help others recognize that same ability in themselves.

Jenn Folk

President, Kind Lending

Jenn Folk, president at Kind Lending, spent her career refusing to accept dashboards at face value. Most performance problems in mortgage banking aren’t performance problems, but accountability and structure problems wearing a performance costume, she said. Her impact has come from redesigning who owns what before anyone talks about targets.

Folk is building Kind Lending’s WILL Track, “Women in Lending Leadership,” because mentorship shouldn’t be a hallway conversation someone has in the hope it’s overheard. Through peer circles, sponsor nominations, and structured playbooks, WILL is creating a more intentional path for growth.

“If we want more women in leadership, we have to engineer the path,” she said. “Not just wish it into existence.”

Some of Folk’s proudest wins aren’t on an org chart. They’re the women she’s nudged toward the bigger risk, the harder conversation, and the seat they didn’t think was theirs yet. When MetLife shut down its reverse mortgage division in 2012, 36 people had 60 days until they were jobless. Folk and her cohort leader found two options for their teams. One offered 10 spots and one had no limit. Her cohort took the “safe, exclusive door,” while Folk chose the one where everyone could come. Her entire 24-member team stayed with her and two from the other team also joined. Knowing that many people trusted her with their livelihoods changed how she understood what being a leader is. She realized leadership isn’t a title, but an act of trust.

Christin Garcia

Vice President of Business Development, Advantage Partners Solutions

Christin Garcia, vice president of business development at Advantage Partners Solutions looks at the bigger picture and connects the pieces. She doesn’t just focus on bringing in business but on what happens after the sale and how to make the entire experience better for the client and teams. She has a knack for identifying where processes break down, asking questions, and finding ways to make things simpler, clearer, and more efficient.

Garcia believes in listening to the people doing the work. She said some of the best improvements come from simply paying attention, working together, and being willing to change something when there is a better way.

Becoming director was a turning point for Garcia. The position was a post in which people listened to her ideas and gave her an opportunity to create change. When she was allowed to grow her team, she realized leadership was no longer just about her own career. It allowed her to give others opportunities, help them earn more, build confidence, develop careers, and create teams.

“That is when I started to understand the impact a leader can have,” she said. “I still question myself sometimes, and I think many women do, but I have learned that leadership isn’t always feeling confident.”

Leadership, she said, is about using the opportunity you have to make things better for others.

Dana Gross

Chief Administration Officer, Consolidated Analytics Inc.

Dana Gross, chief administration officer at Consolidated Analytics Inc., brings the ability to connect people, culture, compliance, risk mitigation, technology advancement, and the needs of a global workforce. Areas that, she said, are too often treated separately. With more than 20 years in human resources and organizational leadership, she understands that sustainable growth depends on strong processes, evolving technology, and developing people who can adapt and lead through change across geographies.

Her greatest impact has been building talent strategies that address industry needs. Through initiatives such as the Due Diligence Analyst Program, SHEvolves, Emerging Leader Program, and caUniversity, she has helped create pathways for professionals to enter the industry, develop specialized expertise, embrace technological advancement, and advance into leadership roles.

“By combining empathy with business discipline, I’ve worked to show that investing in people and creating a connected global workforce strengthens performance, mitigates risk, and builds a more innovative and resilient industry,” she said.

An initiative she is most proud of is SHEvolves, a women-only community that brings together employees across the United States and India, providing a supportive forum for women to share experiences, build relationships, learn from one another, and develop the confidence to pursue leadership opportunities.

A defining turning point in her career came during her first trip to India in 2025, when she met with the women on her team. As she listened to their experiences and answered questions about career growth, confidence, and leadership, she recognized the power of being present, accessible, and willing to share knowledge.

Julie Huber

Executive Vice President of Integrated Sales, Xactus

Julie Huber, executive vice president of integrated sales at Xactus, has lived all sides of the industry. As president and partial owner of DataFacts Lending Solutions, she was a business owner navigating the same pressures her clients faced — how to grow sustainably, serve clients through change, and align technology with real business outcomes. Through that experience, she learned to talk about verification strategy, data efficiency, or customer experience from her own knowhow.

A woman-owned business, DataFacts allowed her to create opportunities for people at every level and bring in teams from different backgrounds, experiences, and roles.

“It was important to us that growth did not mean losing the people or cultures that made those companies successful,” she said.

Huber believes in identifying potential, giving people responsibility, and helping them grow into the next role. She uses her platform to open doors, serve on boards, speak at events, and participate in organizations where she can advocate for others. She endeavors to use every opportunity to bring someone along, particularly women and emerging leaders.

“Leadership has never been about having a seat at the table,” she said. “It is about what you do with that seat and who you help get there next.”

She also brings a conviction that the best technology solutions are only as strong as the people and relationships behind them. The belief that data and human leadership must work together, has driven her approach for more than 30 years, she said.

Lori Johnson

Chief Operating Officer, DocMagic

Lori Johnson, chief operating officer at DocMagic, approaches mortgage banking as bringing together people, process, compliance, and technology. Too often these areas are treated separately, she said. Real progress happens when they work together. Coming from a background in operations helped her connect business strategy, regulatory requirements, and technology in ways that are practical and scalable for lenders.

Johnson has had a big impact helping drive digital transformation while keeping in mind the borrower experience. She believes technology should make lending less complicated. Her goal is to make the mortgage process easier, efficient, and more accessible with improved workflows, reduced operational headaches, and helping organizations adapt to regulatory change.

Johnson enjoys identifying talented individuals, supporting their growth, and creating opportunities that help them reach their full potential. She believes sponsorship is as important as mentorship. While giving advice matters, also important is creating visibility, inviting people into important conversations, and giving them opportunities to take on bigger challenges, she said. Her proud moments include seeing women become leaders after being given the chance to head up meaningful initiatives.

“Creating opportunities starts with making sure everyone has a seat at the table, and once they’re there, making sure they feel comfortable participating,” she said.

She noted that everyone benefits from strong organizations built on leadership with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Leadership, she said, isn’t about having all the answers but creating clarity, building trust, and helping everyone succeed.

Allison Johnston

President, Success Mortgage Partners

Allison Johnston, president of Success Mortgage Partners, combines operational expertise with a passion for developing people and advancing the profession. With more than 30 years of mortgage banking experience, she has built a reputation as a collaborative, innovative leader who consistently elevates the organizations she serves and the overall industry.

One of her greatest impacts is on the people around her. She is recognized for accessibility, humility, and willingness to mentor others. Johnston develops leaders, encourages continuous learning, and creates opportunities for professionals to grow personally and professionally.

As president of Success Mortgage Partners, Johnston has guided the company through unprecedented market challenges while maintaining a culture centered on integrity, accountability, and service. Her leadership has helped expand the company’s national footprint while creating an environment where employees, loan officers, and business partners are empowered to succeed. She is known for bringing sales, operations, compliance, and leadership together into one cohesive vision, ensuring the delivery of an exceptional customer experience.

Johnston earned the Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation, holds a master’s degree in business management, and serves as an instructor for the Mortgage Bankers Association. As a past president of the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association, former chair of the State of Michigan Governmental Mortgage Industry Advisory Board, and board member with the Mortgage Collaborative, Johnston has helped shape industry policy, advocate for responsible lending practices, and promote collaboration across the mortgage community. Her leadership has earned her numerous industry recognitions, including the Movers & Shakers, Ambassador, and Vic Miller awards.

Gurpreet Kaur

Chief Financial Officer, American Financial Network Inc.

Gurpreet Kaur, chief financial officer at American Financial Network Inc., has extensive knowledge of mortgage finance and is adept at ensuring AFN’s liquidity and stability, regardless of industry trends. The AFN accounting team leans on her as a mentor. She effectively handles day-to-day issues and guides the team, while making financial decisions for the company.

Kaur’s analytical mind and communication skills have a significant impact on the company’s path. She executes her CFO role as a strategic partner to other company leaders, supplying support for financial growth and transformation.

“AFN leadership can rely on my integrity and the accuracy and efficacy of my financial analyses and reports to make critical organizational decisions,” she said.

Kaur joined AFN 12 years ago as a certified public accountant and controller. She served as AFN’s Controller for eight years and was then promoted to CFO. She has served as AFN’s CFO for four years and is a confident leader who embraces innovation. A perpetual learner, she is always looking ahead to adopt new technologies and improve processes and productivity.

She is a valued, integral member of the executive team, offering support and crucial feedback as the company builds and deploys state-of-the-art technology to boost productivity and streamline tedious tasks.

Kaur’s business acumen aligns accounting principles with current innovations and technological advancements as she adapts and retools to modernize traditional corporate processes. AFN executives and board members know they can rely on her financial planning and analytical skills to prepare a rolling forecast that includes budget analyses and projections for steady growth.

Kaur leads with professionalism, consistency, and credibility. By excelling in a senior executive role, she helps create a stronger path for other women to be seen, respected, and considered for leadership opportunities across the mortgage industry.

Kaur partners expertly with AFN’s Capital Markets Department and lends her expertise in accounting concepts, asset and liability management, budgeting, cash flow analysis, financial reporting, forecasting, liquidity risks, and regulatory compliance to the overall success of the company. With her competent, nurturing leadership style, Kaur is leading a successful team and training future leaders.

Melissa Koupal

Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, CMG Financial

Melissa Koupal, chief risk and compliance officer at CMG Financial, brings a background in economics and computer science to mortgage banking — training that shapes how she approaches regulation. Rather than treating compliance as text to interpret in isolation, she sees it as a set of requirements to be tested, pushing her to measure where data controls actually break down rather than simply document where they’re supposed to exist.

Early in her career, Koupal was often one of the few women in the room when mortgage decisions were made — once even asked why she was there. She stayed, and the impression she made set her apart as a leader. From that point on, she made a decision: if she earned a seat at the table, she wouldn’t be the only woman there for long. That commitment has shaped how she uses her platforms ever since, deciding who gets a seat, a speaking slot, or a nomination.

For Koupal, leadership is an ongoing journey — one where she’s still learning, still taking in feedback from mentors, peers, and her own team. “The day you decide you’ve arrived is the day you stop being useful to your team,” she said.

That mindset extends to her relationship with regulators, which she treats as a two-way exchange. Chairing AARMR’s Industry Advisory Council, and previously the MBA’s State Legislative and Regulatory Committee, has let her help regulators understand operational reality before a rule takes effect — and help lenders understand supervisory intent before an exam. That collaborative instinct is most visible in RegList, which she has spent 15 years building into a national network where competitors share what they’re seeing, raising the baseline for the entire industry.

Pava Leyrer

President, Northern Mortgage Services LLC

Pava Leyrer, president of Northern Mortgage Services LLC, has spent 48 years in the mortgage industry, experiencing nearly every facet of the business. That journey carried her through executive leadership and business ownership on the way to her current role — and along the way, she’s come to see true leadership as something far bigger than a title.

For Leyrer, leadership means being willing to help shape the industry’s direction rather than watching from the sidelines. Recognizing that her position gave her a voice — and the ability to influence others — reshaped how she thought about leadership and the legacy she wanted to leave. She’s come to define it through mentorship, setting an example, and demonstrating integrity, honesty, professionalism, and passion for the work.

Over nearly five decades, Leyrer has watched the industry transform — from paper files, with no mobile phones or fax machines, to the internet, automated underwriting, and the technology that reshaped how business gets done. She believes the next generation of mortgage leaders must keep embracing innovation without losing the personal connection at the heart of the industry and its communities.

“Technology should streamline processes, expand knowledge, and create efficiencies, but it cannot replace the trust, integrity, and relationships borrowers and team members need,” she said.

Leyrer believes the leaders who succeed will be the ones who know how to combine innovation with human experience — drawing lessons from the past while embracing the new ideas, tools, and collaboration shaping the future. Bringing those two things together, she says, is what will define the next generation of mortgage banking.

Andria Lightfoot

Vice President of Customer Success, FirstClose

Andria Lightfoot, vice president of customer success at FirstClose, spent her career on what she calls “the less glamorous side of fintech,” implementation and client success, where technology either reaches a person or it doesn’t. She started in the industry as a loan officer assistant and processor while finishing her master’s degree in information technology at Georgetown University. After she automated an underwriter’s workflow and watched her day immediately improve, Lightfoot realized technology can directly improve lives, or simply add another screen.

With experience running operations and in customer success, Lightfoot knows what vendors promise and what operations teams can absorb.

“That translation drives adoption,” she said. “It helped lift pull-through at George Mason Mortgage, scale eClosing from four clients to 54 in eight months at SimpleNexus, and reduced FirstClose closing times by 74%.”

In her early 20s, Lightfoot had the opportunity to run the quality control department for a small independent mortgage bank where she was mentored by the company’s president, the only female executive. She found having that much risk-management responsibility so early wasn’t a burden, but a gift.

Managing state and HUD/GSE audits taught her the backbone of what keeps a mortgage operation running. She said the real turning point came when she realized she didn’t have to enforce compliance by hand but could build it in. She learned to translate regulatory requirements into rule-based processes and let technology enforce them automatically, catching issues before they became findings, ultimately learning to do more with less.

Sue Meitner

President, Centennial Lending Group, a division of Success Mortgage Partners Inc. and Chief Sales Officer, Success Mortgage Partners Inc.

Sue Meitner, president of Centennial Lending Group, built a mortgage company from the ground up, grew it through multiple market cycles, and successfully sold it. Building an independent mortgage bank at a time when very few women were doing it is a source of pride for her. She wants other women to see that leadership, ownership, and entrepreneurship are within their reach and uses what she has learned to help others grow while avoiding some of the mistakes she made.

“Sometimes you must go first, prove what is possible, and then make the path a little easier for the women coming behind you,” she said.

Building her organization taught Meitner that leadership is not about having all the answers but the courage to make decisions, surround yourself with great people, keep moving through uncertainty, and bring others with you. Doing so helped her understand her own strength, responsibility, and power as a leader.

Championing women has been a constant throughout Meitner’s career. She has mentored, coached, hired, promoted, and advocated for women while creating opportunities for them to grow their careers, build businesses, strengthen their networks, and step confidently into leadership.

“I believe when you are fortunate enough to have a seat at the table, you have a responsibility to help pull up another chair,” she said.

That commitment also extends to the women she serves. Meitner strives to help single women, female entrepreneurs, and first-time homebuyers understand their financial options and build wealth through homeownership.

Samantha Meyer

Chief Risk Officer, First Community Mortgage

Samantha Meyer, chief risk officer at First Community Mortgage, has lived at the intersection of sales and risk for most of her career. She started in sales and operations, where she learned the pressure to get deals done and the guardrails that keep them sound. That perspective shaped how she leads. Rather than treating compliance as a roadblock, she looks for flexible, compliant ways to say yes, asking what it would take to make something work, rather than simply saying no. That mindset has helped her bridge the gap between production and risk teams.

“Being able to speak both languages and translate between them has let me build trust on both sides of the table,” she said. “Risk management and growth aren’t opposites, they’re partners, and proving that has been the most impactful part of my career.”

Being the first woman elected to First Community Mortgage’s Board of Directors showed her how much representation matters, and how much responsibility comes with it. She has made mentoring a priority, especially for women navigating the same path she took, starting in an entry-level role and working toward leadership. As President of FCM Cares, the company’s employee-driven nonprofit, she helps create avenues for the team to give back and grow beyond their day-to-day roles, which often surfaces leadership talent that might otherwise go unnoticed while making time for women’s networking groups within the industry. In this way, Meyer strives to use her position to make space for the women coming up behind her.

Joni Pilgrim

Co-Founder, RISE, Women in Mortgage

Joni Pilgrim, co‑founder of RISE, Women in Mortgage, built her leadership path outside the traditional mold. More than 20 years ago, she co-founded Nationwide Appraisal Network (NAN) without an appraisal or mortgage background — learning instead by asking questions, listening to people who knew more than she did, and surrounding herself with talent.

That experience shaped her approach to leadership. “I’ve learned you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room to make an impact,” she said. “You need to recognize great people, bring them together, and create opportunities for them to grow and succeed.”

After building and eventually selling NAN, she carried that philosophy into co‑founding RISE, Women in Mortgage, with Linda Knowlton — creating a community where women across mortgage and real estate could connect, develop as leaders, and gain visibility. As RISE has grown, Pilgrim has been intentional about opening doors for women through committee leadership, panel speaking, educational sessions, and mentorship, with particular focus on those whose expertise doesn’t come with a prominent title.

For Pilgrim, leadership isn’t measured by title — it’s measured by what continues after you’re gone. She believes the next generation of mortgage banking leaders must shift from asking “How do we grow?” to “How do we help our people grow?” As she put it: technology and markets will keep shifting, “but leadership will remain fundamentally about people.” That mindset, she says, is what builds stronger leaders, cultures, and ultimately a stronger industry.

Natalie Premock Davie

Managing Director of Retail Administration, Rize Mortgage

Natalie Premock Davie, managing director of retail administration at Rize Mortgage, has spent more than 21 years transforming mortgage operations through innovation, leadership, and a commitment to empowering others. What sets her apart is her ability to bridge technology and operations, creating solutions that improve efficiency while helping loan originators and branch leaders grow their businesses.

In 2016, Davie founded Standard Mortgage Capital with the vision of proving how integrated mortgage technology could streamline the lending process and reduce costs. At Rize Mortgage, she has helped scale the company into a national lender licensed in 40 states with more than 500 employees and over $1.5 billion in annual originations.

Davie has been instrumental in developing proprietary technology, building scalable operational infrastructure, and fostering a culture where innovation and collaboration thrive. She is a mentor, leader, and advocate for entrepreneurial professionals, believing that when people are equipped with the right tools and support, they can achieve extraordinary results. Her leadership continues to positively impact both the organization and the mortgage professionals she serves.

Davie has championed meaningful change within the mortgage industry by improving the way technology and operations work together. She has led efforts to develop proprietary software and system integrations that simplify workflows, reduce costs, and improve efficiency for loan originators and operations teams.

She played a key role in developing technology through Software Lynx that integrated with leading mortgage platforms and was instrumental in helping the organization achieve approval as a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seller/servicer.

Emily Vondrak

Senior Vice President, Director of Strategic Operations, Paramount Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG)

Early in her career, Emily Vondrak, senior vice president, director of strategic operations at Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, had an opportunity to work closely with mentors and senior leaders across the loan lifecycle. She watched the action, reaction, and eventual result, paying attention to what worked and what didn’t. She said she owes a great deal to the people who opened those doors and she worked hard to make the most of the situations and observe what took place.

One of the big lessons she got from those experiences was that the loudest voice in the room rarely holds the most information about what the people really doing the work are actually doing. Based on that, she seeks individuals who didn’t necessarily raise their voices or speak first but had real answers, so she can learn from their expertise.

“Over 25-plus years, those accumulated lessons built real judgment including knowing when precision is essential and when good enough is actually the smarter business decision,” she said.

Vondrak also tries to build teams this way, putting value on strengths over competition.

She believes the next generation should keep doing what works while staying open to change and should not reject good practices simply for the sake of something new. The industry’s future leaders will need a mix of respect for experience and willingness to evolve, she said. Teams need to be unafraid to ask questions while staying open to the idea that what’s familiar isn’t necessarily right, nor is new always better.

Erin Wester

Chief Product Officer, Optimal Blue

Chief product officer at Optimal Blue since 2024, Erin Wester joined the company as a senior product manager in 2017. She advanced through roles in data, integrations, and product leadership, becoming a leader shaping how the mortgage industry collaborates, innovates, and delivers value. She has brought lenders, investors, and technology partners into a shared ecosystem, transforming siloed relationships into coordinated, innovation-driven collaboration and redefining product leadership.

Wester’s leadership marries industry expertise with a disciplined, customer-centric approach focused on intentional innovation. Through structured listening programs and direct engagement with clients, she has created continuous feedback loops that translate real-world operational challenges into actionable product innovation.

Wester also has a strong impact on people.

“I am committed to mentoring emerging talent and advancing women in technology, fostering a culture of growth and empowerment that has meaningful impact,” she said.

She has played a meaningful role in advancing industry-wide collaboration and standardization through product leadership and involvement in industry organizations. As Optimal Blue’s ambassador to the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), she contributes to efforts that improve interoperability and data standardization across lenders, investors, and technology providers.

Wester’s work with MISMO supports a connected and efficient mortgage ecosystem by reducing fragmentation and enabling seamless data exchange, critical components for advancing transparency, operational alignment, and innovation across the industry.