August 17-18, 2022 | Savannah, GA
Speakers
Click on their photos below to learn more about our speakers. Check back for updates as our roster continues to grow.
Kathi Kulesza
Owner
Kulesza Training & Consulting LLC
Kathi Kulesza uses her experience over the last three decades in management, training, customer service, loyalty, marketing, and executive leadership, to inspire audiences to lead with assertive confidence. She is a certified coach who can relate to the challenges you and your team face as you attempt to obtain work-life harmony.
Nicole Beattie
CEO
Amrock
Nicole Beattie
CEO
Amrock
Nicole Beattie is Chief Executive Officer of Amrock and oversees the company’s daily title, appraisal and settlement operations.
A lifelong Michigander, Nicole has been with the Rocket Companies since 2004. She began her career in mortgage banking at Rocket Mortgage (formerly Quicken Loans), before transitioning to origination operations leadership. Since then, she has held numerous roles, expertly leading teams in underwriting, closing and servicing. Outside of the office, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two children and three rescue dogs.
Kim Bosshardt
Owner, Board Certified Real Estate Attorney
Bosshardt Title Insurance Agency, LLC
Kim Bosshardt
Owner, Board Certified Real Estate Attorney
Bosshardt Title Insurance Agency, LLC
Kim Bosshardt is a board certified real estate attorney and the owner of Bosshardt Title in Gainesville, Florida. She attended the University of Florida, where she earned her bachelor’s and law degree. Kim and her husband Aaron successfully manage multiple businesses under the Bosshardt Family of Companies umbrella.
Kim is deeply involved in the Gainesville community, and is an active supporter of charitable endeavors focusing on the arts and children. She currently runs the Bosshardt’s Charitable Fund, and is on the board of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida. Previously, Kim has served on the PALS Community Advisory Board, UF Performing Arts Center Advisory Board, Dance Alive National Ballet Board, B’nai Israel Preschool Community Advisory Board, and UF Public Radio Advisory Board; and has chaired Children’s Home Society’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, American Cancer Society’s “Cattle Baron’s Bar”, and American Heart Association’s “Heart Ball.” She enjoys spending time with her three children Jack, Cosette, and Rose. Kim is also an avid reader, traveler, and home chef.
Amanda Brumbelow
Vice President of Operations
Allegiance Title of Arkansas
Founder, CEO, Business Coach
ARDU Business Advisors
Amanda Brumbelow
Vice President of Operations
Allegiance Title of Arkansas
Amanda Brumbelow has more than 23 years’ experience in the title industry with more than 50% of those years served in a leadership role including a role as an executive at a large title company. Amanda led multiple initiatives including the first eNotary closing in Arkansas and built the first of it’s kind Closing Agent Training Program. In 2014 Amanda was a 40/40 recipient and in 2019 she earned Top 10 Business Women.
In January 2022, Amanda founded her own company ARDÚ Business Advisors, LLC to help leaders of title companies across the country grow through process optimization, metrics, leadership development, and implementing a business framework. Amanda is a certified business coach for System & Soul, the only framework that combines the system and soul (humanity) of your business to create breakthrough.
In May 2022, Amanda joined two well-known and respected leaders in the title insurance industry, Patrick Curry and Brian Blackman at Allegiance Title Company of Arkansas. Amanda serves as the Vice President of Operations and is excited to balance her energy between ARDU and Allegiance.
Amanda currently serves as the president of the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity of Washington County, Arkansas and serves on the Community Council for the Mayor of Bentonville, Arkansas. Amanda and her husband, Keith live in Bentonville, AR where they raised their two daughters Bailey who recently joined ClosingLock as a Sales Development Rep and Dani who is attending college.
Ashley Cook
Founder and CEO
ZOCCAM
Ashley Cook
Founder and CEO
ZOCCAM
Ashley Cook, founder and CEO of ZOCCAM, is a licensed attorney in the state of Texas. She received her BA and Juris Doctorate from the Southern Methodist University. Prior to ZOCCAM, Cook built a legal practice focused on representing title companies and real estate brokers. This experience gave her the vision and passion for transforming payments in the real estate industry, in which she has been granted several patents.
Ashley serves on the SMU Dedman School of Law Emerging Leader Board; the Ebby Halliday Foundation Board; the Texas Land Title PAC Board; the University Park Firefighter Pension Board, the NAR RES Advisory Group of General Counsels. She is also an active member of the American Land Title Association and Texas Land Title Association.
Randy DeFoor
Senior Vice President, National Agency Counsel
FNF Family of Companies
Randy DeFoor
Senior Vice President, National Agency Counsel
FNF Family of Companies
Attorney Randle P. DeFoor (“Randy”) is with Fidelity National Financial Group as SVP, National Agency Counsel in their corporate home office located in Jacksonville, Florida. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of the South and her law degree from the Cumberland School of Law, Samford University. Randy joined FNTG in 2010 as Regional Major Claims Counsel and became a Senior Staff Underwriter in 2012 in the office of the Chief Underwriting Counsel. In 2014, Randy was promoted to National Agency Counsel reporting to the President of National Agency Operations. Under Randy’s direction National Agency Commercial Services was created which services agents across the country (“NACS”). In addition to NACS, Randy manages National Agency Support Services and Quality Assurance. Prior to joining Fidelity, Randy was Senior Corporate Counsel, VP, and Assistant Secretary with Regency Centers Corp., a real estate investment trust.
In 2019 Randy was elected to the Jacksonville City Council for District 14 representing over 70,000 people.
Erica Meyer
CEO and Publisher
October Research, LLC
Erica Meyer
CEO and Publisher
October Research, LLC
Erica Meyer is Owner and Publisher of October Research, LLC. October Research is dedicated to educating and empowering professionals in the real estate transaction to strengthen their business and enhance their position in the marketplace, ensuring the integrity of home ownership. The company provides education through their five B2B publications, annual conferences, webinars, websites, email newsletters, marketing and advertising services, social media and custom publishing.
Prior to purchasing October Research in 2011, Ms. Meyer worked in the online business unit at Sears Holdings Corporation and spent 10+ years with UPS in sales management, technology, revenue management and marketing.
Ms. Meyer earned her BA from the University of Dayton and MBA from National-Louis University. She has been a member of Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA), Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), serves on the Talent and PR Committees for the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and works closely with numerous industry associations. She has completed the Aileron Course for Presidents, spoken at the Kent State 2019 Spirit of Women in Business conference and other industry conferences.
In 2019, Ms. Meyer was recognized by Crain’s as a Notable Woman in Entrepreneurship and in 2014 a Women of Influence in Housing by HousingWire Magazine. In her free time, she has tutored high school students for the ACT, fundraised and coordinated numerous community service events, ran half marathons but her favorite pastime is spending time with her husband and kids.
Mary O’Donnell
CEO
Westcor Land Title Insurance Co.
Mary O'Donnell
CEO
Westcor Land Title Insurance Co.
Mary O’Donnell is the Chief Executive O icer of Westcor Land Title Insurance Company in Maitland, Florida. Under Mary’s leadership, Westcor has achieved a national presence through geographic expansion and superior service to title agents. Mary’s focus on continuous innovation and the use of advanced analytics and technologies has made Westcor a valuable distribution partner. As a result, Westcor has achieved substantial premium growth and market leading profitability.
Mary is actively involved with industry issues and developments. She is a member of the American Land Title Association’s Board of Governors and serves on several of its committees. As a known innovator and leader in the title industry, Mary is frequently asked to speak at industry events.
Mary is an honor’s graduate of the University of She ield College of Law. Prior to her involvement with the title insurance industry, she practiced real estate law in New York. Mary is licensed to practice in both New York and Florida and is a member of each state’s bar association.
She resides in Florida with her husband Kevin, and they enjoy playing tennis and traveling.
Sheri Olsen
Senior Vice President, National Director Banking Services
First American Trust, FSB
Sheri Olsen
Senior Vice President, National Director Banking Services
First American Trust, FSB
Sheri Olsen, SVP, National Director Banking Services at First American Trust, has been working in the title industry for over 20 years. She recently accepted a new role managing the Agency Banking sales initiative. Prior to these responsibilities , Sheri managed PCN Network, Agent Advantage, and the Mountain Region states for the Agency Division.
Sheri grew up in the title industry, as her father managed a title agency that was eventually purchased by First American Title. She began her title career in high school scanning files into microfiche. She also gained experience working as a commercial real estate appraiser. Sheri accepted a position as Executive Director of the Utah Land Title Association in 1999, and the following year she joined First American Title as a sales representative for the Agency Division.
Sheri graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. Sheri has served on the Utah Land Title Association board since 2015, First American’s Women in Leadership Board since 2018 and is currently a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of Utah.
Sheri has three amazing children: Matthew (29) who is married to Miranda, Millie (26) who is married to Trent, and Eliza (21) who is married to Josh and three amazing grandchildren Thea, Jack and Lucy. She enjoys reading, running and spending time with her family.
Desirée Patno
CEO and President
NAWRB
Desiree Patno
CEO and President
NAWRB
Ms. Patno is a Visionary with over three decades specializing in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem, providing Advisory Services, is a Global Presenter, and an Angel Investor to enhance the Quality of Life, Gender Equity, and Social Impact. She built Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem (NAWRB) to Elevate Women, Bridge Industries & Change the World!
Designed, developed, and implemented scientific projects for the DOD tracking and HR billables as Sr. Data Systems Analyst for XonTech, Inc. and responsible for Executive Technology & Systems Coaching.
As a Systems Analyst for Systems Engineering Laboratories & worked with Singer-Link in Chandler AFB, AZ the Air Force Training Base providing systems support and VR training F-4 to F-16 pilots at which time produced 25% of the Air Force pilots.
NAWRB is one of only nine organizations listed as a Women’s Entrepreneurship Partner for the Small Business Administration (SBA) contributing to the success of the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program $22.9 billion contracts. Desiree contributed to the first FHFA OMWI Strategic Plan, Department of Labor (DOL) Response, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Compliance, and was recognized by Congresswoman Walters making history by bringing Dodd-Frank Section 342 outside of DC. Ms. Patno was instrumental in the passage of CA SB 826 Bill getting Women on Boards in 2018.
As Chairwoman of NAWRB’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Leadership Council (NDILC), Desiree oversees the Council’s efforts to raise the number of women leaders, grow women’s employment, and empower all levels in the housing ecosystem. Ms. Patno is a Board of Director member for Second Century Ventures, a catalyst for emerging technologies scaling real estate, financial, insurance, and home service verticals.
Host of Know the Rules of the Game Ⓡ Podcast, covering Quality of Life, Equality & Entrepreneurship. Publisher of NAWRB Magazine a global publication read in over 70 countries and creator of Working w/Family Office Clubhouse co-hosting a weekly Family Office Coffee Clutch with Special Guests.
Ms. Patno is on the Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) Leadership Advisory Council & Enterprising Women Advisory Board. In 2017, named the Highest-Ranking Woman, 4th Overall Top Real Estate Influencer to Follow by Entrepreneur.com, and presented On the Margins of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly, The Intersection between Gender Diversity, Innovation & Economic Sustainability. In 2016, received HousingWire’s Women of Influence Award and the SBA Women in Business Champion of the Year Award.
As Publisher of NAWRB Women’s Housing Ecosystem Report (WHER), Desiree curates the resources and expertise of key players in the economic ecosystem to build a dynamic platform for future generations. 2020 NAWRB WHER diversely covers the housing ecosystem with over seventy resources and six volumes: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Real Estate; Business Ownership; STEM; Access to Capital and Aging Population with a gender lens.
Laura Perry
Division President, Tennessee
Stewart Title
Laura Perry
Division President, Tennessee
Stewart Title
Laura is the founder of Homeland Title LLC in Franklin, Berry Hill, Spring Hill & Columbia, TN. Her company has handled over 42,000 real estate transactions since it began in 2003. She sold the company to Stewart Title after 19 years as an owner operator and now serves as the Division President for Stewart Title in Tennessee. Laura current position has her leading 7 managers who lead70 employees.
Laura is passionate about real estate and the title insurance industry. She is a real estate attorney and a real estate investor. She invests in residential long term and short term rentals, residential and commercial raw land, and commercial buildings. She believes that Americans generate wealth by investing in real property in the US.
She participates as a guest speaker at seminars and workshops for REALTORS®, (as a TREC approved Instructor) Attorneys (as a TNCLE approved instructor) & Mortgage Bankers concerning real estate, residential lending, contracts & title insurance.
Laura celebrates 30 years of marriage to her long time sweetheart, and fellow title attorney, Jon Perry on August 15, 2022. Together they have two children, Ryan (24) and Tanner (22). Laura enjoys riding bikes and playing pickleball in Key West with her husband.
Victoria Saxton
Chief Financial Officer
Small Business Assistance Corp.
Victoria Saxton
Chief Financial Officer
Small Business Assistance Corp.
Victoria Saxton is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the Small Business Assistance Corporation (SBAC). In her role, she oversees cash flow planning, preparing and reviewing budgets, and tracking operational metrics. She has worked with SBAC for 7 years and has a total of 14 years of work experience in non-profit accounting.
Victoria completed her BBA in Accounting at Savannah State University and received her Master of Accounting Degree (MAcc) at Georgia Southern University. She is a graduate of the Savannah Area Chamber Leadership Savannah Class of 2019-2020 and sits on the City of Savannah Taskforce Subcommittee for Economic Empowerment and Wealth Development.
Mary Schuster
Senior Vice President of Industry Relations
RamQuest
Mary Schuster
Senior Vice President of Industry Relations
RamQuest
Mary Schuster serves as Senior Vice President of Industry Relations at RamQuest, Inc.
Her unique career spans more than 25 years in the industry as a Closing Officer and Agency Manager, Corporate Marketing Director, Software Specialist and regulatory expert. She is a nationally recognized speaker to groups of title & settlement providers, lenders, realtors and attorneys.
While she didn’t set out to become a regulatory nerd, RESPA Reform and later TRID provided an opportunity to blend her talents in industry, software and education, when Mary helped lead title and settlement companies through learning and implementing those changes.
She recently moved to Galena IL, where she lives with her partner Dan and their two doggies, Grace and Shelby.
Melanie Thomas
Director of Business Development
Frontdoor
Melanie Thomas
Director of Business Development
Frontdoor
Melanie Thomas, Director of Business Development at Frontdoor, has more than 20 years experience in strategic partnerships across many industries including Home Services, Real Estate, Insurance, Mortgage and Banking, FinTech and SaaS. She leads cross functional teams to create and launch diverse sales strategies. In addition to business development, Melanie has served as M&A Integration Officer for two acquisitions and is a charter member of Frontdoor’s Diversity and Inclusion Council.
Melanie is completing her certification for the National Association of Corporate Directors. She is also a wife of 22 years, mother of 3 children, and fitness trainer who enjoys water sports, hiking, snow skiing, and cross-training.
Heidi Thorne
Director of Agency Operations
Agents National Title Insurance Co.
Heidi Thorne
Director of Agency Operations
Agents National Title Insurance Co.
Heidi has been in the title insurance industry for just over ten years, with industry experience in customer service, operations, compliance and vendor management. She began working with Agents National in 2011 as an Agency Services Representative and has since supervised customer support, continuing education, licensing, website interface management, integration implementation and operations management.
Heidi graduated from Columbia College in 2010 with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing with an emphasis in Environmental Science. She is a member of the American Land Title Association and serves on both the ALTA Registry and Membership committees. She is also a member of the Missouri Land Title Association, serving as chair of the Education Committee.
Heidi is an active member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. She is married to Cody Thorne and has three children, Gracyn, Connor and Tyler. She and her family reside in Columbia, Missouri.
Joyce Weiland
President
SoftPro
Joyce Weiland
President
SoftPro
Joyce Weiland began her career at SoftPro as a Sales Consultant in 1994. She advanced quickly to become SoftPro’s Director of Sales and Marketing and was promoted to her current position of President in 1999. Under Joyce’s leadership, SoftPro was ranked one of North Carolina’s 50 fastest growing technology companies for 2 years. In addition, she successfully transitioned SoftPro from a privately held corporation to a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial in 2001. Joyce has overseen SoftPro’s impressive growth in becoming the title industry’s leading software with over 14,000 customer sites nationwide.
Leslie Wyatt
Director of Regulatory Compliance
SoftPro
Leslie Wyatt
Director of Regulatory Compliance
SoftPro
Leslie Wyatt is the Director of Regulatory Compliance at SoftPro. She began her career in the real estate industry over 20 years ago, and joined SoftPro in 2002. She currently oversees the Compliance Department with her primary focus being on regulatory issues at the Federal, state and county levels.
Leslie is a member of the ALTA Implementation Task Force, the Title Action Network Steering Committee, the ALTA Government Affairs Committee, the ALTA Membership Committee, the ALTA Education Committee and the TLTA Federal Issues Committee. She has represented ALTA at a congressional briefing regarding the CFPB and the TRID changes. Leslie travels though out country speaking on our industry’s hot topics with a focus on regulatory and compliance. Leslie continuous to work with the CFPB on various projects regarding TRID, UCD, MISMO and other industry hot topics.
