The reverse mortgage market continues to evolve—and the professionals who succeed are the ones who stay informed, connected, and prepared to meet the needs of today’s older homeowners.
Join us on June 9 in Irvine, CA, for the 2026 Western Regional Meeting, a daylong event featuring insightful business development sessions and meaningful networking that will position you for long-term success.
Why Attend
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Practical, market-relevant education on growing your reverse mortgage production, compliance, and best practices
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Actionable insights you can apply immediately to your business
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Expert-led sessions featuring industry leaders and experienced practitioners
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Meaningful networking with peers, partners, and potential referral sources
Who Should Attend
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Reverse mortgage professionals — including loan officers, counselors, servicers, legal and compliance experts and vendors — seeking to sharpen their skills and stay ahead of industry trends
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Forward mortgage loan officers interested in entering or expanding into the reverse mortgage space
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Sales leaders, managers, and professionals supporting older-borrower strategies
Whether you’re already active in reverse mortgages or exploring how this product can complement your existing business, the Western Regional Meeting offers the education, connections, and perspective you need to move forward with confidence.
Registration Fees
NRMLA Members pay a discounted registration fee.
- Early Registration (deadline May 8)—$175 per person
- Regular Registration (deadline June 8)—$210 per person
- On-Site Registration—$250 per person
Non-Members pay the registration rate that’s determined by the type of company they’re employed by. During the registration process, you will be asked to select from one of the following:
Mortgage Broker: You work for a firm that brokers loans to mortgage lenders.
- Early (deadline May 8)—$225 per person
- Regular (deadline June 8)—$270 per person
- On-Site—$325 per person
Lender: You work for a firm that directly funds loans—$500 per person.
HMBS Issuer: You work for a firm that aggregates HECM loans into HMBS securities for sale into the secondary market—$1,000 per person.
Associate: You work for a firm that provides products or services to a Mortgage Broker, Lender, Servicer or HMBS Issuer.
- Early (deadline May 8)—$225 per person
- Regular (deadline June 8)—$270 per person
- On-Site—$325 per person
Broker/Dealer: You work for a firm that assists HMBS Issuers in finding investors for their securities.
- Early (deadline May 8)—$225 per person
- Regular (deadline June 8)—$270 per person
- On-Site—$325 per person
Non-Profit: You work for a counseling agency or other non-profit entity.
- Early (deadline May 8)—$225 per person
- Regular (deadline June 8)—$270 per person
- On-Site—$325 per person
Government: You work for a local, state, or federal government agency—$100 per person.
Hotel Room Reservation
Room reservation information will be provided in the confirmation email you receive after registering.
Cancellation Policy
All conference cancellation requests must be received by emailing Darryl Hicks at [email protected]. A $20 cancellation fee will be applied to all cancellation requests received on or before May 15, 2026. A $50 cancellation fee will be applied to all cancellation requests received between May 16 and May 22, 2026. No refunds will be issued for cancellation requests received on or after May 23, 2026.
Sponsorship Opportunities
NRMLA is offering an assortment of sponsorship packages that will put you front and center before the key decision-makers in the reverse mortgage industry. For more information, contact Natalie Matter Bellis, Account Executive at YGS Group, at 717-580-8184 or by email at [email protected].
Jim Cory is a mortgage entrepreneur with 29 years of experience building successful, high growth teams in the reverse mortgage industry. As Managing Director of Reverse at Guild Mortgage Company, Jim is a leader of the company’s reverse mortgage division and is working to expand Guild Mortgage’s reverse presence. He has held a variety of leadership positions at several mortgage companies, including Cherry Creek Mortgage, Seattle Mortgage, and Fannie Mae. Jim currently serves as the Co-Chair of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and has served on its Board of Directors since 2011. Jim also Chairs the NRMLA Ethics Committee and is Co-Chair of the Education Committee. Besides the reverse mortgage business, Jim is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, and his interests include history, humor, sports, and fitness.
Steve Irwin is the President of National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). In this role, Steve provides oversight to the association’s initiatives to serve as an educational resource, policy advocate, and public affairs center for consumers, lenders and related professionals. Steve works to enhance NRMLA’s presence in the political debate affecting a number of issues that impact member companies’ ability to serve the nation’s senior citizens. His extensive background includes experience as a senior executive charged with strategic planning, organizational design, portfolio acquisition, risk management, and quality control. In Steve’s 30-year tenure in the reverse mortgage field, he has directed operations by identifying key drivers and risks, re-engineered business processes, and devised initiatives for creating best-in-class customer experiences. He received his B.A. in liberal arts with a major in English Literature from Grinnell College and his MBA from the McLaren School of Management at the University of San Francisco. He is also a board member of Solas Nua, Washington, DC’s multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated exclusively to contemporary Irish arts.
Michael Kent is Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Industry Relations at Onity Mortgage Corporation. Before that, he was President of Liberty Reverse Mortgage, a division within Onity, from 2015 to 2026. Before joining Liberty, Kent spent four years at Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. (RMS) as President of Loan Originations. In addition to his reverse background, he has over 30 years of “forward” mortgage experience and has held leadership roles across various lending functions, including sales, operations, and secondary markets. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and is a member of the Association’s Executive Committee.
Jesse Allen is President of 55+ Lending at Guaranteed Rate, where he leads efforts to expand solutions that that meet the unique needs of the demographic. A transformational leader with extensive experience in financial services and community service, Jesse has built and led high-performing teams that deliver results and create lasting value for clients and stakeholders. Before joining Rate, he launched and served as President of Reverse Mortgage Lending with an independent mortgage bank, and as EVP of external production at American Advisors Group. During his time with Bank of America, he oversaw the implementation of the landmark Dodd-Frank mortgage origination rules and served as the Head of Bank of America’s reverse mortgage business, which grew from startup to becoming one of the largest platforms in the history of the industry.
Christine Jensen has 34 years in mortgage banking specializing in reverse mortgages, sales leadership, and helping Financial Advisors integrate the use of equity in to a financial plan. A producing Branch Manager, her team has had the highest production of reverse mortgages at Fairway for the past two years. Christine is credentialed as a Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist and Certified Senior Advisor.
Priscilla Rael-Albin has 18+ years of real estate experience and prides herself in effective communication and negotiation skills. Priscilla keeps her standards high with additional education in her field, with additional certification in the following areas: Senior Real Estate Specialist, Luxury Home Specialist, and Distressed property Specialist. She is also involved within her community, Canyon High School, Anaheim Little League, Eastside & Friends Christian Church, and Children’s Miracle Network. She is honored to be awarded “America’s Best” (top 1.5% in the nation) Re/Max Chairman Club, and Re/Max Lifetime Achievement.
Jim Brodsky, a founding member of Weiner Brodsky Kider PC, advises clients throughout the nation on strategic business initiatives, federal compliance and regulatory matters, mergers and acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, and secondary mortgage market transactions.
Prior to joining the USC faculty, Dr. Green spent four years as the Oliver T. Carr, Jr., Chair of Real Estate Finance at The George Washington University School of Business. He was Director of the Center for Washington Area Studies and the Center for Real Estate and Urban Studies at that institution. Dr. Green also taught real estate finance and economics courses for 12 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Wangard Faculty Scholar and Chair of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics. He also has been principal economist and director of financial strategy and policy analysis at Freddie Mac. More recently, he was a visiting professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and he continues to retain an affiliation with Wharton. He is or has been involved with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Conference of Business Economists, the Center for Urban Land Economics Research, and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Dr. Green also is a Weimer Fellow at the Homer Hoyt Institute and a member of the faculty of the Selden Institute for Advanced Studies in Real Estate. He was recently President of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.
Tara Ballman is a nationally recognized aging-in-place expert who is passionate about connecting and supporting professionals serving older adults. She is an author of three books on financial retirement issues, two books on aging in place issues, and conference speaker addressing aging-in-place topics. For years, Tara and her family struggled through the evolving stages of her father’s declining health. Unexpected illnesses, unforeseen situations, and a fear of the future was their reality, with so many questions and nowhere to turn. After her father passed, she had a desire to help other families navigate through the stages of aging and proactively plan for future needs, regardless of what life throws at them.
Chris Spearman serves as Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Growth at ScaleHealth, where he helps health systems, national nonprofits, and innovators modernize responsibly. His focus is not innovation for its own sake. It is alignment, growth, and measurable impact inside complex institutions. Over the course of his career, Chris has built and launched multiple zero to one initiatives, raised capital for vision before product existed, and led legacy organizations through structural reinvention. Whether in nonprofit, mission driven, or enterprise environments, the pattern has been consistent: clarify the purpose, align the stakeholders, build the engine for growth. At ScaleHealth, he leads national partnerships and revenue strategy, working with organizations such as the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, National Association of Community Health Centers, and hospitals around the US. My role is to bridge venture velocity with institutional reality so that meaningful change can move from pilot to scale.
Angella Conrard, CRMP, is a reverse and retirement mortgage specialist with 20 years of experience helping older homeowners strategically use home equity in retirement planning. Before entering the mortgage industry, she worked in alternative physical rehabilitation and wellness, experiences that shaped her compassionate, education-first approach to serving retirees and their families.
As Chief Production Officer, Jonathan Scarpati oversees both wholesale and retail production, helping optimize internal structures and accelerate performance gains that will propel the company forward in its next stage of growth. Scarpati has a wealth of industry experience and was previously Senior Vice President of Wholesale Production. Under his leadership, the wholesale team has consistently ranked as one of the top producing wholesale originators in the reverse mortgage industry. Scarpati has been with Finance of America for 16 years and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Reverse Mortgage Association. He spent his first six years in the reverse mortgage industry at Senior Lending Network/Lender Lead Solutions, where he served as the Vice President of Sales for the Wholesale and Lead Distribution divisions.
Kimberly Smith serves as the Senior Vice President of Wholesale at Smartfi Home Loans, a fast-growing reverse mortgage lender. She oversees the wholesale channel, growing the business through her visionary leadership and deep industry knowledge. Kimberly is a highly accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in the Reverse Mortgage Industry. She began her career at Financial Freedom in 2004 and quickly became the Western Regional Manager of Wholesale Sales. Throughout her career, she has held several executive positions, including SVP of Wholesale Lending at One Reverse Mortgage, Executive VP of Sales at Generation Mortgage, and SVP of Wholesale Lending at American Advisors Group. Her expertise in business-to-business sales and education, strategic planning and execution, and aptitude for leadership enable her to build and lead successful teams.
Gail Balettie is a seasoned operations executive with 36 years of experience, including 21 years in the reverse mortgage space in both originations and servicing. As Senior Vice President of Client Satisfaction, she oversees Celink’s call center operations, customer communications, and website development. Gail serves as a key business leader on strategic initiatives focused on modernizing servicing technology, improving operational efficiency, and strengthening Celink’s customer-first culture. Gail contributes actively to the reverse mortgage industry through her leadership roles with NRMLA, including serving as Co Chair of the HECM Servicing Committee and participating in the HUD Issues Committee and AISLE, the American Institute of Servicing and Legal Executives. Balettie attended the University of Texas in Austin, majoring in Business Administration.
Elly Johnson is an industry-recognized leader in mortgage banking with over 47 years of experience, including 34 years in executive roles at some of the nation’s largest reverse mortgage originators and servicers. Today, she channels her extensive expertise into her role as Owner and President of All Reverse Pro, where she consults and supports professionals across all facets of the reverse mortgage business. A dedicated advocate for the industry, Elly is a highly active member of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). She serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, chairs the HUD Issues Committee and the NRMLA Membership Committee, and is a frequent featured speaker at industry events. In recognition of her thoughtful and tireless leadership, NRMLA honored Elly with the prestigious “Career Achievement Award” in 2017.
Tina Meilinger serves as Senior Vice President of Allegiant Reverse Services, where she works closely with settlement teams and ARS clients. She started in the Title and Settlement Industry in 1981, and has worked in the areas of Commercial, Industrial, Residential and Subdivisions. Since 2003, Tina has specialized in the Reverse Mortgage industry as a Senior Vice President. She is multi-state licensed in Missouri, Indiana and Maryland; and has received the Overall Achievement Award in Reverse Mortgage from 2003-2006. Tina also Chairs NRMLA’s Risk and Compliance Committee.
