GENERAL SESSION: Residential & Commercial/Multifamily (CMF) Policy Briefing and Legislative Update (Closed to Media)
Get the information you need to make an impact on the legislation, people and processes that affect the single-family and commercial/multifamily real estate finance industry. MBA Staff experts provide the latest information on key primary issues.
Speakers
Introductions
Bill Killmer is Senior Vice President for Legislative and Political Affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). A veteran of over three decades in the housing arena, Bill joined MBA in 2010 and is responsible for managing the real estate finance industry's federal legislative, grassroots, and political fundraising activities, in close coordination with the MBA member leadership and its public policy, economics, public affairs, and lobbying teams. He oversees MBA's direct outreach to Congress, and is a regular guest speaker on the intersection of politics, policy, and industry issues. Under Killmer's leadership, grassroots participation through MBA's Mortgage Action Alliance has doubled, while donations to MORPAC, the industry's political action committee, have more than tripled, enhancing the association's ability to develop and execute effective advocacy strategies on the industry's behalf. Killmer came to MBA after nearly 20 years in the policy space at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), where he last served as Executive Vice President for Advocacy, managing all aspects of the group's public policy outreach. During his tenure at both organizations, he has been named as a Washington trade association "Top Lobbyist" by publications such as The Hill and CEO Update. He previously served as a Senior Legislative Officer for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor during the George H.W. Bush administration. Killmer holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration (BBA), with a concentration in Finance, from Baylor University.
Speakers
Megan Booth has nearly three decades in the housing and finance sectors. She serves as the AVP for Commercial and Multifamily Policy at the Mortgage Bankers Association. Immediately before joining MBA, Booth served as the SVP of Policy at the Manufactured Housing Institute, where she managed advocacy, communications, and research to support the factory-built housing industry. For nearly 24 years prior, Booth was with the National Association of REALTORS®, where she worked on federal housing and commercial policy issues. She also coordinated NAR’s policy staff. Booth has previous experience in the construction industry and as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill. A native of Massachusetts, Megan received her B.A. from George Washington University and a Master’s degree from George Mason.
Matt Jones is Associate Vice President for Government Housing Finance at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). In this capacity he oversees the government lending portfolio for MBA’s Residential Policy team and manages MBA’s Residential Board of Governors (RESBOG). He previously served as Senior Advisor for Capital Markets at Amerifirst Home Mortgage. Prior to Amerifirst Home Mortgage, Jones was a senior U.S. Senate staffer, serving as Senior Counsel to both the Senate Banking Committee and Senate Finance Committee under Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID). In this capacity, Jones played a key role in drafting and negotiating several pieces of legislation that became law, including the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Jones began his career as a Mortgage Loan Originator at Amerifirst Home Mortgage. He holds a BA from the University of Michigan, and a JD from Georgetown University.
Rachel Kelley is the Vice President of Legislative Affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association, focusing her lobbying efforts on the Republicans in the House of Representatives. She was previously Assistant Vice President of Political Affairs at the MBA since 2021. Rachel was formerly in political fundraising working for CLT Host 2020, Inc, the RNC (Republican National Committee), and NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee). Prior to fulltime political fundraising, Rachel managed the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) PAC and helped represent ICSC on the Hill and worked on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) PAC. Before NAHB Rachel was a junior lobbyist at a boutique lobby firm specializing in education appropriation grants for community colleges, techno
Fran Mordi joined the Mortgage Bankers Association in May of 2017 after 20 years of post-Law school experience in the areas of tax and accounting. Prior to joining MBA, Fran worked at the American Bankers Association and Deloitte Tax, LLP on domestic and international tax issues impacting the financial services industry. Fran has specific expertise in putting together training sessions and presenting at bank tax conferences and panels. Fran has extensive experience working with the banking regulators, FASB, the Treasury and Congress as an advocate of the financial services industry. Fran holds a J.D. from New England Law School, Boston, MA, and an LL.M in Taxation from Georgetown University Law School, Washington, DC.
Madisyn Rhone serves as the Vice President of Legislative Affairs, specializing in House Democratic affairs, at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). In this role, Rhone leads MBA's advocacy efforts within the House of Representatives, developing policy positions, and fostering relationships with House Democrats, congressional staff, and relevant stakeholders. Prior to her current position, Rhone held the role of Director of Government and Industry Relations at Enact, where she led the Democratic government relations efforts and developed policy positions at the federal level. She also served on the Structured Finance Association's Structured Finance Coalition Board of Directors and currently holds positions as Vice Chair of the Women in Government Relations Congressional Outreach Committee and Vice Chair of the Youth Excited About Sports Board of Directors. Rhone brings a wealth of industry experience from her previous roles, where she worked in various departments, including risk, pricing, and operations. Her diverse background equips her with a comprehensive understanding of the mortgage industry, informing her strategic approach to policy advocacy.
George Rogers is a strategic government affairs executive with 25 years of federal and state experience. With deep policy expertise, great government contacts, and expert procedural skills, George specializes in outmaneuvering the opposition. He joined MBA in 2023 after being a multiclient lobbyist for a decade, including work for MBA from 2016-23. Prior to his corporate work, George spent nearly fourteen years in key leadership roles in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, including serving as a senior Policy Advisor and Counsel to the Speaker of the House and to the Minority Leader. He also served as General Counsel of the Committee on Rules, as Oversight and Investigations Counsel for the Government Reform Committee, and as Legislative Counsel to the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prior to DC, George was the Deputy Chief Counsel for the Indiana State Senate leadership. Before that he was an attorney in private practice. George is a 6th degree blackbelt and has a passion for scuba diving.
Ethan Saxon is an Associate Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). In this role, he is responsible for advocating MBA's legislative and policy priorities on Capitol Hill, with a primary focus on Democratic members of the United States Senate. He recently helped secure key provisions for MBA in the passage of the CARES Act and the American Recovery Plan Act. Ethan joined MBA from Capitol Hill, where he spent the majority of his professional career. Among his various roles, Ethan served as Chief of Staff for Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Originally from Australia, Ethan holds a bachelor’s degree from the Australian National University and master’s degrees from Georgetown University.
Justin Wiseman is Vice President and Managing Regulatory Counsel in the Public Policy and Industry Relations department at the Mortgage Bankers Association. Justin manages MBA’s Regulatory Policy team that covers legal issues, trends in litigation, regulatory compliance matters, and servicing as well as provides strategic direction to advance MBA member priorities on regulatory and legal matters. This team also analyzes pending rules and legislation, provides comments on behalf of MBA members on pending rules or regulations and helps develops MBA’s posture towards innovation and innovation policy. Prior to this, he staffed MBA’s Loan Administration committee, providing policy development insights and working with stakeholders to advocate on behalf of the industry.
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