July/August 2022 Reverse Mortgage Magazine

new position, I’m responsible for retail operations—from processing all the way through underwriting. I have teams reporting up to me, and I work closely with those teams and other stakeholders, both at FAR and in our parent company. FAR has done a really great job of building a strong corporate culture and centering its values around helping customers and enhancing the customer experience. My aim in my current role is to implement those values effectively and really focus on our customer experience throughout the reverse mortgage process to see how we can improve it. I also look at our employee experience and make sure that, in addition to providing the best service for our customers, we also want our employees to be happy and to have what they need to succeed. At FAR, we’re really focused on creating a culture that’s positive and uplifting for everyone. RM: You’re one of the few people I know who has been involved in every facet of the reverse mortgage business. What was your favorite job and why? SC: That’s tough. I’ve had an incredible journey with FAR and Finance of America Companies for over five years now, but when I look back over the years, I’m also reminded of my time at Seattle Mortgage Co. That period of my career really stands out to me. I was there from 2000 until 2007. When I first started, we were doing about 40 reverse mortgages per month. We were a small department in a company that had been around since the 1940s. When I left six-and-a-half years later, we were well over 1,000 loans per month, both wholesale and retail. We were one of the biggest wholesalers in the industry, so it was a huge amount of growth. It was such an exciting time. The product was just starting to grow. Building a team, hiring the right people, mentoring people and really helping them grow into being the best they could be—it really was almost magical. We all had a common passion for the product, and we had a lot of fun at the same time. That was such a special time for me. I built many friendships over those years that will last me for the rest of my life. RM: What do you consider to be your greatest career accomplishment to date? SC: Two things come to mind. The first is helping inspire women to enter the financial services industry and to not be afraid to take on leadership roles. In 2000, I was the first woman elected to NRMLA’s Board of Directors and the first to co-chair the board working alongside Jim Mahoney. I take a lot of pride in that. I’ve had a lot of women over the years come to me and say, “Thank you for being a leader in this area and showing younger women what’s possible.” That means a great deal to me. The other accomplishment has to do with mentoring. Over the years, I’ve worked with and mentored a lot of really amazing people. It’s so rewarding today to look at my LinkedIn network and see the names of all the amazing connections I’ve made in this industry. A lot of them I worked with over the years, and some of them I hired and trained way back in the early 2000s before they went on to become successful professionals. I find that deeply satisfying and am so grateful to watch their journeys play out all these years later. RM: You’ve been active in NRMLA since the association was founded. How have you benefited personally from this partnership? SC: Well, relationships are the first thing—having longterm connections with people from different parts of the industry. And having the opportunity to meet and go to conferences, sit on committees, host conference calls and work with peers, investors, NRMLA and NRMLA’s outside counsel and lobbyists. All of that, I think, has really helped me become a more well-rounded professional. Being an active part of NRMLA, I’ve established some amazing friendships. I have colleagues who feel like family after all these years. That’s been a real gift, and it’s also helped me stay sharp and keep me close and in touch with the latest of what’s going on in the industry. Lastly, as a member, I’ve always felt that I had a voice here. If I had a concern, there was always someone there to listen and to take me seriously. RM: You’ve always been a strong supporter of ethics. You helped draft NRMLA’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and you’re currently chairwoman of the Ethics Committee. If you could stop one type of inappropriate behavior that you’ve seen consistently over your career, what would that be? SC: I wish I could stop the deceptive and misleading advertising that still goes on in parts of the industry. Being From the Top continued on page 14 From the Top REVERSE MORTGAGE / JULY-AUGUST 2022 13

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