Redefining Diversity and The Human Touch ft. Mosi Gatling

Welcome to the latest newsletter edition of The MikedUp Show! As Season 4 of the podcast churns on, we’ve come to strongly believe that the best insights within our industry come from those who have lived the story: professionals who have walked the streets, closed the loans, and shaped the industry one conversation at a time. WWW.MIKEDUPSHOW.COM.

THIS WEEK’S TOPIC: REDEFINING DIVERSITY & THE HUMAN TOUCH, W/ MOSI GATLING The Mikes chat with Mosi Gatling , SVP of Strategic Growth & Expansion at New American Funding, about redefining diversity in mortgage, working through a mortgage midlife crisis, AI and the risk of ‘quiet cancellation,’ and winning your zip code in a digitally distracted mortgage market. In our recent episode featuring Mosi Gatling, Senior Vice President of Strategic Growth & Expansion at New American Funding, we uncovered what it truly means to evolve in the mortgage business: not just as an originator, but as a leader, innovator, and changemaker. During our stimulating conversation, several key themes emerged that every mortgage leader should take note of. Read on for her insights!

Stop....Please "Subscribe now" to our newsletter if this is your first time.

FundingShield is the market leader in embedded wire and title fraud prevention, closing agent vetting, and compliance automation. With over $4.5 trillion in mortgage and real estate transactions protected, our solutions deliver unmatched security and efficiency. Lenders rely on our real-time, source-verified, decision-ready data to safeguard funds, streamline workflows, and reduce operating costs across closing and title workflows. Contact sales@fundingshield.com to discover how we can help you close with confidence.

DIVERSITY MEANS MOVING BEHIND FHA FLYERS

One of the most powerful moments in our conversation came when Mosi described a realization she had as a top-producing loan officer: “I didn’t see myself in mortgage and real estate marketing… all I could give my clients who looked like me was an FHA or DPA flyer.” That moment sparked a transformation. Mosi recognized that much of the industry’s outreach to diverse communities was stuck in an outdated narrative: one that projected poverty rather than celebrating strength. I SSUE 54 As she explained, not every borrower of color is struggling with credit, income, or savings. Many are affluent, financially literate, and ready to buy their second or third home. Yet they rarely see themselves in marketing campaigns. Her perspective challenges every lender and marketing leader to reconsider the message behind their materials. If your ads only showcase diverse faces when promoting assistance programs, what story are you really telling? Mosi’s team at New American Funding have taken a different approach - one that’s data-driven and human-centered. By studying consumer spending patterns and Nielsen data showing the $2.1 trillion in projected economic power within the Black community by 2026, she’s making the case for inclusion through empowerment, not sympathy

FROM TOP PRODUCER TO LEADER: A MORTGAGE MID-LIFE CRISIS

FROM TOP PRODUCER TO LEADER: A MORTGAGE MID-LIFE CRISIS At The MikedUp Show, we often meet high-performing originators who reach a point in their career where the question shifts from “How much did I close this year?” to “What difference am I making?” Mosi calls this her mortgage midlife crisis. After several years producing over $100 million in annual volume, she started to wonder what her legacy would mean beyond the numbers. “When I retire, my kids can’t do anything with my $100 million production history. I wanted my story to mean more - to change the trajectory of the business itself.

That mindset shift is something many seasoned pros should recognize. Gatling’s evolution mirrors the journey of countless leaders who are moving from front-line production into mentorship, diversity advocacy, and strategic growth roles. Her leadership story serves as a blueprint for what it means to “transcend production.” By staying authentic to her originator roots while shaping the next generation, she proves that growth isn’t about leaving the loan desk behind: it’s about bringing your lived experience into the boardroom. The takeaway is simple but profound: your influence multiplies when you stop chasing volume and start amplifying voices.

4:27 - 4:50 -- "I'm thankful for NAF. They did not put me in a box, which is, I think, what put me in my mortgage midlife crisis a couple years ago. [I did] a lot of loans - over a hundred million several years in a row. And then I'm like, "Okay, what can my kids do with that? When I retire, I'm no longer here. Is that the story they're going to tell?"

Truework is the only all-in-one, automated VOIE platform that fully replaces costly in-house verification waterfalls by orchestrating all major verification methods within a single platform. With an industry-leading 75% completion rate, we have helped mortgage providers achieve up to 50% cost savings on their verification process, resulting in multi-million dollar savings. Looking to save on verification costs while improving borrower experience and pull-through? Let’s talk.

AI, AUTHENTICITY, & THE ‘QUIET CANCELLATION’ RISK IN TECH

Everywhere you look in 2025, artificial intelligence is transforming how lenders connect with clients: from automated outreach to AI-driven lead nurturing. But as Mosi pointed out, there’s a growing risk in allowing tech to speak for us instead of with us. “If someone with a very narrow-lived experience is making the AI that’s supposed to speak to everyone, you really need to think about what that does. You might be quietly cancelling entire audiences.” We called this concept quiet cancellation - the moment when a consumer tunes out an AI generated message because it doesn’t sound like them, look like them, or speak to their experiences. In a country with hundreds of millions of diverse lives, a single, one-dimensional digital “voice” won’t cut it. Authenticity must remain a core input. AI can enhance reach, but it should never erase the humanity that made clients trust you in the first place.

8:10 - 8:46 -- "I'm not on the struggle bus for credit. I'm not on the struggle bus for income or anything like that. And that's not represented in diverse housing. I have a blended family - five children. Four years ago, my oldest purchased a home. And when she went to a new home builder, they instantly said, "Hey, we have all these programs that can help with a down payment...My daughter has a 710 FICO. When she did buy a house, she didn't buy it from them."

Polly didn't just set a new bar in product and pricing technology; they've redefined it. Purpose-built in the cloud and for the cloud, its enterprise-grade solutions include the industry's only cloud-native, commercially scalable product, pricing, and eligibility (PPE) engine and first-of-its-kind Polly/™ AI platform. Through best-in-class innovation that enables unlimited configurability, flexibility, granularity, and scalability, Polly empowers the nation's top banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders to increase profitability, automate workflows, and revolutionize the loan officer and broker experiences. To learn more, follow Polly on LinkedIn or visit polly.io.

WINNING YOUR ZIP CODE IN A MARKET OF DISTRACTION

In a world obsessed with digital reach, Gatling’s mantra is refreshingly simple: “You have to be out in these mortgage streets every day.” She calls it winning your zip code: the idea that before you try to dominate markets across the country, you need to be known, trusted, and visible in your own backyard. That means showing up for community events, working with local agents, and staying present both online and offline. What struck us most was how she connected this local-first philosophy to authenticity. Mortgage isn’t sexy when you frame it as a “30-year obligation.” But when you tell real stories about buyers finding balance, families creating stability, and communities building wealth, you remind people that owning a home is one of the most personal decisions they’ll ever make. For leaders, winning your zip code isn’t just about sales; it’s about stewardship. When we become educators & storytellers, our communities see us not as salespeople but as trusted advisors. And in a market where borrowers are overloaded with digital noise, that kind of trust is your most valuable currency.

Floify the mortgage industry’s leading point-of-sale solution, introduces Dynamic Apps, a no-code feature that customizes loan applications based on loan type, eliminating irrelevant questions and streamlining the borrower experience. By automatically adjusting application fields based on loan purpose—whether purchase, refinance, HELOC, or construction—Dynamic Apps helps lenders accelerate approvals, improve application completion rates, and maintain compliance.

Visit Floify.com to learn more or reach out to Jason Mapes and tell him "the Mikes" sent you.

12:47 - 13:10 -- "We know that there is a wealth gap, but the huge thing about black homeownership is that it's only increased about 8% in five decades. So are our efforts really working? Are our thought patterns really working? Who stops us from shaking it up and maybe doing something a little bit different to reconnect with that market?"

Full episode

To hear more lively discussions and special guest insights in the realm of mortgages and real estate, check out TheMikedUp Show with Mike Kelleher and Michael Zau, every Thursday at 2pmET!

THE ABOVE IS A SUMMARY OF INSIGHTS & ANECDOTES TAKEN FROM AN HOUR-LONG PODCAST EPISODE OF THEMIKEDUP SHOW. MIKE & MIKE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO PARAPHRASE WHEREVER NECESSARY.