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When I joined the mortgage industry right out of school, I never imagined myself in the leadership role I have today. Where others saw my growth potential, I had more modest expectations. The people in higher level positions had more education than I did, and I assumed that would limit me. But then I unexpectedly won an Award of Excellence and my worldview started to change …
In the months before that recognition, I’d transitioned from a post-closing to a secondary marketing position. My job was demanding. I’d work very late balancing the wires — but my days still didn’t end when I walked out the door. If we’d missed the cutoff time for Federal Express, I’d drive boxes of files to the airport on my way home, and hand them to the people loading the plane. This was certainly beyond my job description, but I had never thought twice about it, or realized that my manager had noticed.
That taught me a valuable lesson: Regardless of my past or present circumstances, I was in control of my success. I was self-conscious about my lack of a college degree, but that wasn’t on my manager’s radar. She saw and appreciated my passion and drive for excellence. Those were factors that I could always control.
It’s been more than two decades since that pivotal day, and I’ve come further in my career than I could ever have imagined. I love this industry and I’ve explored every facet of it — holding positions in processing, underwriting, training, quality control, counterparty risk, and now sales leadership. Every new position is both a joy and a test of my ability to create my own destiny. In the process, I’ve learned that:
When people underestimate me, it just strengthens my resolve to keep growing: Early in my career, some of my colleagues left to form a startup, and it was common knowledge that they’d ask some of us to join them. My manager told me, “I’m not worried about losing you. You’re risk averse, and I don’t see you taking that leap.” His apparent belief that I wasn’t adventurous enough made me feel I had maxed out my growth opportunities at my current company. That pushed me right into the startup’s arms.
To truly reach your potential, embrace startups. There is no better place to stretch, test yourself, and expand your influence. In the months before the aforementioned startup’s formal launch, I was testing systems, doing IT work, writing policies and procedures, and diving into other areas that were completely new. Even as an underwriter and later a trainer, I had a direct impact on the process flow and the workplace environment. It built a foundation of strength and possibility I’ll always carry with me.
Our industry is small and tight, and the relationships we form early in our careers often carry us through the next decades. Nurture them and never burn a bridge.
> Shelly Griffin
The most energizing words from leaders are “You’ve got this.” In my own career journey, I’ve often stepped into roles for which I had no formal training, but my managers have known I was ready. I started in sales, for example, with no territory and the directive to “just find accounts.” Knowing that these leaders were confident in me, and would never set me up to fail increased my confidence and resolve. Now I hold a national sales leadership role and I love every minute of it.
That leads to another important lesson: Eschew perfection in favor of possibility. There is no need to feel you don’t have the ideal resume — checking every box — when an opportunity opens. Jump in and know it’s yours.
Treat people like family. In this industry, they are. Mortgage women have a special connection. Our industry is small and tight, and the relationships we form early in our careers often carry us through the next decades. Nurture them and never burn a bridge.
Seek out mentors and be one yourself. These roles don’t have to be formal, and you can often be helpful to people who have more professional experience than you do. Showing individuals new ways to work and being their new right-hand person who sees situations from a different lens can be invaluable. Even as you’re still growing, you can help others grow too, increasing your collective impact.
• • •
Co-founder and COO
Beeline
My memories of my first years in the mortgage business fill me with gratitude. That experience taught me that passion, resolve, an avid interest in learning, and people who genuinely trust and care about those around them would lay the foundation for my success. But in the end, it’s up to me. If I believe in my own strengths, others will too.
People often talk about career paths, especially for women, as if they’re ladders — linear, predictable, rung by rung. My career never looked like that. If anything, it looked more like wandering off the ladder entirely, finding a side door, letting curiosity drive me into rooms I didn’t even know existed, and eventually realizing I could build something better than the structure I started in.
I began as a real estate finance lawyer — first at a tiny firm, then at very large ones — and by all traditional measures, I was right on track to become a big-law partner. I was maybe two years away. That’s the moment where the movie version of this story would show determination, grit, and some triumphant montage of “leaning in.”
Instead, I left.
Not for a startup, or a dream job, or a passion. I left to become in-house counsel at a national title agency — a job I thought would offer balance and predictability. I didn’t have an ambitious master plan. I had exhaustion and a sense that the life I was barreling toward didn’t feel like mine.
Here’s the part I don’t think we admit enough: Sometimes women move forward by opting out of what no longer feels right — not by pushing harder inside it.
The in-house legal work ended up feeling boring to me. That boredom — something we’re often taught to hide — became the most honest compass I had. It pushed me to explore other departments like operations, HR, finance, and technology. I didn’t ask for permission to explore; I followed curiosity and dealt with consequences later. Turns out no one minded. Curiosity, when paired with competence, is rarely seen as trespassing.
That’s when I fell in love with how companies work. Not the sanitized textbook version — the real organism of people, incentives, frictions, systems, messiness, and breakthroughs. I realized I cared far more about building something special — a place where people thrive and where innovation isn’t just a buzzword — than I did about titles or “the path.”
A title can be bestowed. Impact has to be earned. When you focus on the footprint you’re leaving — the work, the humans, the decisions — you’ll end up in the right places, even if the path there doesn’t look traditional.
> Jess Kennedy
And that was the moment I stopped being a passenger in my own career.
The question people ask me most is: “How did you go from big-law associate to business owner?” They expect a roadmap or a five-step plan. I don’t have one. But I do have truths I wish more women heard — because they don’t sound like the usual advice.
Sometimes the thing that looks like a detour is really the doorway. A lot of career advice focuses on intention and planning. Planning is good. Curiosity is better. It grows your surface area for luck.
Every time you decide something isn’t for you, you’re making your universe smaller. Careers aren’t built by clinging to job descriptions; they’re built by walking toward things that spark interest — even if they’re messy or undefined.
People don’t follow titles. They follow leaders who understand their reality. Roll up your sleeves, not because it’s humble, but because it keeps you sharp.
Women are often given advice that sounds like, “Get the title. Take the promotion. Push forward.” But does that promotion actually align with who you are? Your strengths? Your joy? Your energy? The worst mistakes I’ve seen have come from chasing “shoulds.”
A title can be bestowed. Impact has to be earned. When you focus on the footprint you’re leaving — the work, the humans, the decisions — you’ll end up in the right places, even if the path there doesn’t look traditional.
I built my leadership style from borrowed pieces of people I respect — a phrase here, a habit there, a way of listening or caring or questioning. Humility is an underrated growth strategy. It’s okay to “steal” pieces of what you love and admire in others if those things are aligned with your spirit and authentic self.
You can teach almost anyone a process. You cannot teach everyone how to earn trust. In my company, emotional intelligence is a hiring filter — not a bonus trait.
Women are often told to be strategic — a coded word that sometimes means “play along.” The real power comes from opting out of that game entirely. Do not play. It’s very simple, even though it is hard. Competence plus integrity compounds, and you will end up well respected and doing it all on your own terms in a way you are proud of.
The truth is, I didn’t climb a ladder. I wasn’t on one. I followed curiosity, let boredom redirect me, learned relentlessly, stayed human, and refused to trade authenticity for advancement.
If there’s anything I hope women take away from my story, it’s this:
Get off the ladder. Know yourself. Trust yourself. Throw out the rules and the shoulds. Use your intuition to guide you.
• • •
Chief Operating Officer
Interlinc Mortgage Services
I was a 22-year-old college recruit in 2002 when a growing subprime lender took a chance on me. I had zero experience and zero clue, but the company invested serious time and money in my development — classroom training, side-by-side mentoring, and a real paycheck while I learned the craft from the ground up. They didn’t just give me a job; they built me into an underwriter. Within four years I became the youngest underwriting manager in the company, was later hand-picked for the corporate fraud-investigation team, selected as the company-wide AUS trainer, and tapped for countless special projects. Why? Because every time someone asked, “Who can help with this?” my answer was always, “I will.”
That single habit — raising my hand to help — carried me through the boom years, the 2008–2009 crisis, the post-Dodd-Frank rebuild, and ultimately to Chief Operating Officer of an independent mortgage bank and President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. Here’s the exact playbook I still follow two decades later.
The fastest way to stand out is to volunteer for the work others avoid. In 2003 that meant staying late and working weekends to clear the file backlog when everyone else wanted to leave at 5:00. In 2007 it meant hopping on a plane to India to train our offshore team. In 2013 it meant leading the charge on Dodd-Frank implementation. Today it means staying ahead of constant guideline changes, legislative priorities, and evolving credit-report strategies.
Pay attention in meetings and hallway conversations. Note every pain point — every bottleneck mentioned on manager calls, every compliance snag that delays closings, every new guideline tripping up originators, every system inefficiency. Think through solutions before leadership even identifies the problem. I call it “find a need and fill it.” That mindset is responsible for every promotion I’ve ever earned.
Titles are static; reputations are dynamic. Companies don’t promote the org-chart box labeled “Senior Underwriter.” They promote the person who:
trains every branch on the latest guidelines,
flies to corporate for a mission-critical project,
and still closes the month as a top performer in their day job.
Stepping into tasks outside your normal scope demonstrates commitment to the team’s success, builds new skills, and positions you for roles you wouldn’t otherwise be considered for. Being the reliable utility player is how you leapfrog ahead.
Do not see people as merely an entry in your Rolodex, regardless of current “value.”
> Erin Dee
Early in my career, I assumed, “They’ll never give a 25-year-old that much authority,” or “There’s no way they’d consider me for that role.” Then I watched peers calmly ask for the full package — title, span of control, compensation — and get it because they brought data. My rule ever since: ask for the whole order.
Track your wins and quantify the value you create:
Efficiency improvements
Cost savings
Reduced risk exposure
Enhanced customer or originator experience
When you can clearly show you deliver more value than you cost, your odds of a yes skyrocket. If the answer is no, you learn the real constraints and can either solve them or explore opportunities elsewhere. If you never ask, the answer is no by default.
Building processes, departments, and even companies from scratch has been incredibly rewarding, but the relationships I’ve formed along the way are the true fuel behind my personal and professional growth.
I’ve been fortunate to work alongside brilliant, generous people. I worked hard to prove my value to them, and in return they became mentors and lifelong friends. As I’ve advanced, I’ve had the privilege of hiring and developing talented individuals who have gone on to build outstanding careers of their own. Watching them succeed — raising families, buying homes, earning promotions — is perhaps the greatest joy of my professional life.
Two lessons I live by when it comes to relationships:
1. Be authentic. People can sense inauthenticity a mile away. Be yourself; genuine connections create trust and open doors.
2. Do not see people as merely an entry in your Rolodex, regardless of current “value.” The junior processor you encourage today might be the EVP who hires you tomorrow. Never burn a bridge you don’t have to.
The Ladder Is Still There —
You Just Have to Keep Building It
From wide-eyed trainee to COO and industry president, every rung on my ladder was forged the same way: I saw a need, raised my hand, delivered undeniable results, asked for what I had earned, and invested deeply in the people around me.
2026 is here. Rates may remain elevated, volume will stay competitive, and the regulatory landscape will keep shifting. But on every leadership call, someone is still going to ask, “Who can help us with this?”
Make sure the answer is you.
Shelly Griffin is Senior Vice President, Client Development, Deephaven Mortgage.
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When I joined the mortgage industry right out of school, I never imagined myself in the leadership role I have today. Where others saw my growth potential, I had more modest expectations. The people in higher level positions had more education than I did, and I assumed that would limit me. But then I unexpectedly won an Award of Excellence and my worldview started to change …
In the months before that recognition, I’d transitioned from a post-closing to a secondary marketing position. My job was demanding. I’d work very late balancing the wires — but my days still didn’t end when I walked out the door. If we’d missed the cutoff time for Federal Express, I’d drive boxes of files to the airport on my way home, and hand them to the people loading the plane. This was certainly beyond my job description, but I had never thought twice about it, or realized that my manager had noticed.
That taught me a valuable lesson: Regardless of my past or present circumstances, I was in control of my success. I was self-conscious about my lack of a college degree, but that wasn’t on my manager’s radar. She saw and appreciated my passion and drive for excellence. Those were factors that I could always control.
It’s been more than two decades since that pivotal day, and I’ve come further in my career than I could ever have imagined. I love this industry and I’ve explored every facet of it — holding positions in processing, underwriting, training, quality control, counterparty risk, and now sales leadership. Every new position is both a joy and a test of my ability to create my own destiny. In the process, I’ve learned that:
When people underestimate me, it just strengthens my resolve to keep growing: Early in my career, some of my colleagues left to form a startup, and it was common knowledge that they’d ask some of us to join them. My manager told me, “I’m not worried about losing you. You’re risk averse, and I don’t see you taking that leap.” His apparent belief that I wasn’t adventurous enough made me feel I had maxed out my growth opportunities at my current company. That pushed me right into the startup’s arms.
To truly reach your potential, embrace startups. There is no better place to stretch, test yourself, and expand your influence. In the months before the aforementioned startup’s formal launch, I was testing systems, doing IT work, writing policies and procedures, and diving into other areas that were completely new. Even as an underwriter and later a trainer, I had a direct impact on the process flow and the workplace environment. It built a foundation of strength and possibility I’ll always carry with me.
Our industry is small and tight, and the relationships we form early in our careers often carry us through the next decades. Nurture them and never burn a bridge.
> Shelly Griffin
The most energizing words from leaders are “You’ve got this.” In my own career journey, I’ve often stepped into roles for which I had no formal training, but my managers have known I was ready. I started in sales, for example, with no territory and the directive to “just find accounts.” Knowing that these leaders were confident in me, and would never set me up to fail increased my confidence and resolve. Now I hold a national sales leadership role and I love every minute of it.
That leads to another important lesson: Eschew perfection in favor of possibility. There is no need to feel you don’t have the ideal resume — checking every box — when an opportunity opens. Jump in and know it’s yours.
Treat people like family. In this industry, they are. Mortgage women have a special connection. Our industry is small and tight, and the relationships we form early in our careers often carry us through the next decades. Nurture them and never burn a bridge.
Seek out mentors and be one yourself. These roles don’t have to be formal, and you can often be helpful to people who have more professional experience than you do. Showing individuals new ways to work and being their new right-hand person who sees situations from a different lens can be invaluable. Even as you’re still growing, you can help others grow too, increasing your collective impact.
• • •
Co-founder and COO
Beeline
My memories of my first years in the mortgage business fill me with gratitude. That experience taught me that passion, resolve, an avid interest in learning, and people who genuinely trust and care about those around them would lay the foundation for my success. But in the end, it’s up to me. If I believe in my own strengths, others will too.
People often talk about career paths, especially for women, as if they’re ladders — linear, predictable, rung by rung. My career never looked like that. If anything, it looked more like wandering off the ladder entirely, finding a side door, letting curiosity drive me into rooms I didn’t even know existed, and eventually realizing I could build something better than the structure I started in.
I began as a real estate finance lawyer — first at a tiny firm, then at very large ones — and by all traditional measures, I was right on track to become a big-law partner. I was maybe two years away. That’s the moment where the movie version of this story would show determination, grit, and some triumphant montage of “leaning in.”
Instead, I left.
Not for a startup, or a dream job, or a passion. I left to become in-house counsel at a national title agency — a job I thought would offer balance and predictability. I didn’t have an ambitious master plan. I had exhaustion and a sense that the life I was barreling toward didn’t feel like mine.
Here’s the part I don’t think we admit enough: Sometimes women move forward by opting out of what no longer feels right — not by pushing harder inside it.
The in-house legal work ended up feeling boring to me. That boredom — something we’re often taught to hide — became the most honest compass I had. It pushed me to explore other departments like operations, HR, finance, and technology. I didn’t ask for permission to explore; I followed curiosity and dealt with consequences later. Turns out no one minded. Curiosity, when paired with competence, is rarely seen as trespassing.
That’s when I fell in love with how companies work. Not the sanitized textbook version — the real organism of people, incentives, frictions, systems, messiness, and breakthroughs. I realized I cared far more about building something special — a place where people thrive and where innovation isn’t just a buzzword — than I did about titles or “the path.”
A title can be bestowed. Impact has to be earned. When you focus on the footprint you’re leaving — the work, the humans, the decisions — you’ll end up in the right places, even if the path there doesn’t look traditional.
> Jess Kennedy
And that was the moment I stopped being a passenger in my own career.
The question people ask me most is: “How did you go from big-law associate to business owner?” They expect a roadmap or a five-step plan. I don’t have one. But I do have truths I wish more women heard — because they don’t sound like the usual advice.
Sometimes the thing that looks like a detour is really the doorway. A lot of career advice focuses on intention and planning. Planning is good. Curiosity is better. It grows your surface area for luck.
Every time you decide something isn’t for you, you’re making your universe smaller. Careers aren’t built by clinging to job descriptions; they’re built by walking toward things that spark interest — even if they’re messy or undefined.
People don’t follow titles. They follow leaders who understand their reality. Roll up your sleeves, not because it’s humble, but because it keeps you sharp.
Women are often given advice that sounds like, “Get the title. Take the promotion. Push forward.” But does that promotion actually align with who you are? Your strengths? Your joy? Your energy? The worst mistakes I’ve seen have come from chasing “shoulds.”
A title can be bestowed. Impact has to be earned. When you focus on the footprint you’re leaving — the work, the humans, the decisions — you’ll end up in the right places, even if the path there doesn’t look traditional.
I built my leadership style from borrowed pieces of people I respect — a phrase here, a habit there, a way of listening or caring or questioning. Humility is an underrated growth strategy. It’s okay to “steal” pieces of what you love and admire in others if those things are aligned with your spirit and authentic self.
You can teach almost anyone a process. You cannot teach everyone how to earn trust. In my company, emotional intelligence is a hiring filter — not a bonus trait.
Women are often told to be strategic — a coded word that sometimes means “play along.” The real power comes from opting out of that game entirely. Do not play. It’s very simple, even though it is hard. Competence plus integrity compounds, and you will end up well respected and doing it all on your own terms in a way you are proud of.
The truth is, I didn’t climb a ladder. I wasn’t on one. I followed curiosity, let boredom redirect me, learned relentlessly, stayed human, and refused to trade authenticity for advancement.
If there’s anything I hope women take away from my story, it’s this:
Get off the ladder. Know yourself. Trust yourself. Throw out the rules and the shoulds. Use your intuition to guide you.
• • •
Chief Operating Officer
Interlinc Mortgage Services
I was a 22-year-old college recruit in 2002 when a growing subprime lender took a chance on me. I had zero experience and zero clue, but the company invested serious time and money in my development — classroom training, side-by-side mentoring, and a real paycheck while I learned the craft from the ground up. They didn’t just give me a job; they built me into an underwriter. Within four years I became the youngest underwriting manager in the company, was later hand-picked for the corporate fraud-investigation team, selected as the company-wide AUS trainer, and tapped for countless special projects. Why? Because every time someone asked, “Who can help with this?” my answer was always, “I will.”
That single habit — raising my hand to help — carried me through the boom years, the 2008–2009 crisis, the post-Dodd-Frank rebuild, and ultimately to Chief Operating Officer of an independent mortgage bank and President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. Here’s the exact playbook I still follow two decades later.
The fastest way to stand out is to volunteer for the work others avoid. In 2003 that meant staying late and working weekends to clear the file backlog when everyone else wanted to leave at 5:00. In 2007 it meant hopping on a plane to India to train our offshore team. In 2013 it meant leading the charge on Dodd-Frank implementation. Today it means staying ahead of constant guideline changes, legislative priorities, and evolving credit-report strategies.
Pay attention in meetings and hallway conversations. Note every pain point — every bottleneck mentioned on manager calls, every compliance snag that delays closings, every new guideline tripping up originators, every system inefficiency. Think through solutions before leadership even identifies the problem. I call it “find a need and fill it.” That mindset is responsible for every promotion I’ve ever earned.
Titles are static; reputations are dynamic. Companies don’t promote the org-chart box labeled “Senior Underwriter.” They promote the person who:
trains every branch on the latest guidelines,
flies to corporate for a mission-critical project,
and still closes the month as a top performer in their day job.
Stepping into tasks outside your normal scope demonstrates commitment to the team’s success, builds new skills, and positions you for roles you wouldn’t otherwise be considered for. Being the reliable utility player is how you leapfrog ahead.
Do not see people as merely an entry in your Rolodex, regardless of current “value.”
> Erin Dee
Early in my career, I assumed, “They’ll never give a 25-year-old that much authority,” or “There’s no way they’d consider me for that role.” Then I watched peers calmly ask for the full package — title, span of control, compensation — and get it because they brought data. My rule ever since: ask for the whole order.
Track your wins and quantify the value you create:
Efficiency improvements
Cost savings
Reduced risk exposure
Enhanced customer or originator experience
When you can clearly show you deliver more value than you cost, your odds of a yes skyrocket. If the answer is no, you learn the real constraints and can either solve them or explore opportunities elsewhere. If you never ask, the answer is no by default.
Building processes, departments, and even companies from scratch has been incredibly rewarding, but the relationships I’ve formed along the way are the true fuel behind my personal and professional growth.
I’ve been fortunate to work alongside brilliant, generous people. I worked hard to prove my value to them, and in return they became mentors and lifelong friends. As I’ve advanced, I’ve had the privilege of hiring and developing talented individuals who have gone on to build outstanding careers of their own. Watching them succeed — raising families, buying homes, earning promotions — is perhaps the greatest joy of my professional life.
Two lessons I live by when it comes to relationships:
1. Be authentic. People can sense inauthenticity a mile away. Be yourself; genuine connections create trust and open doors.
2. Do not see people as merely an entry in your Rolodex, regardless of current “value.” The junior processor you encourage today might be the EVP who hires you tomorrow. Never burn a bridge you don’t have to.
The Ladder Is Still There —
You Just Have to Keep Building It
From wide-eyed trainee to COO and industry president, every rung on my ladder was forged the same way: I saw a need, raised my hand, delivered undeniable results, asked for what I had earned, and invested deeply in the people around me.
2026 is here. Rates may remain elevated, volume will stay competitive, and the regulatory landscape will keep shifting. But on every leadership call, someone is still going to ask, “Who can help us with this?”
Make sure the answer is you.
Shelly Griffin is Senior Vice President, Client Development, Deephaven Mortgage.
When I joined the mortgage industry right out of school, I never imagined myself in the leadership role I have today. Where others saw my growth potential, I had more modest expectations. The people in higher level positions had more education than I did, and I assumed that would limit me. But then I unexpectedly won an Award of Excellence and my worldview started to change …
In the months before that recognition, I’d transitioned from a post-closing to a secondary marketing position. My job was demanding. I’d work very late balancing the wires — but my days still didn’t end when I walked out the door. If we’d missed the cutoff time for Federal Express, I’d drive boxes of files to the airport on my way home, and hand them to the people loading the plane. This was certainly beyond my job description, but I had never thought twice about it, or realized that my manager had noticed.
That taught me a valuable lesson: Regardless of my past or present circumstances, I was in control of my success. I was self-conscious about my lack of a college degree, but that wasn’t on my manager’s radar. She saw and appreciated my passion and drive for excellence. Those were factors that I could always control.
It’s been more than two decades since that pivotal day, and I’ve come further in my career than I could ever have imagined. I love this industry and I’ve explored every facet of it — holding positions in processing, underwriting, training, quality control, counterparty risk, and now sales leadership. Every new position is both a joy and a test of my ability to create my own destiny. In the process, I’ve learned that:
When people underestimate me, it just strengthens my resolve to keep growing: Early in my career, some of my colleagues left to form a startup, and it was common knowledge that they’d ask some of us to join them. My manager told me, “I’m not worried about losing you. You’re risk averse, and I don’t see you taking that leap.” His apparent belief that I wasn’t adventurous enough made me feel I had maxed out my growth opportunities at my current company. That pushed me right into the startup’s arms.
To truly reach your potential, embrace startups. There is no better place to stretch, test yourself, and expand your influence. In the months before the aforementioned startup’s formal launch, I was testing systems, doing IT work, writing policies and procedures, and diving into other areas that were completely new. Even as an underwriter and later a trainer, I had a direct impact on the process flow and the workplace environment. It built a foundation of strength and possibility I’ll always carry with me.
Our industry is small and tight, and the relationships we form early in our careers often carry us through the next decades. Nurture them and never burn a bridge.
> Shelly Griffin
The most energizing words from leaders are “You’ve got this.” In my own career journey, I’ve often stepped into roles for which I had no formal training, but my managers have known I was ready. I started in sales, for example, with no territory and the directive to “just find accounts.” Knowing that these leaders were confident in me, and would never set me up to fail increased my confidence and resolve. Now I hold a national sales leadership role and I love every minute of it.
That leads to another important lesson: Eschew perfection in favor of possibility. There is no need to feel you don’t have the ideal resume — checking every box — when an opportunity opens. Jump in and know it’s yours.
Treat people like family. In this industry, they are. Mortgage women have a special connection. Our industry is small and tight, and the relationships we form early in our careers often carry us through the next decades. Nurture them and never burn a bridge.
Seek out mentors and be one yourself. These roles don’t have to be formal, and you can often be helpful to people who have more professional experience than you do. Showing individuals new ways to work and being their new right-hand person who sees situations from a different lens can be invaluable. Even as you’re still growing, you can help others grow too, increasing your collective impact.
• • •
Co-founder and COO
Beeline
My memories of my first years in the mortgage business fill me with gratitude. That experience taught me that passion, resolve, an avid interest in learning, and people who genuinely trust and care about those around them would lay the foundation for my success. But in the end, it’s up to me. If I believe in my own strengths, others will too.
People often talk about career paths, especially for women, as if they’re ladders — linear, predictable, rung by rung. My career never looked like that. If anything, it looked more like wandering off the ladder entirely, finding a side door, letting curiosity drive me into rooms I didn’t even know existed, and eventually realizing I could build something better than the structure I started in.
I began as a real estate finance lawyer — first at a tiny firm, then at very large ones — and by all traditional measures, I was right on track to become a big-law partner. I was maybe two years away. That’s the moment where the movie version of this story would show determination, grit, and some triumphant montage of “leaning in.”
Instead, I left.
Not for a startup, or a dream job, or a passion. I left to become in-house counsel at a national title agency — a job I thought would offer balance and predictability. I didn’t have an ambitious master plan. I had exhaustion and a sense that the life I was barreling toward didn’t feel like mine.
Here’s the part I don’t think we admit enough: Sometimes women move forward by opting out of what no longer feels right — not by pushing harder inside it.
The in-house legal work ended up feeling boring to me. That boredom — something we’re often taught to hide — became the most honest compass I had. It pushed me to explore other departments like operations, HR, finance, and technology. I didn’t ask for permission to explore; I followed curiosity and dealt with consequences later. Turns out no one minded. Curiosity, when paired with competence, is rarely seen as trespassing.
That’s when I fell in love with how companies work. Not the sanitized textbook version — the real organism of people, incentives, frictions, systems, messiness, and breakthroughs. I realized I cared far more about building something special — a place where people thrive and where innovation isn’t just a buzzword — than I did about titles or “the path.”
A title can be bestowed. Impact has to be earned. When you focus on the footprint you’re leaving — the work, the humans, the decisions — you’ll end up in the right places, even if the path there doesn’t look traditional.
> Jess Kennedy
And that was the moment I stopped being a passenger in my own career.
The question people ask me most is: “How did you go from big-law associate to business owner?” They expect a roadmap or a five-step plan. I don’t have one. But I do have truths I wish more women heard — because they don’t sound like the usual advice.
Sometimes the thing that looks like a detour is really the doorway. A lot of career advice focuses on intention and planning. Planning is good. Curiosity is better. It grows your surface area for luck.
Every time you decide something isn’t for you, you’re making your universe smaller. Careers aren’t built by clinging to job descriptions; they’re built by walking toward things that spark interest — even if they’re messy or undefined.
People don’t follow titles. They follow leaders who understand their reality. Roll up your sleeves, not because it’s humble, but because it keeps you sharp.
Women are often given advice that sounds like, “Get the title. Take the promotion. Push forward.” But does that promotion actually align with who you are? Your strengths? Your joy? Your energy? The worst mistakes I’ve seen have come from chasing “shoulds.”
A title can be bestowed. Impact has to be earned. When you focus on the footprint you’re leaving — the work, the humans, the decisions — you’ll end up in the right places, even if the path there doesn’t look traditional.
I built my leadership style from borrowed pieces of people I respect — a phrase here, a habit there, a way of listening or caring or questioning. Humility is an underrated growth strategy. It’s okay to “steal” pieces of what you love and admire in others if those things are aligned with your spirit and authentic self.
You can teach almost anyone a process. You cannot teach everyone how to earn trust. In my company, emotional intelligence is a hiring filter — not a bonus trait.
Women are often told to be strategic — a coded word that sometimes means “play along.” The real power comes from opting out of that game entirely. Do not play. It’s very simple, even though it is hard. Competence plus integrity compounds, and you will end up well respected and doing it all on your own terms in a way you are proud of.
The truth is, I didn’t climb a ladder. I wasn’t on one. I followed curiosity, let boredom redirect me, learned relentlessly, stayed human, and refused to trade authenticity for advancement.
If there’s anything I hope women take away from my story, it’s this:
Get off the ladder. Know yourself. Trust yourself. Throw out the rules and the shoulds. Use your intuition to guide you.
• • •
Chief Operating Officer
Interlinc Mortgage Services
I was a 22-year-old college recruit in 2002 when a growing subprime lender took a chance on me. I had zero experience and zero clue, but the company invested serious time and money in my development — classroom training, side-by-side mentoring, and a real paycheck while I learned the craft from the ground up. They didn’t just give me a job; they built me into an underwriter. Within four years I became the youngest underwriting manager in the company, was later hand-picked for the corporate fraud-investigation team, selected as the company-wide AUS trainer, and tapped for countless special projects. Why? Because every time someone asked, “Who can help with this?” my answer was always, “I will.”
That single habit — raising my hand to help — carried me through the boom years, the 2008–2009 crisis, the post-Dodd-Frank rebuild, and ultimately to Chief Operating Officer of an independent mortgage bank and President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. Here’s the exact playbook I still follow two decades later.
The fastest way to stand out is to volunteer for the work others avoid. In 2003 that meant staying late and working weekends to clear the file backlog when everyone else wanted to leave at 5:00. In 2007 it meant hopping on a plane to India to train our offshore team. In 2013 it meant leading the charge on Dodd-Frank implementation. Today it means staying ahead of constant guideline changes, legislative priorities, and evolving credit-report strategies.
Pay attention in meetings and hallway conversations. Note every pain point — every bottleneck mentioned on manager calls, every compliance snag that delays closings, every new guideline tripping up originators, every system inefficiency. Think through solutions before leadership even identifies the problem. I call it “find a need and fill it.” That mindset is responsible for every promotion I’ve ever earned.
Titles are static; reputations are dynamic. Companies don’t promote the org-chart box labeled “Senior Underwriter.” They promote the person who:
trains every branch on the latest guidelines,
flies to corporate for a mission-critical project,
and still closes the month as a top performer in their day job.
Stepping into tasks outside your normal scope demonstrates commitment to the team’s success, builds new skills, and positions you for roles you wouldn’t otherwise be considered for. Being the reliable utility player is how you leapfrog ahead.
Do not see people as merely an entry in your Rolodex, regardless of current “value.”
> Erin Dee
Early in my career, I assumed, “They’ll never give a 25-year-old that much authority,” or “There’s no way they’d consider me for that role.” Then I watched peers calmly ask for the full package — title, span of control, compensation — and get it because they brought data. My rule ever since: ask for the whole order.
Track your wins and quantify the value you create:
Efficiency improvements
Cost savings
Reduced risk exposure
Enhanced customer or originator experience
When you can clearly show you deliver more value than you cost, your odds of a yes skyrocket. If the answer is no, you learn the real constraints and can either solve them or explore opportunities elsewhere. If you never ask, the answer is no by default.
Building processes, departments, and even companies from scratch has been incredibly rewarding, but the relationships I’ve formed along the way are the true fuel behind my personal and professional growth.
I’ve been fortunate to work alongside brilliant, generous people. I worked hard to prove my value to them, and in return they became mentors and lifelong friends. As I’ve advanced, I’ve had the privilege of hiring and developing talented individuals who have gone on to build outstanding careers of their own. Watching them succeed — raising families, buying homes, earning promotions — is perhaps the greatest joy of my professional life.
Two lessons I live by when it comes to relationships:
1. Be authentic. People can sense inauthenticity a mile away. Be yourself; genuine connections create trust and open doors.
2. Do not see people as merely an entry in your Rolodex, regardless of current “value.” The junior processor you encourage today might be the EVP who hires you tomorrow. Never burn a bridge you don’t have to.
The Ladder Is Still There —
You Just Have to Keep Building It
From wide-eyed trainee to COO and industry president, every rung on my ladder was forged the same way: I saw a need, raised my hand, delivered undeniable results, asked for what I had earned, and invested deeply in the people around me.
2026 is here. Rates may remain elevated, volume will stay competitive, and the regulatory landscape will keep shifting. But on every leadership call, someone is still going to ask, “Who can help us with this?”
Make sure the answer is you.
Shelly Griffin is Senior Vice President, Client Development, Deephaven Mortgage.
When I joined the mortgage industry right out of school, I never imagined myself in the leadership role I have today. Where others saw my growth potential, I had more modest expectations. The people in higher level positions had more education than I did, and I assumed that would limit me. But then I unexpectedly won an Award of Excellence and my worldview started to change …
In the months before that recognition, I’d transitioned from a post-closing to a secondary marketing position. My job was demanding. I’d work very late balancing the wires — but my days still didn’t end when I walked out the door. If we’d missed the cutoff time for Federal Express, I’d drive boxes of files to the airport on my way home, and hand them to the people loading the plane. This was certainly beyond my job description, but I had never thought twice about it, or realized that my manager had noticed.
That taught me a valuable lesson: Regardless of my past or present circumstances, I was in control of my success. I was self-conscious about my lack of a college degree, but that wasn’t on my manager’s radar. She saw and appreciated my passion and drive for excellence. Those were factors that I could always control.
It’s been more than two decades since that pivotal day, and I’ve come further in my career than I could ever have imagined. I love this industry and I’ve explored every facet of it — holding positions in processing, underwriting, training, quality control, counterparty risk, and now sales leadership. Every new position is both a joy and a test of my ability to create my own destiny. In the process, I’ve learned that:
When people underestimate me, it just strengthens my resolve to keep growing: Early in my career, some of my colleagues left to form a startup, and it was common knowledge that they’d ask some of us to join them. My manager told me, “I’m not worried about losing you. You’re risk averse, and I don’t see you taking that leap.” His apparent belief that I wasn’t adventurous enough made me feel I had maxed out my growth opportunities at my current company. That pushed me right into the startup’s arms.
To truly reach your potential, embrace startups. There is no better place to stretch, test yourself, and expand your influence. In the months before the aforementioned startup’s formal launch, I was testing systems, doing IT work, writing policies and procedures, and diving into other areas that were completely new. Even as an underwriter and later a trainer, I had a direct impact on the process flow and the workplace environment. It built a foundation of strength and possibility I’ll always carry with me.
Our industry is small and tight, and the relationships we form early in our careers often carry us through the next decades. Nurture them and never burn a bridge.
> Shelly Griffin
The most energizing words from leaders are “You’ve got this.” In my own career journey, I’ve often stepped into roles for which I had no formal training, but my managers have known I was ready. I started in sales, for example, with no territory and the directive to “just find accounts.” Knowing that these leaders were confident in me, and would never set me up to fail increased my confidence and resolve. Now I hold a national sales leadership role and I love every minute of it.
That leads to another important lesson: Eschew perfection in favor of possibility. There is no need to feel you don’t have the ideal resume — checking every box — when an opportunity opens. Jump in and know it’s yours.
Treat people like family. In this industry, they are. Mortgage women have a special connection. Our industry is small and tight, and the relationships we form early in our careers often carry us through the next decades. Nurture them and never burn a bridge.
Seek out mentors and be one yourself. These roles don’t have to be formal, and you can often be helpful to people who have more professional experience than you do. Showing individuals new ways to work and being their new right-hand person who sees situations from a different lens can be invaluable. Even as you’re still growing, you can help others grow too, increasing your collective impact.
• • •
Co-founder and COO
Beeline
My memories of my first years in the mortgage business fill me with gratitude. That experience taught me that passion, resolve, an avid interest in learning, and people who genuinely trust and care about those around them would lay the foundation for my success. But in the end, it’s up to me. If I believe in my own strengths, others will too.
People often talk about career paths, especially for women, as if they’re ladders — linear, predictable, rung by rung. My career never looked like that. If anything, it looked more like wandering off the ladder entirely, finding a side door, letting curiosity drive me into rooms I didn’t even know existed, and eventually realizing I could build something better than the structure I started in.
I began as a real estate finance lawyer — first at a tiny firm, then at very large ones — and by all traditional measures, I was right on track to become a big-law partner. I was maybe two years away. That’s the moment where the movie version of this story would show determination, grit, and some triumphant montage of “leaning in.”
Instead, I left.
Not for a startup, or a dream job, or a passion. I left to become in-house counsel at a national title agency — a job I thought would offer balance and predictability. I didn’t have an ambitious master plan. I had exhaustion and a sense that the life I was barreling toward didn’t feel like mine.
Here’s the part I don’t think we admit enough: Sometimes women move forward by opting out of what no longer feels right — not by pushing harder inside it.
The in-house legal work ended up feeling boring to me. That boredom — something we’re often taught to hide — became the most honest compass I had. It pushed me to explore other departments like operations, HR, finance, and technology. I didn’t ask for permission to explore; I followed curiosity and dealt with consequences later. Turns out no one minded. Curiosity, when paired with competence, is rarely seen as trespassing.
That’s when I fell in love with how companies work. Not the sanitized textbook version — the real organism of people, incentives, frictions, systems, messiness, and breakthroughs. I realized I cared far more about building something special — a place where people thrive and where innovation isn’t just a buzzword — than I did about titles or “the path.”
A title can be bestowed. Impact has to be earned. When you focus on the footprint you’re leaving — the work, the humans, the decisions — you’ll end up in the right places, even if the path there doesn’t look traditional.
> Jess Kennedy
And that was the moment I stopped being a passenger in my own career.
The question people ask me most is: “How did you go from big-law associate to business owner?” They expect a roadmap or a five-step plan. I don’t have one. But I do have truths I wish more women heard — because they don’t sound like the usual advice.
Sometimes the thing that looks like a detour is really the doorway. A lot of career advice focuses on intention and planning. Planning is good. Curiosity is better. It grows your surface area for luck.
Every time you decide something isn’t for you, you’re making your universe smaller. Careers aren’t built by clinging to job descriptions; they’re built by walking toward things that spark interest — even if they’re messy or undefined.
People don’t follow titles. They follow leaders who understand their reality. Roll up your sleeves, not because it’s humble, but because it keeps you sharp.
Women are often given advice that sounds like, “Get the title. Take the promotion. Push forward.” But does that promotion actually align with who you are? Your strengths? Your joy? Your energy? The worst mistakes I’ve seen have come from chasing “shoulds.”
A title can be bestowed. Impact has to be earned. When you focus on the footprint you’re leaving — the work, the humans, the decisions — you’ll end up in the right places, even if the path there doesn’t look traditional.
I built my leadership style from borrowed pieces of people I respect — a phrase here, a habit there, a way of listening or caring or questioning. Humility is an underrated growth strategy. It’s okay to “steal” pieces of what you love and admire in others if those things are aligned with your spirit and authentic self.
You can teach almost anyone a process. You cannot teach everyone how to earn trust. In my company, emotional intelligence is a hiring filter — not a bonus trait.
Women are often told to be strategic — a coded word that sometimes means “play along.” The real power comes from opting out of that game entirely. Do not play. It’s very simple, even though it is hard. Competence plus integrity compounds, and you will end up well respected and doing it all on your own terms in a way you are proud of.
The truth is, I didn’t climb a ladder. I wasn’t on one. I followed curiosity, let boredom redirect me, learned relentlessly, stayed human, and refused to trade authenticity for advancement.
If there’s anything I hope women take away from my story, it’s this:
Get off the ladder. Know yourself. Trust yourself. Throw out the rules and the shoulds. Use your intuition to guide you.
• • •
Chief Operating Officer
Interlinc Mortgage Services
I was a 22-year-old college recruit in 2002 when a growing subprime lender took a chance on me. I had zero experience and zero clue, but the company invested serious time and money in my development — classroom training, side-by-side mentoring, and a real paycheck while I learned the craft from the ground up. They didn’t just give me a job; they built me into an underwriter. Within four years I became the youngest underwriting manager in the company, was later hand-picked for the corporate fraud-investigation team, selected as the company-wide AUS trainer, and tapped for countless special projects. Why? Because every time someone asked, “Who can help with this?” my answer was always, “I will.”
That single habit — raising my hand to help — carried me through the boom years, the 2008–2009 crisis, the post-Dodd-Frank rebuild, and ultimately to Chief Operating Officer of an independent mortgage bank and President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. Here’s the exact playbook I still follow two decades later.
The fastest way to stand out is to volunteer for the work others avoid. In 2003 that meant staying late and working weekends to clear the file backlog when everyone else wanted to leave at 5:00. In 2007 it meant hopping on a plane to India to train our offshore team. In 2013 it meant leading the charge on Dodd-Frank implementation. Today it means staying ahead of constant guideline changes, legislative priorities, and evolving credit-report strategies.
Pay attention in meetings and hallway conversations. Note every pain point — every bottleneck mentioned on manager calls, every compliance snag that delays closings, every new guideline tripping up originators, every system inefficiency. Think through solutions before leadership even identifies the problem. I call it “find a need and fill it.” That mindset is responsible for every promotion I’ve ever earned.
Titles are static; reputations are dynamic. Companies don’t promote the org-chart box labeled “Senior Underwriter.” They promote the person who:
trains every branch on the latest guidelines,
flies to corporate for a mission-critical project,
and still closes the month as a top performer in their day job.
Stepping into tasks outside your normal scope demonstrates commitment to the team’s success, builds new skills, and positions you for roles you wouldn’t otherwise be considered for. Being the reliable utility player is how you leapfrog ahead.
Do not see people as merely an entry in your Rolodex, regardless of current “value.”
> Erin Dee
Early in my career, I assumed, “They’ll never give a 25-year-old that much authority,” or “There’s no way they’d consider me for that role.” Then I watched peers calmly ask for the full package — title, span of control, compensation — and get it because they brought data. My rule ever since: ask for the whole order.
Track your wins and quantify the value you create:
Efficiency improvements
Cost savings
Reduced risk exposure
Enhanced customer or originator experience
When you can clearly show you deliver more value than you cost, your odds of a yes skyrocket. If the answer is no, you learn the real constraints and can either solve them or explore opportunities elsewhere. If you never ask, the answer is no by default.
Building processes, departments, and even companies from scratch has been incredibly rewarding, but the relationships I’ve formed along the way are the true fuel behind my personal and professional growth.
I’ve been fortunate to work alongside brilliant, generous people. I worked hard to prove my value to them, and in return they became mentors and lifelong friends. As I’ve advanced, I’ve had the privilege of hiring and developing talented individuals who have gone on to build outstanding careers of their own. Watching them succeed — raising families, buying homes, earning promotions — is perhaps the greatest joy of my professional life.
Two lessons I live by when it comes to relationships:
1. Be authentic. People can sense inauthenticity a mile away. Be yourself; genuine connections create trust and open doors.
2. Do not see people as merely an entry in your Rolodex, regardless of current “value.” The junior processor you encourage today might be the EVP who hires you tomorrow. Never burn a bridge you don’t have to.
The Ladder Is Still There —
You Just Have to Keep Building It
From wide-eyed trainee to COO and industry president, every rung on my ladder was forged the same way: I saw a need, raised my hand, delivered undeniable results, asked for what I had earned, and invested deeply in the people around me.
2026 is here. Rates may remain elevated, volume will stay competitive, and the regulatory landscape will keep shifting. But on every leadership call, someone is still going to ask, “Who can help us with this?”
Make sure the answer is you.
Shelly Griffin is Senior Vice President, Client Development, Deephaven Mortgage.
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MaxClass is a woman-owned company, and we're offering MWLC members 65% off your continuing education when you use our code WOMENWIN.
MaxClass is a woman-owned company, and we're offering MWLC members 65% off your continuing education. Become a member for our unique code.
The unexpected turns that led Mae Mackey to the industry
Why humanity is the most valuable currency in mortgage lending
How resilience, adaptability, and voice powered Elizabeth Mix’s rise in mortgage banking
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Why the long way around led to clarity, growth, and a more intentional mortgage career
Strong brands don’t just differentiate — they mentor, inspire, and transform the future of mortgage
The industry keeps repeating old mistakes. Here’s how lenders can pivot, prepare, and protect profitability
A surprisingly powerful break from the chaos of grown-up life.
From Charmed to the mortgage industry
A letter from the editor
MaxClass is a woman-owned company, and we're offering MWLC members 65% off your continuing education when you use our code WOMENWIN.
MaxClass is a woman-owned company, and we're offering MWLC members 65% off your continuing education. Become a member for our unique code.
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How interactive newsletters are turning “just another email” into referrals, relevance, and actual engagement
How resilience, adaptability, and voice powered Elizabeth Mix’s rise in mortgage banking
Why the long way around led to clarity, growth, and a more intentional mortgage career
As we begin 2026, Mortgage Women Magazine enters the year grounded in experience, strengthened by connection, and energized by what lies ahead.
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