Over the past year, our Women in Mortgage Technology series with Shred Media has allowed us to highlight a number of mortgage pioneers and the incredible work they are doing to move our industry forward and advance our mission to digitize the mortgage process.
Now, we invite you to find out how these true rockstars got to where they are by supporting ICE Mortgage Technology® customers and creating a better mortgage experience for homebuyers. So, let's get to know the women behind the technology that’s connecting more people to the American Dream of homeownership, and discover how they got their start in the mortgage industry.
Table of Contents
Episode 1: Building the technology for an evolving market
To kick-off this series, Stephanie Durflinger, Senior Vice President of Product Strategy, and Marci Davis, Vice President of Product Management, talk about how teamwork and relationships can both create stability and drive innovation in an evolving, customer-centric market. How did Stephanie and Marci get started in the mortgage industry? Here’s what they had to say:
“It all started with a scholarship for Bank of America, where I had a coworker who worked on mortgage loans. I asked to copy files for her because I wanted to know more about what she was doing. Now I love being a part of the industry that contributes to the American Dream.”
Stephanie Durflinger
Senior Vice President of Product Strategy
ICE Mortgage Technolog
“I started my career working for a mortgage technology vendor that I still have the pleasure of working with as one of our partners today. At ICE, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the largest banks, correspondent investors, wholesale lenders, and partners, along with some of the most talented teammates.”
Marci Davis
Vice President of Product Management
ICE Mortgage Technology
Episode 2: Pioneering eClose technology
In this episode, Nancy Alley, Vice President of Product Strategy, Rebecca Frisbie, Director of Product Management, and Tiffany Bjarnson, Senior Product Manager, share how eClose technology is enabling lenders to meet the evolving needs of both their borrowers and their teams. They also discuss the origins of their mortgage industry careers:
“I was a processor in high school during the summer, and during the school year, I worked in the post closing department tracking down missing recorded mortgages at the county. Come full circle [to my work] now. That's one of the problems we solve in the industry.”
Nancy Alley
Vice President of Product Strategy
ICE Mortgage Technology
“My dad was an appraiser for 35 years, I grew up visiting properties with him and holding his measuring tape. In college, I did data entry for a mortgage document company and fell in love with the complexity of mortgage documents. The rest is history.”
Rebecca Frisbie
Director of Product Management
ICE Mortgage Technology
“I worked for my dad’s business building residential houses. That lit a passion which has followed me through my career, and now I get to work alongside brilliant people who are just as obsessed with solving business problems in the mortgage space with technology.”
Tiffany Bjarnson
Senior Product Manager
ICE Mortgage Technology
Episode 3: Creating strong customer relationships
This episode, featuring Executive Account Leaders Rhiannon Bolen and Mary Solon, focuses on the customer relationships that can accelerate a borrower’s ability to navigate the digital mortgage journey. The discussion includes insights on maintaining relationships, and how these connections can help clients overcome market challenges. As you can see below, relationships were also key drivers in Rhiannon and Mary’s decisions to build their careers in the mortgage industry:
“I’m a child of mortgage because my mom worked in the industry. I've held various roles, am a board director at the state and national levels, and a Certified Mortgage Banker. I’m very fortunate to help ICE and my wonderful colleagues engage with our clients effectively and meaningfully.”
Rhiannon Bolen
VP, Executive Account Leader
ICE Mortgage Technology
“I was an insurance executive who started working in corporate strategy and ended up finding my way to mortgage. I had a lot of valuable relationships that taught me how to work with customers, so I wanted to give back and support them.”
Mary Solon
VP, Executive Account Leader
ICE Mortgage Technology
Episode 4: Embracing change and paving the way for technology adoption
When is the right time to make new technology decisions? In this episode, Janet Fell, Vice President of Solution Engineering, and Kerri Girouard, Vice President of Client Success, discuss the common pitfalls lenders face when implementing new technology solutions, and how to identify success and embrace a culture of change. Here’s how these two leaders got their start:
“I got exposure to the industry at an early age listening to my mom negotiate real estate deals. I’m passionate about using mortgage technology to be more efficient, fill the funnel, and close more loans to help our customers get people into homes.”
Janet Fell
Vice President of Solution Engineering
ICE Mortgage Technology
“I started in the title space doing business development and transitioned into mortgage technology. I love connecting our lenders to opportunity and helping them be more successful.”
Kerri Girouard
Vice President of Client Success
ICE Mortgage Technology
Episode 5: Aligning sales and marketing strategies to win
A symbiotic relationship between sales and marketing teams is the not-so-secret sauce needed to achieve business success. Patty Canady, Vice President of Sales, and Sara Holtz, Vice President of Demand Marketing and Communications, describe how this partnership helps to drive more business, maximize ROI, and better identify and address customer challenges. Here’s a glimpse into their career origin stories:
blockquote cite="Sara Holtz|Vice President of Demand Marketing and Communications|ICE Mortgage Technology"]I started in the financial industry, then ended up in credit union marketing and fell in love with helping members figure out what they can do financially. I now love doing marketing and communications for mortgage technology, which ultimately helps people get into homes.[/blockquote]“I started out in systems migration for financial services and became CTO for a national bank, so I have been on the lender’s side of the desk. Now, I get to help people through that process here at ICE.”
Patty Canady
Vice President of Sales
ICE Mortgage Technology
Episode 6: Serving the underserved through affordable lending
Led by Courtenay Dunn, Director of Government Affairs, and Lisa Fiondella, Vice President of Product Management - Data and Analytics, this episode focuses on how to better support underserved markets. Their discussion also touches on how lender data could help generate more business, while bringing people’s homeownership dreams to life. So, how did Courtenay and Lisa’s careers come to life? Take a look:
“My mom was a notary and title agent, so I had the benefit of hearing stories from the closing table each day. I liked the idea of helping real live people and being a little entrepreneurial. Now, I’m at ICE doing government affairs full time.”
Courtenay Dunn
Director, Government Affairs
ICE
“I got into this industry through the credit bureau world and fell in love with mortgage because it’s such an important personal financial transaction, but it’s really complicated. Helping lenders and the industry better leverage data and analytics is what I love most about my role here at ICE.”
Lisa Fiondella
Vice President of Product Management – Data and Analytics
ICE Mortgage Technology
At ICE Mortgage Technology, we're proud to celebrate the incredible leaders within our organization and across our industry, and are dedicated to creating opportunities where we can connect with, learn from, and empower one another. Watch the full Women in Mortgage Technology series now and join the conversation.