Meet the Veteran Lending Council
Eric Ensley - Veteran Housing Advisor Director
Eric is a VA Loan Advisor with Lake Trust Credit Union who is dedicated to dispelling myths about the VA loan.
He is a Veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has a heart for helping his fellow service members.
When he is not teaching VA loan classes or writing loans, Eric can be found spending time with his wife and three young daughters.
Michael Fischer - Founder & President
"Fish" is Passionate and Dedicated to Empowering the Veteran community through advocating for the VA home loan benefit.
Through efforts in originating, teaching, training, and collaborating, Michael helped create the Veteran Lending Council. The VLC is a High-Level training, mentoring and support-oriented group that is dedicated to serving veterans by training the Loan Officer, Real Estate Agent and Veteran communities to help Veterans manage debt, get their offers accepted and build wealth.
Michael is also a co-founder of MLO Network and is the Director of VA Lending at Success Mortgage Partners, another avenue for him to educate & empower the lending community to better serve Veterans.
Steven Brand - Steven Brand Home Loans
Steven is a grizzled "mortgage veteran" who cut his teeth in the MN and Western WI mortgage markets in 2001. He’s been a loan officer, sales manager & mortgage company owner. Few loan officers can bring as broad of a perspective to a transaction as Steve can.
Steve started his mission and passion to serve Veterans in 2011. He continues to train Realtors and Loan Originators locally and around the country to better serve our Veterans needs and realize the American dream of homeownership.
Brad Stinson - The Mortgage Marine
Brad is a United States Marine Corps Veteran, VA Home Loan Specialist and Certified Senior Instructor at the Veteran Lending Council. He is also the head of the VLC's Elite Coaching Platform.
Brad enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2004 and stationed at Camp Pendleton, California and made multiple deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Currently, Brad lives in Grand Rapids with his wife and 2 daughters (Ava and Claire). He is a Officer with 92 for 22, a Non-Profit Organization raising awareness for PTSD & Veteran Suicide. He is also the Chapter Leader with VETSports West Michigan, dedicated to helping Veterans achieve better physical, mental, and emotional health through sports.
In his free time, you can find Brad the gun range, playing sports and raising his daughters to be the next generation of “princess” warriors.
"Lender Girl" Lauryn Dunn
As the Veteran Lending Council's Marketing Director, "Lender Girl" Lauryn loves anything social!
She is a military spouse and military daughter, and advocating for vets and servicemembers is a passion for her.
She is a great addition to the Veteran Lending Council and was instrumental in developing our Veteran Housing Advisor program. She is often teaching classes to other lenders and real estate agents in promotion of veteran homeownership.
When she's not glued to her computer, you can find her with her family, or working on her farm.Â
You can find her on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok @LenderGirlLauryn
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Jon Howard - Howard Team Home Loans
Jon Howard is our Marketing and Sales Ambassador. As a former financial advisor, Jon’s sales style has always been leading with education and helping his clients make informed decisions.
Jon has always had a deep respect for the military and found that people in the real estate industry frowned upon VA Loans, despite being the best loan product in the market.
He has focused on training realtors, other lenders and financial advisors on the benefits of VA Loans and wants to make sure that every Veteran and Active Duty Servicemember uses the benefits that they earned.
When Jon isn’t working on loans, you'll find him with his wife and their 4 kids (who are all under the age of 8)!
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