CREF Track Session 7: Federal Policy Insights from U.S. Treasury Advisor Shay Hawkins

Vice President of Political Affairs, Mortgage Bankers Association

Jamey Lynch, AMP, is the Vice President of Political Affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Joining MBA in 2017 as an Assistant Political Director, she was first promoted to the post of Associate Director in 2019 and then to Associate Vice President (AVP) in February 2024. Over the past several election cycles, she has worked cross-functionally to strengthen the association’s advocacy programs, including MBA’s grassroots affiliate, the Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA), and participation in MBA’s annual legislative fly-in, the National Advocacy Conference (NAC). Her direct efforts helped elevate MBA’s federal Political Action Committee (MORPAC) to be among the top ten ranking industry trade association PACs in the country, launching MBA’s political giving program, MORPAC Direct, in June 2025. Prior to MBA, Lynch worked at a D.C.-based public affairs agency where she led integrated campaigns to execute winning advocacy programs for clients at the local, state, and federal levels, including projects for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). She also managed a corporate PAC for one of Forbes’ “America’s Largest Private Companies,” Day and Zimmermann. She is an active member of the National Association of Business Political Affairs Committees (NABPAC) and co-leads the Company-Based Trade Association Political Action Committee (PAC) professionals’ group. A former Capitol Hill intern, Lynch holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Florida State University. Jamey and her husband, Russell, are the parents of three sons.

Senior Advisor, Office of Community and Economic Development Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury

Shay Hawkins is serving at the U.S. Department of the Treasury as Senior Advisor in the Office of Community and Economic Development Policy. Most recently, Shay served as Tax Counsel to Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), where he advised on tax and economic policy, including work during the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the Opportunity Zones provision. Earlier, Shay co-founded the Opportunity Funds Association and served as Deputy Director for Economy and Trade at the America First Policy Institute. He also worked as an investment banker focused on mergers and acquisitions in the technology, media, and telecom sectors. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Shay earned a B.A. in economics from The Ohio State University, an MBA from Columbia Business School, and a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.