Market Outlook Q&A with MBA’s Research Team on THE HUB STAGE

Director, Public Affairs, Mortgage Bankers Association

Falen Taylor is the Director of Public Affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association, where she manages media relations and member communications activities for MBA’s Research, mPower, affordable housing, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Falen joined MBA in 2019 as a Public Affairs Specialist, where she was in charge of executing MBA’s advocacy newsletters and member communications as well as assisting with MBA’s media outreach. Prior to joining MBA, Falen was at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions where she assisted with media strategy, social media content development, and developing internal communications processes. Falen earned her bachelor’s degree in communications and American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. She also earned her Master of Arts Degree in Communications and Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University.

Vice President, Deputy Chief Economist, Mortgage Bankers Association

Joel Kan serves as Vice President, Deputy Chief Economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. In this role, he is responsible for MBA's macroeconomic and housing market forecasts and oversees the production of MBA's industry surveys, including the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, Builder Applications Survey, and Mortgage Credit Availability Index - three of the association's high-profile surveys. Mr. Kan presents regularly on the economy and housing market at MBA and industry events, and is interviewed and quoted frequently in national, local and industry media outlets. Prior to joining the MBA, he worked in Ernst & Young's Quantitative Economics and Statistics (QUEST) group. He holds a B.Sc. in Economics and Statistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Vice President, Industry Analysis, Mortgage Bankers Association

Marina Walsh, CMB, is Vice President of Industry Analysis in MBA's Research and Economics Department, specializing in industry performance benchmarking for residential lenders and servicers. She leads the management and direction for the Mortgage Bankers Performance Reports, the Peer Group Survey and Roundtable Program, the Servicing Operations Study, the Warehouse Lender Study, and other studies that measure lender performance. She is MBA's spokesperson for all servicing-related studies including the National Delinquency Survey and the Loan Monitoring Survey. Prior to joining MBA, Walsh was a manager in Ernst and Young's Real Estate Advisory Services Group. She has previously been named to HousingWire's "Women of Influence" list. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University.