SitusAMC Power Pro: Jacqueline Gelman

Name: Jacqueline Gelman 
Title: Director of Securitization and Strategic Advisory Solutions 
Location: Remote  

Day-to-day: I work in the area of commercial mortgage bank securitization. We help issuers and loan sellers bring securitizations to market. Basically, we’re responsible for everything needed to issue and market a deal: writing large loan summaries, analyzing data and preparing documents. We also work on other aspects of securitization diligence, whether that involves putting together risk retention packages for a bank’s investment committee or ongoing post-close risk retention diligence. I also help with business development. Some days I talk to clients and colleagues to gauge market sentiment and discuss the different services we provide. Other days I might spend in the weeds of diligence, like looking at appraisals and loan documents to prepare for market offerings. 

Inspiration: One of the things that really resonates with me is that you don’t necessarily need to have a passion to be successful, but you do need to have a purpose. I always try to find my purpose within a role. What I like about my work is that there are so many opportunities to find purpose. That might be creating operational efficiencies within our securitization team so we can focus more on qualitative aspects of our job; or identifying new areas where we can expand our market offering while also enlarging the knowledge base of the team. I’m inspired by figuring out new or different ways to do things, or reassessing and refining the things we are already doing.  

Path to SitusAMC: I started out as an external auditor for clients in a variety of industries. From there I went on to an internal audit role representing clients where I travelled a lot for my job, all over the world. Then I moved on to do internal audits at a different firm with a more specific focus on professional and financial services firms. When the Great Recession happened, all work ground to a halt. The firm scrambled to save employees, which resulted in a two-year stint at a FDIC receivership in Florida. While I was there, I met dear friends who were in securitization and through that and the receivership work, I became more interested in commercial real estate. After that I joined the securitization team at a large bank, and I was there for about 10 years before I joined SitusAMC.   

Essential traits: In our field it’s important to have professional curiosity. It’s very easy when you are working with loan documents and data to reduce it to a data-entry job, but you gain the most value by really thinking about the why of what you are doing. So, what I always look for in colleagues and the junior team members is the ability to discern the why behind the work; someone who doesn’t just come up with the right answer but understands how we got that answer. When you can explore the why of your job, it just opens up so much more color in your day to day. Keeping that professional curiosity alive is what keeps you engaged and therefore more successful. 

Hometown: I grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. And after a long stint in Chicago, I am back in Oak Park! It’s a place where people want to stay, or if they must leave, find a way to return. I was very aware of how lucky I was to grow up in a place with diversity both ethnically and economically. Our community takes a lot of pride in that and worked hard to achieve it. And now my kids really benefit from being exposed to that level of diversity. I also like that Oak Park borders Chicago and it’s easy to take public transportation into the city. As a teen I remember how exciting it was to get my train card and be able to explore different neighborhoods in Chicago. I loved the freedom of being able to go places on my own. It will be interesting to see how my kids choose to explore. 

Favorite recent read: I highly recommend two collections of essays by the humorist and TV writer Samantha Irby, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life and Quietly Hostile. Her essays combine really profound introspection with brilliant humor.  

Downtime: I recently got back into wheel throwing. This was something I did in high school, and I really enjoyed it. It’s been nice getting back into a practice of something that I’m trying to get better at where there are no external pressures as far as timelines or what you need to produce. My goal is to make pottery planters because I have a lot of plants and need a place to put them.  

Dream destination: I love a beach, so my dream destination is anywhere in the Caribbean with sun, sand and small crowds. Anguilla holds a special place in my heart for sure. I’ve been there a few times with my very best friend and always dream about going back.