Women in Housing Awards Honor Leaders Who Make a Difference

Five women were honored Thursday at the Women in Housing Leadership Awards luncheon at the Five Star Conference at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.

Miriam Moore, Division President of Default Services at Servicelink was the event’s emcee.

“This is truly my favorite part of the five-star conference, as we get to celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of outstanding women whose leadership and exceptional contributions contribute to shape the mortgage servicing industry,” Moore said. “As we look across the industry today, we recognize and celebrate the forward-thinking innovators, change makers, and visionary leaders who are making progress and driving an impact across their organizations to help shape the industry.”

Each year, industry colleagues nominate their peers across five categories, and those nominees were then narrowed down further to a list of finalists. These are the women who are making a difference in the industry and making a mark on their colleagues and team members.

The winners in each of five categories were honored at the Women in Housing luncheon.

The Laurie Maggiano Legacy Award

Winner: Pam Forrester, SVP Operations Management, Docutech, First American Mortgage Solutions

The Laurie Maggiano Legacy Award recognizes women whose accomplishments have left an indelible impact on the industry and have positively influenced homeownership within the past year.

“I do have to say, I started in the late ’80s, and as I think about Laurie Maggiano and the fantastic impact she’s had on the industry, I’m very humbled to be represented today in honor of her name,” Forrester said.

This year’s finalists included:

Kathy Hancock, CEO, Forta Solutions
Joanna McGinn, EVP, Client Relations, ServiceMacFive women were honored Thursday at the Women in Housing Leadership Awards luncheon at the Five Star Conference at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.

The Industry Partner Award

Winner: Tracy Hager, Chief Relationship Officer at Mortgage Contracting Services

This Award celebrates female leaders working in affiliated services or partner organizations—such as technology providers, legal firms, and vendors—who have made a significant impact on the mortgage and housing sectors. Nominees in this category drive meaningful partnerships and innovations that enhance the industry’s capabilities and effectiveness.

“I think when I think about being a partner, it’s a truly special honor to be in this category in this space. I have the amazing opportunity to work with so many of you in this room to collaborate, to brainstorm, to figure out how we can improve the industry,” Hager told the audience

This year’s Industry Partner finalists also included Leigh Gibson, VP, Strategic Initiatives, VRM Mortgage Services;
Tela Gallagher Mathias, CTO & Chief Nerd and Mad Scientist, PhoenixTeam; Maria Tsagaris, Chief Engagement Officer, McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce LLP; Tara Williams, SVP, Servicing Solutions, AREMCO

The Public Sector Champion Award

Winner: Caroline Patane, VP of Servicing Counterparty Oversight and Real Estate, Fannie Mae

This Award honors outstanding female leaders from government agencies and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) whose work has profoundly impacted the housing and mortgage finance landscape. Whether through policy development, program innovation, regulatory leadership, or public-private collaboration, these trailblazers have advanced equitable access to homeownership and strengthened the stability of the U.S. housing market.

“This is such an incredible nomination, and for all of my coworkers at Fannie Mae, it is such a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to serve our mission in every opportunity that I’ve had throughout my career, and those opportunities continue to present themselves as we evolve throughout our servicing industry,” Patane said.

Other finalists were Katrina Jones, VP and Head of Community and Partner, Engagement, Fannie Mae; and Stephanie Anne Schader, Director of MBS Policy and Program Development, Ginnie Mae

The Mortgage Visionary Award

Winner: Cheryl Marchant, SVP, Default Operations, Freedom Mortgage

This Award celebrates exceptional female executives in the mortgage industry (spanning both lending and servicing) who have demonstrated inspirational leadership, shaped lending practices or elevated servicing standards, and expanded access to sustainable homeownership.

Through their dedication to operational excellence, customer experience, and industry advancement, these women exemplify the future of housing finance.

This year’s finalists include; Carolyn Dalkiewicz, SVP, Enterprise Transformation, Cenlar; Stephanie Faix, Mortgage Investor Relationship Manager III, VP, M&T Bank; Doreen Schaar, Division SVP of Loan Administration, LoanCare LLC

The Rising Star Executive Award

Winner: LaQuanda Sain, EVP of Servicing, Rocket Mortgage

This award honors dynamic women executives who represent the next generation of leadership in the mortgage industry. These rising stars are distinguished by their ability to inspire teams, spark innovation, and deliver measurable results. Recipients are women who are making a significant impact in their executive careers, demonstrating exceptional vision, integrity, and a commitment to advancing both their organizations and the industry as a whole.

“When I first heard about this nomination to Rising Star, I’ll be honest, I was like, ‘I’m still rising.’ I feel older than I probably you probably think I am. So I was like, however, what I said was think about this. The word rising means so much to me personally because it means it’s not just the beginning. It means you spent years doing the work, learning, leading, building, obviously making mistakes, getting better, but having the courage to continue to step up over and over again. And so I realized that I hope I never stop rising,” Sain said.

This year’s finalists include Clara Bray, Director of Client Relations, McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLP; JoAnne Gonzalez, SVP, Loan Servicing Administration, Servbank; Brittany Hennigan, VP, Originations Marketing, Onity Group; Jackie Torres, SVP, Core Operations, Cenlar; Dr. Egypt Sherrod, CEO, Indigo Road Realty

Event’s Featured Speaker and ‘She-Suite’ Panel

The event’s featured speaker was Julie Shaffer, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development told the audience about her 38-year career with the government.

“This job has been a wonderful job. I’ve worked for a lot of really good people,” Shaffer said. “I plan to stay in this job. I like this job. I like FHA. I like single family. And again, this we have a mission, and the mission is really very satisfying to me. And I also really want to make want to stay to work on the things to get us to the next level.”

The luncheon attendees also heard the “She-Suite Panel Discussion,” moderated by Moore.

Panelists included Beth Fowler, EVP, President of Stewart Title; Jodi Gaines, CEO, Claims Recovery Financial Services; Jane Larkin, Vice President, VRM Mortgage Services; and Kim Yowell, EVP, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.