As champions for the private lending industry’s reputation and growth, it’s crucial to recognize those who look beyond the bounds of their own businesses to help our mission.

2024 Excellence Awards Nominations

Nominations are open until August 23, 2024, with public voting September 1-30, 2024. Recipients will be announced at our 15th Annual Conference.

Member of the Year and Rising Star awardees are decided by popular vote, while Community Impact nominees are evaluated by AAPL.

Nominate now for our 2024 Excellence Awards!


About Your 2023 Award Recipients

Ben Fertig, Constructive Capital

“Ben is an A+ leader who has demonstrated deep expertise, unique value, and strong commitment to clients and growing the industry.”
– Benn Jackson, Constructive Capital

Wade LaRouche, Housemax Funding

“Wade is the epitome of hard work and the old school hustle culture. He’s one of the top originators in the country for a reason: he outworks everyone.” – Doug Roberts, HouseMax Funding

Lisa Alberti, Ruby Boulanger, Karey Geddes, and Kristina Sawyer; Women in Private Lending

“The Women in Private Lending Group has done an exceptional job at elevating female professionals to be seen, heard, and valued! WIPL has truly raised the bar, creating a platform for women to come together to network, inspire each other, collaborate, and solve issues. While the four founders hail from different companies and disciplines, together they built a much-needed and much-appreciated addition to the private lending industry.”
– Lesley Boyd, Geraci LLP.

More On Our Award Process

  1. Nominations must come from a third party (i.e., you cannot nominate yourself).
  2. Nominees must be an AAPL member in good standing at both the time of nomination AND when awards are announced at the annual conference. We will notify the nominee of any membership issues that impact eligibility.
  3. Past award winners are ineligible for nomination in any category for a period of three (3) years after winning.
  4. Only one member per company may be nominated per year.
  • Nominations are open through August 23, 2024.
  • Public voting is September 1-30, 2024 – there is no membership requirement to vote.
  • Finalists are then notified and will appear in the Fall edition of Private Lender magazine.
  • Awardees are announced at our Annual Conference.
  • Awardees are then featured on this page until the new nominees are announced for the next Annual Excellence Awards.
  • Awardees also receive a feature in the conference recap of Private Lender magazine, usually the Winter (Q1) issue following the Annual Conference.

We announce award winners at the AAPL Annual Conference’s main session day, November 11, 2024. Finalists do not need to be present to win, although we encourage it for inclusion in the photo-op that appears in post-conference winner recognition. Post-conference, we recognize winners in:

  • Private Lender Magazine
  • Social announcements

Past Recipients

2022: Carrie Cook, Ignite Funding

“For the past 15 years as president, Carrie has not only led Ignite Funding to be one of the most reliable private lenders in the Western U.S., but also a sponsor that private investors depend on. Ms. Cook’s philosophy that everything should be handled in-house is why Ignite Funding has never missed a funding deadline, providing borrowers with timely financing, and why investors know they are working with an organization that stands behind their investment.” – Stephanie Fryar, Ignite Funding

Prior to 2022, Member of the Year was split into 2 categories: Lender and Service Provider.

2021 Lender: William Tessar, Civic Financial Services

I nominate Bill Tessar, president of Civic FS. Bill has an abundant knowledge in the mortgage industry, specifically in private money lending. He has communicated with transparency and empathy through the pandemic to the benefit of all industry personnel. He has provided education, guidance, resources for all. I believe he exemplifies the AAPL mission. – Kendra Rommel, Civic Financial Services

2021 Service Provider: Joseph Fooks, Mortgage Automator

Joseph co-founded Mortgage Automator in 2019, spurred on by his 16-yearlong career as a private lender. Since then, Automator has been helping hundreds of private lenders to streamline, automate, and grow their businesses. Thanks to the company’s continuous innovation and stellar customer support, more than $10 billion worth of loans have been funded through the system, with more than 100,000 auto-generated documents that have saved mortgage professionals thousands of hours of precious time. With new developments, partnerships, and exponential growth, Joseph continues to advance the vision of Mortgage Automator, bringing the disrupting leading-edge technology to private lending, an industry long overdue for a shake-up.– Tatiana Caciur, Mortgage Automator

2020 Lender: John Beacham, Toorak Capital Partners

“John Beacham, Founder and CEO of Toorak Capital Partners is a recognized industry leader who has participated in AAPL webinars and its in-person events. John’s contributions to the industry have had a long-lasting impact. At Toorak, he established a standardized set of underwriting guidelines and credit criteria which have been adopted by much of the industry. This framework and insight improved and institutionalized credit standards industry-wide.” – Emily Meringolo,  Stanton Public Relations & Marketing

2020 Service Provider: Sam Kaddah, Liquid Logics

“Sam’s dedication to providing education and helping others make connections has placed him in the eyes of his peers as a leader in this industry. His contribution to this industry has not only provided innovated insight but he has also shown in-depth knowledge and best practices that will be utilized for years to come.” – Brigette Havard, Liquid Logics

2019 Lender: Chris Ragland, Noble Capital

“This year, more than ever, I have seen AAPL succeed in getting its message out. Though credit is due to the effectiveness of its leadership, this year Chris has been one of those unique variables that has propelled AAPL’s value to its members, brand awareness and overall significance.” – Romney Navarro, Noble Capital

2019 Service Provider: Michael Tedesco, Appraisal Nation

“Michael brings a passion and expertise that is contagious. He’s at the forefront of what’s going on in the industry, bringing his one-step-ahead insight to his clients and colleagues and providing a much-needed service to private lenders and their business processes.” – Valley Matlaga, Appraisal Nation

Jack Helfrich, CIVIC Financial Services

“Jack’s star has been rising since he launched his career as one of the five original founders of CIVIC eight years ago. To say that Jack cares about his team, his customers and the private lending industry is an understatement. Jack is the human equivalent of a golden retriever… loyal, kind, and lots of fun, creating a contagiously positive impact wherever he goes – there’s just no stopping this Rising Star!” – Elizabeth Hillestad, Civic Financial Services

2021: Doug Roberts, HouseMax

Doug has gone from supervising loan officers to becoming a strategic partner and CRO of HouseMax, which is one of the top private lenders in the country. The company has achieved that status due in no small part to Doug’s leadership. He’s one of the true industry stars. – Ray Sturm, AlphaFlow

2020: Ben Shaevitz, Civic Financial Services

“Ben Shaevitz, SVP of Wholesale Lending, took over CIVIC’s wholesale channel on February 1, 2020. Ben has played a major role in growing the company’s presence and partnerships in the private lending space. In just over 6 months, he has led the company to achieve over $60.7 million in first-time fundings for new broker partners. He has also onboarded 676 new brokers in this short time — personally welcoming each new partner to ensure their path to success with CIVIC.” – William Tessar, Civic Financial Services

2019: Jacob Therrien, Bridge Loan Network

“Jacob has been a major factor in the company’s expansion and evolution in the private lending space this year – Bridge Loan Network now has 251 active lenders and close to 2,000 active brokers. He’s worked diligently to ensure users understand everything the platform has to offer.” – Erica Sikoski, RCN Capital

Alexandria Breshears, Lend2Live

“During the pandemic Alex started a Facebook group for private lenders, now numbering 7,000+ members, that has brought the community together through her leadership and live educational training from industry experts. The sense of community she has brought to a fragmented industry allows for an exchange of best practices that focuses on inclusiveness regardless of experience level. This year, Alex, along with her co-author Beth Johnson, became a published author, teaching readers how to manage each step of the loan cycle. It is precisely for her community impact that I nominate Alex Breshears for the aptly-named Community Impact Award.” – Mike Seidl, Cedar Oak REI

Jeffrey Tesch, RCN Capital

“The entire RCN Capital Team, led by Jeffrey Tesch, have taken great pride in giving back to their local communities. RCN Capital has provided tremendous support to their local Children’s Hospital through sponsoring the hospital’s Superhero Day with CT Children’s and supporting their Amazon wish-list by hosting companywide toy drives. It is inspiring to watch RCN give back to their community, both in Connecticut and in their satellite offices through food drives, back to school supply collections, and more.” – Erica Sikoski, Bridge Loan Network

2021: Raul Avila, The Avfund Group

It is an honor to nominate Raul Avila, president of The Avfund Group for the 2021 AAPL Community Impact award. Raul specializes in fix-and-flip funding and in rehabbing blight properties in underserved communities. I have witnessed Raul’s entrepreneurial leadership and community spirit. He serves as a board member on many nonprofit groups with commitment, dedication, passion, and impact. Raul recently established his own 501(c)(3) nonprofit named Avfund Family Foundation. His community advocate volunteerism over the decades has positively contributed to the livelihood of many underserved families attaining the American dream of homeownership. Raúl is a strong advocate of empowering youth and individuals in the community to expand their knowledge and take action on social issues. – Liz Soto, The Avfund Group

2020: Nema Daghbandan, Geraci LLP

In a year of uncertainty and change, Nema has remained dedicated to providing timely updates on legislation crafted to harm private lenders, including attempts to prevent foreclosures, require forbearances, and otherwise prevent private lenders from enforcing their rights. Nema has worked with AAPL to craft the industry standard forbearance request template, and has provided countless webinars, panels, and learning opportunities for members. – Kevin Kim, Geraci LLP

2019: Nathan Shinder, PeerStreet

“Nathan led the charge in opening up a new loan product that has a direct impact on borrowers’ ability to purchase and make more properties available for rent. The widespread impact in communities is palpable.” – Rebekah Jack, PeerStreet