The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) named Laura Thrift as director of its office of congressional affairs and communications and Alexei Alexandrov as chief economist. Thrift has more than 15 years of experience working for senior members of the House of Representatives. Before joining FHFA, Thrift was deputy chief of staff for Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and previously served as senior policy advisor to Rep. David Price, D-N.C. She has a master’s degree in government and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University. Alexandrov was director of central algorithms for Wayfair prior to joining FHFA. He also worked as a senior manager at Amazon. Additionally, he served as a senior economist at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Alexandrov has a Ph.D. in managerial economics and strategy from Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wayne State University.
Mr. Cooper Group announced two executive promotions. Angela Greenfeather was promoted to executive vice president and chief human resources officer while Kelly Doherty was named chief administrative officer. Greenfeather most recently served as senior vice president of enterprise HR for the company, and in her new role, she will oversee all functions of human resources. Greenfeather has more than 20 years of experience in HR, including six years at Mr. Cooper Group, and she has served in senior leadership roles at Travelocity and Sabre Corp. Doherty, who has been with Mr. Cooper Group for more than five years, most recently served as its executive vice president and chief people and communications officer. Among the duties of her expanded role is a focus on enhancing the customer experience.
Geneva Financial announced the promotion of Joey Waters to chief secondary officer. Waters will be responsible for Geneva’s presence in the secondary mortgage markets, as well as overseeing the company’s lock desk and pricing engine. Waters, who joined Geneva Financial in 2016, graduated from Union College with a bachelor’s degree in history in 2008.
Homespire Mortgage announced Stephanie Sailor as its new vice president of secondary marketing. With more than 20 years of experience, Sailor will lead Homespire’s initiatives related to loan purchasing, sales and servicing transfers. Prior to joining Homespire, Sailor worked in the secondary marketing space with various lenders, including PrimeLending and Nationstar Mortgage.
Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) added Darla Devlin to its executive team as executive vice president of people operations and culture. Devlin joins EPM after more than a decade in human resources at various companies.
Eastern Union promoted three staff members to take on executive duties. Mordy Reisman was named chief loan analyst and Christopher Owen was named senior loan analyst in the company’s application and setup division. In addition, Debbi Waxenfeld was named to the position of senior underwriter. Reisman and Owen will oversee the compilation and formatting of clients’ financial information provided by originators and brokers. Reisman served as a regional property manager and cost analyst for YMY Acquisitions before joining Eastern Union. Owen, who holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Central Florida, previously served as a member-service representative for Fairwinds Credit Union. Waxenfeld, in her capacity as senior underwriter, will play a central role in verifying the quality of assets that seek financing through Eastern Union. She most recently served as a retirement-plan account manager with Equitable. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Columbia College, and an associate’s degree in the same disciplines from the Utica School of Commerce.
