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34 | TH E M R EP O RT Caroline Patane Caroline Patane VP of Compliance and Customer Evaluation // Fannie Mae Caroline Patane's role as a leader is to provide strategic direction in the development of the risk-based evaluation programs of Fannie Mae's top sellers and servicers. These programs are designed to provide insights to improve seller and servicer performance against key metrics and compliance with Fannie Mae's requirements through the as- sessment of operational effectiveness against critical success factors. "When we go through our evaluation programs, it's for both compliance purposes with the Fannie Mae selling and servicing guides, but then also to make recommenda- tions and offer best practices based on observations that we've made over the course of time on what our customers have demonstrated will work best," Patane said. Throughout the entirety of her time within the industry, most of Patane's experiences have been working for women more so than men. "I can tell you that those experiences have shaped my career in many ways because of the fact that they have given me the opportunity to learn a little bit more about what it means to be a female leader within a male-dominated industry," she said. When working through scenarios, Patane believes it is the diversity in thought that women bring to conversations that often leads to better solutions. "Once you begin to demonstrate the skills you have and that you have something to say that will add value and contribute to their success, that is what gets you recognized," Patane said. "Showing that you understand the business and then communicate your contributions in a way that puts you onto that even playing field, that's when the op- portunities start to come your way." One experience in particular is when she felt the courage to leverage her technical expe- rience and move away from what she had always been part of, which was the origination side of the business so she could venture into the servicing world. Patane believes women must learn to step outside of their comfort zones to experience the challenges that accom- pany new learning opportunities that will further personal and professional growth. "It's a matter of falling back on what you think you know, and whom you think you should be versus dreaming a little bit bigger and continuing to think about what you could be," she said. What is one aspect that should get women reaching for the stars? Understanding that the industry has progressed and to be part of contributing to the innovation that is creating better homeowner experiences in the market.