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26 | M R EP O RT FEATURE ting their careers to it," Jardini said. Lisa Haynes, SVP, CFO, and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the MBA, said one of the goals of the program is to come up with different ways they can teach students about the benefits of working within this industry. "This industry is not part of the college curriculum or prominent in the career centers. Most in the industry will tell you that they 'fell into the job.' We must encourage the next generation of profession- als to join the mortgage banking industry," Haynes said. "With Fannie Mae's Future Housing Leaders program, we can educate and encourage young profession- als to join our growing industry, introduce them to numerous opportunities to gain industry knowledge, as well as connect with industry professionals." Haynes said it is vital that the industry recognizes changing demographics among both home- buyers and the workforce. "Their buying patterns are different. The way that they save money is different. Household decision-making is different. It is really important for the mortgage industry to be aware of and rec- ognize that who they are selling a home to today is not the person they were selling a home to 20 or 30 years ago," Haynes said. "If companies don't see the shifts that are occurring as it relates to diversity and inclusion, they risk losing their competitive edge." Jardini said Fannie Mae is not only committed to diverse popu- lations and diverse workforces, but is also committed to creating a diverse strategic plan. "We're committed to doing business with diverse partners in the supplier and vendor space in capital markets, transactions in the contracting space, everywhere where we do business. We ap- preciate and promote the values of diversity and inclusion and this future housing leaders program gets to the heart of our commit- ment," Jardini said. Jardini added that response to the program since it debuted last July has been "overwhelm- ingly positive," from lender and employee partners as well as internally at Fannie Mae. "There's a great thirst for this program in the industry. The students that we have worked with across a variety of outreach oppor- tunities and visits to campuses and job fairs and other opportunities that we've had to meet these stu- dents, they have been uniformly ex- cited about the opportunity," Jardini said. "We have more than doubled the number of internships just in the first year of the program." Fannie Mae has 31 employee partners in this program and has issued nearly 100 internships in 2019. Jardini added that the program has expanded to reach a broader population, including the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. "We're continuing to expand, engaging with more employer part- ners, and engaging, again, with a diverse set of on-campus recruiters and organizations and opportunities to reach more students," she said. Haynes said creating this pipe- line, while vital for the industry, will be a long process. "It could take five to 10 years before we can create a solid pipe- line. That is why we are excited to partner on a program such as Future Housing Leaders because we know the program is a step in the right direction," Haynes said. The MBA also has a Mortgage Banking Bound program that is offered free to students, giving them the opportunity to come out with a certificate from the MBA. "Since the program is free to college students, we encourage everyone interested to learn more about the industry. This is a tool to expand the knowledge of the industry to the population who are the future," Haynes said. SOMETIMES, IT'S GOOD TO BE A FOLLOWER. Follow MReport on social media to put the latest mortgage banking news, stories, strategies, and insights at the touch of your fingertips. MReport @TheMReportNews The MReport