Five Star sister publications—DS News and MReport— will once again draw on the experience and knowledge of a range of mortgage industry subject matter experts for the coming year. Members of the Five Star Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) will be front and center, providing commentary, interviews and more, sharing their perspective on the trends and challenges that 2022 will present.
Five Star Institute 2022 EAB members include:
John Dunnery
Vice President, Government Loan Services, Community Loan Servicing LLC
John Dunnery manages Community loan services portfolio of non-performing GSE/agency residential loans. Community Services and Sub-Services 180,000 loans in 50 states and Puerto Rico. Dunnery is responsible for managing and monitoring the government’s loan portfolio in accordance with regulatory and service guide requirements, including electronic data reporting, investor reporting and loan accounting, servicing advances and complaints. Prior to joining Community, he held senior lending services roles at Pacific Union Financial LLC, Chase, and Wachovia, as well as Senior Manager/ONS at Fannie Mae.
Benjamin Gottheim
Director, Mortgage Maintenance Policy, Freddie Mac
Benjamin Gottheim’s extensive experience in the mortgage default industry began with purchasing and managing non-performing assets and REOs in New York, and ultimately led to his two years managing foreclosure performance at Freddie Mac. Currently, Gottheim and his team are creating policies addressing all aspects of mortgage servicing, including updates to the Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide.
Michele Kryczkowski
SVP Operations, Distributed Retail, Planet Home Lending
With 19 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Michele Kryczkowski oversees the day-to-day and strategic operations of Planet Home Lending branch and corporate distributed retail teams. With a focus on operational efficiencies that drive best-in-class business results, she optimizes processes by leveraging and introducing new technologies and maintains documentation of policies and procedures to ensure a bottom line. quality. Prior to joining the company, she was vice president of national wholesale and non-delegated operations at First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation.
Alex McGillis
Senior Director, Product Development, The Answer, Quicken Loans
Alex McGillis leads the following teams at Accelerate lending: Change management, information strategy, knowledge management, content strategy and content design. He was previously responsible for product development and the company’s government and private loan management policy, and also served as a product manager for VA and FHA. In addition, he served as Co-Chair of the Future Loss Mitigation Task Force, Chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Loan Serving Committee and a member of the Urban Institute’s Mortgage Servicing Collaborative.
Erik Schmitt
General Manager, Origin Division, Chase Home Lending
In his role, Erik Schmitt leads product management for Chase Home Loans origination and service companies to ensure its products meet customer needs, while positioning the mortgage business for long-term success. Previously, Schmitt led a team responsible for the company’s foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation products. In this capacity, he worked closely with investors and regulators to influence the future of foreclosure prevention and customer care. He was also responsible for designing and executing the company’s service strategy for loan and underservice sales.
Douglas Whittemore
Head of Default Management, US Bank
In his role at American bank, Whittemore manages all default management functions for US Bank’s mortgage and consumer loan portfolios. Prior to joining US Bank, he held several senior positions at JPMorgan Chase, Nationstar Mortgage and Springleaf Financial. Prior to that, he led a group that launched Citibank’s first successful mortgage product in Poland, which was Citi’s first mortgage product in the CEE region. Whittemore is also co-founder and treasurer of the Ruth Cheatham Foundation, a Dallas-based charity that supports teens with cancer and survivors. He also has the privilege of overseeing the U.S. Bank’s veteran donation programs, consisting of free home repairs and donations of homes and vehicles.
Jacob Williamson
Vice President of Collateral Risk Management for Single Family Families, Fannie Mae
AT Fannie Mae, Jacob Williamson is responsible for overseeing and managing all end-to-end collateral capabilities. These include the design of the initial collateral policy, real estate valuations, modernization of the collateral and real estate valuation process. In real estate, Williamson is responsible for various foreclosure and REO functions including short sales, foreclosure sale strategy, eviction/buyout monitoring, mortgage release/rental transactions , property preservation/inspections, repairs, closing/title, HOA/tax management. , REO sales and REO auctions.
Kim Yowell
Executive Vice President of Servicing, Fairway Independent Mortgage
Kim Yowell has over 30 years of management experience in the financial services industry. She began her career in accounting and finance in the mortgage industry and has focused on services and operations for the past 20 years. Prior to his role at Fairway Independent Mortgage, Yowell has held key leadership positions at CTX Mortgage Company, First Horizon Home Loans, Metlife Bank and BoK Financial. Yowell has also served on the advisory board of Freddie Mac, the MBA loan administration committee, the advisory board of Black Knight Servicer, and the advisory board of Fiserv Servicing.