Charland, Tucker, Niemi, Monson, and others recognized for their service
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 21, 2024
RESTON, VIRGINIA – On August 7, 2024, during the 34th Annual Regulatory Conference of the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) in New Orleans, Louisiana, the recipients of this year’s Distinguished Service and other awards were announced. These awards are presented annually in recognition of those individuals who have contributed to the Association’s many successes and to the important work of mortgage regulation and compliance.
2024 AARMR Distinguished Service Awards
Over the years, AARMR’s annual Distinguished Service Award has been presented to many well-deserving individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their field, and who are known for frequently going above and beyond their usual responsibilities and what is expected of them.
The 2024 Distinguished Service Award was presented to two regulators and one industry representative:
- Clifford Charland, Director of Operations – Financial Services Licensing and Supervision, Maryland Office of Financial Regulation
- Kareeme Tucker, Financial Examiner, North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks
- Bob Niemi, Director of Government Affairs, Weiner Brodsky Kider
Clifford Charland
Cliff received this award in recognition of his service on the AARMR Board and to the state supervisory system. He has provided tremendous leadership during the past two years as President of AARMR.
Cliff has served on the AARMR Board of Directors since December 2015, which has also included terms as Secretary, Treasurer, and Vice President. His service to the state supervisory system goes well beyond his time on the AARMR Board. Cliff was an AARMR appointee to the Multi-State Mortgage Committee (MMC). During this time, he also worked on the MMC’s Examiner Training Workgroup, which launched introductory training schools for mortgage origination and servicing examinations. Cliff is also a former member of the NMLS Mortgage Testing and Education Board, including having served as its Chair.
Kareeme Tucker
Kareeme has served on the AARMR Board of Directors since December 2021, and was elected during the 2024 Annual Conference to serve as AARMR’s Secretary. She also leads the efforts of AARMR’s Education Committee, now serving as its Chair following the retirement of its longtime Chair, Rich Cortés (Connecticut). Kareeme has worked tirelessly to put together AARMR’s trainings and tailor them to the current needs of examiners. Leading the committee demands a lot of work behind the scenes to make the training events come together and requires the ability to pivot quickly. Kareeme has delivered on her responsibilities with thoroughness and grace.
Bob Niemi
Bob was very active as a regulator and has remained active with AARMR since moving to industry. He quickly joined AARMR’s Industry Advisory Council as Weiner Brodsky Kider’s representative and is now in his second one-year term as the Council’s Chair. He brings a much-needed, balanced understanding of what industry wants, as well as the needs of regulators. Bob frequently offers productive suggestions to help AARMR provide more benefits to member organizations, while respecting the Association’s resource limitations.
We congratulate Cliff Charland, Kareeme Tucker, and Bob Niemi on receiving the prestigious Distinguished Service Award of 2024, and thank them for their dedicated service.
2024 AARMR Examiner-In-Charge (EIC) of the Year Award
The 2024 EIC of the Year Award was presented to Jacob Monson, IT Examiner, Washington Department of Financial Institutions.
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and AARMR Nationwide Cooperative Protocol for Mortgage Supervision is designed to assist state mortgage regulators by outlining a basic framework for the coordination and supervision of Multi-State Mortgage Entities, or MMEs.
The Multi-State Mortgage Committee contacts participating Joint Examination State Regulators to staff Joint Examination Teams, and also designates an Examiner-in-Charge for each team. The EIC serves as the primary point of contact between the MME and the Joint Examination Team.
Jacob has been with the Washington Department of Financial Institutions since 2015. He recently transitioned to the role of IT Examiner. Previously, Jacob served as a financial examiner field supervisor, overseeing a team of mortgage examiners.
During a recent MMC examination, Jacob demonstrated exceptional leadership skills while acting as the Examiner-In-Charge. He effectively guided the team through the examination process. While the examination was conducted remotely, Jacob communicated effectively and fostered collaboration among the team members. He was persistent in ensuring the examination team received the information necessary to conduct a thorough review.
Jacob did an outstanding job of leading the examination team and keeping the examination moving forward. His thoughtful approach to handling issues helped ensure the success of the examination.
2023-2024 EIC and SPOC Recognition
A number of individuals were also recognized during the awards ceremony for making significant contributions to mortgage supervision through their dedicated work in 2023-2024 as Examiners-In-Charge or Single Points of Contact.
Examiners-In-Charge
- Yolana Andrews (Montana)
- Renee Barrett (New York)
- Justin Campidilli (Kansas)
- Aaron Clifton (District of Columbia)
- Jeff Evans (Iowa)
- Eric Garcia (North Carolina)
- Jared Gordon (Massachusetts)
- Thomas Humphries (Washington)
- Daniel Landini (Connecticut)
- Kristin Schartz (Kansas)
- Leonard Smith (District of Columbia)
- Lindsay Stenger (Washington)
- Alex Wall (Minnesota)
Single Points of Contact (SPOC)
- Brad DeLettera (Georgia)
- Holly Diehl (Michigan)
- Bryon Gibbs (South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs)
- Nikki Hoffman (North Carolina)
- Daniel Kline (Idaho)
- Angelyn Lander (Iowa)
- Jihan Loving (Alabama)
- Michael Mayne (Minnesota)
- Linda McClure (North Carolina)
- Jeff Peterson (Nebraska)
- Chris Romano (Montana)
We offer our sincerest thanks to the above individuals for their important service to the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators.
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The American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to promote the exchange of information and education concerning the licensing, supervision and regulation of the residential mortgage industry, to ensure the ability of state mortgage regulators to provide effective mortgage supervision for a safe and sound industry meeting the needs of the local financial markets and to protect the rights of consumers.
Press contact:
David Saunders, Executive Director
American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators
703-782-5920