HOPE LoanPort Names CEO and Board of Directors

Seven housing industry veterans have been selected to lead HOPE LoanPort, ""HOPE NOW's"":https://www.hopenow.com/ Web-based tool that streamlines the submission of completed loan modification applications. In an announcement Wednesday, the organization named its CEO and the six individuals that will serve on its board of directors.

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Larry Gilmore, the current deputy director of the HOPE NOW alliance, was appointed as CEO of the new Web portal. He has worked with HOPE NOW since its inception in 2007 and will transition from his role within the alliance to oversee the day-to-day management of HOPE LoanPort.

Prior to joining HOPE NOW, Gilmore held executive positions at Option One Mortgage and the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mbaa.org/default.htm (MBA). He has more than 15 years' experience in the mortgage industry and has been involved in all aspects of the business, including government affairs, industry relations, affordable housing initiatives, and non-prime lending initiatives.

Gilmore will receive assistance with the business management and strategic direction of the organization from the newly-formed board of directors. This six-member board includes William A. Longbrake, who will serve as chairman, John H. Dalton, John A. Courson, Faith A. Schwartz, Kenneth D. Wade, and Camillo T. Melchiorre.

""HOPE LoanPort's board of directors is an all-star line-up of top notch housing, mortgage, and community development professionals, whose careers span several decades,"" Longbrake said. ""I am honored to work with this esteemed group as its chairman.""

Longbrake is an executive in residence at the ""Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland"":http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/. He works on a variety of business, policy, and governance

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issues with faculty, students, business leaders, government policymakers, and executives of nonprofit organizations. He also serves on the board of directors of First Financial Northwest, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, the Washington Financial League and the Washington State investment Board. In the past, Longbrake has worked in various executive roles with Financial Services Roundtable, Washington Mutual, Inc. and the FDIC.

Dalton, the former secretary of the Navy in the Clinton administration, is currently the president of the ""Housing Policy Council"":http://www.fsround.org/housing/index.html, part of the ""Financial Services Roundtable."":http://www.fsround.org/index.html Previously, he was president of the Government National Mortgage Association of HUD, and he also served as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank board.

Courson has been involved in the mortgage industry for more than 40 years and is currently the president and CEO of ""MBA"":http://www.mbaa.org/default.htm. Prior to joining MBA, he was a top executive at several mortgage companies, including Fundamental Mortgage, Central Pacific Mortgage Company, and Westwood Mortgage Corporation.

Schwartz is currently the executive director of HOPE NOW, a position she has held since the organization's inception. Previously, she held executive positions with Option One Mortgage and Freddie Mac. Schwartz is the president of Women in Housing Finance in Washington, D.C., and she previously served on the Federal Reserve Board consumer advisory committee.

Wade is the CEO of ""NeighborWorks America"":http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp, a public nonprofit organization established as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation by an Act of Congress in 1978. He has more than 35 years' experience in community development and has been working with NeighborWorks America since 1990. Prior to that, Wade worked for United South End Settlements in Boston. He currently serves on several boards within the industry.

Melchiorre is the SVP of loss management for Radian Guaranty, Inc., the primary mortgage subsidiary of ""Radian Group, Inc."":http://www.radian.biz/ Previously, he served as EVP at LandAmerica Lender Services, and he has also worked as an executive at Freddie Mac and Commonwealth Mortgage Assurance Corporation, Radian's predecessor company. Melchiorre was a charter member of the Freddie Mac servicer advisory board and currently serves as chair of the technology subgroup of the HOPE NOW alliance.

There are plans to expand the board in the near future to reflect the diversity of the organizations involved with this groundbreaking Web portal initiative.