WHO'S WHO?

• Vladimir Bien-Aime

  CEO and Co-Founder - Global DMS
  
  Vladimir Bien-Aime is CEO and Co-Founder of Global DMS, a leading solution provider for mortgage back office operations, including appraisal management and paperless documentation. He is an expert in the use of technology and outsourcing in mortgage operations, as well as the appraisal process, HVCC, paperless processes, regulations and compliance.

  Mr. Bien-Aime is directly responsible for the design and architecture of the core application of the company’s technologies. Since co-founding Global DMS in 1999, he has also grown the company to capture a leading share of the appraisal management segment, with a client base of over 20,000 unique users and a 100 percent retention rate among lender clients since the company’s inception. He also spearheaded the company’s product expansion into fully integrated paperless support solutions.

  Prior to co-founding Global DMS, Mr. Bien-Aime consulted on special technology projects that involved the analysis, design and implementation of large-scale technology systems for several of the industry’s leading corporations, including CitiGroup, Juniper Bank, First USA, WingSpanBank/Bank One and Standard & Poors, as well as for international pharmaceutical giants Merk and SmithKline Beechum. He also worked in the appraisal industry with Appraisal.com/Day One Appraisal Software as a systems engineer, and in information technology for the Department of Environmental Protection.

  Vladimir Bien-Aime takes an active role in the valuation segment of the mortgage industry. In addition to regular meetings with GSEs and the lending community, he has presented and spoken at industry conferences and authored articles for the mortgage press.

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• Vicki Bott

  Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing
  Department of Housing and Urban Development
  
  Vicki Bott joined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development September 30 as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing Programs. 

  In that capacity, she is responsible for the direction and management of all Single Family FHA mortgage insurance programs, including product management and development, the management, and disposition of single family properties acquired by foreclosure or default, and the approval and monitoring of FHA-approved lenders.
  
  Ms. Bott is nationally regarded for her knowledge of mortgage lending and will be a vital resource for HUD during this period of unprecedented growth for FHA. She comes to the Department from Wells Fargo, where she was Vice President for Institutional Risk Management.

  Ms. Bott has over 20 years of experience in all aspects of the mortgage lending industry.  Her professional background includes senior management positions in sales, underwriting, compliance appraisal, operations and risk management with World Savings, Washington Mutual, and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

  Bott, a graduate of Arizona State University, is married to Frank Bott and has three children. 

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• Brad Davis

  Vice President, Director of Valuations, Morgan Stanley
  
  Brad Davis is the Vice President and Manager for Morgan Stanley Valuations. Responsibilities include oversight of the subprime, prime, Alt-A, scratch and dent, warehouse line, and conduit platform valuation processes. Brad’s current team is made up of ten valuation employees across the country, of which nine are either certified or certified general appraisers. His team is responsible for the valuation due diligence all residential assets purchased by the firm each year.

  Brad has been with Morgan Stanley for 3 ½ years in his current role and has been in the industry for 24years. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he was the Chief Appraiser for GE Mortgage Services and GE Mortgage Insurance. While there, he was responsible for all aspects of Appraisal Valuation Policies, Procedures, Review, REO Valuations, and Internal/External Appraisal Training. Other responsibilities included Risk Manager, Contract Compliance Manager, and Recourse Administration Manager for GE Mortgage Corporation and GE Mortgage Insurance. Prior to this, Brad was with American Savings/Washington Mutual for 16 years in various management rolls including Regional Appraisal Manager for the Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest appraisal regions. 

  Brad is a member of Appraisal Foundation Industry Advisory Council.
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• Jeff Dickstein

  Chief Appraiser of Pro-Teck Services
  
  As Chief Appraiser at Pro-Teck Services, Jeff Dickstein has been a driving force in the company’s transition into an asset valuation leader.  By combining appraiser knowledge with leading edge tools and processes, Jeff was instrumental in developing CollateralPoint, Pro-Teck’s patented valuation system. 

  Jeff’s twenty-eight years in the mortgage industry including nineteen as an appraiser gives him a unique perspective on asset valuation and risk mitigation.  Mr. Dickstein is currently a member of The Appraisal Foundation’s Industry Advisory Council.
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• Jacquie Doty

  Director of Collateral Policy, Credit Policy and Portfolio Management – Freddie Mac
  
  Jacquie Doty is the Director of Collateral Policy at Freddie Mac where she is responsible for setting appraisal and AVM policies to manage property valuation risk. Jacquie Doty has over twenty years experience in the mortgage industry and has an encompassing background in both the primary and secondary mortgage markets. During her ten years at Freddie Mac, she led numerous new product and collateral valuation initiatives, including one that recently earned her an Inventor’s Award for its patent application.

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• Ernest W. Durbin II, SRA, CRP

  CEO - Live Valuation
  

  Ernie Durbin began his career in the Real Estate Appraisal business in 1982 after graduating from Anderson University. He joined his parents and their appraisal practice, which later became as Durbin and Associates Inc. The company grew from a handful of corporate clients in the early 1980s, to a client list which now exceeds several hundred.  The firm specialized in identifying and solving complex residential valuation problems in the Greater Cincinnati and Dayton Market Areas.  Complex valuation services include specialized appraisals such as: relocation, review, REO, and forensic assignments.  
  

  Personally emphasizing Relocation, Ernie is along time member of Worldwide ERC© holding their CRP designation since its inception in 1990. Ernie is also a member and serves on the board of directors of Relocation Appraisers and Consultants (RAC), a nationwide organization of independent professionals who have distinguished themselves as leaders of the Employee Relocation Industry.
  

  Ernie Durbin also holds the SRA designation from the Appraisal Institute. With the Institute he has served on numerous special committees as well as a residential experience screener.  At the national level, Ernie serves on the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) of the Appraisal Foundation, actively involved with several subcommittees and special projects. Ernie is also a member of the Collateral Risk Network (CRN), a network of “thought leaders” within the appraisal profession.
  

  As CEO and cofounder of LiveValuation, Ernie is dedicated to the fusion of technology and local market  expertise in the valuation space. LiveValuation “brings science to the art of appraisal,” providing technological solutions and valuation services at the national level.  As publisher of LiveValuation, the magazine,  Ernie focuses the publication on enhancing existing methodologies and advancing new valuation solutions.
  

  Ernie Durbin is Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) for Appraiserloft, a national appraisal management company. In this position he assists the company in remaining forward thinking in the valuation arena.  Focusing on the big picture,  Ernie encourages innovation that is grounded in good appraisal practice and conscientious regulatory compliance.
  

  Ernie Durbin is married to Velina, and they have four children ranging in age from 14 to 25. In addition to corporate and family activities, Ernie has served on the boards of the Salvation Army, Business Advisory Council for the Schools, The Adopt a School Council, and as a consultant to Junior Achievement. Ernie’s postgraduate studies (Masters and PhD coursework) have been in theological studies for personal enrichment and fulfillment. Through these studies Ernie coauthored the book “Religious Diversity and the American Experience: A Theological Approach” published by Continuum Press in 2007.
  

  
  

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• Bill Garber

  Director of Government and External Relations - Appraisal Institute
  
  Bill Garber is the Director of Government and External Relations for the Appraisal Institute. Bill started with the Appraisal Institute in 2000, and worked at AI until September of last year. After serving a VP for Policy and Government Relations for the International Sleep Products Association for six months, Bill returned to the Appraisal Institute in February 2008 to manage the AI Washington office.
  
  Bill has expertise in a range of real estate issues, including residential and commercial valuation, economic development and land use, and conservation and historic preservation issues.  He serves as the liaison to the Appraisal Institute’ Government Relations Committee and the AI Client Advisory Board, as well as the Treasurer of the Appraisal Institute Political Action Committee.

  Bill has a B.S. degree from Oregon State University, and is currently seeking a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Walden University.
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• John Holbrook

  VP Collateral Risk Manager, Appraisal for LSI - Division of LPS

  John Holbrook, of Lender Processing Serives, has been appraising residential real estate since 1997.  John has relied upon his technology background acquired while in the Air Force and years of experience as a manager in "Corporate America" to begin Advantage Appraisal Services, Inc.  Prior to starting Advantage he performed appraisals and supervised other appraisers for a local appraisal firm. His dream to create a technology driven atmosphere drove him to start a company of his own.  John created an efficient web enabled workflow portal to assist appraisers in their communication and delivery of their appraisals.  After years of development, the software known as iWay™ was ready for the market. Shortly after the launch of iWay™, John partnered with a team of others who shared a similar vision.  Beginning in 2004, John served as COO and director of business development for iValuation, LLC.
  
  While traveling coast to coast to various seminars and trade shows, John met appraisers and appraisal companies of all sizes, and assisted them in incorporating technology in their business models.
  
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• Alan Hummel

  Senior Vice President and Chief Appraiser for Forsythe Appraisals, LLC

  Alan Hummel, SRA, is Senior Vice President and Chief Appraiser for Forsythe Appraisals, LLC. As a key member of the executive management team, Alan is responsible for the development and implementation of appraiser training programs and quality control initiatives for 39 branch offices nationwide. He also serves as a primary industry resource to both clients and appraisers for a wide variety of real estate needs.

  For 27 years Alan has provided appraisal and consulting services for a diverse clientele in the field of mortgage lending, litigation support and regulatory compliance activities. He has served as the National President of the Appraisal Institute and on the Board of Trustees of The Appraisal Foundation. He has also testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on mortgage fraud and appraisal issues.

  Alan holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Iowa State University. He is an approved instructor for several professional societies as well as an Appraisal Qualifications Board certified USPAP instructor. Alan is a published curriculum author and a frequent speaker and presenter of appraisal techniques.

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• Thomas J. Inserra

  Principle, TCBA

  Thomas J. Inserra, MBA, MAI, SRA has 25+ years banking, asset management and valuation experience including executive roles with Fortune-500 financial service corporations including Citibank and Household Finance Corp.  He previously held leadership positions in Phoenix and Washington DC at the FDIC & RTC during the 1990's banking crisis including roles as National Chief Appraiser and also as member of the Phoenix Executive Committee overseeing the resolution of the largest and most complex banking failures including Charlie Keatings' Lincoln S&L.  He has served as International Director of Financial Services with Accenture, one of the world's largest consulting firms where he was based in the Singapore office, advising Financial Institutions throughout Asia in the aftermath of their banking crisis.  During his tenure as CEO of publicly traded Zaio Corporation, the company was independently ranked by the stock exchange among the top 50 best financially performing out of 2,200 public corporations based on return on investment, revenue growth and other financial metrics for 2 consecutive years as a result of a 790% increase in revenues and 300% ROI over a 2-year period. 
   
  Mr. Inserra currently is Principle of the Financial Services practice of TCBA, a national CPA consulting firm based in Washington DC.  TCBA has numerous contracts with several national clients and currently manages 25 financial institutions with combined assets exceeding $25 billion.   Mr. Inserra serves as the Chief Executive of distressed financial institutions ranging in size from $50 million to over $2 billion in assets.   Thomas previously held volunteer leadership positions in the Appraisal Institute and Appraisal Foundation, serving for 6 years as a Trustee and Executive Committee member.  In addition to speaking at numerous banking and valuation conferences, he has been interviewed on ABC News, CNN Money, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Money TV, National Mortgage News, BNN and other networks and publications, including a nationally published article on how a return to traditional credit and appraisal underwriting risk management practices combined with innovations in the appraisal industry can help solve today's banking crisis and reduce the threat of future crisis.
  
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• Jim Kirchmeyer

  Chief Executive Officer, Kirchmeyer & Associates, Inc.

  Mr. Kirchmeyer began his career in the Real Estate Valuation Industry in 1983 as a New York State Certified Appraiser, earning the Senior Residential Appraiser (SRA) designation from the Appraisal Institute.
  
  In 1994, Mr. Kirchmeyer founded his own Real Estate Appraisal Company, Kirchmeyer & Associates, Inc. (www.kirchmeyer.com). It has grown from servicing the Buffalo, New York area to include offices in Rochester NY, Syracuse NY and Baltimore MD. Today, Kirchmeyer & Associates, Inc. provides their services throughout the entire United States.
  
  As a compliment to his Real Estate Appraisal Company, Mr. Kirchmeyer founded Real Info, Inc. (www.real-info.com) in 1995. Real Info, Inc. is a real estate valuation and data company specializing in Automated Valuation Models (AVM’s). This company provides Internet access to the most comprehensive database of real property, including tax and structural information for both residential and commercial properties. As well as providing Automated Valuation Solutions to lenders.
  
  Real Info includes over 94 million properties within its database. He has written four proprietary AVMs that include the Q-Val™ Report, the i-Val™ Report, the realAssessment™ Report and the realTrend™ Report. Teamed with Kirchmeyer & Associates, Inc., Mr. Kirchmeyer offers a “Total Valuation Solution”SM to his customers nationwide. KA can provide assessed values, AVMs, desktop appraisals, BPOs, drive-by appraisals, all the way through to a full URAR appraisal. KA receives the appraisal request when an AVM produces a “No Hit” or the AVM is upgraded.
  
  James Kirchmeyer is the Chief Executive Officer of Kirchmeyer & Associates and President of Real Info.
  
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• Rick Langdon

  Chief Appraiser for Wachovia

  Rick Langdon is the National Appraisal Field Operation Manager for Wachovia Mortgage/Legacy World Savings, located in San Antonio, Texas. In October of 2006, World Savings/Golden West Financial Corp. underwent a merger with Wachovia Bank, the nation’s 4th largest bank. Rick has spent the last 25 years with the bank, beginning as a staff appraiser, and is now responsible for production, service, appraisal quality, training, and policies and procedures.

  Under Rick’s guidance, Wachovia currently provides licensing and continuing education training for appraisers in 30 states throughout the country. He has trained thousands of appraisers nationwide when he was the World Savings National Appraisal Training Manager and has been instrumental in the development of many innovative educational courses.

  Rick is a General Certified Appraiser and has appraised in Colorado, Florida, California, and Texas and is a member of the IAC (The Industry Advisory Council.)

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• Mark D. Liley

  Vice President and Chief Appraiser, Flagstar Bank

  Mark is a Vice President and the Chief Appraiser of Troy, Michigan, based Flagstar Bank. Flagstar is the largest publicly held savings bank headquartered in the Midwest, with over 170 banking centers in Michigan, Indiana, and Georgia, along with home lending centers across the US. Today, Flagstar is one of the top 5 FHA and top 10 wholesale lenders in the Country, with assets in excess of $14 billion.

  Mark has been in the banking/real estate industry for 30 years. He started his appraisal career in 1986 as an appraisal apprentice with First Appraisal Services Corporation in Ft. Myers, Florida, and has worked as an independent fee appraiser, was a staff appraiser with Glendale Federal and Charter One Banks, and the proprietor of his own appraisal shop.

  Since joining Flagstar Bank in December of 2005, Mark has been responsible for overseeing Flagstar’s Appraisal Review Department with a staff of ten associates, and one of the largest fee appraiser panels in the industry. He also works closely with numerous 3rd party vendors, as well as consults with a variety of Flagstar business units in valuation technology, quality control, fraud detection, and underwriting.

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• Mark R. Linné

  Bradford Technologies

  Mark Linné has a varied background in all facets of valuation. He has been active in the development of adaptive valuation technologies including automated valuation models (AVMs), and was the founding member of the development team responsible for the creation of one of the nation’s first AVMs-ValueCheck-capable of instantaneously valuing over 750,000 residential properties along the Colorado Front Range. Mr. Linné has recently been part of the development effort for an interactive and transparent AVM marketed as STAT, for which he holds patent-pending technology. Mr. Linne was one of the original members of the International Association of Assessing Officials (IAAO) Ad-Hoc Committee on Computer-Assisted Appraisal, and has been active in AVM development, usage and standards. Mr. Linné has been very active in professional service to the appraisal field. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Appraisal Journal Review Board, and has been appointed to serve on numerous committees, workgroups and task forces for the Appraisal Institute. He presently serves the Institute as its representative to the Joint Industry Task Force on Automated Valuation Models (JITFAVM), where he chairs the Standards and Testing Work Group. He additionally serves the Appraisal Institute as one of the five team members for its AVM Committee, and has served as an international representative to other organizations and forums on behalf of the AI. In January 2006, Mr Linné was appointed by the AI Board of Directors to head their new Shared Interest Group on Technology and Appraisal Practice, for which he will develop a yearly Valuation Technology Conference. He has been invited to make presentations before every relevant educational or outreach venue, including the AVM Symposium, RealComm, IAAO Conference on Assessment Administration, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and numerous others. Mr. Linné has been active in both writing and lecturing, and has authored numerous articles on valuation modeling, statistical analysis, and the role of the valuation professional in the future, including those for The Appraisal Journal, Valuation Insights and Perspectives, AppraisalBuzz, Assessment Digest and the Colorado Real Estate Journal, and was the recipient of the Donehoo Award for best article on assessment. A Guide to Appraisal Valuation Modeling and Practical Applications in Appraisal Valuation Modeling, two textbooks co-authored by Mr. Linné, were both finalists for the prestigious Schmutz Award for best book on appraisal in 2003 and 2004. Mr Linné is the co-author of a forthcoming technical text on valuation and geographic information, entitled Visual Valuation, published by the Center for Valuation Economics. Mr. Linne is an instructor with the Appraisal Institute, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and the International Association of Assessing Officers, among others. Mr. Linné is the only appraiser in the world to hold all of the major designations available to valuation professionals, including the Counselor designation from the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE); the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute; the Certified Assessment Evaluator (CAE) designation from the International Association of Assessing Officers; and the Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) from the American Society of Appraisers. Mr. Linné received the honor of being named a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) in 2005, the highest honor afforded members of the world’s largest valuation organization, in recognition of his body of work and contribution to the field of valuation. Mr. Linné was nominated by Colorado Governor Bill Owens in 2000 to the Colorado State Board of Assessment Appeals, and was re-nominated in 2002 and confirmed by the Colorado Senate. Mr. Linné received his undergraduate degree in Business from the University of Colorado.
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• Robert T. Murphy

  Manager; Property Standards; Credit Policy & Controls; Single-Family Mortgage Business – Fannie Mae

  Joined Fannie Mae in 2000 after an extensive background in the real estate appraisal field which began in 1978. During that time frame Bob’s work concentrated in residential valuation in a variety of functions including an officer of a savings and loan/bank, appraisal partnership, and sole proprietor.

  Current areas of responsibility at Fannie Mae include collateral policy guidelines, collateral valuation strategy, automated valuation issues and special projects revolving around collateral issues from both a practical and policy perspective.

  Former AI USPAP and residential appraisal course instructor.

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• George Opelka

  Vice President Sales and Marketing - ACI

  George Opelka is the vice president of sales and marketing for ACI, a division of ISO Claims Services, Inc. Mr. Opelka has more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage services industry. Prior to joining ACI in 1993, Mr. Opelka was active in the real estate information industry where he worked for California-based Damar Corporation and Market Data Center, two national real estate data providers.

  Mr. Opelka attended the University of Alabama where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree. His personal ties to the valuation industry date back to his father, F. Gregory Opelka, former International President of the Society of Real Estate Appraisers (1980) who was also instrumental in developing the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report.
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• Tony Pistilli

  Chief Retail Appraiser - US Bank

  For over 20 years, Tony Pistilli has been involved in the real estate appraising and lending industries. Currently, Tony is Chief Retail Appraiser and Vice-President of Consumer Banking Risk Management at US Bank.

  Tony’s responsibilities include ensuring the compliance of valuation products, policies and procedures with federal regulatory agencies. Other areas of responsibilities include; developing and communicating business line policies and procedures and coordinating quality assurance efforts across all lending units within the Bank.

  Prior to joining US Bank, Tony was President of Park Appraisal Service and has work at several mortgage companies and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Tony serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations and is vice-chair of the Minnesota Real Estate Appraiser Advisory Board and a member of the American Banking Association’s Appraisal Sub-committee. He was also appointed in 2003 and 2007 by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to serve on the Metropolitan Council, which is a regional planning agency for the Twin Cities Metropolitan area.

  Tony attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in political science and currently holds a Certified Residential Appraiser’s license. U.S. Bancorp, with $281 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2009, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,015 banking offices in 25 states and 5,148 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at usbank.com.

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• Dr. Alfred Pollard

  General Councel - FHFA

  Alfred Pollard serves as General Counsel at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Supervising the Office of General Counsel includes work on regulatory matters affecting the housing government-sponsored enterprises— Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks, on in-house legal issues and on relationships with other government agencies and the White House.  Pollard is a member of the advisory team to the Director.  Major issues for the legal department include federal regulation of the government sponsored enterprises in the areas of  capital, corporate governance, internal controls and accounting as well as legal developments affecting mortgage markets and legal representation of FHFA.  Pollard has worked on a major interagency report on mortgage backed securities markets and currently serves on the President’s Corporate Fraud Working Group and the Justice Department’s Bank Fraud Working Group and Mortgage Fraud Working Group.  He has had a leadership role in major investigations and enforcement actions and the conservatorships imposed on the two government-sponsored Enterprises in September 2008.

  Alfred Pollard has served as Senior Director, Legislative Affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, a CEO-level trade group for the nation’s largest financial institutions, and as Director of Government Relations for the Savings and Community Bankers of America.  For twelve years, Pollard was Senior Vice President and Director of the Washington office for Security Pacific Corporation and, briefly, for Bank of America.  Pollard worked on the staff of two United States Senators and served as general counsel for a national trade association.

  Alfred Pollard holds a B.A. (with honors; Phi Beta Kappa) and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina— Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.  Pollard is lead author on a two-volume text on banking law, Banking Law in the United States (Juris Publishing) and is author of numerous journal articles.  He has testified before Congress on such diverse matters as environmental liability for secured parties, privacy, electronic signatures and mortgage fraud and appeared on national media.

  Pollard serves as Adjunct Faculty to the Georgetown University School of Business, focusing on business law in the Spring, and as Adjunct Faculty to the University of Virginia School of Law, where he teaches a seminar on law in society in the Fall.

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• Greg Stephens, SRA

  Vice President, Operational Risk Manager, Valuation Governance-Management - Landsafe

  Greg Stephens is a Certified General Appraiser who began his appraisal career in Silicon Valley California in 1978 where he built and managed a five office regional appraisal firm for 25 years providing residential and commercial valuation services for clients throughout Northern California.

  In 2001 he divested his interest in the firm, moved to Texas and joined LandSafe Appraisal conducting pre and post funding audits. During his 8 year tenure with LandSafe Mr. Stephens has managed review teams involved in pre-funding dispute resolution, Office of the President Customer Relations resolution, management of LandSafe's Appraiser Independence Hot Line and currently manages a team of analysts and reviewers responsible for monitoring and responding to Appraiser Independence complaints, Executive Customer Relations complaints, state and federal regulatory legislation impacting appraisal and banking operations.

  Mr. Stephens appraisal organization involvement includes membership in the former Society of Real Estate Appraisers, American Society of Appraisers and the Appraisal Institute where he currently holds the Appraisal Institute's SRA designation earned while a member of the Northern California Chapter where he was actively involved in chapter leadership and government relations.

  He is currently the government relations committee chair for the North Texas Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and Vice President of Foundation Appraiser's Coalition of Texas (FACT) a legislative organization consisting of chapter members of the Appraisal Institute, American Society of Appraisers, National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers and Association of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers dedicated to advocacy for Texas appraisers.

  He is an AQB Certified USPAP instructor teaching both the 7 hour and 15 hour USPAP courses for the Appraisal Institute and local colleges and is owner of Appraisal Seminars, conducting CE training and workshops throughout California and various states since 1993.

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• Griff Straw, CMB

  President, Solidifi US Inc.

  Griff Straw, CMB is responsible for managing all aspects of SOLIDIFI’s operations in the United States, focusing on expanding the company’s presence and customer base for its innovative solutions in property valuations, FHA and HVCC and valuation quality management technology services
  Previously, as Vice President of Industry Relations for United Guaranty, Griff managed the relationships with FNMA, Freddie Mac, FHLB’s, and various industry groups such as; Mortgage Bankers Association, and ABA. In 2003, he won United Guaranty’s Discovery Award for his role in developing United Guaranty’s Broker Xpress program.

  Prior to joining United Guaranty in 2002, Straw was responsible for strategic opportunities for Freddie Mac in its Business and Product Development groups.

  Straw received his Master Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation in 2000 and was inducted as a CMB Fellow recognizing his support of the CMB society. 2006 Griff was elected to the leadership of the CMB Society, currently acting as the Immediate Past Chairman, and CMB Strategic Initiatives Committee chair for 2008-9 of the CMB Society. He is also a Faculty Fellow for the MBA’s School of Mortgage Banking and was designated as a member of the Master Faculty in 2001. He regularly teaches at several industry educational forums, and is a frequent speaker at state and national mortgage banking conference and events. Griff has recently completed a special assignment for the MBA teaching a week long session in Cairo, Egypt.

  In November 1998, Mortgage Technology magazine named Straw one of the year’s top seven mortgage “technologists” – in recognition of his role in creating online business opportunities for Freddie Mac, where he was instrumental in the launch of Gold Cash Xtra,® GoldWorks,® and other products. He also was the subject of the cover story in the April 2003 issue of Mortgage Technology.

  Straw’s long history in mortgage banking includes positions of senior vice president for both Frontline Mortgage and National Pacific Mortgage in Southern California.
  Before he joined United Guaranty in 2002, he was responsible for Strategic Opportunities for Freddie Mac in its Business and Product Development groups. He has been involved in the housing finance industry since the early 1970s.

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• Leland B. Trice, SRA, MRICS

  The Trice Group LLC

  Lee Trice has spent his entire career in the field of real estate valuation services. He currently serves as Principal of The Trice Group LLC. The Trice Group is a Regional firm providing residential and commercial appraisals and consulting in the Mid Atlantic states.

  Lee graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelors Degree in Economics and a concentration in Computer Science. He is a designated member of the Appraisal Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Lee has been active in numerous Appraisal Institute roles – including Chair of the Leadership Development Advisory Council and Chair of the AI Reports project team.

  While spending the vast majority of his career building and managing an independent valuation services firm, Lee did participate in Valuescape LLC from 2008 – 2009. Lee served as one of the Principals and Chief Information Officer of Valuescape and oversaw technology initiatives focused on transaction management and interactive valuation modeling solutions. Valuescape maintained offices in Maryland and Delaware and partnered with MDA until the corporate unwinding in January 2009.

  Lee started the Trice appraisal legacy with his sister Joan Trice in 1987. Lee is the member of the “Trice Clan” which counts 4 appraisers among 6 siblings. By most accounts – actually mainly his own – Lee is the youngest, smartest, best looking, and humblest member of the family. Lee resides in Ocean City, Maryland with his wife and two (almost) perfect children. In addition to managing The Trice Group, Lee serves on the University of Salisbury Foundation Board of Directors and the Worcester County Water and Sewer Advisory Board.

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