Leadership Panel Presented by WAMP! (Moderated by Sharon Knowles.)

Plan to join our moderator Sharon Knowles (from Arch MI) on March 14th for this unique and insightful Leadership Panel.  This open forum panel will be discussing how to successfully navigate the ever-changing mortgage industry landscape, how to generate and build new business in a down market, learn secrets and techniques for overcoming recruiting and retention challenges, and much, much more!

Please be prepared with any questions for, and be ready to engage with, our expert panelists:

* Allie Lord, Branch Manager Movement Mortgage

Allie is the Movement Mortgage regional director in King County, Washington.

With over two decades of industry experience, Lord (NMLS #173252) will oversee Movement’s growth in the region, including loan production, business development, recruiting, culture and community involvement. Prior to this appointment, Lord held a variety of positions with other leading lenders, including Cobalt Mortgage.

“I started in the mortgage industry as a summer job in 1999,” recalls Lord. “By 2001, I was working as a full-time receptionist for a mortgage company in which my mother-in-law was a founding partner. Little did I know it would change the trajectory of my life.”

“Since then, I’ve been a processing and loan officer assistant, a loan officer, a sales manager and a branch manager,” she added. “For the past four years, I managed my former employer’s number one branch nationwide, leading 150 employees, forty-five of whom were loan officers closing an average of 6,000 loans a year.”

An alumnus of Shoreline Community College and the University of Washington, Lord knows the region well, as she was born and still resides in Kirkland. “I met my husband Chris when we were both 12 years old,” she said. “And we’ve just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary.”

When not working, the mother of four enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts, and dining out in the communities she loves. “I’m always on the hunt for the world’s best dessert,” she added.

* Julie Johnson, Branch Manager Crosscountry Mortgage

One of the pillars of Julie Johnson’s success is intention. Seamless deals don’t happen by accident — they happen thanks to her careful planning and process-driven business style. As a result, her clients are able to focus on the fun parts of the process while she and her team handle the rest. “Buying a home is joyful,” she says. “Our goal is to spread happiness and joy. Even though it can be a stressful process, it’s a happy thing.”

Johnson has been listed as one of Scotsman Guide’s Top 100 mortgage brokers for the past three years running and is recognized as their Top Woman Originator. She works alongside a team of skilled brokers and support staff, several of whom she has watched grow from assistants to loan officers. She takes pride in being able to help her team members grow to their maximum potential.

“I am really passionate about women in finance, and I want to share my story so that other women know that they can achieve anything they set their mind to,” Johnson shares. “Most of my team is made up of strong and wonderful women, and I want to continue bringing more women into the financial field.”

Johnson actively works with philanthropic organizations throughout Seattle, including The Rave Foundation’s First Kicks Program and Babies of Homelessness. You can catch Johnson on her podcast, Hire Love, where she and her co-hosts discuss what it’s like to be a woman in finance.

* Ruby Gryberg, Branch Manager Evergreen Home Loans

Raised internationally by musicians and educators, Ruby started at the University of Washington at age 15 and has been on a high-achievement track ever since. With a degree in Social Work specializing in Mental Health, as well as a deep love of math, the stress and complexity of the mortgage industry is an oddly perfect fit.   Ruby started processing loans in a sleezy sub-prime shop in 2002 and, determined to originate mortgages in an ethical and vibrant space, she founded Salmon Bay Community Lending in 2005.  She ran Salmon Bay as an independent brokerage for over 10yrs and now leads her team under the umbrella of Evergreen Home Loans. The driving focus of Ruby and her team is borrower education.  She uses video as one of her primary educational tools and was honored to be invited to speak about her concise and entertaining transaction updates at BombBomb’s ReHumanize Conference in 2019.  

Both professionally and personally, Ruby loves to be involved in her communities.  For many years she was Co-Chair of the Government Affairs Committee for WAMP and currently volunteers with fabulous organizations such as FamilyWorks, Phinney Neighborhood Association and Bet Alef Meditational Synagogue.  Outside of work, you can find her growing veggies in her garden or fiddlin’ up a storm with family and friends.  Her 4 sons, ages 12 – 21, keep her running by day and her love of tango and swing music keep her dancing when the sun goes down. 

 

* Moderator: Sharon Knowles, Arch Mortgage Insurance

Sharon Knowles is the Account Manager for Arch MI covering Washington, Alaska and Montana.  Sharon celebrated her 36th anniversary with Arch last month, is passionate about the mortgage industry and consistently donates her time to serve.  Sharon is the Director Emeritus for the Washington Mortgage Bankers Association, was President in 2012, and received three awards from the Mortgage Bankers Association of American when she was editor of the WMBA’s Lending Line quarterly news publication in 1993, 1995 and 1997.  In 2007, Sharon received the President’s Trophy as the top sales person in the country with Arch MI, formerly United Guaranty and the Washington Association of Mortgage Professionals gave her the Outstanding Account Executive award in 2021 and 2016. 

Sharon continues to donate her time with Hopelink non profit and was on their executive board. In her free time, she loves to paddle board, hike and bike. Sharon graduated from Western Washington University where she met her husband.  They celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary and have a newly married daughter and a son who’s attending college. 

Thank you for your participation in, and your support of, WAMP - your professional trade association!  We will see you on the 14th!