NRMLA is pleased to announce that our first in-person conference in 2025 will occur on April 29 at the Marriott Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, CA.
Join friends and colleagues from across the reverse mortgage ecosystem for a full day of sessions and subject matter experts who will discuss opportunities for growing your business, compliance issues and other critical matters.
Registration Instructions
- Click the Register Now link located in the righthand column.
- Login with your username and password. Once you’re logged in, select the Western Regional Meeting and follow the registration process.
- On the payment page, scroll down and check the box, “I am not a robot.” This will bring up the data fields to collect your credit card information.
Hotel Room Block
The room block at the Marriott Spectrum Irvine is sold out. Here is a list of nearby options:
- Residence Inn Spectrum – around $190+
Lake Forest is about 10 minutes from the Marriott Irvine Spectrum
- Hilton Garden Inn Irvine Spectrum Lake Forest – rates are around $160+
- Hampton Inn Irvine Spectrum Lake Forest – rates are around $160+
There are numerous hotel options near John Wayne Orange County Airport, which is 11 minutes from the Marriott Spectrum.
Sponsorship Opportunities
NRMLA will be offering an assortment of sponsorship packages that will put you front and center before the key decision-makers in the reverse mortgage industry. For more information, contact Natalie Matter Bellis, Account Executive at YGS Group, at 717-580-8184 or by email at Natalie.matterbellis@theYGSgroup.com.
Hotel Parking
Valet parking is available for $35 per vehicle, per night from April 28 to April 30.
Cancellation Policy
All conference cancellation requests must be received by emailing Hudson Sievers at hsievers@nrmla.com. A $20 cancellation fee will be applied to all cancellation requests received on or before April 4, 2025. A $50 cancellation fee will be applied to all cancellation requests received between April 4 and April 11, 2025. No refunds will be issued for cancellation requests received on or after April 12, 2025.
Jim Cory is a mortgage entrepreneur with 26 years of experience building successful, high-growth companies in the reverse mortgage industry. As Managing Director – Reverse at Guild Mortgage Company, Jim is a leader of the company’s reverse mortgage division and is working to expand Guild Mortgage’s reverse presence. Jim has held a variety of senior leadership positions at several mortgage companies, including Cherry Creek Mortgage, Seattle Mortgage, and most notably, Fannie Mae. In 2008, he also founded Legacy Reverse Mortgage, a distinguished mortgage originator that he later successfully sold. Since 1998, Jim has been an active member of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and currently serves as Co-Chair of its Board of Directors and Education Committee. He’s also a long-time participant on NRMLA’s Ethics Committee. In 2022, Jim was invited to serve on the Reverse Mortgage Advisory Committee of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Jim is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, and his interests include history, humor, reading, sports, and fitness.
Michael Kent has served as President of Liberty Reverse Mortgage since April 2015. Before joining Liberty, Kent spent four years at Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. (RMS) where he was President of Loan Originations. In addition to his reverse background, he has over 30 years of “forward” mortgage experience, and he has held leadership roles across various lending functions, including sales, operations, and secondary markets. Kent currently serves as Co-Chairman of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. Michael was born and raised in Chicago and attended Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He has been involved in several not-for-profits working in the areas of homelessness, world hunger, and women’s cancer. Mike is married to Sandy Kent (formerly Tennekoon) another industry veteran. They have a blended family of seven incredible children. Mike and Sandy live on the edge of the Tahoe National Forest in Nevada City California.
Alissa Prieto brings a wealth of knowledge in all things reverse to the Longbridge team. In 2003, Alissa launched her career in the reverse mortgage industry as the very first Title Representative to specialize in reverse mortgages. Alissa assisted in the development of Premier Reverse Closings and she spent 5 years on the West Coast (Newport Beach, CA) and 5 years on the East Coast (New York City) building relationships with Retail and Wholesale Loan Officers. She returned to Orange County, CA in 2013 and decided to follow her father’s footsteps and enter the wholesale space. Alissa was fortunate to partner with Bill Nolan, who took her under his wing and helped her become a top National Wholesale Account Executive. Alissa is hard-working, persistent, inquisitive, and caring. She strives to provide excellent customer service and is solutions oriented.
Lisa Moriello’s career spans 40 years in the forward mortgage business and 30-plus years in reverse. Moriello manages the Shelton, CT, branch for loanDepot, a mortgage company headquartered in southern California that has originated more than $165 billion in mortgages over the past decade. In her role as National Reverse Mortgage Sales Leader, Lisa manages 150 certified reverse mortgage loan officers across the country.
Tom O’Donoghue has been a mortgage lender since 1987 and has focused on retirement strategies and reverse mortgage planning since 2009. In early 2012, he decided to focus entirely on retirement planning with the Reverse Mortgage product. He enjoys educating seniors about their reverse mortgage options so they can make an informed decision about enhancing their financial security. Helping active adults to continue to build their legacies and to impact those around them is Tom’s primary goal, while at the same time reviewing their financial concerns. As the second youngest of eight children, he has helped his family members through the transition to retirement while mastering the nuances of finances, health and legal balance. He has helped countless seniors throughout his career in the mortgage industry and excels at providing insight and support in achieving their goals. Tom has lived in the San Fernando Valley since 1967 and enjoys traveling with his wife and four children. He is often found in his woodshop building furniture, picture frames and completing endless “honey-do’s”. He is also an active volunteer and leader in his community.
After serving 30 years in law enforcement, Ernie Severson transitioned into the financial industry as a reverse mortgage specialist, bringing a strong sense of integrity, dedication, and a passion for helping others. With decades of experience in problem-solving and community service, he now focuses on educating seniors about financial security and the benefits of reverse mortgages. Ernie takes pride in guiding clients through the process with honesty and transparency, ensuring they make informed decisions for their future. His background in law enforcement has instilled a deep commitment to trust and ethical service, values that remain at the core of his work today.
In his role with Longbridge, Adrian Prieto leads the Account Executive and Partner Liaison teams to focus on wholesale business growth, with an emphasis on the broker, principal agent, and closed loan seller channels. With a career in wholesale and retail management spanning two decades, Prieto has spent most of the past 19 years in the reverse mortgage industry. His management experience in the reverse mortgage space includes role with lenders, such as Financial Freedom, Senior Funding, American Advisors Group (AAG), Liberty Home Equity Solutions, and HighTechLending.
Jonathan Scarpati was recently promoted to Chief Production Officer. In his new role, Scarpati oversees both wholesale and retail production, helping optimize internal structures and accelerate performance gains that will propel the company forward in its next stage of growth. Scarpati has a wealth of industry experience and was previously Senior Vice President of Wholesale Production. Under his leadership, the wholesale team has consistently ranked as one of the top producing wholesale originators in the reverse mortgage industry. Scarpati has been with Finance of America for 15 years and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Reverse Mortgage Association. He spent his first six years in the reverse mortgage industry at Senior Lending Network/Lender Lead Solutions, where he served as the Vice President of Sales for the Wholesale and Lead Distribution divisions. Scarpati graduated from the University of Delaware, where he earned his B.S. in Leadership and Consumer Economics.
Kimberly Smith serves as the Senior Vice President of Wholesale at Smartfi Home Loans, a fast-growing reverse mortgage lender. She oversees the wholesale channel, growing the business through her visionary leadership and deep industry knowledge. Kimberly is a highly accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in the Reverse Mortgage Industry. She began her career at Financial Freedom in 2004 and quickly became the Western Regional Manager of Wholesale Sales. Throughout her career, she has held several executive positions, including SVP of Wholesale Lending at One Reverse Mortgage, Executive VP of Sales at Generation Mortgage, and SVP of Wholesale Lending at American Advisors Group. Her expertise in business-to-business sales and education, strategic planning and execution, and aptitude for leadership enable her to build and lead successful teams. Kimberly’s professional skills are complimented by her passion for, and expertise in, the Reverse Mortgage Industry. Throughout her almost two decades of industry experience, Kimberly has created best-in-class customer service and HECM education, developed impressive workflows to support wholesale partnerships, and has advanced training on HECM and Proprietary Reverse Mortgages. Outside of making significant contributions to the Reverse Mortgage Industry, Kimberly enjoys spending time with her two boys, traveling, and sipping on a great glass of wine. Kimberly’s impressive educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Economics from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2003.
Prior to joining the USC faculty, Dr. Green spent four years as the Oliver T. Carr, Jr., Chair of Real Estate Finance at The George Washington University School of Business. He was Director of the Center for Washington Area Studies and the Center for Real Estate and Urban Studies at that institution. Dr. Green also taught real estate finance and economics courses for 12 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Wangard Faculty Scholar and Chair of Real Estate and Urban Land Economics. He also has been principal economist and director of financial strategy and policy analysis at Freddie Mac. More recently, he was a visiting professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and he continues to retain an affiliation with Wharton. He is or has been involved with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Conference of Business Economists, the Center for Urban Land Economics Research, and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Dr. Green also is a Weimer Fellow at the Homer Hoyt Institute and a member of the faculty of the Selden Institute for Advanced Studies in Real Estate. He was recently President of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.
Born in Santa Monica, raised in Orange County, Bill Gross has lived in the Inland Empire, San Gabriel Valley, South Bay, and for the last 20 years the Westside of Los Angeles. He has been in real estate for over 30 years, closed THOUSANDS of transactions, and given his all to help his customers achieve their goals. Bill is an expert in Los Angeles probate real estate and is the host of the largest probate real estate podcast, “Probate Weekly.” He recently launched “the Reverse Mortgage Podcast.”
Bob brings a unique perspective to achieving workable outcomes for complex matters. He uses his experience and relationships to advise lenders on a wide array of regulatory and compliance matters, including licensing, examination and acquisitions. Bob’s work in the mortgage industry began over 35 years ago and includes positions held at all levels of bank and non-bank mortgage companies. Bob served as Executive Director of the Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association Board and then Deputy Superintendent for the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions. During that time, he was elected to serve as the NMLS Ombudsman, appointed to the NMLS Policy Committee and also elected to the AARMR Board of Trustees where he served as Treasurer. Since returning to the industry side in 2016, Bob has earned the Certified Mortgage Banker accreditation from the MBA. During his time as Ohio’s chief lending regulator, Bob gained familiarity with shifting regulations and evolving codes and he uses this perspective to advise clients in establishing business practices, policies, and training programs that are compliant and forward-thinking. Bob has utilized his knowledge and experience to help shape mortgage laws and evolve lending regulations to reduce regulatory burden on lenders while preserving consumer protections. Bob has also been a state licensed mortgage originator, CMB instructor, trainer for state mortgage examiners, and an approved NMLS pre-licensing education mortgage instructor and instructor for Mortgage Banking Bound at Barry University. He is also the co-author of the MBA Compliance Essentials resource on MLO Temporary Authority. Bob is engaged with the MBA on several committees and coordinated the team that developed the branch licensing flexibility model language. This language has been the basis of more than 25 state remote work legislative and guidance documents with more currently in progress.
Joel focuses on the representation of banks, savings associations, mortgage banking companies and their holding companies and affiliates. His practice embraces a variety of matters relating to mortgage banking, including the marketing, origination, servicing and secondary market disposition of mortgage loans, with an emphasis on reverse mortgages. Joel is Co-General Counsel of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), the national trade association supporting reverse mortgage lenders, originators, investors and vendors. Joel has served on the Ethics and Standards Committee of NRMLA and the Financial Institutions Committee of the California Bar Association. Having spent more than two decades in senior management and in-house legal positions with financial institutions, Joel combines his considerable experience with a practical approach to accomplishing his clients’ business objectives. Prior to joining Weiner Brodsky Kider PC, Joel served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation, the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lender and servicer. Before assuming his responsibilities at Financial Freedom, Joel served as Associate General Counsel, First Vice President at two financial institutions, Indymac Bank, F.S.B., and Great Western Bank, F.S.B., where he managed overall legal support for the mortgage banking operations of both institutions.
John Lunde is an expert in financial analysis and investment modeling in a range of industries, with a focus on reverse mortgages since 2004. John draws on deep experience and extensive relationships with leaders at top lenders, servicers and investors in the space to focus RMI’s product development and sales in productive niches for clients. Prior to founding RMI in March 2007, John led the Business Metrics & Analysis team at Financial Freedom to deliver comprehensive ongoing internal performance analysis across all lines of business in the company: Marketing, Sales, Operations and Servicing. John previously worked at AT&T Wireless, Cendant Settlement Services and MetaMarkets.com and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Finance from California State University San Bernardino.
Jon McCue is the Director of Client Relations for Reverse Market Insight. Jon ensures that RMI’s clients are getting the exact services that are most beneficial to their individual needs by taking a personal interest in each of them with particular focus on their current and future goals. By talking to each one individually and customizing a package of services that is just right for their business needs Jon is able to help RMI’s clients more effectively and efficiently target their market place with as little money as possible while increasing their returns. Jon is a native of Washington State and graduated from the University of Washington with his Bachelor of Arts in Economics. In his free time Jon enjoys spending time with his kids, fishing, and being active outdoors.
Byron Batres is a Certified Financial Planner with over 23 years of experience in estate and trust settlement. Due to his personal experiences, Byron has a deep and a personal understanding of what an Executor/Administrator goes through and how to provide legal finance and technology solutions to solve probate problems.
