We’ve added four new members to the DPR family!

It’s true: Down Payment Resource (DPR) is growing again to support the overwhelming demand for homebuyer assistance programs — now topping 2,400 — and the increasing popularity of our software tools for lenders, agents and listing sites. 

Our new team members join our hard working crew in playing a vital role in spreading the word about DPA, expanding our sales force and footprint and providing support to our ever-growing customer base. Thanks to their expertise, DPR is better equipped to champion innovative tools, partner with industry leaders like ICE Mortgage Technology to integrate with its Encompass® LOS platform, and develop strategies and programs that are making homeownership more affordable and accessible for all.

So, without further ado, here are the newest members of our DPR family:

Brad Cardwell – Vice President of Sales and Business Development

You’re sure to see Brad out and about representing DPR this fall at trade events and client meetings. As vice president of sales and business development (a new position for DPR!), the 20-year mortgage industry veteran leads enterprise sales efforts and expansion of our partner network with the goal of making more housing professionals and consumers aware of the availability and benefits of DPA for a range of homebuying expenses and property types. (Did you know more than 850 DPA programs can be used to purchase a manufactured home?)

Brad’s mortgage career started at Embrace Home Loans where he worked as a loan officer and team leader. He worked at Embrace for 19 years, most recently as its vice president of innovation for revenue and sales enablement, where he led cross-functional teams in implementing technology and processes to help Embrace enhance its customer service and close loans faster. He also previously served on the executive advisory board of nCino (formerly SimpleNexus, an nCino Company), a technology company whose software is used by banks and credit unions.

That’s a pretty solid mortgage-tech industry resume, so we asked Brad to share a few personal tidbits to help us all get to know him a little better:

What’s a personal accomplishment you’re particularly proud of?

I’m particularly proud of a thriving marriage for almost 30 years and raising our three amazing children.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why? Or, what is the best place you’ve visited and why?

Our go-to spot has been Aruba for the last 26 years! However, the best place we’ve visited is St. John and the British Virgin Islands, thanks to the stunning views, incredible snorkeling, and the unforgettable memories we’ve made there.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love connecting consumers with lenders and realtors to help them discover the down payment assistance they need to achieve their homeownership dreams. Additionally, I enjoy building relationships with mortgage and real estate professionals.

Veronica Chapa, Sales Engineer

As sales engineer — also a new role at DPR — Veronica will accelerate our go-to-market strategy, onboarding new customers and expanding our market footprint. Veronica will be responsible for working with our marketing communications, sales and customer success teams to support the sales process from start to close/won. This will include meeting with potential customers to conduct thoughtful product demonstrations and educate them on how to successfully introduce greater efficiency and success using homebuyer assistance programs as a key business strategy.

She’ll be the point person setting up free product trials and soliciting client feedback and will partner with DPR’s sales leadership as we plan growth strategies. (So be sure to share with her how you’re doing with DPR’s tools and how we can do better!)

Veronica brings an extensive mortgage industry background, having served in various roles at mortgage lenders and mortgage technology companies, including Optimal Blue and Ellie Mae (now ICE Mortgage Technology), and we’re happy to have her. 

Here are some tidbits you won’t find on her resume:

What are your hobbies? 

I volunteer at the food bank in Cypress (TX) and help organize food and clothing for our local residents in need. I am also a mom of three boys, and I have five grandbabies. I spend four months out of the year watching college football. Go Buckeyes!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy helping people understand down payment assistance, knowing they may have misconceptions about how it works and who can qualify. It’s wonderful to know we can help people in all walks of life, and in every U.S. county. The average consumer is just unaware of how much DPA can help them, and I hope that we can bridge that awareness gap so more people can become homeowners.

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off work? 

I love the weather here in Texas and we have a ton of trails in Cypress and nature preserves. I am always up for a walk in the woods around the creek. Other than that, just watching football or maybe having no plans at all is super exciting!

Lorrie Johnson, Customer Success Specialist

As a customer success specialist, Lorrie works closely with Veronica to ensure prospective customers are wowed from the moment they make contact with us through becoming DPA champions. Her role is to demystify the DPA process, ease their fears and debunk myths (like you can’t make money if you use DPA). She then sets them up for a free trial and finally, onboards them. She’ll stay in contact as customers grow. 

Lorrie has an extensive professional background in real estate, customer service and sales, and easily builds rapport with our lender and real estate/MLS customers, having walked in their shoes. (She is still an active real estate agent!) She also monitors support inquiries and resolves or escalates them as needed and assists with customer usage monitoring to help identify integration or adoption issues we may need to investigate. 

Here’s a few details she let us in on to help you get to know her better:

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off work? 

Realistically, I’m most likely to be cleaning and running errands on my day off, but when I find the time my favorite way to spend my day off is probably curled up on the couch watching a movie or exploring a new hiking trail, packing a picnic and just finding the beauty in nature that is all around us.

What’s a personal accomplishment you’re particularly proud of?

My children are my greatest accomplishment by far, and they make me very proud.  

I also feel an immense amount of pride when I help others achieve the American Dream through homeownership. When they put their trust in me to help guide and educate them, it is very humbling. I was once in their shoes, too. If someone had not come in and showed me the ropes, I would have never bought my first home. It’s such an honor and a privilege, really, to help educate buyers, lenders and real estate agents about what options they weren’t even aware of. So many people don’t even know about the assistance they can get (like FREE MONEY) or how little of a down payment they actually need to get into a home. 

What are your hobbies? 

I love visiting the National Parks and hope to visit them all one day. Yellowstone National Park is one of my absolute favorites. I enjoy the outdoors hiking or just working in my garden. I also enjoy arts and crafts. I’ll paint a rock, a pallet, or piece of furniture. I’m a fan of country music and right now am headed to the Morgan Wallen/Jelly Roll concert!

Lisa Rhodes, DPA Program Specialist

As a DPA program specialist, Lisa is one of our busy bees in contact with our network of program providers to ensure we always have current details on more than 2,400 DPA programs nationwide (have we mentioned our database is the most extensive and accurate anywhere?)

In this role, Lisa works to expand our DPA program provider contacts and ensure consistent communication. Much of her time is spent researching DPA programs online to gather as much intel as possible about program guidelines, requirements and funding status. She collects, interprets and inputs program data into our unique DPA database and builds collaborative relationships with DPA program providers to raise awareness and usage of their programs among lenders, real estate agents and consumers. She also monitors DPA programs for changes and ensures the accuracy of program details over time. 

Before joining DPR, Lisa served in various professional positions in the financial industry, including being an HFA program administrator for 17 years at U.S. Bank.

But here’s the really fun stuff to know about her:

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why? Or, what is the best place you’ve visited and why? 

I would love to travel the entire world. I think one of the most vital human experiences is getting to submerge yourself in other cultures and ways of life. It really opens up your entire life. If I had to pick my top three destinations they would have to be the UK, Turkey and Egypt. 

What are your hobbies? 

I love to read. My office has six bookshelves filled to the brim, and my collection has spilled out throughout my home. I also love walks with my three dogs (Abby Rhodes, Penny Lane and Charli Brown). Spending time with family and friends is a favorite pastime, regardless of what we are doing together. 

What’s your favorite way to spend a day off work? 

Sleeping in, shopping with my sister, having pool days with my friends, reading on my porch. Any day I get to choose to do nothing (or anything) is a great day.

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Down Payment Resource builds tools that help mortgage lenders, real estate agents, multiple listing services and consumer listing sites build relationships with homebuyers by connecting them with the homebuyer assistance they need.

To learn how Down Payment Resource can help you support homebuyers, contact us.