CREF Engagement Team Hires Salazar
The CREF Policy and Member Engagement team will add Jacky Salazar as Associate Director of Member Engagement this month. She will report to MBA Vice President of Member Engagement Kelli Burke and will work from the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Salazar’s portfolio will include organizing events, committees and roundtables for the Servicer Council. Additionally, she will oversee mPact, MBA’s young professionals network in partnership with Krystal Thomas, Senior Specialist for Industry Relations and Member Engagement.
“We could not be more pleased Jacky is coming on board. I look forward to collaborating on mPact events that bring together our single-family, commercial and multifamily young professionals to continue to make positive impact on our industry,” said Krystal Thomas. Thomas’s role is focused on single-family activities and MBA’s Diversity and Inclusion efforts; however, she was instrumental in overseeing commercial/multifamily activities while the interview process took place for Salazar’s role, most notably helping leadership raise $50,000+ for the MBA Open Doors Foundation with their virtual fundraising week in December.
Salazar brings over 13 years of industry service with varied member firm experiences and relationships that will benefit the association and its members. Most recently, she was Senior Associate in Fannie Mae’s Multifamily Risk/Asset Management Group with responsibilities including assisting in developing and planning the Annual Fannie Mae Asset Management conference. She previously worked at Barings Multifamily Capital, where she performed surveillance and compliance roles. She began her career in commercial mortgage servicing at PGIM, where she served as an Executive Assistant and an Audit Coordinator.
“We are thrilled to add Jacky to the member engagement team and know our members will really enjoy working with her,” Burke said. “Dallas is such an important hub for servicers, so the idea of adding boots on the ground there just made sense.” Burke herself spent many years working in the commercial mortgage industry both in Dallas and with PGIM before joining Mortgage Bankers Association. She also worked at Capmark/GMAC in Atlanta, predecessor to MBA member firm Berkadia. Given a stint in the hospitality industry in which she studied and pursued a career as a chef, Burke brings a unique blend of perspectives to her management style and service delivery.
“We create meaningful interactions, connections and experiences based on who our members are and what is most likely to help their businesses and careers grow,” Burke said. “As such, the opportunity to hire a new team member looking to grow who has spent time in member’s shoes at Fannie Mae, a seller-servicer and an insurance company involved across capital sources was just a no brainer,” she said. Burke reports to MBA Senior Vice President Michael Flood and leads a team that includes Associate Vice President Andrew Foster as well as Associate Vice President Sharon Walker. Walker reports to Flood and splits her time between Policy and Member Engagement responsibilities. In addition to overseeing council and committees, Burke supports COMBOG and manages the member committees responsible for the Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference and CREF/Multifamily Housing Convention.
