GENERAL SESSION: Fireside Chat with the GSEs & FHLB

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.

President & Chief Executive Officer, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago

Michael A. Ericson has served as the President and CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago since January 2021. He has worked at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago since 2005 in roles of increasing responsibilities including as Executive Vice President and Chief Opera􀆟ng Officer in 2020; Executive Vice President and Group Head, Members and Markets from 2014 to 2020; and Chief Risk Officer of the Bank from July 2008 to December 2014. Mr. Ericson currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Banks where he is a member of the Planning, Technology and Operations Committee.

Senior Vice President - Seller Engagement, Freddie Mac Single-Family

Kevin Kauffman is the Senior Vice President of Seller Engagement in the Freddie Mac Single-Family Acquisitions Division. He leads the sales and marketing teams, in addition to driving Seller and partner adoption of our products and services. Focusing on end-to-end Seller experience, he seamlessly connects Seller business needs with our innovative technology solutions. With a career spanning more than 20 years in both mortgage operations and technology, Mr. Kauffman gained a deep understanding of the loan manufacturing process in the primary mortgage market and combined his experience with building and marketing cutting-edge, end-to-end mortgage technology. His previous work experience includes various leadership roles with Citi, Chase, FIS and Fannie Mae.

Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Fannie Mae

Terry Theologides is Fannie Mae's Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. He reports to the President and Chief Executive Officer and is a management committee member. Theologides is responsible for leading our Communications and Public Affairs, Economic and Strategic Research, Legal, Marketing, and Mission and Impact functions. In this role, he leads alignment of strategy and public engagement for our work providing liquidity, stability, and affordability to the housing finance market. Theologides joined Fannie Mae in 2019 as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, overseeing the Legal Division and Government and Industry Relations function until his promotion to CAO in late 2023. A corporate and securities lawyer by training, Theologides came to Fannie Mae with nearly two decades of experience as a general counsel and executive officer of NYSE- and Nasdaq-listed public companies, primarily in financial services and other regulated industries. He served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at CoreLogic, Inc., where he helped lead the company’s spinoff from First American Financial. Before that, he served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Morgan Stanley’s U.S. residential mortgage businesses. He also served nearly nine years as General Counsel of a NYSE-listed mortgage REIT. During his career, Theologides has led public companies in public and private equity and debt offerings, spin-off and M and A transactions. He has also been active in housing finance and consumer data policy issues, including having served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council and as chair of the Consumer Data Industry Association. He began his career as a corporate and securities lawyer at O’Melveny and Myers, LLP. Theologides has a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. He serves on the Board of Directors for Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.