2026 Housing Visionary Awards Gala

Debra W. Still, CMB, retired in January 2026 as Vice Chair of Pulte Financial Services, which includes Pulte Mortgage LLC, PGP Title and Pulte Insurance Agency and employs over 1100 individuals throughout the U.S. Pulte Financial Services is a part of PulteGroup, one of America’s largest homebuilders with operations in twenty-six states.

Pulte

Still has more than four decades of experience in the mortgage housing industry. She joined Pulte Mortgage in 1983, as Vice President/Branch Manager of the Maryland Division and subsequently held that position with the Dallas/Fort Worth Division. In June 1997, she was promoted to Executive Vice President, Production, and in October of that year was appointed to the Pulte Mortgage Board of Directors and named Corporate Secretary. Still became Chief Operating Officer in 1999, and in August 2004, was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. She was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Pulte Financial Services in 2010, overseeing Pulte Mortgage, PGP Title, and PIA Insurance.

Mortgage Bankers Association, Washington, D.C.

Still served as the 2013 Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association and is currently a member of the association’s Board of Directors. She was awarded MBA’s Andrew D. Woodward Distinguished Service Award in 2014. As an active MBA member for more than a decade, Still has also Chaired MBA’s Residential Board of Governors (RESBOG), MBA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Council for Residential Mortgage Servicing for the 21^st Century, the Affordable Housing Subgroup on GSE Reform, and the MBA Forward Task Force. She has also served on MBA’s Strategic Planning Committee, Loan Origination Task Force, and Secondary and Capital Markets Committee. Still has testified before Congress multiple times. She has been the Chairman of MBA’s Opens Doors Foundation for the past 12 years.

Other Housing Involvement, Washington, D.C., Denver

In 2011 and 2013, Still was featured in “Influential Women of the Housing Economy” by HousingWire Magazine and in 2011 was named one of “The Top Ten Women in Mortgage and Housing” by The Five Star Institute. In 2020, she was recognized by the Denver Business Journal as “Most Admired CEO of 2020.”  In 2025, Still was recognized by Cotality (formally CoreLogic,) with the Dr. Frank Nothaft Impact Award.

Still is Co-Chair of the National Housing Conference’s National Advisory Council, a member of the National Association of Home Builders Housing Roundtable, and a board member of the Institute for Global Collaboration and the Ferguson Centers for Leadership Excellence.

Public Company Board Service

In March 2018, Still was appointed to Chimera’s Board of Directors. Chimera Investment Corporation is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that is primarily engaged in real estate finance.  In September 2021, Still was appointed to the Board of Directors of Enact, Holdings, Inc. Enact is a publicly traded company and a leading U.S. private mortgage insurance provider.

Receiving the Carl A.S. Coan, Sr., Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service

U.S. Congressman Mike Flood (R-NE) was sworn into office on July 12, 2022. Through the years, he has dedicated his life to advancing conservative values, growing Nebraska’s rural communities, and creating jobs.

Raised in Norfolk, Mike started working in radio in high school, a passion that continued throughout his time in college at Notre Dame and law school at the University of Nebraska. In 1999, he founded Flood Communications and grew the company from one Norfolk radio station, US92, into a statewide media network. News Channel Nebraska and Flood Communications radio stations deliver content important to rural communities, including local news and weather, high school sports, morning mass, and local entertainment. Mike has created hundreds of Nebraska jobs.

In 2005, Mike was elected to represent his hometown and surrounding Madison County in the Nebraska Legislature. In 2007, his colleagues elected him the youngest Speaker of the Legislature in Nebraska history. 

In June 2022, Mike won a special election to take over Nebraska’s 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently serves on the Financial Services Committee where he also serves as the Chairman of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, a Member of the Financial Institutions Subcommittee, and a Member of the Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity Task Force. Additionally, he serves as the Chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus and as a Member of the House Republican Policy Committee.  

Over the years, Mike has given back to Nebraska in numerous ways. He has long been active in Northeast Nebraska economic development and community efforts. Mike served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Scholarship Fund, advancing its mission to open the doors of educational opportunity for families with financial need. He has also previously served on the Board of Directors for Invest Nebraska, which is committed to growing Nebraska’s economy by assisting entrepreneurs and investing capital in companies with growth potential. 

Currently, Mike is a member of the U.S. Strategic Command Consultation Committee and a councillor for the Aksarben Foundation.

Mike and his wife, Mandi, were married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in 2003 where they are parishioners. The Floods live in Norfolk, where they are raising their sons Brenden and Blake. 

U.S. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II  (D-MO) is serving his eleventh term representing Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, the home district of President Harry Truman. He serves on the House Committee on Financial Services as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and is also a member of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and the U.S. Helsinki Commission.  

Before coming to Congress, Cleaver spent twelve years on the Kansas City Council and was elected in 1991 as the city’s first African American mayor. During his eight years as mayor, he led major economic development initiatives, attracting corporations such as TransAmerica, Harley-Davidson, and CitiCorp, and advancing key infrastructure and redevelopment projects, including the Bruce R. Watkins Roadway, the 18th and Vine Redevelopment, and improvements to Brush Creek.  

In Congress, Cleaver has focused on housing and economic development. He played a key role in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, helping establish the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and the Green Impact Zone, which directed over $125 million into Kansas City neighborhoods through infrastructure, housing, and job creation initiatives.  

Following the 2008 financial crisis, he contributed to passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, including creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the 112th Congress, he launched a nationwide jobs tour to connect communities with employment opportunities. 

Cleaver has led bipartisan housing reforms, including the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, a comprehensive housing bill that passed into law with a unanimous vote, and the Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act, signed into law by President Trump. 

He has also advanced fair housing efforts, including legislation addressing appraisal bias that informed the Biden Administration’s PAVE Task Force. In 2025, he secured $15.5 million to rehabilitate Parade Park Homes, the nation’s oldest Black-owned housing cooperative.  

Cleaver holds degrees from Prairie View A&M University and St. Paul’s School of Theology and has received five honorary doctorates. A native of Waxahachie, Texas, he lives in Kansas City with his family. 

Gala Program