GENERAL SESSION: From Headlines to Homebuyers — the Real Story on Supply

Laura Escobar

2025 MBA Chair; President, Lennar Mortgage

Laura Escobar is the 2025 MBA Chair and President of Lennar Mortgage. A 30-year mortgage industry veteran, Escobar has held leadership positions with both bank-owned and independent mortgage companies overseeing all aspects of mortgage banking, including production, operations, compliance, accounting, and training. Her personal ground level experience in every facet of mortgage lending has enabled her to manage and fully integrate all of these departments within Lennar Mortgage. Escobar is highly engaged in the industry, serves on MBA’s Board of Directors, and was co-chair of MBA’s IMB Executive Council from 2020–2022. She is also a director of the MBA Opens Doors Foundation, which she has supported by successfully fundraising for the foundation’s work and leading Lennar in company campaigns. Beyond her industry work, she is also a licensed mental health counselor and devotes much of her time to working with underprivileged women.

Debra W. Still, CMB

2013 MBA Chairman; Chairman, MBA Opens Doors Foundation; Vice Chairman,, Pulte Mortgage LLC

Debra W. Still, CMB, is Vice Chair of Pulte Financial Services, which includes Pulte Mortgage LLC, PGP Title and Pulte Insurance Agency and employs over 1100 individuals throughout the U.S. Pulte Financial Services is a part of PulteGroup, America’s largest homebuilder with operations in twenty-five states and the District of Columbia. Still has more than four decades of experience in the mortgage industry. She joined Pulte Mortgage in 1983, as Vice President/Branch Manager of the Maryland Division and subsequently held that position with the Dallas/Fort Worth Division. In June 1997, she was promoted to Executive Vice President, Production, and in October of that year was appointed to the Pulte Mortgage Board of Directors and named Corporate Secretary. Still became Chief Operating Officer in 1999, and in August 2004, was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. She was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Pulte Financial Services in 2010 overseeing Pulte Mortgage, PGP Title and PIA Insurance. Still served as the 2013 Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association and is currently a member of the association's Board of Directors and a member of MBA’s Consumer Affairs Advisory Council. Still was awarded MBA’s Andrew D. Woodward Distinguished Service Award in 2014. As an active MBA member for more than a decade, Still has also served as Chair of MBA's Residential Board of Governors (RESBOG,) Chairman of MBA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Chairman of the Council for Residential Mortgage Servicing for the 21st Century, Chair of the Affordable Housing Subgroup on GSE Reform, and was Chair of the MBA Forward Task Force. She has also served on MBA's Strategic Planning Committee, MBA's Loan Origination Task Force, and Secondary and Capital Markets Committee. Still has testified before Congress multiple times. Still is presently the Chairman of MBA’s Opens Doors Foundation. In 2011 and 2013, Still was featured in “Influential Women of the Housing Economy” by HousingWire Magazine and in 2011 was named one of “The Top Ten Women in Mortgage and Housing” by The Five Star Institute. In 2020, Still was recognized by the Denver Business Journal as “Most Admired CEO of 2020.” In March 2018 Still was appointed to Chimera’s Board of Directors. Chimera Investment Corporation is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that is primarily engaged in real estate finance. In September 2021, Still was appointed to the Board of Directors of Enact, Holdings, Inc, Enact is a publicly traded company and a leading U.S. private mortgage insurance provider. Still is a graduate of Ithaca College, Ithaca, N.Y., with a Bachelor of Science degree and has completed graduate work in Finance at George Washington University, Washington, D.C.