At the 2024 Five Star Conference and Expo, set for Tuesday-Thursday, September 24-26 at the Omni Hotel in Dallas, the Five Star Institute will continue its tradition of recognizing and honoring the extraordinary accomplishments of our industry’s women executives. Each year, industry colleagues nominate their peers across five categories, and those nominees are then narrowed down further. These are the women who are making a difference in the industry and making a mark on their colleagues and team members.
Our final recipients in each of those five categories will be honored at the Women in Housing Leadership Awards ceremony, set for Thursday, September 26.
One of the five awards to be handed out will be the Corporate Social Responsibility Award, an award that recognizes executives or companies who are driving charitable initiatives, and helping the industry make a positive difference.
The Laurie A. Maggiano Legacy Award, an award that recognizes women whose accomplishments have left an indelible impact on the industry and have positively influenced homeownership within the past year. Candidates for this award must have a minimum 20 years’ consecutive industry experience.
Sharifa A. Anderson, SVP and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Fannie Mae
“Sharifa leads Fannie Mae’s ongoing efforts to create measurable, positive outcomes across the enterprise and with suppliers, business partners, and the people and communities it serves. She is regarded as a thought partner and trusted advisor across the industry and approaches her work with a focus on structural change, shared accountability, impact, and sustainability. Since rejoining Fannie Mae, the company has outperformed external benchmarks for workforce diversity. Her 20+ career journey has been inspired by a desire to advocate for others, and to create meaningful access to opportunity in the housing industry. Through various roles, Sharifa has supported the financing and development of affordable housing that responded to some of the toughest housing challenges in the country and played a role in expanding access to credit for underserved consumers. Sharifa is active with the Pennsylvania Bankers Association and a founding member of the association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group.”
What This Nomination Means to Her
“Thank you to the Five Star Institute for considering me as a finalist for the Laurie A. Maggiano Legacy Award and for including me in this inspiring group of women making a positive impact on the housing industry. For me, this nomination is recognition of our collective work and confirmation that together, we have the power to create a more inclusive housing system. In my current role as Fannie Mae’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Officer, I work collaboratively with colleagues across the company to develop and implement a comprehensive inclusion strategy that extends beyond our organization and includes talent, suppliers, broker/dealers, industry partners, consumers, and more. I am passionate about this work and am inspired daily by my colleagues who are executing on our mission to advance equitable homeownership and affordable housing across America, with inclusion as the cornerstone of our strategy. Every day, my role presents new opportunities to learn, innovate, and partner with people across all levels of the company who bring different perspectives to our strategic problem-solving approach. It is an honor to be recognized for doing what I love and a privilege to contribute to creating meaningful access to opportunities in the housing industry.”
Sherri Calcut, EVP, President, BOK Financial Mortgage
“Sherri Calcut has dedicated over 30 years to the mortgage industry. In 2020, she proudly spearheaded the creation of a Community Mortgage Banker role at BOK Financial, helping 17,382 homebuyers become homeowners over three years. Known for enhancing operational efficiency, she helped reduce loan processing times from 45-60 days to under 30 days. Under Sherri’s leadership, her department has enabled over 5,000 homeowners to achieve the American Dream in the past two years. She is passionate about mentoring and actively supports women in the industry. Sherri holds certifications in FHA Direct Endorsement Underwriting and VA LAPP and graduated from the BOKF Executive Leadership program in 2019. Her accolades include the Fifth Third Bank President’s Circle Award and being named Employee of the Year at Republic Bank three times. She serves in the RISE Venture Program and on boards such as the Oklahoma Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women.”
What This Nomination Means to Her
“I fell in love with the housing industry over three decades ago when I started my career as a mortgage loan closer. As I advanced through the years, my passion for helping make the dream of homeownership a reality continued to grow stronger. Staying informed with industry trends, regulations, and innovations throughout my leadership positions has allowed me to drive meaningful change, influence policies and practices, and address homeownership affordability and sustainability. I value the power of paying it forward. Making a difference as a woman in the housing industry involves leveraging unique perspectives and experiences by providing education and mentorship to the next generation of housing professionals through teaching and professional development programs. I champion diversity and inclusivity within the industry to create an environment where everyone’s voice is heard. These efforts contribute to the well-being and prosperity of families throughout our communities. For me personally, winning this award signifies the gratitude I have for helping to create positive, lasting impacts that enhance the lives of current and future generations.”
Julia R. Gordon, Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
“Since May 2022, Julia Gordon has served as HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, playing a vital role in formulating and enacting the Biden-Harris administration’s policies that support affordable housing, access to sustainable credit, healthy communities, and consumer protection. While at FHA, she has worked tirelessly to give struggling borrowers better options to prevent foreclosures. During her tenure, FHA’s mortgage insurance fund has remained very strong, enabling FHA to reduce its premiums by 35%. Julia has also improved HUD’s effectiveness for its target borrowers—creating new flexibilities for first-time homebuyers, enhancing HUD’s support for affordable rental housing, and strengthening HUD’s reverse mortgage program. Before joining HUD, Julia served as a senior leader at the National Community Stabilization Trust, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Center for Responsible Lending. For decades, she has been at the forefront of housing policy and is a trusted voice in our industry.”
What This Nomination Means to Her
“I’m touched and honored to be nominated for the Laurie Maggiano Legacy Award. My friendship with Laurie developed during the financial crisis, when I worked closely with a host of dedicated advocates both inside and outside of government to stand up the Making Home Affordable program. Through this experience, I came to deeply appreciate Laurie’s many outstanding qualities. First and foremost, she always demonstrated compassion and concern for the well-being of America’s families. Beyond that, I admired her insights into how government programs interacted with lenders and servicers, her ability to move the levers of government skillfully and quickly, her effective work with a wide range of partners, and of course her extensive subject matter expertise. Over the years, she became an important advisor and thought partner, but most of all, a friend. In all my work at HUD, I’m inspired by the memory of how Laurie managed to craft programs and solutions that worked for all parties involved. I hope she would be proud that I’ve been nominated for the award that bears her name.”
Sandra Madigan, Executive VP, Servicing Product Innovation, ICE Mortgage Technology
“Sandra Madigan is among the influential mortgage technology leaders of the past decade, having played a firsthand role shaping the critical software strategy and development that thousands of servicers and integrated partners rely on to power the American housing economy. With 25+ years in mortgage technology, Madigan introduced numerous first-of-its-kind capabilities and oversaw thousands of product enhancements during her tenure as an executive at Black Knight, and now, ICE. Developments she pioneered with the industry’s most used servicing software, MSP, have been the launch of Servicing Digital—a consumer-centric web and mobile application that homeowners use to manage their loan—customer service and loss mitigation solutions, which are critical to borrowers keeping their homes during hardships (i.e. natural disasters and COVID-19). Over the last year, Madigan has led the integration efforts to bring origination into the servicing workflow so ICE clients can offer a true end-to-end experience to their borrowers.”
What This Nomination Means to Her
“It is an immense honor to be nominated for this award, as it recognizes the pivotal role women play in moving the housing industry forward. It is a nod to the tireless efforts women have made to bring a new level of empathy to housing finance and to use our unique perspectives to solve problems in new ways. Women have made an indelible impact on the industry because we know that financing a house isn’t about owning a mortgage—it’s about owning a home, and women are the heart of the home. We are bringing an empathetic approach into the way we engage with our consumers, how we approach compliance and, from my perspective, the innovations we’re making to mortgage technology. To deliver software that facilitates the dream of homeownership is a privilege.”
Donna Spencer, VP of Servicing Relationship and Performance Management, Freddie Mac
“As VP of Servicing Relationship and Performance Management in the Single-Family Portfolio and Servicing Division, Donna Spencer leads oversight of servicers to ensure compliance with Freddie Mac policies and procedures for loss mitigation strategies. She joined Freddie Mac in 1992. Donna’s work with the industry to drive borrower education and awareness of post purchase education is well known. In the past year, Donna has strengthened our partnerships with our keys strategic servicers leading to top-tier performance in our portfolio. Also, Donna seeks out opportunities to coach and mentor leaders to support their desire to improve the mortgage industry. Donna’s character is the essence of Laurie’s, who was highly regarded by the most prestigious and respected leaders in the industry.”
What This Nomination Means to Her
“I am thrilled to be named a finalist for the Laurie Maggiano Legacy Award, recognizing the impact myself and others have had on homeownership. I was fortunate to have met Laurie—she was a rockstar in this space, and to be considered for an award in her name is a complete honor. My career at Freddie Mac, particularly the work I’ve done saving homes from foreclosure, means so much to me because it’s an opportunity to speak for people who don’t feel like they have a voice in the process. I call it my ministry; I was made for this job. To have done this work, alongside women like Laurie and other incredible housing professionals, has been rewarding for me but life changing for so many families in America. Our mission of making home possible is deeply emotional for me, and I’ve kept handwritten letters and photos from families that we’ve helped on my desk, to remind me daily that this work is not about paperwork, but about people. Thank you to my leadership at Freddie Mac for their support, and to the Five Star Conference for recognizing the women who make an impact in housing.”
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