2026 Speakers
David Allen – InnovaLaB Development
David Allen brings more than 25 years of experience in urban community revitalization, contributing to the construction of over 2,000 housing units and overseeing $80 million in real estate development. In 2019, Mr. Allen leveraged his extensive expertise by establishing InnovaLab Development Group, Inc. Guided by its mission and innovative approach, InnovaLab operates as an agile, knowledgeable real estate developer and consultant, specializing in modular solutions to address the escalating housing challenges impacting cities, counties, townships, and villages.
Frank Bowman – Illinois Manufactured Housing Association
Frank has led the Illinois Manufactured Housing Association (IMHA) through significant legislative challenges and regulatory changes for home installation, financing, sales, and service. He regularly assists elected officials, building departments and regulators in understanding the quality, affordability, and unsubsidized nature of factory-built homes and the value of land-lease community living. Frank brings over thirty years of experience in construction management and real estate development to the industry.
Dustin Brudnicki – Triad Financial Services
With over two decades of experience in manufactured housing finance, Dustin combines operational expertise with strategic vision to make homeownership more attainable. He has led initiatives that improved efficiency and fostered innovation in a rapidly evolving lending environment. His people-first leadership style has cultivated lasting relationships across organizations and the industry. Today, as EVP of Mortgage Banking at Triad Financial Services, Dustin remains committed to advancing solutions that help families achieve the dream of homeownership.
Shawn Carnahan – Adventure Homes
Shawn Carnahan is the Sales Manager of Adventure Homes. Before being named Sales Manager, Shawn held an Account Sales Manager position where he managed all community business for Adventure Homes, along with a select handful of street retail locations. Before sales, Shawn worked in production and quality control for several years.
Troy Cavallaro – AutoMHatic
Leading autoMHatic Financial as CEO, Mr. Troy Cavallaro is leveraging technology to revolutionize the chattel lending space. With over 30 years of experience in consumer finance, Cavallaro brings a deep understanding of credit, risk management, and borrower experience to every facet of autoMHatic’s operations. Throughout his career, Cavallaro has built a reputation for driving innovation and operational excellence across multiple sectors of consumer lending.
Victoria Cowart – PetScreening
Victoria Cowart, CPM, NAAEI Faculty, is the Vice President of Education at PetScreening. Previously, she was a direct property management industry member with extensive experience providing management and oversight for a mix of portfolios, including apartment communities, manufactured housing communities, and HOAs.
Nelson Deluz – Cascade Financial
Nelson began his career 30 years ago as an intern with Beneficial Finance before moving to Aegis Lending. Over the years he has held leadership positions in sales and operations and owned his own mortgage company. Prior to joining Cascade, Nelson spent the last 15 years at NewRez (formerly NewPenn Financial) Nelson was involved in several major acquisitions and ran different businesses for the company over the years. His positions included Head of Direct to Consumer, Chief of Staff, Head of the Ancillary Services (Affiliated Title and Appraisal companies), Head of Fulfillment Operations and Head of Enterprise Operations. Nelson is Executive Vice President of Originations where he oversees all sales and marketing functions. Nelson earned a B.A. from Western International University and completed his MBA at Northeastern University.
Francesco Decamilli – Unity AI
Francesco Decamilli is the Co-Founder and CEO of Uniti AI, a company building AI agents that automate front-office and operational work for asset-heavy, operationally complex industries.
Curtis Dudley – IT in Flow
Curtis Dudley is an IT and operations consultant with more than 30 years of experience applying technology to property management and real estate operations across multiple property management software platforms and other software. He specializes in helping property management organizations using Rent Manager improve efficiency, consistency, and the customer experience through practical, business-focused use of technology, data, and automation for diverse asset types, including manufactured housing.
Stacey Epperson – Next Step Network
Stacey Epperson is President and Founder of Next Step ® Network, a housing intermediary that mobilizes mission-based developers and manufacturers to provide affordable housing solutions in their communities. Next Step’s system of Manufactured Housing Done Right ® connects responsible financing, comprehensive homebuyer education, and delivery of high-quality, ENERGY STAR ® manufactured homes, creating a model that brings more value to the customer and generates greater impact in communities.
James Ferguson – American Modular Services
James Ferguson is the President and CEO of American Modular Services, a leading provider of manufactured and modular housing solutions. A third-generation industry pro, James brings decades of inherited knowledge along with hands-on operational leadership and executive oversight of housing projects across the Midwest and beyond. James has owned and operated American Modular Services since 2005, guiding the company through significant industry changes, economic cycles, and evolving regulatory environments.
David Finney – Bild Media
David Finney is the owner and founder of Bild Media, a digital ad agency for the manufactured home industry. Bild Media’s clients include retailers, lenders, manufacturers, and insurance agencies, all of whom are industry leaders in sales and customer experience. Prior to founding Bild Media, David spent ten years at 21st Mortgage in servicing, marketing, and business development.
John Gainer – First Step Homes
John Gainer, the “Home Guy” for First Step Homes, has spent virtually all of his time in the industry working alongside community operators and developers throughout the country. For over a decade, John filled multiple roles from rep to sales manager with the focus always being on assisting community owners and developers strengthening their businesses until stepping into his current position with north Texas’ premier manufactured housing community developer, First Step Homes.
Dr. Lesli Gooch – Manufactured Housing Institute
Dr. Lesli Gooch is the Chief Executive Officer of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) and a recognized leader in housing policy, advocacy, and regulatory affairs. With a decade of experience at MHI, she has built a highly effective team that has delivered significant legislative and regulatory victories for the manufactured housing industry. Notable recent achievements of Dr. Gooch and her team include protecting the industry from being subject to poorly constructed Department of Energy building standards as well as securing the first comprehensive update to HUD construction standards in over a decade, expanding the scope of manufactured housing to include single-section duplexes and multi-unit designs. Dr. Gooch’s impact on housing innovation and homeownership expansion has earned her numerous accolades, the most recent being the prestigious Jack E. Wells Memorial Award for her efforts on behalf of the industry. Prior to joining MHI, Dr. Gooch served across a variety of vantage points in Washington – including as a congressional staff member, congressional candidate, lobbyist, and political scientist focused on Congress.
Logan Hanes – Kentucky Manufactured Housing Institute
Logan Hanes serves as Executive Director of the Kentucky Manufactured Housing Institute (KMHI), where he leads the organization’s work in legislative advocacy, zoning and land use, workforce development, and strategic partnerships. In 2025, Logan helped spearhead HB160, a landmark, industry-leading law that requires Kentucky municipalities to allow qualified manufactured homes in all single-family residential zones, removing long-standing barriers while still respecting local input.
Jason Hong – ManufacturedHomes.com
Jason Hong is the Vice President of Client Relations at ManufacturedHomes.com and an energetic force in the manufactured and modular housing industry. In his role, Jason champions the success of retailers, manufacturers, and state associations, helping them amplify their reach, elevate their brand, and create unforgettable customer experiences. By championing virtual shopping experiences and transparent digital tools, Jason helps the industry meet buyers where they are while raising expectations for what modern home-buying should feel like.
Michael Johnson – 21st Mortgage
Michael has been in the manufactured housing industry for 20 years, all while working for 21st Mortgage Corporation. He graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, in 2005, where he played soccer and graduated with degrees in economics and psychology. He has worked in servicing, training, remarketing, and marketing for 21st Mortgage.
Mike Knab – National Professional Services
With over 15 years of experience spanning banking, business development, veterinary consulting, and national-scale property services, Michael Knab brings a unique blend of financial expertise, client relationship management, and operational strategy to the mobile home community industry.
John Lindley – Michigan Manufactured Housing Association
John Lindley is President & CEO of the Michigan Manufactured Housing, RV and Campground. He joined the Association after nearly nine years as a lobbyist with Public Affairs Associates (PAA), Lansing’s most respected and effective government relations consulting firm. During his time at PAA, John earned an exemplary reputation among clients and policymakers as a highly motivated, service-minded professional with a skillful blend of visionary leadership, administrative expertise, and meticulous attention to detail.
Paul Lindsley – Ritz-Craft
With 26 years at Ritz-Craft Paul has served in multiple roles in Operations, Product Development, and General Management. Currently serving as the Regional Vice-President and also an equity partner in John Brothers Holdings. The position carriers P&L responsibility over multiple operations serving the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest markets. Ritz-Craft builds premium HUD products and modular products meeting the IRC & IBC codes and has manufactured over 5.6 million square feet in the past five years.
John Litten – Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity
John Litten is the President and CEO of Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity. He has spent 20+ years working for social service non-profit organizations, working in direct service, fundraising, marketing and ultimately in leadership roles. In his role, John oversees the management of over 85 employees and hundreds of volunteers, who serve families seeking affordable home ownership. Together with fellow organizational leaders, he also oversees and maintains all aspects of fundraising, budgeting, strategic planning and communications for the organization.
Dan Malin – Malin Manufactured Housing Institute
Dan Malin of Malin Manufactured Housing Institute was a Chicago construction superintendent for 25 years and started Prairie State Inspections specializing in HUD, FHA & VA construction projects, ultimately focusing on the HUD Manufactured Housing Installation Program for the last 10 years. He currently works in 13 of the 15 HUD states, inspecting new home sets. Bringing his vast construction knowledge, Malin Manufactured Housing Training Institute was launched in 2021, an in-person training program for the licensing and continuing education of installers under the HUD program.
César Mascorro Jr. – MH Sales Mastery
César Mascorro, Jr. is the founder and President of MH Sales Mastery. Known for his high-energy, no-fluff, tactical delivery, César specializes in helping retail and community operators modernize their approach to sales and drastically increase profitability. César and his team have worked with industry leaders like Braustin Homes, ELS, Cobblestone, Baird Homes, Roots Management, Inspire Communities, and many more helping their consultants shatter records and rewrite what success looks like.
Duncan Metts – Mobile Home Guys AI
Duncan Metts is a co-founder and CEO of The Mobile Home Guys, an AI-powered marketing agency focused exclusively on manufactured housing. He helps dealers respond faster, book more appointments, and stop losing leads to competitors who answered first. Duncan specializes in applying AI where it actually matters—speed, follow-up, and revenue—not buzzwords.
Kelly Newcomer – Clayton Homes
Kelly has over 30 years in home building with on site, off site and panelized construction experience. He has managed installation Teams for Mod and HUD installations including crane and roll sets. Have held HUD Installer licenses and State licenses in IL, IN, KY & MI. Serving as Dir. of Field Operations for Clayton Homes Maryville TN, he has advised on topics like anchoring products and practices, CrossMod site construction, MHCC code changes, and everything in-between.
Eric Oaks – Indiana Manufactured Housing Association
Over the past 30 years, Eric has managed all facets of the industry, and its programs from Floor Planning, Collections, Remarketing and Business Development, while working for CIT, GreenPoint, Oxford B&T and Greenstate CU. Eric recently joined Park Lane Finance Solutions as their Business Development Manager. Eric has served and continues to serve on many boards in the Midwest and he is the current President of the Louisville Manufactured Home Show Board.
Matt Paletz – Paletz Law
Matthew is the CEO of MI-based Paletz Law, one of the largest representatives of manufactured housing in the Midwest. Matthew practices in real estate litigation with an emphasis on landlord-tenant law, protecting the rights of creditors in bankruptcy, claim and delivery/replevin, and national fair housing defense of property owners. He is licensed to practice in Michigan and Ohio as well as U.S. District Courts for Eastern and Western Michigan and Northern and Southern Ohio.
Kiersten Payne – CoverTree Inc.
Kierstin Payne is the Director of Enterprise Sales at CoverTree Inc., where she partners with manufactured home community owners, operators, insurance professionals, and MH mortgage lenders to strengthen risk programs, simplify compliance, and protect long-term asset value. A dedicated advocate for affordable housing, Kierstin has built her career at the intersection of insurance, risk management, and relationship-driven growth—helping stakeholders translate complex coverage requirements into practical, actionable strategies.
Teresa Payne – Manufactured Housing Institute
Teresa Payne currently serves as the Vice President of Policy at the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). In this role, she leads MHI’s policy efforts to elevate housing innovation and expand attainable homeownership. She has played a pivotal role in modernizing and advancing the HUD Code for manufactured housing. Her leadership and contributions have left a lasting impact on the manufactured housing industry—shaping policy and innovation that will resonate for decades to come.
Taylor Peake – Occupi
Taylor Peake is the co-founder and CEO of Occupi, a fintech platform revolutionizing how property managers and residents handle rental payments. Taylor brings practical insight into which technologies deliver genuine operational value for property managers while improving the resident experience. Drawing on 17+ years of software engineering expertise, Taylor’s unique perspective as both technologist and property operator drives Occupi’s mission to serve affordable and manufactured housing sectors, addressing the reality that many residents rely on alternative financial services for their primary banking needs.
Steve Peel – Champion Homes
Steve started in the manufactured home business 31 years ago in Elkhart, Indiana, He spent four years at a medium size Chevrolet dealership as Finance Manager before returning to the wholesale level until 2001, when he started his own home dealership building exclusively with modular home manufacturers. In 2009, he returned to the wholesale side of manufactured homes.
Mike Pollack – Trove
Mike Pollack is the Head of Sales at Trove, the premier software platform purpose-built for manufactured home retailers. Mike brings a unique “founder’s perspective” to the space; prior to joining Trove, he led sales and marketing at the largest manufactured home dealership in California. Today, Mike is dedicated to helping dealers scale their operations and transform the manufactured housing journey into a seamless, world-class consumer experience.
Philip T. Powell, Ph.D. – Indiana Business Research Center
Philip T. Powell, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Indiana Business Research Center and Clinical Professor of Business Economics at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. The Center uses data, practical research, and strategic insight to help businesses, communities, and organizations make better decisions and forecast their future. Previously, Powell was Associate Dean of Academic Programs on the Indianapolis campus. Before joining the dean’s office, Powell was faculty chair of online graduate programs in Bloomington which earned a number one U.S. News & World Report ranking during his tenure.
Andrea Reichman – Ohio Manufactured Housing Association
Andrea Reichman is a seasoned association executive with more than 19 years of experience working with trade and professional associations across advocacy, communications, and member engagement. Andrea is known for her ability to translate complex policy and legal topics into practical guidance for boards, members, and stakeholders. Her legislative work has focused primarily within the manufactured housing sector, where she supports issue education, legislative tracking, and coalition coordination.
Sean Roberts – Villa
Sean Roberts is the CEO of Villa, a next-generation homebuilding platform that applies modern offsite construction methods and technology to efficiently develop housing in innovative ways. Prior to Villa, he served as both COO and CFO at Orchard, a real estate technology company with vertically-integrated real estate brokerage, title/escrow, and mortgage offerings and innovative capital-enabled consumer offerings. Sean holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University in Canada.
Sean Roberts – Efformance
“Joe Schultz is a Partner and Co-Founder of Efformance, a solutions company focused on creating efficiencies within the real estate industry through automation. He is also the original developer of MailFuze, an automation tool that eliminates the tedious and manual aspects of sending US Mail. Joseph has owned and managed residential and commercial real estate since 1992. Earlier in his professional career, Joseph founded SysLogic, a technology consulting and services firm. With his unique combination of software development and real estate expertise, Joseph has been able to create efficiencies in areas of real estate where others have been unable.”
Dave Staun – LCS IT Services
Dave Staun brings a rare combination of 40 years of property management experience and 17 years of deep-tech development to the Louisville Manufactured Housing Show. As a key member of the team at LCS (London Computer Systems), Dave has spent nearly two decades developing specialized cybersecurity platforms tailored specifically for the property management industry.
Scott Stroud – MhCRM
Scott Stroud has been immersed in Offsite Construction for over 40 years and is currently Director of Development for MhCRM, a marketing and sales automation platform designed for MH retailers and communities. Scott’s major focus today is the use of technology and automation to support and grow the industry. He is the co-author of three books, including Managing Your Business with 7 Key Numbers, published by BuilderBooks.com, and The Complete Guide to Marketing and Selling New Homes.
Scott Thomas – Champion Homes
Scott Thomas, VP Builder Developer for Champion Homes, has over 40 years of general management/operations, land development, and product development experience in the housing industry. Prior to taking his current role with Champion Homes, Scott spent 6 years as General Manager for Clayton Homes at their Schult Homes plant in Redwood Falls, MN.
Nicole Thompson – Credit Human
Nicole Thompson has dedicated the past eight years to advancing affordable housing within the manufactured housing industry. Her career began in B2C lending, where she worked tirelessly to help families achieve the dream of homeownership. In February 2025, Nicole joined Credit Human Federal Credit Union as a Business Development Executive. As a Federally Licensed Loan Originator, Nicole now serves seven states. Her proven track record reflects her unwavering commitment to helping retailers, brokers, and her customers thrive.
Dr. Van Williams – ProActive Real Estate Investment
As the CEO and Managing Founder of ProActive Realty Group LLC and its affiliated ProActive Income and Sustainable Bond platforms, Dr. Van Williams has built a track record of transforming undervalued real estate assets into quality, income-producing properties that deliver both financial returns and measurable community benefits.
Michael Zangardi – Ritz-Craft
Mike Zangardi, VP of Product Development for Ritz-Craft Custom Homes, has over 40 years of sales, sales management, marketing and general management/operations experience. He has worked with builders and developers throughout the country to develop products to help builders and developers meet specific regional needs while utilizing advantages of the modular construction process. In addition to custom projects, Mike has directed the development of Ritz-Craft’s broad offering of standard brochure plans and product lines over the last 18 years.
