Real Estate, Title, and Escrow Industry Trends in Arizona

Brenda Martinez and Tom Davis are veteran leaders in the title and escrow industries in Arizona, as well as elected board members of the Land Title Association of Arizona. In this episode, they discuss real estate in Arizona, trends in title and escrow, and factors that will impact these industries in 2020 and beyond.

Brenda Martinez, Land Title Association of Arizona and Yavapai Title Agency

Brenda Martinez is President of the Land Title Association of Arizona and Vice President and Chief Title Officer of Yavapai Title Agency. 2020 marks Brenda Martinez’s 41st year with Yavapai Title Agency, having joined the company at just 17 years old. Through the years, Brenda has held almost every position one can, from courier and receptionist, to leading Yavapai County as Vice President and Chief Title Officer for 12 county offices, including sister company Pioneer Title Agency.

Within the Northern Arizona business community, Brenda is a member of the Central Arizona Partnership, which advocates for responsible growth, a balance between economic stability and ecological sustainability, judicious management of natural resources and exceptional healthcare, education, and community service. In 2020 she will be named board member for the Yavapai County – Arizona Community Foundation, in service of her local community by aiding in the distribution of grants and scholarships to deserving non-profits and students. Additional community efforts include partnering with St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in their annual “Don’t Spend Christmas Alone” efforts, as well as working closely with the Northern Arizona Suns basketball team to provide “Sunday Fun-day” tickets for the children of the Mayer School District.

In 2018, Brenda was instrumental in implementing an in-house employee giving initiative, in partnership with FANN Contracting, called Yavapai Title Agency’s Commitment to Community, or YTAC2C for short. This initiative provides employees the opportunity to participate in payroll deductions in support of seven Yavapai County non-profit organizations, along with the company matching dollar-for-dollar. In 2019-2020, she serves as President of the Land Title Association of Arizona and holds her LTAA Arizona Land Title Professional Designation. Within the industry, Brenda is also very active with the American Land Title Association, as a former education committee member and current Title Action Network member, exercising the right to petition the government about Arizona title industry needs.

Connect with Brenda Martinez on LinkedIn, and follow Yavapai Title Agency on Facebook.

Tom Davis, Land Title Association of Arizona and Pioneer Title Agency

Tom Davis is President-Elect of the Land Title Association of Arizona and Vice President of Pioneer Title Agency. Tom is responsible for collaborating with the leadership at Pioneer’s more than 65 offices statewide as well as working closely with the family-owned title agency’s area managers on operations, customer service, technology enhancements and marketing.

Tom has 43 years of industry experience, notably as the president and chief operating officer of Westland Title and as the president of Grand Canyon Title. During his time at the helm of Westland, Tom was proud to have the business named among the “Best Places to Work in the Valley” three consecutive years. In the past, he has been involved in the community through the Wounded Warrior Project, No One Left Behind, Habitat for Humanity and the American Cancer Society, among other organizations. Within the industry, he has been active with local REALTOR associations as well as the Land Title Association of Arizona.

Connect with Tom Davis on LinkedIn, and follow Pioneer Title Agency on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Wealth Management & Financial Industry Trends

Trevor Wilde, MBA, AIF®

Trevor Wilde is Managing Director at Wilde Wealth Management Group. Trevor is an Investment Advisor Representative, and he has been in the financial services industry since 1999. Under his leadership, Wilde Wealth Management Group has been recognized by NABCAP as a Premier Advisory Firm and has been honored by Barron’s as one of America’s Top 1,200 Advisors for the past 11 consecutive years – most recently ranking #4 in the state of Arizona for 2019.

Trevor played football for the University of Arizona where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Communications, and earned a Master’s of Business Administration through the University of Phoenix. Trevor attained the AIF® designation, which is the mark of commitment to a standard of investment fiduciary excellence. He was recognized as one of the ‘Most Admired Leaders’ by the Phoenix Business Journal in 2018, one of ’35 Arizona Entrepreneurs under 35’ by the Arizona Republic in 2011, and has been among the Top 15 Advisors out of more than 1,200 Cetera Advisors each year since 2012. Trevor specializes in providing clients with diverse products and services to help pursue their goals but also constructed a network of business partners to provide a truly unique in-house experience.

Wilde Wealth Management Group sponsors the Run for Broxton and Briggs 4 Kidz, is a host site for Cell Phones for Soldiers, and remains committed to charitable causes in and around the valley through their Wilde for Arizona™ Community Outreach Program. Trevor and his wife Meghan live in Scottsdale with their 4 daughters – Peyton, Presley, Piper, and Paige.

To hear more, listen to Trevor’s previous appearance on Valley Business Radio in January 2019.

Connect with Trevor Wilde on LinkedIn, and follow Wilde Wealth Management Group on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Charitable Giving and the Economics of Higher Purpose

Jeri Royce, Esperança

Jeri Royce is President and CEO of Esperança. Esperança’s mission is to improve health and provide hope for families in the poorest communities of the world through sustainable disease prevention, education, and treatment. Derived from the Portuguese word for “hope,” Esperança has been dedicated to transforming lives since its inception in 1970. The Arizona-based nonprofit began its mission abroad, serving the most under-resourced and poverty-stricken communities throughout the Central Amazon Region. While providing health education and volunteer medical care, including surgical procedures, Esperança quickly became known as a symbol of hope to those that have learned to live hopelessly. It remains the same nearly 50 years later.

Today, Esperança continues to provide medical missions and community development in Peru, Mozambique, Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua. And its domestic program in Phoenix partners with Title I schools, dental clinics, HUD Housing, and community centers providing health literacy education and resources to adults, children and seniors. Esperança is more than doctors, donors and volunteers. It is activists, community members and global citizens. The nonprofit envisions a world where communities across the globe have the tools, training, and support to achieve optimal health through access to clean water, stable sources of food, disease prevention, health education and ecological home-building.

Jeri is an accomplished leader with a distinguished career leading operational, business development, program development, and fundraising functions. With over 25 years of experience in local and national nonprofit organizations, she has a successful track record of building and leading strong partnerships and highly successful teams. Having founded her own consulting firm, 3P-Leadership, Jeri specialized in leadership development offering training programs, team-building, individual/group coaching services and Interim Executive Director/CEO Services. Jeri served as a capacity-building consultant in the Virginia Piper Trust ATLAS and Good Governance programs and has previously served as Interim ED for Lead for Good, Arizona Public Health Association and Arizona Asthma Coalition. After one year as Interim CEO for Esperança, she accepted the position fulltime in March 2018.

Connect with Jeri Royce on LinkedIn, and follow Esperança on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Gail Baer, Jewish Family & Children’s Service

Gail Baer is Vice President of Philanthropic Services of Jewish Family & Children’s Service, a non-profit, non-sectarian organization that strengthens the community by providing behavioral health, healthcare and social services to all ages, faiths and backgrounds. JFCS’ goal is for a future where families are strong, where elders are cared for and where children are safe. The dedication to the mission is strengthened by a commitment to core Jewish values that honor community and the continuity of the generations. JFCS programs and services include: counseling, mental health assessment and treatment, early childhood trauma assessment and treatment, child crisis intervention and rehabilitative services, support for victims of domestic violence, substance abuse, work force readiness & high school equivalency exams for teens in foster care.

During her time at JFCS, Gail has partnered with the Jewish Community Foundation to develop and grow the JFCS Legacy Society, a comprehensive planned giving program; created the JFCS Professional Leadership Development Program; as well as played a key role in the Sojourner Center affiliation and in developing its fundraising program. As the Vice President of Philanthropic Services, Gail oversees all fundraising for the annual campaign and legacy giving program, grants, marketing, and the JFCS volunteer program. Prior to JFCS, Gail served as the Vice President of Major Gifts at Valley of the Sun United Way and was also the past President of Congregation Beth Israel. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University.

Connect with Gail Baer on LinkedIn, and follow Jewish Family & Children’s Service on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Andrea Claus, Bivens & Associates

Andrea Claus is an attorney with Bivens & Associates, one of the largest and most experienced law firms in Arizona that practices exclusively in estate planning, probate and trust administration, elder law, and special needs law. The firm represents individuals, banking institutions, government agencies, and licensed fiduciaries. The attorneys at Bivens & Associates have a combined 40 years experience.

Andrea is the firm’s Director of Estate Planning, Probate, and Trust Administration. Her areas of expertise include estate planning, probate and trust administration, charitable planning, business formation, and business succession planning. She has experience in planning for both taxable and non-taxable estates.

Andrea is active in the planned giving community and currently serves on the Board of Directors for UMOM and is a Member of the Honor Health Wealth Advisory Board. She has been involved with the Planned Giving Advisory Board for SARRC and has counseled several other non-profits regarding planned giving. Andrea regularly speaks to donors on behalf of non-profits regarding planned giving options.

Connect with Andrea Claus on LinkedIn and follow Bivens & Associates on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona

2019 marks the 20th anniversary of Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona, a non-profit founded by local Subway franchisees and partners to help at-risk kids in this community gain access to sports, sporting equipment, sporting programs and wellness who might not otherwise be able to afford it. Subway Kids & Sports is unique in that it is 100% locally funded and run via an all-volunteer board. It is, to our knowledge, the only formal Subway-related nonprofit in the country.

Since 1999, the all-volunteer team has focused on a singular goal: to help provide sports equipment, uniforms, registration fees and access to major sporting events to kids who might not otherwise be able to participate. Subway Restaurants of Arizona and their Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona team members support kids in sports because they all believe basic sports skills—teamwork, commitment and accountability—help kids throughout their lives. To date, their work has touched more than 60,000 Arizona kids.

Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona provides assistance to Arizona kids in two ways:

The first is through their Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona Grant program. Each year, they raise funds to donate to amazing nonprofits that are helping kids gain access to health, wellness and sports. They’ve given more than $1 million since our inception!

The second is through the Cycle for Success program. Through this program, local teachers are asked to nominate students performing good deeds both inside and outside of the classroom. Each month, Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona and The Be Kind People Project – in partnership with Dasani, Subway Restaurants of Arizona and Shamrock Farms – ride into several of the classrooms and surprise committee-chosen students with bikes, helmets and locks, as well as Subway lunches for the entire class. The Cycle for Success program has been operating for more than a decade and focuses on increasing children’s self-esteem, encouraging the community to become involved in the lives of at-risk children and promoting random acts of kindness in local schools. Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona and The Be Kind People Project advocate for the health and safety of children, recognize random acts of kindness that may otherwise go unnoticed, and encourage community involvement in the lives of at-risk youth.

Mark Roden, Desert Subway, Inc.

Mark Roden is President of Desert Subway, Inc. and founder of Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona.

Connect with Mark Roden on LinkedIn, and follow Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona on Facebook.

Rick Ueable, Foods 2000, Inc.

Rick Ueable is founder of Foods 2000, Inc. and founding board member of Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona.

Connect with Rick Ueable on LinkedIn, and follow Subway Kids & Sports of Arizona on Facebook.

Brand Storytelling, Creativity, and PHX Startup Week

This episode of Valley Business Radio is brought to you by PHX Startup Week. This community-organized and community-run event brings together the PHX entrepreneurship community for six days of education, connection and support. Arizona’s largest entrepreneurial event is supported by thousands of entrepreneurs, businesses, and service providers in the entrepreneurial ecosystem from across Arizona, empowering the entrepreneurial spirit. PHX Startup Week is focused on bringing diverse voices to the table and cultivating a community, positioning PHX to thrive.

Follow PHX Startup Week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Get tickets for PHX Startup Week, February 17-22, 2020

Amber Pechin, Amplitude Media

Amber Pechin a writer of words and teller of stories. As a co-founder and storyteller at Amplitude Media, she builds brands, websites and big ideas. Her specialty is branding products and telling stories in industries that are technical and/or academic and are traditionally considered complicated or boring. The goal? Craft compelling stories about complicated topics using easy to understand narratives that helps users learn how the product or service will change their life.

Connect with Amber Pechin on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow Amplitude Media on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Reid Markel, Amplitude Media

Reid Markel is Minister of Magic at Amplitude Media.

Connect with Reid Markel on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow Amplitude Media on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Get tickets for PHX Startup Week, February 17-22, 2020

Get tickets for PHX Startup Week, February 17-22, 2020

Trade Agreements and Global Business Issues

This episode of Valley Business Radio is brought to you by the Global Chamber, a unique, growing and collaborating community of CEOs, executives, and leaders taking on global business in 525 metro regions around the world. The Global Chamber provides information, connections, and mentoring for leaders to capture global business opportunities. Connect with their resources and tens of thousands of members and followers worldwide to accelerate your success and improve your business, our region and the world.

Follow the Global Chamber on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Get tickets for the Global to Local Innovation Summit: Sustaining Growth on December 10, 2019 in Scottsdale, AZ

Melissa Sanderson, Freeport McMoRan

Melissa Sanderson is Vice President, International Affairs with Freeport McMoRan, a leading international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. Freeport is the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, the world’s largest producer of molybdenum, and a significant gold producer.

Before joining Freeport, Mel enjoyed an unusually diverse 21-year career as a a Foreign Service Officer in the US Department of State, working on a variety of issues including arms control, anti-narcotics, anti-terrorism, and business promotion (helping US companies abroad). In her first assignment in Mexico, she was involved in attracting US businesses to the then-fledgling maquiladora industry, and she subsequently worked briefly with the US team negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mel is Co-Chair of the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of the Arizona Mexico Commission, the Arizona Council for Economic Education, and the Global Advisory Board of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

To hear more, listen to Mel’s previous appearance on Valley Business Radio in July 2019.

Connect with Melissa Sanderson on LinkedIn, Facebook, follow Freeport McMoRan on LinkedIn, and follow the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Jeffrey Garza Walker, Cresa

Jeffrey Garza Walker is Senior Vice President with Cresa, the world’s largest commercial real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents occupiers and specializes in the delivery of fully integrated real estate solutions. Jeffrey focuses on expanding Cresa’s capabilities in global portfolio services through key industrial clients with requirements in Latin America. He also assists companies in Latin America that seek to place operations within North America. With a background as a Senior Director of Corporate Real Estate in North/Latin America of a top tier 4PL logistics company, Jeffrey provides a capable skill set and 15 years of experience in commercial real estate brokerage/development.

Jeffrey currently serves on the ASU MRED Real Estate Council, as well as the MRED and ASU W.P. Carey Business School Mentor Programs. He has previously worked with Habitat for Humanity, the YMCA and served on the Salvation Army Board of Directors. Jeffrey was selected as a presenter on how to facilitate CRE for companies located within Latin America which seek to place operations within North America.

Jeffrey received his Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) degree from Arizona State University in the inaugural year of the program, an MBA in Global Management from the University of Phoenix, and a BA in Spanish from Montana State University. He is a US Armed Forces Veteran and Phoenix Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient.

Connect with Jeffrey Garza Walker on LinkedIn, and follow Cresa Phoenix on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Joshua Rodriguez, Cresa

Joshua Rodriguez is Vice President with Cresa. He focuses on expanding the firm’s capabilities in global portfolio services with key industrial clients that have requirements in Latin America, while assisting foreign companies seeking to place operations in North America. Joshua brings over 7 years of experience in advisory services to at-market clients and the Spanish monolingual market.

Joshua currently serves on the ASU MRED Real Estate Council and the ASU MRED Alumni association. In addition, he serves on the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s Ambassador program to provide assistance with the organization’s efforts to attract corporations and talent to greater Phoenix. He received a Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) degree from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Grand Canyon University.

Connect with Joshua Rodriguez on LinkedIn, and follow Cresa Phoenix on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Kevin Hull, BMO Harris Bank

Kevin Hull is Vice President and Team Lead / Manager with the Commercial Banking team for the Arizona market at BMO Harris Bank. He has been with BMO Harris for a total of 17 years: 10 years in Chicago and 7 years in Arizona. During this time, Kevin held various Business Development and Sales Management roles with Metropolitan Banking and Commercial Real Estate. Also, while with BMO Chicago, Kevin formed the Homeowner Association Banking Group. Kevin has been in banking for a total of 29 years. With BMO Arizona, he focuses on acquiring new client relationships with manufacturing, distribution and service companies. He also targets companies who have “cross-border” banking needs as well as international banking needs.

Kevin earned his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Drake University and attended Dalhousie University’s joint MBA program with BMO’s Institute for Learning in Toronto. In 2015, Kevin earned the “Registered Global Credit Professional” designation from the Association of International Credit and Trade Finance Professionals. Over the years, Kevin has served on boards and committees for various non-profit and trade groups. Currently he is a member with the Global Chamber and serves on the organization’s Advisory Board and served as Chairman of the Events & Programs Committee. Other past positions include becoming a Certified Ambassador with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and a member of the International Leadership Committee for the Council. Kevin volunteers for the non-profit group Canadian’s In Arizona Benefitting Exchange and Education.

Connect with Kevin Hull on LinkedIn, and follow BMO Harris Bank on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Get tickets for the Global to Local Innovation Summit: Sustaining Growth on December 10, 2019 in Scottsdale, AZ

Small Business Coaching & Health Care Options

Bob Reish, Caveat Institute

Bob Reish is a Certified Business Coach / Master Facilitator and founder of the Caveat Institute. Coach Bob’s personal approach to each client is customized and powerful and gets results. With a background in ministry, his passion for helping people has always been evident. Over a period of twenty-five years, Coach Bob has developed and maintained ministries that have touched peoples’ lives from little children to Senior Adults. He has also been instrumental in helping people achieve a greater level of satisfaction in their lives through one-on-one coaching, and by speaking to small and large groups alike. His wisdom and experience is clearly seen by his clients and with his coaching clients and the seminars he leads for many organizations in the insurance industry, financial services, direct sales, and customer services, just to name a few. Coach Bob is considered a master facilitator in the sales industry with over 12,500 training hours, and thousands of professionals trained to date. He is passionate about helping people to realize their pathway to success and taking, and making, the opportunities that lie before them.

Coach Bob has the privilege of helping professionals and corporations achieve a level of success and significance in which they are unable to reach on their own. Through time honored,structured systems and processes, he has helped countless organizations and business owners go from highly successful to significance in their communities and influence. From the individual entrepreneur to large corporations, his clients increased their productivity in less time, produced millions in revenue by increasing their margins, and experienced more freedom in their personal and professional lives then they ever thought possible. Through his experience, systems, processes and curriculum, clients get results,regardless of the state of the economy.

Connect with Bob Reish on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow Caveat Institute on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Thomas Lindsay, Accelerated / PureHealth

Thomas Lindsay is a Partner at Accelerated, a PEO broker, insurance agency, software developer, and business consulting firm. They focus on solving employer, operational and technology problems for entrepreneurs and small to mid-sized businesses through a combination of standard and alternative market solutions.

Thomas has 26 of years insurance industry experience in all aspects of workers’ compensation, workplace safety, employee benefits, HR, payroll and professional employer organization (“PEO”) operations. He spent over 20 years creating systems and processes to underwrite workers’ compensation risk that outperforms industry loss ratios by using alternative risk financing models to participate in the working layers, establishing disciplined underwriting guidelines, performing extensive loss control and aggressively managing claims. In 2016 he resigned from his role as COO of the company he co-founded in 2004 and went into marketing and sales for the company as an independent sales organization. Since then he merged his business with Accelerated, LLC, another company he co-founded back in the mid-2000’s, and rejoined forces with his former business partner.

Thomas is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, licensed insurance broker and a ClickFunnels certified partner. Using his newly acquired marketing skills he is focused on solving the health insurance affordability dilemma for entrepreneurs, self-employed individuals, and small business owners after struggling to find affordable healthcare for his family once he left his former company and lost his group health insurance.

Connect with Thomas Lindsay on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow Accelerated’s PureHealth on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Creative Marketing and Messaging

Amanda June, SmokeFire Media

Amanda June is Owner of SmokeFire Media, a creative and culturally competent “un-agency” that specializes in marketing, PR, communications and advertising. SmokeFire Media is a Native American, woman-owned company with print and digital publications focused on the areas of minority business, entrepreneurship, and economic development across the Americas. Their flagship publication, The Visionary Business Magazine, launched in March 2015 as the premier business-to-business magazine of Indian Country and Latino business communities, showcasing entrepreneurship trends and economic development stories.

Amanda is Native American (Diné and Hopi) and Latina raised in Arizona, where she noticed a gap in media coverage of business and economic development in Indian Country and the Latino communities and decided to do something about it. In 2012, Amanda graduated with a bachelor’s degree in nonprofit leadership and management from Arizona State University. After building expertise in the nonprofit field for more than ten years, she has spent the last four years in marketing and public relations for nonprofits and small business, which led to her passion for media and the creation of her company, SmokeFire Media LLC. Amanda is very active in the community and is the current Board Treasurer of the Morning Star Leaders Inc. and Board Secretary of the Arizona American Indian Tourism Association.

Connect with Amanda June on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow SmokeFire Media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Ashley Bright, Ashley Bright Presents

Ashley Bright is The Message Fixer and founder of Ashley Bright Presents. He is committed to empowering experienced entrepreneurs and business leaders with skills to avoid communication mistakes that cost them millions. Prior to founding Ashley Bright Presents, he spent the previous 18 years in key creative leadership positions with top design and advertising agencies. In his role as Creative Director, he persuaded Fortune 500 companies like AT&T, Microsoft, and Target to spend their marketing budgets creating innovative story-driven experiences for the web, mobile and social platforms.

After nearly two decades of pitching design and advertising concepts to Fortune 500 companies, Ashley channeled all that experience into developing the IMPACT Speaking Method. This methodology is designed around 6 core communications principles that help business leaders attract clients and investors, increase their influence, and command diehard loyalty from their teams. Microsoft, HonorHealth and ASU are amongst the many clients who rely on Ashley’s IMPACT Speaking Method to help their leaders conquer fears, avoid costly mistakes and get the money they need to succeed.

Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Communications from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Connect with Ashley Bright on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.