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HousingWire began recognizing Women of Influence in the mortgage finance industry in 2010, with an eye toward encouraging and celebrating female leadership in what had been a male-dominated field. Seven years later, our list of 50 winners is full of women achieving in every sector of the housing economy, including 11 on our list who are leading from the C-suite.
These are women like Altavera Mortgage Services COO Debora Aydelotte (pictured on our cover), who has overseen the company’s growth as it tripled its customer base, grew its origination licensing footprint by 30%, and increased its staff by 70%, while still continuing gender pay equity and flexible work arrangements for employees.
Or Nadine Bates, senior vice president and treasurer at Fannie Mae, who in the past year has led more than 40 people on six teams to increase mortgage liquidity for more than 350 small- and medium-sized lenders in the secondary MBS market through transacting in over $400 billion of mortgage backed securities.
The Women of Influence award is distinct from our other awards because it recognizes leadership within individual companies but also in the larger finance ecosystem. Each of these winners sports an impressive resume attesting to their hard work and innovation in various fields, but they have also invested in their coworkers and communities.
In fact, one of the most striking things about reading through the nominations for this program is the number of women involved in mentoring and training.
Holly Tachovsky, CEO of BuildFax, mentors on a monthly basis through Tech Ranch Austin and provides one-on-one guidance for entrepreneurs throughout the country. Karen Lanning, vice president of human resources at First American, organized and helped build the company’s Women in Leadership program, which is designed to cultivate women leaders and provide a forum for their professional development.
Many of these leaders serve on the boards of nonprofits, and contribute time, money and expertise to make their communities a better place. Sherri Meadows, the broker/owner of three Keller Williams offices in Florida, has campaigned tirelessly to prevent and end homelessness in her state, rallying fellow real estate agents and lobbying elected leaders for real change.
We are proud to recognize these women leading out in so many areas. We invite you to learn more about them and celebrate their successes, which benefit the whole housing finance industry.
