Who We Are
We are the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), a non-profit, national trade membership association created for independent mortgage brokers.
Our Mission
AIME is committed to fostering an inclusive environment to support and protect independent mortgage brokers across the country to grow the wholesale mortgage channel.
Our Vision
We aim to contribute to the overall growth of broker market share to above 25% in 2022 and beyond.
Our Foundation
We Support Local Mortgage Brokers
Whether you are a loan officer, broker/owner, or a supporting member of a broker’s team, we take a personal approach to helping you build a successful business. And for members just transitioning into the wholesale channel, we can connect you to valuable business development resources to help you get started.
Protecting Brokers is What We Do
Our wholesale lending partners are committed to protecting and preserving the originator/client relationship. By upholding a client-for-life philosophy, our lender partners work to ensure that your past clients keep coming back to you for their future business needs.
Our other trusted partners include the influential lobbyists we work closely with in Washington, D.C. Through our government affairs initiative, we make sure that loan originators in the broker channel have a seat at the decision-making table and that our members are kept informed of important issues that affect them.
We’re Here to Help You Grow
Your success is important to us! We empower our members with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively reach homebuyers in their local communities. We deliver informative marketing webinars, business development trainings, detailed how-to tutorials, access to exclusive members-only tools and innovative services, and much more.
We Believe
- Independent mortgage brokers are an important part of the communities they serve and are uniquely positioned to provide expertise on the homebuying process.
- Brokers provide homebuyers with personalized service and offer the most diverse loan options tailored to their specific needs and situations at competitive pricing.
- Building sustainable partnerships with companies that are committed to providing the broker channel with the best resources ultimately serves borrowers of all backgrounds, genders and ethnicities.
Marc Summers
President of Membership
Marc Summers is the President of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts. In addition, he is a seasoned loan originator and Broker Owner of Priority Mortgage Lending in Michigan. Marc entered the broker world in 2001 at Advantage Mortgage as a Loan Officer, holding various titles up until 2015 when he took over as President.
Marc is an advocate for independent mortgage brokers and dedicated to the growth of the wholesale channel. He is also an instructor for courses where he educates and mentors new brokers and originators entering the channel and is the host of AIME’s Broker to Broker weekly podcast.
Marc keeps his finger on the pulse of the broker community’s needs by continuously providing support to new AIME members and drives the government affairs and lobbying efforts to make sure broker voices are being heard in Washington.
Tom Ahles
President of Growth
Tom Ahles, Vice President, and Co-Founder of high-volume brokerage Edge Home Finance has 20 years of experience in financial services, including heading his mortgage brokerage. A dynamic entrepreneur and respected industry professional, Tom ranked among the top 100 mortgage brokers by Scotsman Guide in 2021. Edge Home Finance has grown from $71 million in originations to $2.8 billion in under ten years and has recently achieved a spot in the top ten AIME Broker Rankings, which are based on production in several categories. Within the past year, the brokerage has hired 150 loan officers, totaling 400 to date, and currently works with 42 different lending partners. Tom has personally recruited 20+ of the new hires from the retail mortgage industry.
Karis Koehn
Vice President of Partnerships
Karis Koehn has more than 10 years of experience in the mortgage industry, primarily in sales, consumer direct and data automation. She approaches business objectives with a relationship-first mentality to create a strong focus on client engagement and is passionate about data and technology.
Before joining AIME, Karis held positions with Volly, an end-to-end marketing platform and Jornaya, a data company both focusing on the banking and mortgage industry. She also served as a Board Member for LeadsCouncil, a nonprofit organization that provides education, advocacy and lobbying for the performance marketing industry. Karis is still an active member in the Diversity Task Force committee for LeadsCouncil.
As VP of Partnerships, she will nurture AIME’s relationships with top-tier vendors who provide the best business solutions to give brokers a competitive edge. She is also responsible for developing sponsorship opportunities and initiatives by engaging wholesale lending partners who are aligned with broker support and development.
Jennifer Leonard
Vice President of Brand Strategy
Jennifer Leonard has over a decade of experience in high-level marketing and communications previously working in B2C outlets for Qurate Retail Group (QVC), the leader in broadcast shopping, and Zift, a Pennsylvania-based mobile application and computer software company.
She joined the wholesale broker channel in August 2019 as an Content Strategist, allowing her to bring her insights in brand development, content marketing and user experience to the forefront of the wholesale mortgage industry. During this team, Jennifer leveraged her experience by building a strong brand identity for the Association by developing innovative content through livestreams with industry leaders, webinars geared toward business development and informational content promoting integrated technology which has resulted in her most recent promotion to Vice President of Brand Strategy in January 2021.
Since joining AIME, Jennifer has successfully launched the brand’s weekly Broker to Broker podcast, weekly email newsletter and developed content for the annual Fuse National Conference. Her team also developed and instituted training & development dedicated to supporting AIME members on Google My Business, Search Engine Optimization, and Facebook Business best practices.
Jennifer was recently named to Housingwire’s 2021 Class of Rising Stars, an honor given to professionals under 40 who are making great strides in the housing industry.
AIME Member Committees
Advocacy & Education
Government Affairs
Broker-Regional
Broker-National
Industry
Consumer Homeownership
Asian Homeownership
Black Homeownership
Hispanic Homeownership
Veteran Homeownership
First-Time Homebuyers
Education & Outreach
Broker
Consumer
Industry
Media
Membership & Support
Community Support
Brokers Are Better
Women’s Mortgage Network
Engagement
Local
National
Benefits
Learning & Development
Mentorship
Training
Growth & Impact
Partnerships
National Sponsors
Regional Sponsors
Partners
Channel Development
Retail-to-Wholesale
Next Generation
Broker Growth
Impact
Spark
Community Impact
Broker Spotlight
Contact Us
General information: info@aimegroup.com
Media contact: communications@aimegroup.com