DS News

2 A United Front, Committed to Service I was just reflecting on my experiences at last month's Five Star Conference in Dallas, and it was a very welcomed return to business for all in attendance. From the packed educational Labs, to greeting the exhibitors in the Expo Hall, to celebrating the many achievements of our Women in Housing Awards winners, it was nice to shed the "remote" tag, and once again enjoy one-on-one interaction. One of the biggest takeaways was that unity prevailed, as an industry in the same boat came together to share how they dealt with the challenges presented over the past year and looked forward to the adoption of new ways to conduct business in a post-pandemic environment. is month, in addition to sharing our retrospective of the Five Star Conference, we turn the spotlight on Brian D. Montgomery, former Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), former Assistant Secretary for Housing, and former Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner. Last month in Dallas, Montgomery was honored with the distinguished Five Star Lifetime Achievement Award, and I had the chance to sit down and speak to him about his many achievements on the housing front and his storied political career. Also this month, we hear from Candor Technology Founder & CEO omas Showalter as he examines the state of the industry as it deals with capacity headwinds and overlapping crises in the aptly titled feature, "From Crisis to Crisis." Jane Mason, CEO and Founder of Clarifire, addresses uncertainty in the servicer space in "How Servicers Can Stop Being Spooked by the Unknown," and Joan C. Spaeder-Younkin, Senior Associate Attorney, and T. Robert Finlay, Founding Partner, of Wright Finlay & Zak (WFZ) share their legal expertise this month dissecting a California case of a homeowner taking legal action against a servicer in the article, "California Court Revisits Homeowner's Bill of Rights." "You must be committed to the mission and committed that what you're doing is right. It's amazing what you can get done," is a comment Mr. Motgomery made in his chat with me. As an industry in a state of flux, the mission of keeping homeowners in their homes is a commitment being carried out, regardless of the hurdles and pitfalls that may be in the roadway. You will find all of this and more inside the October 2021 edition of DS News. David Wharton Editor-in-Chief VOL. 19 NO. 10 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF David Wharton EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jonathon Won MANAGING DIGITAL EDITOR Eric Peck REPORTER Christina Hughes Babb Kyle G. Horst MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS T. Robert Finlay Jane Mason Thomas Showalter Joan C. Spaeder-Younkin COPY EDITOR Brandy Scott ADVERTISING Sales: 214.525.6700 EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dawn Adams, SVP, Default Servicing, Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Tendayi Kapfidze, Chief Economist, LendingTree Courtney Thompson, Founder, Consigliera Jacob Williamson, VP, Distressed Assets, Fannie Mae Kim Yowell, EVP of Servicing, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation PRESIDENT & CFO Jonathan Hughes DESIGN Jordan Funderburk Jason Stone Jonathon Won No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. ©2021 Five Star Global, LLC—All Rights Reserved This publication is intended to provide accurate, authoritative, and detailed information in regard to the subject matter covered. All written materials are disseminated with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal advice or other professional services. Under no circumstance should the information contained herein be relied upon as legal advice as it is designed to be a source of information only. DS News strongly encourages the use of qualified attorneys or other qualified experts with regard to the subject matter covered. DS News does not guarantee the accuracy of the information, and is not liable for any damages, losses, or other detriments that may result from the use of these materials. Follow DSNewsDaily on From Our Desk

• Cover