RISK MANAGEMENT & QA TRACK: Pressure to Precision - Adapting Resilient Risk Frameworks

VP, Business Controls Manager, Pulte Mortgage LLC

Cindy Patterson is the Vice President, Business Controls at Pulte Mortgage, where she is spearheading the launch of a dedicated Business Controls team to drive operational excellence and mitigate risk. With over two decades of experience, Cindy has held pivotal roles at Wells Fargo—as Corporate Risk Control Management Officer—and at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she advanced through various positions that honed her expertise in Business Controls, Risk Management, Operational Oversight, Quality Control, and Internal Audit. Outside of work, Cindy enjoys hiking, exploring new travel destinations, and channeling her creativity through a vibrant event planning venture. She is also passionate about mentoring emerging talent across the organization, fostering growth well beyond her immediate team.

Chief Operational Risk Officer, Cenlar FSB

Sara Avery is a strategic risk management executive with deep expertise in mortgage finance, fintech, and regulatory transformation. She currently serves as the Chief Operational Risk Officer at Cenlar FSB helping to implement, strengthen and optimize risk frameworks. She previously served as Chief Risk Officer for Common Securitization Solutions (CSS), a leading financial technology joint venture supporting the implementation of the Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security (UMBS). At CSS, she built foundational risk management processes and oversaw independent assurance reviews including SOC 1, SOC 2, NIST assessments, and regulatory examinations. Prior to CSS, Avery held multiple leadership roles at Freddie Mac, where she led risk teams across capital markets valuation, model governance, credit risk, and third-party oversight. She also spearheaded operational transformations in both single-family and multi-family underwriting. Her experience spans complex regulatory remediation, technology risk integration, and enterprise modernization. A long-time executive sponsor of employee engagement and inclusion programs, Sara is known for cultivating cultures of accountability, partnership, transparency, and continuous improvement.

CEO, Ncontracts

Michael Berman is the founder and CEO of Ncontracts, a leading provider of risk, compliance, and vendor management solutions for the financial services industry. With more than two decades of experience at the intersection of finance, law, and technology, he founded Ncontracts in 2009 and has grown it from a startup into a trusted partner for thousands of financial institutions nationwide. A former attorney and entrepreneur, Michael is passionate about helping banks, credit unions, fintechs, and other financial companies build stronger, more resilient operations through better data, smarter tools, and actionable insights. He is the author of The Upside of Risk: Turning Complex Burdens into Strategic Advantages for Financial Institutions and co-author of The Upside of Compliance: How to Build a Strategic Compliance Management Program, a practical guide for financial institutions looking to turn compliance into a competitive advantage. He frequently speaks and writes on topics including risk management, compliance, and artificial intelligence.

Director, Risk & Compliance, Richey May

Mignonne has more than twenty years of mortgage experience in a variety of roles within the industry including mortgage servicing, default servicing and servicing quality control. Mignonne has worked various audit and compliance roles and has extensive experience in compliance, internal controls, risk assessment, and operational processes within the mortgage industry. In her various roles, she audited mortgage banking processes including origination, processing, underwriting, pre-funding and post-closing quality control, human resources, vendor management, governance and risk and information technology. In her previous roles she also audited mortgage servicing processes for forward and reverse mortgages, including interim servicing and subservicing oversight, loss mitigation, bankruptcy, foreclosure, escrow, MIP billing, payment processing, payoffs, vacant property registration, REO, property preservation and customer service & complaints. Mignonne serves on Richey May’s Professional Development Leadership Team where she develops curriculum and is an advocate for mentoring and continual learning throughout the firm. She also serves on the MBA’s Loan Administration Committee and serves as an MBA School of Mortgage Servicing Instructor. In her various roles, she audited mortgage banking processes including origination, processing, underwriting, pre-funding and post-closing quality control, human resources, vendor management, governance and risk and information technology. In her previous roles, she also audited mortgage servicing processes for forward and reverse mortgages, including interim servicing and subservicing oversight, loss mitigation, bankruptcy, foreclosure, escrow, MIP billing, payment processing, payoffs, vacant property registration, REO, property preservation and customer service & complaints. Prior to joining Richey May, Mignonne was affiliated with MQMR, Ditech, and The Money Source.