We are passionate, career housing leaders
big-4 senior managers and top university talent
More than
Years’ Combined
Experience
Leadership Team
Faith Schwartz
Faith Schwartz is a leading housing finance expert who has played a firsthand role in shaping industry best practices and public policy during her 30-year career. As founding principal of Housing Finance Strategies, she serves marquis public and private housing finance and fintech organizations with timely industry analysis and ad-hoc consulting.
Previously, Schwartz was SVP of government at CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), where she established the property data and analytics firm’s government vertical and created a public affairs office that co-hosted numerous events in partnership with the Urban Institute. She also spent five years at Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC), where she created and led an anti-predatory lending task force. In 2007 she was recruited to lead HOPE NOW, an alliance formed by the Housing Policy Council and the Treasury Department. As HOPE NOW’s executive director, she assembled a coalition of government agencies, lending institutions, nonprofits and trade associations to address challenges of the housing market crisis.
Schwartz currently serves on the boards of FormFree, RiskSpan, Class Appraisal, FundingShield, Redwood Trust and Gateway First Bank. A resident of Washington, DC, Schwartz holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in finance from the University of Pittsburgh.
Recognition
- NEXT Mortgage Events' Powerhouse Award (2020)
- HousingWire's Vanguard Award (2019)
- Mortgage Professional America's Women with Vision (2019)
- National Mortgage Professional's Most Powerful Women in Mortgage Banking (2018)
- HousingWire's Women of Influence (2012, 2017)
- Mortgage Banking's 20 Distinguished Industry Women (2013)
- Five Star Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)
- Mortgage Bankers Association's Investing in Communities Award (2008)
Dana Dillard
Dana Dillard is a mortgage industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience in bank and non-bank servicing. As leader of Housing Finance Strategies’ diversity and inclusion practice, she calls upon her own experience building award-winning D&I programs to help mortgage companies develop initiatives that support employee recruitment, satisfaction and innovation and meet the expectations of regulators, procurement officers and investors.
After starting her career as a call-center agent at Lomas Mortgage in the 1980s, Dillard carried a customer-service mentality to leadership roles with Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), EMC Mortgage and GMAC ResCap. She most recently served as EVP of corporate social responsibility at Mr. Cooper (NASDAQ: COOP), where she oversaw industry/government relations, nonprofit engagement, community outreach and diversity and inclusion for one of the largest home-loan servicers in the United States.
A highlight of Dillard’s career was leading outreach efforts at HOPE NOW during the peak of the financial crisis. During this time, she traveled across the country speaking with hundreds of struggling families.
Dillard is a Dallas native and serves on the board of the Baylor Scott & White Irving Foundation. She holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and business from Southern Methodist University.
Recognition
- Five Star Institute's Laurie A. Maggiano Legacy Award (2020)
- Mortgage Bankers Association's Diversity & Inclusion Residential Leadership Award (2020)
- NEXT Mortgage Events' Powerhouse Award (2020)
- HousingWire's Women of Influence (2015, 2020)
- Texas Diversity Council's DiversityFirst Leadership Award (2018)
- MReport's Power Players (2016)
- The MReport's Top 25 Leaders and Influencers (2019)
- Mortgage Professional America's Elite Women in Housing (2016)
- Five Star Institute's Humanitarian Award (2009)
Allen Jones
Allen Jones manages the day-to-day operations of Housing Finance Strategies and serves as Managing Director of Consulting Services.
Jones has worked in housing finance and mortgage policy for 25 years in both the private and public sector. Career highlights include building the nation’s first automated underwriting system for FHA and VA loans while at Freddie Mac; serving as a Schedule C Political Appointee in the Office of Housing at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for two presidential administrations and managing the FHA/VA business for Bank of America Home Loans. As default management policy executive at Bank of America Home Loans, Jones testified before the United States Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and over his career he has authored numerous housing finance publications including Setting the Record Straight on MERS and Legislating G Fees: What’s Next?
Jones offers Housing Finance Strategies clients specialized experience in the following areas:
- Mortgage Fintech and Innovation
- Financial Institution Compliance and Risk Management
- Mortgage Credit, with Specialization in FHA
- Government and Regulatory Relations
- Cloud Operations and Data Security
- Communications
Stuart Quinn
Donna Arnold
Arnold manages bookkeeping for Housing Finance Strategies. In this role, she has responsibility for recording transactions such as income and outgoings, and posting them to appropriate accounts. Arnold also processes payments and conducts daily banking activities.
On an as needed basis, Arnold produces important financial and management reports while reconciling all third-party records such as bank statements.
Public Speaking
Conferences &
Symposiums
Faith Schwartz and Dana Dillard have spoken on or moderated panels at dozens of events hosted by such organizations as the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Moody’s and the Urban Institute.
Expert
Testimony
Congressional committees, state and local governments and housing advocacy groups request Housing Finance Strategies' input on a myriad of issues ranging from the common securitization platform to GSE reform.
Board
Presentations
When mortgage executives and fintech leaders need a deep understanding of complex issues, they call on Housing Finance Strategies to deliver customized board presentations.
National
News
Housing Finance Strategies founder Faith Schwartz has made numerous live appearances on C-SPAN and has been quoted by every major American news network, from FOX News to CNN and from CBS to ABC.