mPower Session: A Conversation with Two Women of the Senate (Closed to Media)
MBA welcomes U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) for this special mPower Event. These accomplished women share their experiences – among them being the first female Senators from their states – and how they are using their respective platforms to represent their constituents, impact public policy, and inspire the next generation of female leaders.
Speakers
Introductions
Kimberly Lanham is the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Client Relations at Mphasis Digital Risk. Lanham is a published author, requested speaker, and frequently sits on various symposium panels, as well as organizes national industry summits. As a current lead in Digital Risk’s Marketing, PR and Client Relations efforts, as well as former head of the company’s Project Management Office, Lanham has a thorough understanding of all of the company’s solutions serving each sector of the residential and commercial real estate and mortgage finance sectors. In addition to her current role Lanham has taken the Executive Women’s Summit, founded by her at Digital Risk and created a non-profit organization, Women of ALICE, to ensure that executive women in the mortgage finance industry continue to mentor and nurture one another. In 2022 she joined an up-and-coming insurtech company, SimplyIOA, on their Board of Advisors and is proud to be the first female member of that Board. She has won multiple awards over the past decade for her dedication to fostering women in the mortgage industry and several of her and her team’s campaigns building the Mphasis Digital Risk brand. Lanham earned 2 Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of South Florida, a Masters of Applied Economics from the University of Central Florida, as well as an MBA in Management from Rollins College. She is also currently pursuing several certificates regarding blockchain and crypto-currencies and hopes to apply knowledge to the mortgage finance industry. She resides in St. Augustine with her husband and son.
Moderator
Kristy Fercho is head of Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion (DSRI) and head of Wells Fargo Home Lending. As the leader of DSRI, she is responsible for integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE and I) into every aspect of the company’s business and delivering marketplace and workplace outcomes by developing products and services to serve customers from underserved communities and driving DE and I initiatives companywide. In this capacity, Fercho serves on the Wells Fargo Operating Committee. She also continues to oversee one of the nation’s leading combined home lenders and servicers, managing a team of mortgage professionals in sales, operations, servicing, capital markets, portfolio management, and related business, risk management, and supporting functions. Kristy joined Wells Fargo in 2020 from Flagstar Bank, where she served as president of the company’s mortgage division since 2017. Prior to joining Flagstar, she spent 15 years with Fannie Mae, where she led the strategy and business performance of single-family customers in the western United States and previously served in customer engagement and human resources (HR) roles. Kristy is the immediate past Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association and a member of its Residential Board of Governors. She also leads the Affordable Housing working group for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency REACh initiative. She serves on the boards of the National Urban League, Opens Doors Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation. Her industry accolades include being selected for American Banker’s 2022 and 2021 “Women to Watch” list; HousingWire named her a Women of Influence in the housing industry; MReport honored her as one of the Top Women in Housing; Diversity Journal listed her among its Women Worth Watching; and National Mortgage Professional Magazine named her to its list of Most Powerful Women.
Bill Killmer is Senior Vice President for Legislative and Political Affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). A veteran of nearly twenty five years in the housing arena, Bill is responsible for managing the real estate finance industry’s legislative, grassroots, and political fundraising activities, in close coordination with the MBA member leadership and its public policy and lobbying teams. He directs MBA’s outreach to Congress, as well as other key political advocacy efforts. Previously named one of CEO Update's trade association Top Lobbyists, Killmer joined MBA in July 2010, after nearly twenty years in the policy space at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). During his NAHB tenure, Killmer served as the association's Chief Lobbyist and, more recently, as Executive Vice President for Advocacy, managing all aspects of the group's public policy outreach. He previously served as a Senior Legislative Officer for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor during the George H.W. Bush administration. Killmer holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration (BBA) with a concentration in Finance/Economics from Baylor University.
Featured Speakers
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Catherine Cortez Masto has spent her career fighting for Nevada’s working families. She served two terms as Attorney General of Nevada and in November 2016, she made history by becoming the first woman from Nevada and the first Latina ever elected to the United States Senate. She was re-elected in 2022. Senator Cortez Masto is committed to finding solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Nevada, and across the country so that every hardworking family is able to pursue the American dream. Her position on four Senate Committees allows her to continue to advocate for the issues that matter most to Nevadans. She sits on the Committee on Finance; the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; and the Committee on Indian Affairs. Cortez Masto currently serves as the chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee. Cortez Masto earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Finance from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1986, and a J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1990. She resides in Las Vegas with her husband Paul, a retired Secret Service agent.
Shelley Moore Capito was first elected to the United States Senate in 2014 and re-elected in 2020. She is the first female Senator in West Virginia’s history and was elected with the largest margin of victory for a Republican in state history—winning more than 70 percent of the vote and all 55 counties, surpassing the previous mark she set in 2014 when she won more than 62 percent of the vote and all 55 counties. After serving West Virginia’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, and as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates for four years prior, Senator Capito decided to run for Senate to be an even stronger voice for the Mountain State. Senator Capito currently serves on the Appropriations Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; the Rules and Administration Committee; and the Environment and Public Works Committee as Ranking Member. A lifelong West Virginian herself, Senator Capito was born in Glen Dale in the Northern Panhandle. She holds a B.S. in Zoology from Duke University and a M.Ed. from the University of Virginia. She and her husband Charles L. Capito Jr. reside in Charleston.