About NRMLA’s Lobbyists Melody Fennel, Fennel Consulting, Alexandria, VA Melody H. Fennel is a public policy and government relations consultant who specializes in serving affordable housing and banking clients. Previously, she served as assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental relations at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Prior to her appointment to the executive branch, Fennel served the Senate Banking Committee as its chief housing finance and economic development policy adviser. As an in-house industry lobbyist, she represented the National Association of Home Builders and advocated for the National Council of State Housing Agencies. Fennel is a graduate of Vassar College. David Horne, NRMLA lobbyist based in Washington, DC David Horne has spent most of the past 22 years providing government relations advocacy and strategic advice for a broad range of clients. Prior to starting his own lobbying practice, Horne spent six years working for Rep. Rick Lazio (R-NY) as his chief of staff and senior housing counsel to the Banking Committee. During 2008–2009, he was the chief of staff for HUD. In addition to NRMLA, some of his current and past clients include Community Home Lenders of America, Multifamily Lenders Council, Veterans United, Freddie Mac, National Association of Realtors and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. From 1990 to 1995, he practiced law with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, where he worked mostly on real estate, bankruptcy and corporate reorganization cases. Horne received a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, graduating magna cum laude. Scott Olson, Olson Advocacy Group, Arlington, VA Scott Olson is the president of Olson Advocacy Group, a firm he founded in September 2011 to provide advocacy, lobbying and consulting services in the area of financial services, specializing in mortgage finance and housing. Previously, Olson spent over 20 years working on Capitol Hill, 15 of which he served on the House Financial Services Committee, where he was the housing policy director on the Democratic staff. He worked extensively on housing finance issues, including government-sponsored enterprise reform and Federal Housing Administration policies, as well as mortgage provisions in Dodd-Frank, mortgage modification policies and mortgage servicing issues. Olson also has six years of private-sector experience as a public finance investment banker and four years of experience in commercial real estate finance and investments. He graduated with an MBA from UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University. Melody Fennel Scott Olson David Horne REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2023 21
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