What the M Kent D. McPhail and Stephen M. Hladik

Happy Thanksgiving from What the M! 

Kent and Steve wanted to drop in and thank all of the listeners for your support. It's been a great first year for the podcast and we look forward to many more! 

For this week's holiday episode, Kent and Steve flash back to one of What the M's most popular episodes from Season 1 - "Latinas in Power." 

The Latinas in Power ("LIP") include Emily Chavarriaga, Jackie Vazquez, and Rosalie Escobedo. You won’t want to miss hearing the LIP ladies share about the fun they have together, the way they champion each other’s goals and dreams, and how they simply do life together and celebrate the wins, while holding each other accountable. 
 Emily Chavarriaga currently works as a product manager at Mr. Cooper and previously worked in various default roles at Bayview Loan Servicing for ten years. She is an ALFN Women in Legal Leadership Chair and is a leader for the Mr. Cooper women’s group. Jackie Vazquez worked as a Foreclosure Manager at Mr. Cooper for 10 years. She is an ALFN JPEG winner and previously worked in foreclosure, at a law firm, and as a loan officer before working at MRC. Rosalie Escobedo is the Director of Business Development at Mackie Wolf Zientz Mann. Before that, she worked in various industry roles at VRM Mortgage Services at CoreLogic. Prior to working in the industry, she directed law firms in their marketing and legal training pursuits. She is an ALFN WILL Chair and serves her community as a Precinct Chair and Party Leader. 
Welcome to What the M, Emily, Jackie, and Rosalie! 

What the M is hosted by Kent McPhail and Stephen Hladik. Production and editing by Sarah Noel Sheffield. 
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A huge thank you to our Season 2 sponsor, Guardian Asset Management -
Guardian Asset Management is *the* one-stop shop for lenders, servicers, hedge funds, residential and commercial property investors, and government entities that need a full suite of property management solutions under one roof. 

It’s time again… for a new episode of What the M! This week, Kent and Steve interview Daren Blomquist, Vice President of Market Economics at Auction.com. 
Daren began his career as a reporter for the Daily News Tribune, where he focused on county government and courts. He then moved on to Realty Trac, where he rose from Customer Service Representative to Director of Marketing Communications, focusing on mortgage trends nationwide. In 2012, he became Senior Vice President of Communications at ATTOM Data Solutions and reported on housing trends, cash and investor purchases, housing risks, default trends, and more. 

Daren’s reports have been cited by thousands of media outlets nationwide, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and USA TODAY. Daren also served as Executive Editor of the Housing News Report, which was named best newsletter by the National Association of Real Estate Editors in 2015 and 2016. In 2019, Daren transitioned to Auction.com, where he focuses on analyzing and forecasting complex macro and micro-economic data trends within the real estate market and industry. 
Daren is extremely active in the default servicing industry and routinely appears as a panelist at industry trade conventions. His expertise on today’s subject- foreclosure and economic trends and what we can expect in the year to come- is invaluable to our listeners. We are extremely fortunate to have him as a guest on the show. 

Welcome to What the M, Daren! 

What the M is hosted by Kent McPhail and Stephen Hladik. Production and editing by Sarah Noel Sheffield. 
****************************************************
A huge thank you to our Season 2 sponsor, Guardian Asset Management -
Guardian Asset Management is *the* one-stop shop for lenders, servicers, hedge funds, residential and commercial property investors, and government entities that need a full suite of property management solutions under one roof. 

Happy Fall to all! 
It’s that time again… for a new episode of What the M! This week, Kent and Steve interview Alicia Stewart, Assistant Vice President at BSI Financial Services.
Alicia has over 20 years of experience in the default servicing industry. She began her career as an AVP with Fay Servicing. She then worked for Penny Mac Loan Services as a Business Analyst. From there, she became an AVP of Default Operations for Rushmore Loan Management Service, before taking over as an AVP at BSI Financial Services.  At BSI, she is the leader of their non-agency default team, with responsibilities including BSI’s foreclosure, bankruptcy and property preservation processes. 
Alicia has been extremely active in the default servicing industry and recently appeared as a panelist for the Legal League in the League’s webinar series. In that webinar, Alicia spoke about how law firms and mortgage servicers can better communicate and work together. She is adept at fostering positive relationships, resolving complex issues, and optimizing operational efficiency. She believes that success is a natural outcome when we have a clear vision of our long-term goals for both our organization and ourselves. We are very excited to share Alicia's vision and expertise with our listeners.  
Welcome to What the M, Alicia! 

What the M is hosted by Kent McPhail and Stephen Hladik. Production and editing by Sarah Noel Sheffield. 
****************************************************
A huge thank you to our Season 2 sponsor, Guardian Asset Management -
Guardian Asset Management is *the* one-stop shop for lenders, servicers, hedge funds, residential and commercial property investors, and government entities that need a full suite of property management solutions under one roof. 

It’s that time again… for a new episode of "What the M," Kent McPhail and Steve Hladik's podcast about the default mortgage servicing industry! 
This week, Kent and Steve discuss the continuing surge of the post-COVID “work from home” movement. Their guest on the topic, Michael Merritt, is the Senior Vice President of Customer Care and Default Mortgage Servicing at BOK Financial.
Michael attended Arizona State University, where he got his BA in Organizational Leadership (Go Sun Devils!)  He then received his MBA from Texas Tech and his Master’s Degree in Legal Studies from Texas A&M. Michael worked at Nationstar Mortgage and Goldman Sachs prior to moving over to BOK. Having been in the mortgage servicing industry for over two decades, Michael has valuable insight to share on the benefits and drawbacks of remote work culture, how companies can get the best work from remote or hybrid-remote employees, and how a company culture can be successfully built around this new model. 
Welcome to What the M, Michael! 

What the M is hosted by Kent McPhail and Stephen Hladik. Production and editing by Sarah Noel Sheffield. 
****************************************************
A huge thank you to our Season 2 sponsor, Guardian Asset Management -
Guardian Asset Management is *the* one-stop shop for lenders, servicers, hedge funds, residential and commercial property investors, and government entities that need a full suite of property management solutions under one roof. 

Welcome to Season 2 of What the M! 


Last season, we were fortunate enough to interview an incredible roster of talented professionals about their insights and predictions for the default servicing industry. We wanted to kick off our new season by looking back at where the industry was a year ago versus where it is today. As one of the country’s most frequently-quoted sources on real estate, mortgage, and foreclosure trends, Rick Sharga was the natural choice to help us do so!  


Rick is the CEO and President of the CJ Patrick Company, a company that specializes in market intelligence for companies in the real estate and mortgage industries. Rick has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate and mortgage industries, previously serving in executive roles for Realty Trac, Carrington Mortgage Holdings, Ten-X, and Auction.com. He is also a founding member of the Five Star Institute’s National Mortgage Servicing Association. 


Welcome BACK to What the M, Rick! 

What the M is hosted by Kent McPhail and Stephen Hladik. Production and editing by Sarah Noel Sheffield. 

Did you miss us? 

Kent and Steve *were* taking a brief summer hiatus before Season 2 of “What the M” drops in September. But when a fascinating U.S. Supreme Court decision was issued, Kent and Steve couldn’t wait that long to talk about it with you! 

In this case, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin, the Court departed from prior law and abrogated the Tribe’s sovereign immunity in bankruptcy court. Kent reached out to his friend and colleague, Marilyn Lyles, for her opinion and insight into the Court’s decision, the surprising 8-1 split, and the far-reaching impact the case could have in not only bankruptcy courts, but state courts as well. 

Marilyn Lyles graduated from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) with a BA in English and received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron School of Law. Marilyn’s extensive experience as both a creditors’ rights attorney and as the Assistant Attorney General of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, make her uniquely suited to bring her wisdom to the discussion of this groundbreaking case.

Welcome to What the M, Marilyn! 

What the M is hosted by Kent McPhail and Stephen Hladik. Production and editing by Sarah Noel Sheffield.