MRBs and Other Federal Homeownership Programs
All times Eastern. Agenda subject to change.
Speakers are published as they are confirmed.
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, SESSIONS ARE OPEN TO ALL ATTENDEES REGISTERED FOR THE MRBs MODULE.
Wednesday Jan 10
Badge Pick-Up & Registration
Zeffert’s Java Joint Open
Sponsored by: 
COMMUNITY MEET-UP
OPEN ONLY TO HFA AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS REGISTERED FOR THE MRBs MODULE
Single-Family Lending Programs Community Meet-Up
Kick off the Institute with a frank discussion of the critical issues impacting HFA affordable homeownership programs, including down payment assistance, developments with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and new business opportunities.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Brent Adney, Director, Homeownership Programs | South Dakota Housing Development Authority
Dirk Swift, Executive Director | Arizona Industrial Development Authority
Break
PLENARY SESSION
Housing and Bond Market Updates for the New Year
Key market participants discuss their expectations for 2024, including for interest rates, home sales, inventory, and purchase prices. Gain insight into what factors will drive key market movements and how they will impact your homeownership programs.
DISCUSSION LEADER
David Damschen, President and Chief Executive Officer | Utah Housing Corporation
SPEAKERS
Mike Awadis, Senior Managing Director | Hilltop Securities Inc.
Hamilton Fout, Vice President of Research, Economic and Strategic Research | Fannie Mae
Ferdinand Perrault, Vice President and Senior Credit Officer | Moody’s Investors Service
Elizabeth Vernon, Vice President, Capital Markets | Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC
Thursday Jan 11
Badge Pick-Up & Registration
Continental Breakfast
PLENARY SESSION
Straight from the Top: Updates from Federal Housing Leaders
Leading homeownership program officials from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, and Ginnie Mae share their visions for their agencies for 2024 and beyond. Hear the latest news on affordability, equity, down payment assistance, product updates, underwriting, servicing, and Ginnie Mae securitization.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Stockton Williams, Executive Director | National Council of State Housing Agencies
SPEAKERS
Joaquín Altoro, Administrator of the Rural Housing Service U.S. Department of Agriculture
Julia Gordon, Assistant Secretary for Housing, FHA Commissioner | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Alanna McCargo, President | Ginnie Mae
Break
PLENARY SESSION
Federal Homeownership Policy Update
Hear the latest from senior government officials about regulation of mortgage loan originators, financial institutions, servicers, and the Government Sponsored Enterprises. Learn about their efforts to ensure housing finance is equitably available throughout the industry and in underserved communities through the Community Reinvestment Act reform and efforts to eliminate appraisal bias and include rent payment history in mortgage underwriting.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Garth Rieman, Director of Housing Advocacy and Strategic Initiatives | National Council of State Housing Agencies
SPEAKERS
Maria Fernandez, Senior Associate Director, Division of Housing Mission and Goals, Office of Housing and Regulatory Policy | Federal Housing Finance Agency
Mark McArdle, Assistant Director, Mortgage Markets | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Barry Wides, Deputy Comptroller for Community Affairs | Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Networking Lunch
Seated lunch served 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Zeffert’s Java Joint Open
Sponsored by:
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
MRBs and MCCs 101
Designed for newcomers and seasoned professionals looking for a refresher, this session provides an overview of the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) and Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) programs. Industry experts explain income and property eligibility requirements, bond issuance and structuring, compliance monitoring, and trustee and rating agency roles.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Greg Zagorski, Senior Homeownership Policy Specialist | National Council of State Housing Agencies
SPEAKERS
Chuck Karimbakas, Managing Director | cfX Incorporated
Nicholas Koontz, Attorney | Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP
Stuart Nicol, Associate Director | S&P Global Ratings
Nicholas Vakirtzidelis, Vice President | Barclays
Servicing Mortgage Loans with Fannie and Freddie
Engage with mortgage loan servicing experts from Fannie Mae and Freddie to learn what to expect in 2024, as well as hear about servicing trends on the national level. Hear from servicing auditors about key findings they are identifying in the field.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Chuck Kracht, Vice President, Loan Servicing | Idaho Housing and Finance Association
SPEAKERS
Vanessa Barron Washington, Servicer Relationship and Performance Management Senior Business Lead | Freddie Mac
Mona Fettkether, Senior Director, Counterparty Risk Oversight | Fannie Mae
Mark Graves, Senior Manager, Business Account Management Solutions | Fannie Mae
Jay Hill, Mortgage Servicing Policy Senior | Freddie Mac
Break
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
MRBs 201
Learn how current market conditions are driving the latest execution and loan funding strategies. Hear how HFAs worked with their partners successfully to navigate the higher interest rate environment in 2023. Gain insight into the role non-MRB funding sources could play in 2024.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Thomas Haffey, Secondary Marketing Manager | Colorado Housing and Finance Authority
SPEAKERS
Gregory Borys, Executive Director | Morgan Stanley
Robert Foggio, Senior Vice President, Single Family Programs | Jefferies LLC
Patricia Ho, Vice President | Caine Mitter & Associates Incorporated
Bill Veronda, Director | BofA Securities
The Latest in Government Agency Servicing
Senior staff cover the latest in FHA and USDA mortgage loan servicing initiatives. Hear about improvements in partial claim processing and ways to improve audit outcomes. Senior staff from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlight national consumer and servicing trends.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Kate Newton, Director, Loan Servicing | Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
SPEAKERS
William Collins, Program Director, NSC, Loss Mitigation and Servicing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Richard Kane, Deputy Director, Single-Family Guaranteed Loan Program | U.S. Department of Agriculture
Beth Spring, Senior Program Manager | Mortgage Markets | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Break
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Expanding Your Reach into Communities of Color
Mortgage loan brokers have a reputation for reaching more deeply into communities of color than other mortgage originators, and real estate brokers have long serviced diverse home buyers. Learn how to effectively expand your work with key stakeholders to reach underserved communities in your state. Hear how home buyer counselors can get the word out about your lending and down payment assistance programs to those who need them most.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Ellen Martin, Director of Homeownership | California Housing Finance Agency
SPEAKERS
Valenthia Doolin, Homeownership Director | Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency
Simone Griffin Taylor, Vice President, Affiliate Relations | HomeFree-USA
Tony Thompson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer | National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America
Irma Yepez Klassen, Director, Equitable Homeownership Strategies, Product Development | Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation
Single-Family Servicing Community Meet-Up
OPEN ONLY TO HFA AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS REGISTERED FOR THE MRBs MODULE
Meet with your HFA colleagues for a candid discussion of the critical issues affecting HFA servicing operations, including portfolio performance, loss mitigation, vendor and property management, federal regulations, and audits.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Pamela Holmes, Director of Loan Servicing | Virginia Housing
Heather Johnson, Senior Advisor, Single-Family Loan Servicing | Tennessee Housing Development Agency
MRBs and Section 8 Happy Hour
Reunite with old friends and make new ones among your peers in the affordable housing community.
Sponsored by:
Friday Jan 12
Continental Breakfast
Badge Pick-Up & Registration
PLENARY SESSION
Expanding Your Tools to Reach New Borrowers
Discover how newer Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA program launches and updates will enable you to reach new home buyers in your state. Hear about recent and possible changes to the FHA Section 203(k) and Title I manufactured housing programs and how to assist members of tribal communities.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Peter Pagonis, Director of Homeownership | Rhode Island Housing
SPEAKERS
Sarah Edelman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single-Family Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Cathy Glover, Deputy Administrator, Single-Family Housing | U.S. Department of Agriculture
Brooke Smith, Senior Manager, Loan Sourcing Digital Solutions | Fannie Mae
Break
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Increasing Down Payment Assistance Availability and Effectiveness
Down payment assistance (DPA) is more important than ever in this higher interest rate environment. Hear how key industry stakeholders are collaborating to standardize DPA documentation and develop new partnerships to get the word out to prospective home buyers.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Wendi Redfern, Senior Vice President, Single-Family Programs | District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency
SPEAKERS
Paul Barretto, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Housing and Regulation Policy, Division of Housing Mission and Goals | Federal Housing Finance Agency
Rob Chrane, Chief Executive Officer | Down Payment Resource
Sandeep Kaur, Senior Product Manager, Single-Family Innovation Lab | Freddie Mac
Mark Spates, Director, Strategy and Policy | Freddie Mac
Sharmila Srivastav, Principal, Affordable Lending | Fannie Mae
Managing Portfolio Risk
The challenges to managing the loans in your servicing portfolio are increasing. From rising climate risks to the changing legal and regulatory environments, industry stakeholders share their perspectives on the business landscape and how to plan and prepare so you can help your homeowners plan ahead, too.
DISCUSSION LEADER
Rosemarie Sabatino, Senior Homeownership Policy Specialist | National Council of State Housing Agencies
SPEAKERS
Chad Payeur, Resilience Doctrine and Strategy Division Director, Office of Resilience Strategy | Federal Emergency Management Agency
Erik Rubinyi Financial Analyst, Office of Mortgage Markets | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Donna Schmidt, Managing Director | DLS Servicing Consultants, LLC
Donna Spencer, Vice President, Servicing Relationship and Performance Management | Freddie Mac
