Her Story
About Rebecca
I've been in the escrow industry for over 25 years, and it's been an incredible journey. I started as an escrow receptionist and worked my way up through the ranks. Along the way, I spent about 6 or 7 years in the mortgage industry working in compliance, which is how I eventually became an audit manager. I worked as an audit manager for 4 years with the Pango group before deciding to try something different. I have three grown kids, and raising them while managing the demands of this industry was challenging. I remember working until 9pm, picking up my kids and bringing them back to the office, having them underneath my desk coloring or playing on my phone while I finished my work because that's what you did back in the day. Once my kids were grown, I felt ready to take on more management responsibility. I left the industry for 2 years and went to Texas to try something new, but First American made me an offer I couldn't refuse, and I came back in November. Now I help run the back office and audit department for over 15 escrow companies under the Independent Escrow Channel Division, which includes brands like Granite, Glen Oaks, and Heritage. My main areas of focus are escrow operations, back office support, and regulatory compliance. I'm also serving on our AI committee, working to bring artificial intelligence to escrow and helping our teams understand how to use it properly as an assistant tool rather than something that will replace jobs. What I love most about this work is the opportunity to mentor and train the next generation of escrow professionals, giving them the support and tools I wish I had when I was starting out.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rebecca
01What do you attribute your success to?
Work hard and keep trying. No matter what the obstacle, no matter what it is. I don't pretend to know everything, but I will find out. I will keep going. I will work hard to learn new things, and yeah, just I'll just keep trying. No matter whatever comes my way, I'll just keep at it until I figure it out. I don't have a quit bone in my body. Even when I doubted myself, like when I took my first manager job, I told them I wouldn't even ask for more money upfront. I said let me prove myself first in the 30-day period, and if I'm doing what you need, then we can talk about money. That's how unqualified I thought I was at the time. But I proved it, and when that grace period was up, I got what I asked because I was doing everything they needed. I just keep pushing forward and working hard to figure things out, no matter what challenges come my way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever received was to use grace and kindness when you reply with everybody that you meet. You don't know what kind of day someone is having, because in this business you deal with a lot of people, and everybody's rushing, and everybody's yelling at these escrow officers. So no matter how high up someone is, whether they're the president or the COO, or just the receptionist, you should treat everybody with grace and kindness, no matter what their title is. This advice has really shaped how I approach my work and interact with people at every level of the organization.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women to work hard. If you work hard someone will notice and see your potential. Back in my day, it was sink and swim, and you learned as you go. There was no proper training, no proper anything in my field. So I reach out to my team and let them know if they need something, to let me know. It's different now, and I hope they have the work-life balance that's so important, because you want to give them what we didn't have. You know, take a vacation, enjoy life. So yes, when you're here, work hard, but at the same time, make sure you make time for yourselves as well. This is a great field to make great money with no education needed. All you need is hard work and the will to succeed. I want to help the next generation grow and not have to deal with the same hard stuff that we dealt with. We have to make it better for them.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Escrow and Title are both fields that don’t get very much acknowledgment.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
A good work ethic, integrity and family are the most important values to me. Family because, at the end of the day family is who is going be there for you. I always try to make time for my three kids who are now grown adults and of course, my family and friends. A good work ethic and integrity is something I feel strongly about when I put my name on a document or review something I will always take full accountability. I take pride in my work and I hope that when people say my name feel the same.
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