NRMLA elects new board members, officers for 2025 term

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) has elected its board officers and co-chairs for the 2024-2025 term, including a slate of new officers along with both new and returning co-chairs.

Mike Kent, senior vice president of reverse asset management and industry relations at PHH Mortgage Corp., has been reelected as co-chair. This will be his fifth consecutive term in the position, following his first election to the post alongside former co-chair and industry professional Scott Norman in 2019.

He is joined in the co-chair position by Jim Cory, managing director of reverse mortgages at Guild Mortgage. Cory is a longtime industry veteran and NRMLA member, having first joined in 1998 and having previously served the board as vice chair. He holds the association’s Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional (CRMP) designation, and he has worked in leadership positions in several reverse mortgage companies during his career.

NRMLA President Steve Irwin offered his congratulations and well wishes to the co-chairs in a statement.

“I want to congratulate Mike and Jim on being elected NRMLA’s co-chairs,” Irwin said in an email update to NRMLA’s membership. “Their diverse skill sets and thoughtful leadership are well-suited to help govern the association and identify opportunities to grow the reverse mortgage industry.”

Other newly elected officers include Elly Johnson of All Reverse Pro and Robert Sivori of Brean Strategic Advisors as vice chairs. Johnson previously served as secretary. Brett Dunn of Traditional Mortgage Acceptance Corp. (TMAC) has been appointed as the new treasurer, succeeding Michael McCully of New View Advisors. Laura Cullen of Longbridge Financial will serve as the new secretary, succeeding Johnson in the role.

NRMLA enters the new term with significant change. At its Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego last month, former CEO Peter Bell announced that he was stepping back from reverse mortgages to focus on affordable housing advocacy.

NRMLA will be separating from Bell’s association management company, Dworbell Inc., as part of the transition and will continue operating independently of it.