TJ brings nearly 15 years of experience leading architecture and engineering  teams across financial services. She has a strong track record of driving change— modernizing platforms and aligning technology with business strategy. She’s  passionate about bringing product and technology together to create meaningful,  sustainable impact. 

Beyond her day-to-day work, TJ stays actively involved in tech community events  to connect with and learn from others who are shaping the future of our industry. 

Outside of work, she’s a proud mom of two daughters, lifts weights to clear her  head, and enjoys reading non-fiction.

Mortgage365 is building the next generation of mortgage technology—focused on simplifying workflows, unifying data, and keeping lenders connected to borrowers. This year, we’re introducing new solutions designed to eliminate tech sprawl and enhance pipeline visibility, so lenders can focus on closing more loans, not managing more systems.

Demo Presentation

Atlantis

Atlantis is the opportunity engine built for modern mortgage lenders, turning the data you already own into your most valuable growth channel. Instead of waiting for borrowers to shop around, Atlantis runs real-time loan scenarios against each customer’s financial profile to surface relevant, high-converting opportunities before competitors can. It operates quietly in the background, integrating with your existing systems to give loan officers clarity on exactly who to call, when to call, and what to offer, while giving leadership pipeline visibility and confidence in execution. Secure, compliant, and quick to implement, Atlantis helps lenders of all sizes compete like market leaders—closing more loans, strengthening relationships, and maximizing the return on every lead you’ve already paid for.

Optimal Blue bridges the primary and secondary mortgage markets to deliver the industry’s only end-to-end capital markets platform, helping lenders maximize profitability and operate efficiently so they can help American borrowers achieve the dream of homeownership.

Heidi Patalano is the editor-in-chief of National Mortgage News. Previous to this role, she was a magazine editor at real estate trade publication The Real Deal. She also oversaw residential real estate news reporting as the features editor at DNAinfo.com. Patalano holds a Bachelor of Science from Boston University’s College of Communication.

Chad Smith is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Better (NASDAQ: BETR), a leading digital mortgage company on a mission to make homeownership faster, cheaper, and just plain better for all Americans. Since its founding in 2015, Better has originated over $100 billion in home loans, more than $38 billion in insurance, and over $3 billion in real estate transactions, all entirely online.

A seasoned veteran in the direct-to-consumer mortgage industry, Chad holds over 20 years of experience building lead routing strategies and partnerships for distributed retail, recapture, and MSR ownership. Prior to Better, Chad served as the Chief Executive Officer of Mission Loans, a customer and partner-centric mortgage company. He has held leadership roles at lenders including Executive Vice President of Consumer Direct and Portfolio Retention at Caliber Home Loans, a full service national mortgage originator, President of Direct Lending at loanDepot, one of the nation’s largest non-bank retail mortgage lenders, and Senior Vice President of Production at LendingTree Loans. LendingTree Loans was eventually acquired by Discover Home Loans, where Chad oversaw mortgage production for Discover’s entrance into the mortgage business.

Founder of The Basis Point®, a sales & strategy consultancy to banks, lenders, and fintechs – and a smart, fun financial media brand. We advise top companies in the space, and cut through the consumer finance, real estate, and fintech clutter to deliver sharp insights that consumers get and pros respect.

Mary Grace Roske has spent her career leading marketing and communications efforts at companies in the “money movement” space, including banking, philanthropy, and now fintech. Prior to helping launch CD Valet, she led marketing and communications at Seattle Bank, Seattle Foundation and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle. In these roles, she established expertise in creating trusted brands through clear, consistent, and compelling marcom initiatives.

At CD Valet, Mary Grace manages consumer and financial institution marketing, including advertising, event marketing, strategic communications, and brand marketing. In addition to positioning CD Valet as the nation’s first consumer-focused marketplace for financial institutions offering CDs, her team is establishing the brand as a leading source of industry data and product knowledge on CDs. She has been with CD Valet since its inception in 2022. 

Mary Grace serves on the Board of Directors for Pike Place Market Foundation and is Chair of the Professional Advisory Board for the Washington State University Edward R. Murrow College of Communications. Mary Grace holds a Bachelor of Science degree in communications from Washington State University and a Master of Science degree in communications management from Syracuse University.

John Pitts is the Head of Industry Relations and Digital Trust for Plaid, a financial services technology company, where he works with banks, fintechs, and aggregators to advance Open Banking and empower consumers to safely access, share, and control their financial data. He advocates for financial data practices based on consumer-first principles of transparency, permission, and privacy. Previously, as Plaid’s Head of Policy, John successfully advocated for the introduction of Open Banking in the U.S. through the CFPB’s 1033 rule and consulted on financial data and consumer protection regulations across the U.S., Canada, UK, EU, and Australia.

Before Plaid, John was Deputy Assistant Director for Intergovernmental Affairs at the CFPB, working with state Attorneys General to promote cooperation and coordination between the states in enforcing the Dodd-Frank Consumer Financial Protection Act. He was a regular speaker on NAAG, CWAG, and State Center panels on topics including student lending, payday lending, and emerging financial technologies like cryptocurrencies. John began his career as an attorney at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.