MBA CONVERGENCE Partner Profile: Dan Ticona of Freddie Mac
(One in a recurring series about MBA CONVERGENCE, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s affordable housing initiative.)
Dan Ticona leads the Housing Solutions team within the Single-Family Client and Community Engagement division at Freddie Mac, McLean, Va., focused on developing innovative solutions to reduce barriers to homeownership.
Ticona and the Housing Solutions team are taking data-driven approaches to inform innovative concepts, deployment of test-and-learn programs and scaling solutions to make impactful change against long-standing housing challenges. Key opportunities include: expanding access to credit, invigorating housing supply through affordable housing creation and preservation, preparing future homeowners through education and bridging homeownership gaps within communities of color and underserved markets. He is responsible for development and execution of in-market programs, oversight of strategic industry collaboration as well as influencing the design of future affordable housing policy, programs and products.
HousingWire named him a 2019 Rising Star – an honor bestowed on the next generation of leaders within the housing industry. This important distinction recognizes his leadership within the mortgage industry and his contributions to move markets forward.
Since joining Freddie Mac in 2011, Ticona has held positions in Single-Family client-facing and servicing roles as well as in leading strategic projects and Duty to Serve initiatives. Prior to Freddie Mac, he spent eight years at Fannie Mae, where he held positions in change management, enterprise risk and sales. His expansive subject matter expertise has positioned Ticona as an influential thought leader, speaker and advocate within the housing industry.
Ticona’s work demonstrates his professional expertise and personal inspiration to reflect the Freddie Mac mission to provide liquidity, stability, affordability and equality to the nation’s secondary mortgage market. Freddie Mac supports communities by providing mortgage capital to lenders, in addition to offering education and outreach to help build successful and sustainable homeowners. For more information, please visit www.FreddieMac.com or learn more about the Housing Solutions journey at https://sf.freddiemac.com/housingsolutions.
MBA NEWSLINK: Why is CONVERGENCE important to you and what is your role in it?
DAN TICONA, FREDDIE MAC: CONVERGENCE is a natural extension of my work at Freddie Mac, where I lead a team focused on designing housing solutions to address the toughest homeownership and housing challenges. Making home possible through innovative solutions takes a village. CONVERGENCE offers a forum bringing together industry leaders from across the housing ecosystem, to glean learnings, discuss challenges and identify possible solutions promoting sustainable homeownership.
Over the last year, I have had the privilege to co-lead the CONVERGENCE Memphis appraisal gap, working group. The experience has been rewarding by connecting me with Memphis-based industry leaders and enhancing my understanding of appraisal gap issues at a deeper level.
CONVERGENCE is essential to me as a housing leader because it allows me to collaborate with like-minded industry leaders while providing insights into issues from different perspectives which I integrate into my work at Freddie Mac.
NEWSLINK: What has been your most meaningful accomplishment or experience since working with CONVERGENCE?
TICONA: Watching the CONVERGENCE Memphis appraisal gap, working group evolve. When we first came together, our focus was to identify different challenges facing the Memphis market. Prioritizing challenges to address was not easy. It felt like we were pulling at a never-ending thread. But, over the year, we started narrowing down solutions and our focus evolved to take action in reducing the appraisal gap.
NEWSLINK: What CONVERGENCE initiative or project are you most excited for in the future?
TICONA: I am excited about the new CONVERGENCE Memphis nonprofit organization, CONVERGENCE Memphis Inc. The creation of this organization is a testament to the power of convening. I look forward to seeing what will be accomplished and am rooting for the organization’s success. Another thing I am excited about is the introduction of new CONVERGENCE groups in additional markets. Now that we’ve encountered achievements, our efforts should focus on incrementally scaling CONVERGENCE to benefit markets nationwide.
NEWSLINK: What else would you share with MBA members who want to learn more about CONVERGENCE?
TICONA: Get involved if you can. It’s not only a humbling and rewarding experience, but you get to take part in an impactful and historical movement that I hope will last for years to come.
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CONVERGENCE is driving collective action with lenders, other industry participants and government partners to facilitate new solutions to our nation’s rental and housing affordability challenges. By using a cohesive approach, CONVERGENCE promotes more sustainable, affordable homes for purchase and rental for underserved people and communities, especially minorities and low-to-moderate-income Americans.
For more information, visit https://www.mba.org/advocacy-and-policy/convergence or contact affordablehousing@mba.org.
