Laura Brandao works at EPM and now serves as Chief Growth Officer. Laura also serves as the Chair of NAMMBA’s Visionary program, The Chair of the MBANJ Women’s committee, The Chair of Women with Vision, a board member of Mortflix, and a mortgage executive coach.

Laura is a coveted speaker, and well-regarded champion for the industry as well as a 3 -time best-selling author.

Her recent honors include: 2022 10 Most Inspirational businesswomen, 2021 MPA housing industry icon, a 4-time winner of most powerful women in mortgage, a 3-time Woman of Influence, and a 3 time “Women with Vision, as well as a 2022 NJBIZ Top leaders in finance.

Dave Savage

CEO and founder of Mortgage Coach is an innovator and change agent known throughout the mortgage industry for reinventing the mortgage experience, taking it from a single transaction to a lifelong high-value relationship. He turns mortgage advice into a WOW experience for consumers and a competitive advantage for loan officers by elevating them from simple lenders to Black Belt Mortgage Advisors using a blend of high-tech and high-touch strategies and tactics. Dave leads the industry in providing innovative sales training tools with a combination of video and YouTube training materials. He has recorded over 1,000 interviews with top mortgage professionals, authors, and industry leaders, making the Mortgage Coach YouTube channel the number-one training academy for loan officers. Through his lifelong passion as an entrepreneur, Dave also achieved this goal with SmartReply, a company he co-founded in 2000, which was one of the first three US companies to ever win a Mobile Marketing Award in 2005.

Keith Kempf

President & CEO of BlackFin Group, a management consulting firm that specializes in the mortgage banking industry.

A twenty-seven-year veteran of the mortgage banking, consumer lending, and financial services industry. Keith's career includes progressive management and executive roles with Citigroup, Bank of America, Dime Bank, and Merrill Lynch. Keith has developed a vast and trusted national network of expert resources.

Keith is proud of his work as a Visionary leader, mentor, and the work he has done to ensure a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment (DE&I). Keith and his leadership do not subscribe to DE&I as a sense of opportunity but as a profound responsibility in today’s leading firms.

Haydn Richards

Haydn is a Partner with Bradley, he is one of the foremost leaders in state financial services law and licensing matters. Haydn counsels clients on all aspects of financial services licensing and compliance, state law, the NMLS, and CFPB-related compliance matters. Selected by his peers to serve as the Chair of the Industry Advisory Council of the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) from 2018-2020, Haydn regularly interacts with state regulators on behalf of industry members. He has individually resolved financial services enforcement actions in 45 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, perhaps more than any other attorney in this space. Haydn regularly assists clients with some of the largest acquisitions in the financial services space, with a particular focus on securing the necessary regulatory approvals so that transactions can move forward. He also counsels startups and FinTech companies with respect to licensing obligations in a variety of sectors. Finally, he is the author of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Loan Originator Temporary Authority Resource Guide, which helps compliance professionals navigate challenges associated with Temporary Authority for mortgage originators.

Laura Escobar

Laura is President of Lennar Mortgage, the mortgage lending subsidiary of Lennar Corporation, the nation’s largest homebuilder. A 30-year mortgage industry veteran, Laura has held leadership positions with both bank-owned and independent mortgage companies overseeing all aspects of mortgage banking. Her approach to nurturing talent and accelerating innovation, combined with her ground-level experience in every facet of mortgage lending has enabled her to grow Lennar Mortgage into a financial services leader.

Laura’s passion is “Paying It Forward”. This is accomplished through her involvement not only in her local community but within communities throughout the country. She is an advocate for women and minorities and is a proud supporter of mPower.

Laura currently sits on multiple advisory boards and committees: Fannie Mae AHAC, Ellie Mae Executive Advisory Board, MORPAC Steering Committee, NAHREP member, NAMMBA Visionary Ambassador, United Way’s chapter – Women United, MBA Board of Directors, Opens Doors Foundation and Co-Chair of the Independent Mortgage Bankers.  

Kenon Chen

With 25+ years of product development and technology experience under his belt, Kenon Chen is an industry-recognized leader in real estate and fintech. As EVP of Corporate Strategy, having joined Clear Capital in 2003, Kenon sits at the intersection of Clear Capital’s executive, product, marketing, and sales teams. He’s been instrumental to the company’s product strategy and vision, having developed and brought to market some of the company’s most forward-looking solutions. 

At the end of the day, his goal is simple: make real estate better for homeowners, homebuyers, and industry professionals alike.

Robert Grosser

Robert Grosser is the Founder & Managing Principal of Mortgage Industry Consultants. Rob started his advisory practice in 2018. Prior to starting MIC, Rob spent 32 years in key “C” level positions with multi-channel origination platforms. Since launching his advisory practice, Rob has developed a particular expertise in Non-QM product development, aggregation strategies, and secondary market execution. 

Rob is a NAMMBA Visionary and is dedicated to expanding opportunity and bringing greater diversity to our industry. Mentoring emerging professionals is one of Rob’s passions.

Cecilia Janson

Cecilia Janson is a Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) and has served our industry for over 20 years. She is an active community member and industry advocate; she participates in her local mortgage association and serves on the Board of Directors for her state chapter (MBAC). She has served in many roles throughout her career which has given her valuable insight into the end-to-end processes and procedures across all departments and enterprise workstreams. She is a thought leader in our industry always looking for a solution-focused avenue to drive and achieve results quickly and efficiently to create win-win solutions for all.  Moreover, Cecilia is passionate about bringing newcomers to our industry and believes that the NAMMBA Visionary Program is a perfect platform to inspire, encourage and mentor young professionals.

Joshua Weinberg

Josh Weinberg is a nationally recognized speaker, author, consultant, and leader in the mortgage industry. He is the President of Firstline Compliance, a consulting company specializing in mortgage compliance and technology (www.firstlinecompliance.com). He works closely with Federal and State Regulators including the CFPB, FDIC, CSBS/AARMR, and the HUD/FHA and participates with many industry associations. He is the past Chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Regulatory Compliance Committee, Past Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for MISMO, as well as a member of ABA’s Residential Markets Committee, the Registered Institutions Working Group for the NMLS, and was an Advisory Board Member and Compliance Expert for Mortgage Compliance Magazine. Previously he was the Executive Vice President of Compliance for Guaranteed Rate, Inc., and before that the EVP of Compliance for First Choice Loan Services Inc. He has also worked for a major LOS vendor where he was in charge of Compliance, Government Loan programs and Reverse Mortgages, has worked in retail banking environments, and also worked independently as the owner of a mortgage broker company.

Dan Sogorka

Dan Sogorka is CEO and President of Sagent, America’s second-largest loan servicing software company.

Sogorka has led digital transformation in housing for two decades. Before Sagent, Sogorka served as CEO of Cloudvirga, President of EXOS Technologies, EVP of ServiceLink (FNF subsidiary), and Division President at Black Knight.

At Sagent, Dan plays a vital role in reinventing how banks and lenders power the homeownership/consumer lending experience for millions of borrowers.  Since joining Sagent he has built a world-class team with deep expertise and the energy and grit to change how trillions of dollars of UPB are managed by banks and servicers.

Suha Zehl

Suha Zehl is an award-winning executive leader and industry expert with over 35 years of experience in various industries including financial services, mortgage lending, technology, business intelligence, and higher education. Suha is the Chief Innovation Officer at Blackfin Group, where she guides her clients from discovery through selection, implementation, and change management on innovation and technology related projects. Suha is currently pursuing her certification as a John Maxwell Coach with Maxwell Leadership. Suha serves on the Board of Governors for the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America (NAMMBA) as well as the Board of Directors for Women with Vision. She is a founding member of Chief as well as a Visionary Ambassador with NAMMBA. Suha is a positivity magnet and a technology enthusiast, BUT most of all, Suha is passionate about helping others discover the path to their own success so they can live their best personal and professional life.

Regina Uhl

Regina is a nationally-recognized real estate attorney and regulatory expert in Texas document preparation. She is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in the area of Residential Real Estate law, and her practice areas also include regulatory compliance. Regina is licensed in Texas, Illinois and Kentucky.

Bob Niemi

Bob Niemi, CMB® is a Senior Advisor for Regulatory Compliance based in Bradley’s Tampa, FL office. Bob is the co-leader of Bradley’s Licensing & Examination and State Attorney General & Regulator teams, but he is not an attorney. Bob served as mortgage industry leader, NMLS Ombudsman, State of Ohio’s chief lending regulator and now a regulatory compliance advisor. This unique perspective to financial service matters and experience allows Bob to effectively develop consensus and resolve complex financial matters impacting lenders.

Sam Verma

Sam Verma is the dynamic CEO of Peoples Processing, with over 25 years of experience in the ever-demanding mortgage industry.

Her passion for consistently delivering value to customers has driven her to make a difference in the real estate mortgage industry. She has helped lenders and servicers by streamlining operations and making life easier.

Sam has received numerous awards throughout the past year, including the Thought Leader Award for 2021, the Mortgage Lending Women of Inspiration Award for 2021, and the NMP Women With Vision Award, which was given in November 2021. She is also the recipient of the Bronze Stevie® Award from the American Business Awards for the year 2021.