Mortgage Moms Staying Positive & Never Giving Up Hope

JEN PEACHMAN ACTIVELY BELIEVES WHEN IT RAINS, SEARCH FOR THE RAINBOW

By ASHLEY GRAVANO, Contributor, Mortgage Women Magazine

We have an extra-special Mortgage Mom’s interview for this edition. An industry friend faced what all mothers fear the worst, their baby being sick. I got to ask Jen Peachman, manager of strategic partnerships at Capacity, a few questions that will touch all of your hearts and give you hope for any challenges that you face! Moms (and dads) are superheroes with such strength!

What’s helped to keep you positive dealing with your daughter’s lifelong health issues?

Ashley Gravano

That’s simple, my daughter is my inspiration to keep going, to keep pushing forward, and to never give up hope. She’s 15 years old and has been through more in her years than most should have to endure in an entire lifetime. Despite a diagnosis of a ultra-rare genetic disease that affects only 500 people in the US, five surgeries in the last five years, including a kidney transplant during the beginning of a global pandemic, she always tries her hardest, always fights against the odds and proves others wrong, and always has a smile on her face. If she can smile through all she faces on a daily basis, it’s my obligation to stay positive and be strong so that beautiful smile of hers doesn’t fade along the way.

How do you keep your hope?

One day when we were in the midst of a long hospital stay and I was at one of my lowest points, I went outside for a walk to clear my head while my daughter was sleeping. On my way back, it started to rain and I was caught outside without an umbrella. I ran back to the hospital and as I approached the entrance a new sign hanging in the windows caught my eye. It read, “When it rains, look for the rainbow.”

In that minute I realized, that’s what me and my kiddo have always done along the way. Through the storms, we always looked for what would be on the other side of it. We’ve been dealing with a disease most doctors have never heard of for years. It’s complicated, it gets progressively worse over time, and it’s hard to watch. But not one case is the same as another, and we’ve learned to focus on the positives in life because it really could be worse. We’ve learned to appreciate the small victories, to celebrate our milestones, and to always keep searching for the rainbow.

How have you supported others affected by your daughter’s disease?

A few years after my daughter’s diagnosis, we started getting involved with nonprofit associations benefiting cystinosis research. After connecting with other families and attending and supporting other fundraisers all over the country for a few years, we started our own Mulligans Fore Morgan charity golf outing in 2015, and have raised and donated over $120,000 for research.

After my daughter’s kidney transplant in 2020, her nephrologist asked her to mentor another teenage girl who was preparing for her first kidney transplant. My daughter, after struggling for so many years, was finally living her best life and was able to give back by connecting with someone else in need. We’ve celebrated their “tranplantanniversaries” together ever since, and they’ve become the best of friends. Despite different diseases affecting their bodies, they share so many similarities that they can lean on one another for support, and have a friend for life that understands the challenges one another faces.

There is something to be said about strength in numbers and connecting with others on a human level. When facing medical issues, it’s something you crave, something you need, and I encourage others to be open to making themselves vulnerable and connecting with others who may be going through something similar. My family has deep connections with folks that were once strangers from all over the country just because we were willing to share our story, be a part of something bigger. and network within our small but mighty community.

How important is it to connect with others when you’re being affected by health issues, whether a family member’s or your own?

For many years it was hard for me to even talk about my daughter’s disease without crying. As she got older, it was more evident that something was different about her after sharing pictures of her and her younger sister with my colleagues, clients, and coworkers. As her disease progressed, we had to start planning for future surgeries and balance multiple specialists and appointments and her story became a part of my story. I’ve worked for many companies that have supported the foundations we were supporting, and some have even helped raise money or have donated to our cause.

Along the way, I started speaking publicly about our journey and publishing updates in articles to show the impact of our fundraising efforts. I’ve cried on stage in front of hundreds of people, sharing my personal story with all the raw emotion involved. I’ve gotten standing ovations and have brought audiences to their knees. And I wanted to throw up before I went on stage every time, but coming out of each speech I’ve been able to connect with so many people, empathize with their stories, inspire them to make a difference, or just offered my listening ear or shoulder to cry on. By making myself vulnerable and truly opening up and sharing our story, I know I’ve helped so many people. I hear it from them firsthand, and it’s super rewarding. n

Sagent Appoints Fintech Innovator As Coo

Sagent Lending Technologies, a fintech company offering mortgage servicing software, has appointed Marianne Sullivan as its chief operating officer.

Sullivan, who has led some of the biggest innovation milestones in mortgage and consumer finance — including at Fannie Mae — has been appointed “to accelerate development of the industry’s first and only cloud-native software that powers home ownership and loan servicing lifecycles for servicers, consumers, investors, and regulators,” the company said in a news release.

Sullivan will remain on Sagent’s board as she assumes an active operational role, the company added.

At Fannie Mae, Sullivan led the creation and launch of two transformational initiatives: Collateral Underwriter, which enables instant verification of home valuations; and Day 1 Certainty, which enables the modern mortgage era with digitalnative loan origination infrastructure and lender risk relief.

Zitlow Rejoins Cornerstone Home Lending

After a brief departure from Cornerstone Home Lending Inc. (CHL) in early 2022, Kelly Zitlow returns as executive vice president of sales & engagement, the brokerage announced Friday.

A mortgage industry veteran, Zitlow has nearly 27 years in residential home finance. She was a top-producing loan originator at CHL from 2017 to March 2022, when she departed as vice president, certified mortgage planning specialist to accept a position with Keller Mortgage, where she served as senior mortgage adviser and head of elite branch network.

Cornerstone Home Lending’s acquisition of The Roscoe State Bank, resulting in the formation of Cornerstone Capital Bank SSB, was the impetus for Zitlow’s return.

“The bank acquisition provides an expanded product line and the ability to lend across state lines in 37 states plus the District of Columbia (with more states to come), which is a game changer for our loan officers, clients, and real estate partners,” Zitlow said.

In addition to continuing to originate loans, Zitlow will bring innovative strategies for an everevolving industry to CHL’s mortgage sales team in her new role, the company said.

Flyhomes Expands Leadership Team With Addition Of Collins

Flyhomes has announced the appointment of Andrea Collins as chief marketing officer.

Collins will lead a crossfunctional marketing team responsible for driving demand for Flyhomes services and products. She will also lead all efforts related to brand amplification, communications, and go-to-market strategy. Collins joins Flyhomes after spending over four years as the vice president of marketing at home insurance startup Hippo, taking the company public in 2021.

“It’s exciting to be joining at such a pivotal moment in the Flyhomes journey and to be working for a company that has such an impact on their customers’ lives,” said Collins. “The strength of the leadership team and the way in which they draw inspiration by empathizing with their customers is what really attracted me to the role. I feel this unique approach has Flyhomes positioned to become the first true brand in residential real estate.”

Ncontracts Promotes Guthrie To Chief Human Resource Officer

Ncontracts, a provider of integrated compliance and risk management solutions to the financial industry, promoted Cathy Guthrie to chief human resource officer. Guthrie has served as the executive vice president of human resources at Ncontracts since 2021.

With over 20 years of expansive human resources experience, Guthrie has been instrumental in building a world-class workplace culture. Earlier this year, Ncontracts was nationally recognized by Top Workplaces for its Culture Excellence Award. Ncontracts was also named a Top Workplace by The Tennessean for a second consecutive year and was featured on Inc. Magazine’s Annual Best Workplaces list.

Previously, Guthrie served as the senior vice president of human resources at Unanet, a provider of ERP and ERM solutions. She also held the roles of chief people officer at AlienVault and vice president of people at SpareFoot.

“My ultimate goal at Ncontracts is to help employees achieve their full potential while working with our team to build and scale a worldclass business,” said Guthrie. “I’m thrilled to move into this new role and continue developing a strong workplace culture that positively impacts our team and clients.”

Union Home Mortgage Names Stark Regional Manager

Union Home Mortgage (UHM), an independent mortgage banking company based in Ohio, has hired Erin Stark as its new regional manager for Texas.

In her new role, Stark will leverage her more than three decades of mortgage banking experience to help increase UHM’s branch network throughout Texas while simultaneously growing and supporting existing UHM branches in the state, the company said.

“I am excited about joining this people-oriented company that is wholly committed to serving the needs of its customers,” Stark said. “The layers of support the company provides to its partners both makes UHM an attractive place to work and enables the exceptional customer service for which UHM is known.

I believe by helping our people succeed, we can help ensure we are making homeownership accessible for all of Texas.”

Stark is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of mortgage banking experience. Before joining UHM, she served as an area manager for San Antonio and the surrounding region at Gateway Mortgage.

Churchill Mortgage Welcomes Weir In Key Senior Sales Role

Churchill Mortgage, a provider of conventional, FHA, VA and USDA residential mortgages across 49 states and the District of Columbia, has hired Kisha Weir as vice president of sales for the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region. Weir will be responsible for the overall sales and business development operations while overseeing the training, mentorship, and development of loan officers across the PNW division.

“In addition to being a natural servant leader with a proven track record of developing profitable branches throughout the West Coast, Kisha has an undeniable desire to invest in people,” said Kevin J. Hanna, president of the Churchill Mortgage Pacific Northwest region. “She will be an incredible asset to the team with her commitment to growth, empowering them to achieve their personal and professional goals. We’re assembling a dream team to create something that hasn’t been seen or done before in the mortgage industry. Our ‘people over profits’ approach, commitment to debtfree homeownership, and creation of a truly revolutionary platform will propel us to the top as we keep our clients and customers at the forefront of everything we do.”

With over 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Weir has garnered impressive credentials managing sales teams in key senior roles and improving processes and efficiencies. Prior to joining Churchill Mortgage, Weir led the Western Division at Movement Mortgage, where she personally oversaw $11 billion in loan volume, and acted as senior vice president of the PNW Region at Eagle Home Mortgage, where she grew her area to the highest producing and most profitable region in the country.

“This is a time of upward trajectory for Churchill Mortgage, and I am thrilled to facilitate their continued expansion in the Pacific Northwest and beyond,” said Weir. “Rather than simply weathering and enduring this turbulent market, the company is staying on the offensive and embracing this as a time of opportunity for growth. Given the strong talent pipeline and Churchill’s sterling reputation in the industry, this felt like a perfect fit and a place I truly belonged.”

Holland Joins Sales Boomerang And Mortgage Coach As Chief People Officer

Sales Boomerang, an automated borrower intelligence and retention system for the mortgage industry, and Mortgage Coach, a platform empowering mortgage lenders to educate borrowers with interactive home loan presentations, announced the appointment of Shelli Holland to the role of Chief People Officer.

Holland has nearly two decades of experience developing people strategy at leading North American and global SaaS companies and will guide the culture, policies, and people strategy that motivate the Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach teams.

As the leader of Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach’s human resource functions, Holland will help define and connect the mission and values of the merged company and align the people behind them. Her early priorities lie in fostering a unified, employee-led company culture; driving strategic business objectives through the adoption of technology; defining performance metrics for departments and roles; and developing an improved internal communications strategy that helps employees better understand the business rationale behind resource allocation.

“I was drawn to Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach because of its leadership team’s passion for the company mission of helping people build wealth and achieve financial freedom,” said Holland. “I look forward to helping unify a culture that fosters diverse thoughts, inclusion, trust and team ownership for a bright, innovative organization.”

Prior to joining Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach, Holland guided the people function of Phone2Action as it acquired two companies, rebranded as Capitol Canary and completed a successful exit through its acquisition by Quorum. Before that, she held leadership positions at Frontpoint, a developer of smart home security systems, and Ellucian, a global higher education technology company.

NOONS TO BE FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT & COO OF WASHINGTON TRUST

Mark K.W. Gim will retire as president and chief operating of Washington Trust Bancorp during the corporation’s 2023 annual meeting of shareholders in April. Mary E. Noons, who currently serves as executive vice president and chief retail lending officer, was promoted to senior executive vice president, effective immediately, and will be appointed president and chief operating officer upon Gim’s retirement. Noons will be the first woman in the corporation’s 222-year history to serve as president and COO.

“Mary has played a key role in the Washington Trust’s record mortgage origination, revenue growth and regional expansion, which has contributed significantly to the corporation’s continued growth, profitability and success,” Edward O. “Ned” Handy III, chairman and CEO of Washington Trust, said. “Mary is a proven leader and a strategic thinker with a passion for service excellence, process improvement, operational efficiency and enhancing the customer experience. I look forward to working alongside her.”

Noons has been an integral part of Washington Trust’s Retail Lending leadership team since joining the Bank in 1992. She has more than 25 years of professional mortgage and consumer origination and operations experience and has played a key role in the expansion of the Bank’s mortgage operations from Rhode Island into the greater New England region.

Noons holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and graduated with honors from The Connecticut School of Finance and Management. She is also a 2009 graduate of Leadership Rhode Island. Noons serves on various American Bankers Association committees as well as the Rhode Island Bankers Association Mortgage Committee. She served on the Freddie Mac Community Lender Advisory Board for over 12 years. A Rhode Island resident, she is active with the United Way Women’s Leadership Council and serves as a board member for the RI Academic Decathlon. n