Annual awards celebrate the mortgage brokers, professionals and service providers helping advance the industry
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), the first and only national volunteer-led and membership-driven organization representing the interests of mortgage brokers and home buyers since 1973, is thrilled to announced the winners of its 2026 NAMB Excellence Awards, recognizing mortgage professionals and companies that demonstrated excellence and made significant contributions to the mortgage industry throughout 2026.
The 2026 awards recognize professionals across the mortgage brokerage community, including Mortgage Brokers of the Year, New Brokers of the Year, Influencers of the Year, Young Professionals of the Year and Account Executives of the Year, along with companies recognized as Service Partners of the Year.
The award winners will be formally recognized during NAMB National 2026, October 16–19 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NAMB's annual national conference bringing together thousands of mortgage professionals, industry leaders, speakers and partners from across the country.
"Every year, NAMB has the privilege of recognizing the people and companies who are helping move our industry forward," said Kimber White, NAMB President. "These award recipients represent the professionalism, innovation, leadership and commitment that are so important to the mortgage industry. We congratulate every winner and thank them for their contributions to the mortgage marketplace."
2026 Excellence Award Winners are:
Mortgage Broker of the Year:
Ben Bell, Libra Branch, Imad Canavati, Melinda Casem, Aaron Clark, Daniel Clifton, Bannen Davis, Taylor Gardner, Jacob Garrett, Ray Gulam, Vipul Hapani, Marco Jimenez, Omar Khamisa, Rene Kneller, Jeni Lehnen, Geiner Lopez, Gerry Manzi, Avalon McLeod, John Moel, Ryan O'Keven, Joe Page, Liliana Pribadi, Chirag Rachhadia, Brittney Sargent, Alex Shekhtman, Tim Stacey, Brian Tewes, Brandon Watts and Harold Yang.
New Brokers of the Year:
Nadia Affes, Alex Aughenbaugh, Omaro Ayloush, Jack Connors, Amanda Embry and Chance Stoffel were recognized as New Brokers of the Year.
Influencers of the Year:
The Influencer of the Year awards recognize Michael Belfor, Todd Bitter, Martin De La Garza, Jessica Hernandez, Yillian Iglesias, Laura Rojas Rodriguez, Matt Shields and Nathan Young.
Young Professionals of the Year:
The Young Professional of the Year recipients are Samuel Bromley, Daniel Canales, Rachel Clark, Tiffany Genella, Marco Jimenez, Kyle Christopher Leppert, Elisa Marquez-Smith, Linh Nguyen, Kevin Pennington, Chrissian Potter and Melanie Rader.
Account Executives of the Year:
NAMB recognized Account Executives of the Year in both Qualified Mortgage and Non-Qualified Mortgage categories.
QM: Judy Chow, Gwynne Griffin, Chris Mitchell, Eric Salzwedel and Jason Twiford.
Non-QM: Lou Maldonado and Ari Zaimi.
Service Partners of the Year:
NAMB also recognized companies providing critical products and services to mortgage professionals across six categories:
Appraisal Management: Equity Solutions USA and PCV Murcor
Compliance: Firstline Compliance, Guide Mortgage Licensing and Strategic Compliance Partners
Marketing: MLO Branding Academy and Ron Vaimberg International Ltd.
Lender (Wholesale): LoanStream Mortgage, NewRez LLC and PennyMac TPO
Processing: Apex Processors LLC, HR Loan Processing LLC and IME Mortgage Processing
Software & Technology: Lender Price, LendingPad and Vonk Digital.
About NAMB: The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has been the only national volunteer-led and membership-driven organization representing the interests of mortgage professionals and homebuyers since 1973. NAMB provides mortgage professionals with advocacy, education, and rigorous certification programs to recognize members with the highest levels of professional knowledge and education. NAMB's active lobbying and advocacy efforts focus on national and state issues, protecting the interests of its members and borrowers. As the leading national trade association for the mortgage industry, NAMB is affiliated with state associations throughout the country and represents the interests of more than 546,800 licensed and registered Mortgage Loan Originators and 49,100 licensed Mortgage Broker and Mortgage Lender businesses throughout the U.S. www.namb.org
Media Contact
Joshua Steinfeld, Steinfeld Consulting, 1 339-225-1581, [email protected]
SOURCE NAMB
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