Why did you choose the field/profession you are in today?
When I first got married, I worked with my husband helping with his residential construction company. After the birth of our daughter, I realized that I needed to get a job with health benefits. One of our clients worked at First National Bank and suggested that I consider a job in banking – she thought I had good organizational skills. She helped get my foot in the door and I landed a job in Commercial Real Estate. I worked full time (with a toddler) and went to school at night to earn my Finance degree. I was fortunate to have people see potential in me and was offered different positions within CRED and the multifamily mortgage banking subsidiary. I really didn’t choose this career – it chose me – I grew up here and I wouldn’t change anything about it!
What was your greatest professional accomplishment in 2018?
My greatest 2018 accomplishment is being promoted to Chief Credit Officer and Chief Operating Officer for M&T Realty Capital Corporation. For the past thirteen years I have been the Chief FHA Underwriter (Multifamily and Healthcare.) I went from managing a team of 20 specialized in FHA to a team of 66, which includes Agency Underwriting, Closing & Delivery and our Information Technology team for the company. My strength is organization and communication – but that is not useful if I don’t have the right team working with me to be successful. At M&T, we have a dynamic group of people that work together to deliver outstanding service to our customers.