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Seven Massachusetts Bank employees have been named the 2024 “Rising Star of the Year” by the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association.
Aidan Sullivan (The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod), Nickolle Cuartas-Quinonez (Digital Federal Credit Union), Taylor Campbell (Digital Federal Credit Union), Harrison Bates (Berkshire Bank), Kimberly DiRusso (Cape Cod 5), Mayra “Mimi” Rosero-Regalado (Fidelity Bank), and Candace Saunders (Salem Five) all received the award.
The MMBA’s Rising Star award recognizes young professionals under 35 who have less than 10 years of experience in the mortgage industry and demonstrate exceptional business success, community involvement, and professional leadership.
Sullivan has been a member of The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod’s Residential lending team for five and a half years, beginning his career in loan processing and closings before transitioning into his current role as a secondary market analyst.
“Please join me in congratulating Aidan on this honor. He has excelled both independently and as part of a team, fostering a collaborative environment with our Sales and Operations teams,” The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod’s Presdient, CEO and Chair Lisa Oliver said in a statement. “His extensive knowledge of secondary markets and investors, along with his proactive approach in onboarding new investors, has exceeded our fiscal goals and management expectations.”
Rosero-Regalado joined Fidelity Bank in 2018 as a customer service representative and is currently a home lending specialist for the Worcester region.
“Mimi is the epitome of LifeDesign banking and loves to help her clients get where they want to be,” Barbara Yanke, senior vice president and director of residential lending at Fidelity Bank, said in a statement. “She actively works to provide home buyer seminars and meets regularly with local housing authorities while also learning as much as she can about the housing market and the nuances that come with residential lending.”
DiRusso joined Cape Cod 5 in 2016, starting as a teller and is now an internet lending manager.
Cuartas-Quinonez joined DCU in the call center as an information center specialist in 2018. She transitioned to the mortgage department in the spring of 2020 as an intern and returned to DCU in 2021 assisting in mortgage servicing. In the fall of 2021 she joined DCU’s mortgage team. Campbell has been with DCU since November of 2022 as a mortgage system administrator.
Bates has been with Berkshire Bank since March of 2023. Along with managing software configuration, he also works in compliance and conducts training. Additionally, he developed and implemented automated enhanced conditions to improve efficiency and performance.
Saunders has been a loan analyst with Salem Five since August of last year. She also spent nearly two years at RTN Credit Union as a loan processor before spending just over eight years at Cross Country Mortgage as a senior loan processor.
“I am truly honored to have been nominated by Salem Five and to receive the Rising Star Award from the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association,” Saunders said in a statement. “It means a lot to be recognized for my dedication to my role, which I could not do without the support of my peers. The Rising Star Award is motivation to work hard, continue to learn, and to lean into the challenges.”
