Bruce Wilkinson
Bruce S. Wilkinson, CSP is a leadership/communication/culture implementation specialist, professional motivational keynote speaker and trainer who reinforces personalized messages with humor, passion, enthusiasm and authenticity. His mission is to help organizations translate their culture into a workplace climate that inspires excellence, service and accountability. Bruce has degrees in both Safety Engineering and Occupational Safety and Health. He was a two-term elected member of the Board of Directors of the National Speakers Association and is one of fewer than 800 people worldwide to earn the prestigious Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation.
He recently retired after twenty-three years of service as a post certified reserve police officer with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office (New Orleans), where he worked in patrol, emergency rescue and as a member on the police academy staff. Besides his personalized keynotes, he has developed and presented programs on effective leadership, teams, multi-generational communication, in-house branding, workplace culture/climate, change, work/life balance, humor at work, customer service, sales motivation, safety leadership and personal responsibility.
Mitch Kider, Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC
Mitch is a founding member of Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC, and has served as the firm’s Chairman since its inception.
A litigator by trade, Mitch has defended clients in more than 100 class action lawsuits in federal and state courts throughout the country. In addition, he has provided representation on both the plaintiff and defense side of complex commercial cases, including mortgage loan fraud and repurchase cases.
Mitch’s practice includes the representation of banks, mortgage companies, homebuilders, credit card issuers and other financial service companies in a broad range of regulatory and compliance matters, as well. He represents clients in investigative and enforcement actions before HUD, VA, DOJ, FTC, Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and various state and local regulatory authorities and AG offices.
Mitch acts as outside General Counsel to smaller companies and special regulatory and litigation counsel to Fortune 500 companies. He is a frequent speaker on industry matters and is a Faculty Fellow of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.
Terri Fowlkes
Terri J. Fowlkes is the Director of the Community Development Investment Program at that National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (the “Federation”) – a national non-profit trade organization dedicated to strengthening Community Development Credit Unions and increasing capital and financial services for residents of low-income and minority communities across the country. In this capacity, Ms. Fowlkes is responsible for the management of the Federation’s $55 million investment portfolio. Additionally, Ms. Fowlkes serves as an Adjunct Professor at Seton Hall University where she teaches ‘Real Estate Finance” and “Money and Banking” classes. Ms. Fowlkes is the Founder and President of TJF & Associates LLC, a strategic planning and business development-consulting firm. She holds both a Bachelor of Science Degree and a MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, and holds professional memberships with the National Black MBA Association, the Urban Financial Services Network, and the African-American Real Estate Professionals of New York. She has also served on the Board of Project Enterprise, a micro loan fund whose mission is to help strengthen low-income communities by supporting entrepreneurship among some of New York's most under-served residents.
Blaine Rada
Blaine Rada is CMG MI’s Customer Training Manager. In this position, Blaine is responsible for all aspects of CMG MI’s customer training efforts on a national level. In a typical year, Blaine facilitates more than 100 workshops for close to 4,000 participants, in both live and webinar formats.
Blaine joined CMG MI in 1997, following eight years with PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. A full-time trainer with CMG MI for the past 12 years, he has been in the mortgage industry since 1985 and is experienced with loan originating, processing, and underwriting.
Blaine received his B.S. degree at the American Holistic College of Nutrition, as well as a Certificate in Distance Education from Indiana University. Blaine is a faculty member of the CUNA Residential Mortgage Lending School and a member of the American Society for Training and Development and the National Speakers Association.
Blaine was named "America’s Greatest Thinker" in 2005 by winning the Great American Think-Off, a national philosophy competition. In 2011, he was accepted as a member by Mensa and also won the Nick Carter Award from the National Speakers Association. Blaine's writing has been published in Conscious Choice, a Chicago-area magazine.
Blaine is one of the most respected and popular training professionals in the Credit Union industry. His Webinars on Underwriting, Appraisals and other topics are musts for many professionals in mortgage lending.
Dr. Jim Gaines
Research Economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University
Dr. Jim Gaines has more than thirty years experience in a broad array of professional activities primarily in real estate research and education, urban economics, land use analysis and development and project risk assessment. Dr. Gaines has provided real estate consulting services to numerous businesses, financial institutions, developers, and all levels of government organizations. Prior to his private consulting career, Dr. Gaines served as President of Rice Center, an urban research center affiliated with Rice University and was an Associate Professor of Real Estate and Finance at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Gaines earned his B.B.A., M.A. and Ph. D. degrees at the University of Georgia.
Tracy Ashfield, Ashfield and Associates
Tracy Jean Ashfield is President of Ashfield and Associates, a consulting and training firm that assists credit unions with mortgage lending strategy, development, policies, product design, training and strategic planning. Tracy also works with the NCUA and NASCUS to provide training and education on residential mortgage lending for examiners and regulators.
Tracy has more than 25 years of experience in Mortgage Banking management. Before forming Ashfield and Associates she held a variety of management positions in the credit union industry including Senior Executive for Mortgage Development at CUNA Mutual; Senior Vice President of Operations of CUNA Mortgage Corporation, and she also worked with CMG Mortgage Insurance Company.
Tracy is the co-author of Credit Union Mortgage Strategies: The Best Never Rest and numerous other periodicals on credit union lending strategies. Tracy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration/Finance and Sociology from the University of New Hampshire. She is a Graduate of the School of Mortgage Banking, Washington, D.C. Tracy is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer for mortgage banking and credit union organizations.
Shannon VanSickler
Shannon brings over 22 years of diverse mortgage lending experience for mortgage bankers and depositories encompassing sales and operations, from both a retail and wholesale perspective, with a credit union focus for the past 12 years to her present position as Vice President and Credit Union Channel Manager for United Guaranty Mortgage Insurance. Most recently Shannon grew the mortgage lending division, for the $2b Bellco Credit Union, based in Denver, Colorado, where under her leadership production went from $4m to over $20m monthly. Prior to joining Bellco Credit Union, in 2006 Shannon was the Vice President, Mortgage Banking for Air Academy Federal Credit Union, based in her hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she received recognition with an Excellence in Lending Award from the Credit Union National Association’s Lending Council in 2001 and where production was also dramatically increased from under $2m to over $20m monthly.
Shannon has served with distinction in leadership roles for trade associations and non-profit corporations and she received the Aksel Nielsen Award for Outstanding Association/Industry Leadership in 2007, from the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association, where she chaired both the state and federal legislative committees; and she was recognized in the 2008 Who’s Who in America’s Credit Unions.
Shannon is a passionate public speaker regarding mortgage lending and was an invited panelist for the 2007 National Association of Realtor’s convention, to provide her insight on “Strategies for Success”. From Shannon’s perspective, the credit union mortgage industry closes dreams and does not just close mortgage loans for the members.
Jim Bennison, Genworth
James Bennison is currently Senior Vice President, Strategy & Capital Markets for Genworth Financial’s US Mortgage Insurance Business which is headquartered in Raleigh, NC. In that capacity, Mr. Bennison is responsible for business strategy, competitive intelligence and regulatory policy development. Additionally, he is responsible for executing structured transactions and managing the firm’s bulk insurance portfolio. Prior to joining Genworth in 2008, Mr. Bennison established and managed the structured finance business at SunTrust Capital Markets. He was also a co-founder and Managing Principal of Terminus Asset Management, a multi-strategy structured securities asset manager. Additionally, he has held various positions at The Money Store Inc., Structured Finance Advisors and ING Investment Management. He holds a BA in Economics from The University of the South and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Tom Degrandchamp, CMG MI
Tom DeGrandchamp is CMG MI’s Account Executive for the Southwest territory, covering Oklahoma and Texas.
With 25 years of varied experience in the mortgage industry, Tom joined CMG MI in 2001 as the Account Executive for the Great Lakes Region. Having established his reputation as the company’s “answer man” for all levels of credit union personnel, Tom transferred to Dallas, Texas, in March 2010 to assume responsibility for the company’s Southwest sales territory.
Tom credits his extensive background in retail mortgage management, relocation and overall credit union familiarity for his success with customers as an industry resource. Before coming to CMG MI, he served in various positions at GMAC Mortgage, CUNA Mutual Mortgage Corporation and the Michigan Credit Union League.
Tom holds both a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.B.A. in International Business from Wayne State University.
Sue Baker, SVP Mortgagebot
Sue Baker serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer of Mortgagebot Llc. Ms. Baker oversees product direction at Mortgagebot. Her responsibilities include oversight of the Web site design, business application, and user interface to ensure leading-edge functionality and ease-of-use. She also manages Mortgagebot’s business operations including client implementation, client support, change management and quality assurance. Her 25 years of mortgage experience encompasses all facets of the mortgage industry. She began her career as a loan officer with M&I Mortgage Corp, the 29th largest retail loan originator in the nation producing $3 billion worth of loans annually, and went on to become responsible for mortgage sales and training, including technology design and deployment for M&I's 250 Mortgage Loan Officers in 230 branch locations.
Michael Daggs
Michael’s obvious passion for life and excellence gives him a unique ability to quickly engage audiences and deliver a real life message that is taken to heart. He connects and inspires audiences by leveraging his talent to relate personal testimony with universal workgroup issues. His 10 years experience as a presenter has created a remarkable ability to bridge gaps between reality and what could be. His ability to train outside of the proverbial box using games, life experiences, creativity and energy allows for audience engagement at the highest level.
How committed are your customers to doing business with you? Satisfied customers at best may give you return business, but will most likely not remember you each time they need your services. Engaged customers have a sense of loyalty and are committed to doing business with you period. The only way they would go elsewhere is because you or your employees ran them off. How much time do you spend sharing the message of customer engagement with your staff compared to marketing dollars spent getting customers in your door? Customer Engagement training will inspire your staff to see the value in their job and the customer. They will understand that the reason their job exists is because there are customers who need their help.
