Convention Speakers
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
VINCE NEPOLITAN
Best selling author of Renovate Me (Renovate Me 2nd Edition) and Renovating Me. Website is vnrenovateme.com
Vince Nepolitan was raised in an underprivileged area in Las Vegas, NV. He came from a badly broken home and was severely abused Mentally and Physically as a child. Vince was homeless by the age of 12 and his family gave up on him and left him in the streets. He was living in a group home, “Child Haven”, in Las Vegas; sleeping in parks and eating out of trash cans; and fighting to survive. He sold drugs for his father and joined a gang at the age of 14. Vince had to overcome mental health issues, abuse and neglect, drugs and gangs all as a teenager. He became a full time single father by the age of 19 years old, raising two children on his own. Vince started working in the mortgage industry at the age of 20 and started at the bottom earning minimum wage. Today, he is nationally recognized as a leading industry expert in Renovation and Construction lending. Vince has worked with some of the largest mortgage companies in the country and led them to success in the Renovation and Construction lending industry. He is known as Mr. Renovation throughout the mortgage industry, has been nominated top 40 under 40 in the country and is one of the youngest National Sales leaders in his field today.
Vince Nepolitan was raised in an underprivileged area in Las Vegas, NV. He came from a badly broken home and was severely abused Mentally and Physically as a child. Vince was homeless by the age of 12 and his family gave up on him and left him in the streets. He was living in a group home, “Child Haven”, in Las Vegas; sleeping in parks and eating out of trash cans; and fighting to survive. He sold drugs for his father and joined a gang at the age of 14. Vince had to overcome mental health issues, abuse and neglect, drugs and gangs all as a teenager. He became a full time single father by the age of 19 years old, raising two children on his own. Vince started working in the mortgage industry at the age of 20 and started at the bottom earning minimum wage. Today, he is nationally recognized as a leading industry expert in Renovation and Construction lending. Vince has worked with some of the largest mortgage companies in the country and led them to success in the Renovation and Construction lending industry. He is known as Mr. Renovation throughout the mortgage industry, has been nominated top 40 under 40 in the country and is one of the youngest National Sales leaders in his field today.
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SKIP SACKS
Skip is Virginia State Counsel for Stewart Title Guaranty Company. Prior to joining Stewart Title in 1995, Skip was in private practice for 14 years representing developers, lenders, title underwriters and others with regard to real estate based commercial transactions. Skip also practiced as a litigator handling creditor’s rights, lender liability, title defense, mechanic’s lien, construction and other commercial litigation.
Skip received his undergraduate degree in English and Philosophy from the College of William & Mary and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Skip is an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University, a Virginia Supreme Court trained mediator, court appointed arbitrator and has qualified as an expert witness in state and federal courts. Skip is a past President and current Presidents’ Council member of the Hampton Roads Association for Commercial Real Estate. Skip is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Land Title Association. Skip was awarded the 2019 Robert M. Stanton Real Estate Teaching Award by Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business.
lEONARD TENGCO
Leonard C. Tengco is an attorney at Tengco Law PLLC in Northern Virginia. Leonard has extensive experience in various aspects of real estate and title litigation matters including quiet title actions, curing title defects, release of judgment liens, easement disputes, adverse possession, partitions, real estate fraud, ejectments, unlawful detainers, and other property disputes. Before focusing his practice on real estate and civil litigation, Leonard served as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Portsmouth and the sole law clerk for all five judges of the Third Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia. Leonard is a Virginia Certified Title Examiner and has been approved by the Virginia Insurance Continuing Education Board to serve as a Virginia Insurance Continuing Education Instructor.In 2012, Leonard was elected to serve a four-year term on the Virginia Beach School Board. In 2016, Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed Leonard to serve on the Virginia Asian Advisory Board and reappointed by Governor Ralph Northam to serve a two-year term that has concluded. In 2020, Governor Northam appointed Leonard to serve a five-year term as a member of the Library Board of Virginia.
Leonard has been recognized in several publications including Virginia Business Magazine’s “Legal Elite” for Civil Litigation (2019) and Real Estate (2020, 2021), Super Lawyers Magazine’s list of “Virginia Rising Stars” for Real Estate (2019, 2020, 2021), and selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers® for Real Estate Law (2021, 2022). In 2021, Leonard was a "Northern Virginia 40 Under 40" honoree and is an alum of the Leadership Fairfax Institute and the University of Virginia's Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. Leonard graduated from Michigan State University College of Law in 2007 and James Madison University, where he earned a B.S. in Economics and B.A. in Political Science, in 2004.
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marilyn cunningham
Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Regional Underwriting CounselDoma Title Insurance Inc.
As Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Regional Underwriting Counsel for Doma, Marilyn Cunningham provides underwriting guidance and support to Doma title agents and attorneys in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. She also supports Doma agents on residential and commercial transactions impacting multiple jurisdictions. Marilyn began her career more than 30 years ago as an associate attorney for a regional law firm. She went on to serve in vice president and counsel roles at several companies, including a regional title insurance underwriter, a boutique settlement service company, a large national title insurance underwriter and an IT consultant firm. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, Marilyn went on to earn her Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University in Washington D.C. A licensed title producer in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., she is a member of the Virginia Bar, the American Land Title Association (State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee) and the Virginia Land Title Association (Underwriting and Education Committees).
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Michelle statz
Michelle Statz is Vice President and Virginia & West Virginia Underwriting Counsel for The Fidelity National Financial Family of Companies, which includes Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, Chicago Title Insurance Company and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company. Michelle graduated from The College of William & Mary with a Bachelor of Arts and then earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond. She started with the Company in 2008 as Claims Counsel for Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation in Richmond. She was later promoted to a Senior Claims Counsel in our Jacksonville Claims Center where she focused on complex and high-exposure Virginia claims. Michelle is currently an Underwriting Counsel, assisting Central Virginia residential and commercial agents and attorneys with title insurance issues and any associated risk analysis.
Michelle is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the Asian-American Pacific Bar Association. She frequently presents seminars and webinars on various title insurance and real property issues. She lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where she enjoys golf and playing on the beach with her dogs, Abby & Duncan.
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jen skrabak
Jenine Skrabak joined the title industry in 2012, after her real estate agent introduced her to an owner of a title and settlement agency. While in her first position, Jen completed the VLTA Certification course for Title Examiners (VCTE). After completing a few hundred title examinations and processing many settlements, Jen became a licensed title insurance agent. She continued her professional growth by completing the VLTA’s VCTSA course for settlement agents. Jen currently serves as Secretary on the VLTA Board, is a Past Chair of the Education Committee, and is an active member of many VLTA committees and task forces. She has a Master’s Degree in Education and enjoys attending as many continuing education courses as possible. When Jen is not at work, she enjoys participating in her Church activities and spending time with her family. 
Kevin pogoda
Kevin T. Pogoda, Esq. serves as First Vice President and Virginia State Manager, Northern Division at Old Republic National Title Insurance Company. In his capacity as Virginia State Manager, Kevin regularly speaks as an instructor before various groups, including attorneys, real estate agents, title examiners and title settlement agents. Kevin is also a Past President of the Virginia Land Title Association and is the proud recipient of VLTA's Distinguished Service Award for 2017 and the 2021 VLTA Presidential Award for Service.
ANNE ANASTASI
Anne has spent many years traveling the country consulting with professionals on the creation of compliant title affiliations between the real estate, lending and legal communities and the title insurance industry. She has been asked by state and federal regulators, bar associations, real estate groups and the lending community to conduct educational sessions to help them understand the operation, staffing and financial makeup of compliant joint venture arrangements. Recently Anne was assisted a state as it rewrote its controlled business statute and has been asked by state departments of insurance to train their investigators tasked with determining the legitimacy of title joint ventures.
Anne served as President of the Pennsylvania Land Title Association for which she was the first female President in the Association’s 80-year history and then as President of the American Land Title Association, the title industry’s national association.
During her tenure as ALTA president Anne testified before Congress, met with cabinet members and spoke to press outlets on the issues facing the real estate transfer system. After a congressional testimony she was referenced in the Washington Post as “someone to watch”.
In 2012 Anne was featured on a segment of the Lifetime Television series Designing Spaces where she described the importance of the Owner’s Title Insurance Policy and walked the viewers through the closing process.
Anne published a book on the art of public speaking entitled, “Fearless Public Speaking” which has been reviewed as a “must-read” for all business people by Rick Wolff, Editorial Director for Warner Business Book.
BECKY TAYLOR
CEO and President of Titleworks Inc.Becky Taylor began her employment with Titleworks Inc. on May 29, 1995 as a settlement processor and post closer. She quickly moved to take on more administrative responsibilities to become Vice President as well as keep an active role in the settlement process. She assumed the role of owner, CEO and President of Titleworks Inc. in 2006. She is a graduate of Clemson University, proud mother of a Washington & Lee University graduate, Virginia Notary Public, and currently serves as First Vice President on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Land Title Association.
Ms. Taylor is a Virginia Certified Title Settlement Agent (VCTSA), a Virginia Certified Title Examiner (VCTE), and one of only 104 active professionals to earn the ALTA National Title Professionals (NTP) accreditation in the United States. Ms. Taylor has been a licensed title agent since August 25, 1995 and has over thirty (30) years of experience in real estate settlements.