MBA Presents Burton C. Wood Award to California MBA’s Susan Milazzo

The Mortgage Bankers Association presented its annual Burton C. Wood Legislative Service Award to California Mortgage Bankers Association CEO Susan Milazzo.

The award is given annually to an MBA member employee in recognition of his or her sustained superior service to the association and the real estate finance industry as a whole. Milazzo was presented the award at MBA’s 2019 Annual Convention & Expo in Austin, Texas.

Throughout her tenure since 2004 as California MBA’s CEO, Milazzo has been a strong advocate for MBA and its political action programs. Milazzo has helped grow MBA’s annual National Advocacy Conference, and consistently serves as a state leader for her delegation during the conference’s ”advocacy day” on Capitol Hill. Milazzo has also been a steadfast leader when advocating for California issues, including leading efforts on data privacy laws and defeating a recent rent control ballot initiative (Prop 10).

“Susan has dedicated her career to addressing the legislative and regulatory challenges facing our industry,” said Brian Stoffers, CMB, 2020 MBA Chairman and Global President of Debt & Structured Finance with CBRE, Houston. “She has been a strong advocate and leader for our industry, and I can think of nobody more deserving for this recognition. It is an honor to present her with this year’s Burton C. Wood award.”

The award is named after the late MBA Legislative Counsel Burton C. Wood, who devoted more than 30 years of service to MBA’s advocacy efforts. he passed away in 2010. Wood was the first recipient of the award in 1990, and his lobbying skills gained the respect and attention of both Republicans and Democrats alike.