MBA Education Honors Mr. Cooper’s Ryan Davidson with the Willis Bryant Award

DENVER–MBA Education, the award-winning education division of the Mortgage Bankers Association, honored Mr. Cooper’s Ryan Davidson, AMP, Associate Vice President, Strategy & Analytics, with its 2024 Willis Bryant Award here at the 2024 Annual Convention and Expo.

The Willis Bryant Award recognizes outstanding academic achievement in the three courses of MBA Education’s School of Mortgage Banking (SOMB) and is awarded annually to a top student graduate of SOMB III. To qualify, a student must achieve a grade of “excellent” on all SOMB exams and demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities in both the classroom and when interacting with other students. 

“Ryan has demonstrated an unwavering eagerness to learn and has stood out as a true leader in the mortgage banking industry,” said David Upbin, MBA’s Vice President of Education Operations and Programming and MBA Strategy. “Ryan’s commitment to excellence and advancement is inspiring, and I wish him the best in his continued success and the positive impact he is having on all who know him.” 

Davidson, who joined Mr. Cooper in 2021, created the “Nourishing Greatness Program,” an interview-style, leadership education series that aims to expand knowledge on the servicing process. The program had 100 attendees on average and over 1,000 total attendees across all the sessions and is available on Mr. Cooper’s intranet. Prior to joining Mr. Cooper, Davidson was the Director of Operations at Robertson, Anschutz, Shneid, Crane and Partners. Before that, Davidson started his career at Ocwen Financial Corporation, where he held ascending roles for 10 years before becoming the Senior Manager for Default Servicing. 

This award was named after Willis R. Bryant, following his death in 1965. Bryant, a mortgage banking pioneer of the 1950s, was a former lecturer for SOMB who authored Mortgage Lending Fundamentals and Practices, a former SOMB textbook.