Data, AI, And Purpose

Below is an excerpt adapted from our podcast conversation with 40 Under 40 honoree Bethany Williams-Woodward of ServiceLink. It has been edited for brevity and clarity.

When Bethany Williams-Woodward talks about her career in mortgage technology, you quickly realize she’s not just building tools — she’s building bridges between what’s possible and what’s practical. As Director of Data at Dark Matter Technologies and one of National Mortgage Professional's 40 Under 40 honorees, she brings clarity to complexity, whether she’s talking about AI readiness, regulatory analytics, or pink leopards on motorcycles.

“I try to focus on finding the intersection between what is possible and what is practical,” she says. “It's possible to do a ton of stuff. But how do I apply that?”

From Startup to Industry Leader

Williams-Woodward’s journey into the mortgage world began not with a grand plan, but with a startup called Motivity, where she joined as employee number 31. “I entered into the mortgage industry by becoming a business analyst,” she explains. “Shortly after I started, we got acquired by Black Knight.”

That shift — from startup speedboat to corporate cruise ship — taught her about agility and scale. “They each have their own merits,” she says of the two business models. But what’s rare is that through multiple acquisitions and divestitures, including the launch of Dark Matter after the Black Knight-Ice merger, Williams-Woodward’s worked with the same core group for nearly a decade.

“I like to say I've worked for three different companies, but one group of people, which is kind of a cool story.”

The Art of the Possible

A recurring theme in Williams-Woodward’s career is curiosity paired with intention. She's been at the center of developing over 15 analytics tools, and her motivation is clear — because she has taken the time to answer the question, “What drives your why?”

She credits Simon Sinek’s 2009 TED Talk on “Start With Why” for giving her a framework. “It really kind of helped shape the way that I see my world and has had a big impact on my professional career.”

That “why” isn’t just theoretical. It’s visible in her ability to bring ambitious projects to life — like building Dark Matter’s suite of tools, including the Empower LOS and AIVA AI assistant. “We provide an ecosystem of tech tools so that our lenders can go out and do what they do best, which is originate mortgages.”

Cautious Preparation

Williams-Woodward is bullish on AI but pragmatic about its implementation. “We’re not even on the blade of the hockey stick yet,” she says about where we are in AI’s exponential curve. “We still have so much more to go — and we’re not ready.”

She’s especially focused on AI literacy and preparedness. “Less than 10% of chief data and analytics officers had an AI readiness or AI literacy initiative in their organization,” she warns, citing a six-month-old stat.

And while many tech folks may be sprinting ahead, Williams-Woodward is cautious: “We don’t want to just give the 16-year-olds the keys to the Lamborghini and hope we’re not filing an insurance claim because they crashed it coming out of the parking lot.”

Her approach is rooted in a deep understanding of data: “Data is the non-sexy part of AI, but it's the necessity. It's still the underpinnings.”

How Ready Are We?

When asked if the industry is truly prepared for AI, Williams-Woodward gives a thoughtful answer: “I think that question depends on who you ask. Tech people have a different perspective than the business people.”

She argues that a company’s AI maturity is directly tied to its data maturity. “It ties back to the maturity in their data understanding, their data practices, data quality, all of those data governance things.”

And readiness is not just a theoretical exercise. She draws on her implementation background to guide clients. “Define what success looks like. Make sure that you're setting up your tools to be used within how they are intended to be used. And make sure that you have good metrics on tracking adoption.”

Designing Tools With The Customer In Mind

Williams-Woodward’s progression from account management to implementation, to product, and finally to data leadership has always been driven by one thing: the voice of the customer.

“My whole career has been really focused on customer need and customer want,” she says. “When I was in product, it was, ‘These five clients all have the same issue … let's fix the product.’ ”

Now, as Director of Data, she’s solving bigger problems with strategic impact. But she reminds her team daily: “That feedback loop between us and the client — no matter how far you're removed from that individual contributor role — is still so incredibly important.”

At the core of it all? “We all want to be a part of that process to get people into homes, however our skill sets allow us.”

The Dashboard That Saves Money

Of all the tools Williams-Woodward’s worked on, one stands out: the fee suite dashboard, designed to help lenders avoid costly mistakes related to fee disclosures and regulatory cures.

“It was a really tough project,” she recalls. “We had to understand the regulations, implications, compliance — it was the intersection of probably all the most complicated things you could find in a mortgage loan.”

And the results were tangible. “Some lenders are losing $10 a loan, some thousands, or tens of thousands. Property taxes in New York can change overnight.”

The dashboard solved that pain point by making complex data digestible. “We condensed it down into a dashboard. It’s been really cool to see clients look at it, see value, and save real money.”

R&D And The Road Ahead

While Williams-Woodward couldn’t share what’s cooking in Dark Matter’s R&D lab, her excitement is palpable. “What excites me is the ability to get our clients the information they need to solve the problems they need to solve — when they need to solve it.”

The goal is simple but transformative: “If you could have been aware of an issue six days ago, you could have closed that loan earlier. That’s what we’re trying to solve.”

She hopes that a year or two from now, those ideas become new dashboards and tools that once again change how lenders work. “Don't know what it looks like yet, but we're definitely in the lab figuring it out.”

The Why That Guides It All

Williams-Woodward’s why hasn’t changed — it’s only expanded in scope. “Whether it's personal or professional for me, it’s to encourage and empower people to be the best version of themselves that they can be.”

At work, that means building tools that help lenders serve borrowers. Personally, it means mentoring, encouraging her team, and “upping the vibes.”

“If I close out of my computer at the end of the day and we figured out a way to just be a little bit better … or just encouraged each other that like, hey, this is a rough day and we're gonna get through it — that's what I want to feel like at the end of every day.”

For those looking to the future of mortgage tech, Williams-Woodward’s story is both an inspiration and a roadmap. She’s not just building data tools — she’s building the future of how people get home.

To hear Williams-Woodward’s full story and her thoughts on AI, data, and making life easier for lenders and borrowers, listen to the full episode of Inspired By from National Mortgage Professional.