NRMLA Western Regional 15 Ken Sawan, CRMP, Benchmark Mortgage For over three decades, Ken Sawan has been involved in the reverse mortgage program exclusively. One of 11 kids, he was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and moved to New Jersey in 2014. In his reverse career, Ken has managed national sales teams, trained processors, originated hundreds of reverse mortgages, and assisted in the writing of policies and procedures. He has a passion for the program and the positive effect it has on borrowers who secure one. He is also very compassionate and aware of the issues surrounding our seniors today. While not for everyone, given the proper education and guidance, the reverse mortgage has assisted hundreds of thousands of senior homeowners to live a more comfortable life in their “golden years” without enduring financial stress. Joel Schiffman, Weiner Brodsky Kider, PC Joel represents banks, savings associations, and companies in the financial services and mortgage industries nationwide. His practice embraces a variety of matters relating to mortgage banking, including the marketing, origination, servicing, and secondary market disposition of mortgage loans, with an emphasis on reverse mortgages. Joel is Co-General Counsel of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and serves on the association’s Ethics and Standards Committee. Prior to joining Weiner Brodsky Kider PC, Joel was Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation, the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lender and servicer at the time. Mark Schniepp, Ph.D., California Economic Forecast Dr. Schniepp is Director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara. The Company prepares forecasts and commentary on the regional economies of California. Dr. Schniepp prepares economic analysis and county-level forecasts for Cal Trans, Kaiser Permanente, The California State Auditor’s Office, and other organizations throughout California. He develops regional real estate and economic forecast publications and presents the findings at large public conferences in Ventura County, the Santa Clarita Valley, and Santa Barbara County. Dr. Schniepp served as Director of the Economic Forecast Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, between 1988 and 2000. As a past member of the faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he taught intermediate microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, applied regional modeling, applied econometrics, and forecasting. Dr. Schniepp also served as a senior economist to the California State Controller from 1999 to 2003. Dr. Schniepp has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California. Ellen Skaggs, CRMP, Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Ellen Skaggs has 38 years of experience in the mortgage banking industry, originating reverse mortgages, and FHA, VA and conventional loans for both purchase and refinance. Ellen originated her first reverse mortgage in 2000 and has focused exclusively on the product since 2011. She is the HECM Division Manager at Paramount Residential Mortgage Group and past chairwoman of the Orange County chapter of the National Aging In Place Council. Kasey Watson, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Kasey Watson joined HUD in May 2006 with the National Servicing Center in Oklahoma City, OK moving to the Tulsa, OK National Servicing Center office in May 2012. In October 2015, Watson became the program director for the Servicing Branch of the National Servicing Center where she was responsible for overseeing the servicing of HUD’s Secretary-held mortgage portfolio, including Assigned HECMs, as well as the HECM Insured portfolio. Then in May 2023, Watson was appointed as a senior policy advisor for the HECM program in HUD’s Office of Single Family Asset Management. Watson holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma and a JD from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
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