Spark The Conversation Podcast

You may know Casey Garrett-Taylor as a Human Resources Generalist with Pulte Mortgage, but did you know this about Casey? Casey was born in Vancouver, Canada and moved to Seattle at the age of three. She moved to Colorado a few years later and considers Colorado home. In High School Casey competed in Soccer, Cross-Country and Track and Field. She misses running and recently completed a local 5K fun run. One of Casey's passions is animal rescue. Casey is a part of a dog foster program called "A Friend of Jack". It's a female-owned and operated has rescued more than 2000 dogs and placed them with temporary foster homes until a permanent adoption happened. Casey not only fosters dogs, but has also adopted an adorable mutt named Rosco. Casey is big on the outdoors. During the winter she likes to snowboard. During the summer she likes to hike and wakeboard. Casey is a new aunt of a 5-month-old nephew. Here mom, dad and brother all live in Colorado. Her younger sister lives in Florida.  After graduation from college, Casey and friends traveled to southeast Asia and fell in love with Krabi, Thailand. She went to an elephant sanctuary and learned, fed and played with Asian elephants. Her future travel plans include a trip to Barcelona and Italy this September, and an eventual return to Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers.   This month we're talking with Nickie Litzinger. You may know Nickie as an Post Closing Corrections Specialist in our Post Closing Department, but did you know? Nickie started with Pulte Mortgage in October of 2022 Prior to working at Pulte Mortgage, Nickie worked in retail. She wanted to work a normal Monday to Friday job when she discovered Pulte Mortgage Nickie raised her two sons and took them camping and fishing in Colorado Today Nickie's younger son Austin is a bachelor and still loves fly fishing Her oldest son Jeret now has a son Jackson and is expecting a daughter (Riley) soon. Nickie and her husband are moving to a DiVosta Home in Florida to be close to her grand children During the winter she and her husband like to cook and Nickie enjoys crocheting blankets for grand babies

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers. This month we're talking with Dani Surek. You may know Dani as an Escrow Coordinator at our PGP Title office in Scottsdale Arizona, but did you know? Dani, has a dog named “Nesta” after Bob Marley's middle name. She was born in Riverside CA, moved to Phoenix area at the age of 5. Dani has family in the real estate industry. Her dad is the West Area Manager for PulteGroup and her mom is a Post Closer in the industry. Dani's older sister 6 years senior is her greatest influencer. Her sister attends Harvard and is studying Education Politics. Dani would like to live abroad and enjoys road trips. One of her goals is to travel to all 50 States. Dani's favorite things: she's a dog person, a night owl, favorite restaurant is Spiga Cucina, favorite book is The Great Gatsby, favorite movie is Spider Man, favorite vacation spot is San Diego and favorite hobby is going to concerts!

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers. You many know Frances Quinn as an Escrow Officer for PGP Title in our Dallas/Ft Wort Division, but did you know?   Frances brings 30 years of Title experience to our customers and team! Frances was born, grew up, and still lives in Dallas with her husband. Frances' family, including her mother and sisters, all live in Texas. Her husband is in commercial construction and works on projects like the Texas State Capital building. Frances has a 35-year-old son, a grandson and step-granddaughter. Frances enjoys taking her grandchildren to parks, water parks and a nearby mall with a carousel and train. She also has two furry children, a male Yorkie named Joe Montana and female Yorkie named Daisy, who is a "dominant angel". Frances enjoys decorating her home and likes changing things up. She particularly enjoys decorating for the holidays. She does not enjoy the cleanup. When Frances isn't decorating, she enjoys volunteering at her church and going on family vacations the beach in Port Aransas, Texas. Frances' New Year's Resolution is to save for her grandchildren's education and future.

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers. You may know Bre Meyers as a Specialized Loan Processor for Pulte Mortgage, but did you know this about Bre? Bre grew up in Elizabeth, Colorado. Her grandparents had a farm in Parker, and she had free reign to explore and play around the farm with her brothers. Her grandma was an incredible and caring person and one of her greatest influences. Bre graduated from Elizabeth High School and then went on to study Music Performance for Percussion earning her undergraduate and most of her doctorate at the University of Northern Colorado and her Masters at Central Michigan University. Bre also studied abroad in Scotland and lived there for a semester. Bre started with Pulte Mortgage in 2020 as a Loan Processor and was recently promoted to Specialized Loan Processor. She finds that her experience teaching has really helped her with documentation when processing loans for customers. Bre enjoys spending time with her two dogs, a Catahoula Leopard Dog and a Blue Heeler who was a Covid adoption. She celebrates Pride Month every year in either Denver or San Francisco and looks forward to celebrating in Chicago in the future. Some of Bre's favorite things include riding her motorcycle, eating at Hacienda Colorado, the movie "Mean Girls" and a novel by Neil Gaiman titled "Neverwhere". No surprise, her favorite hobby is music and she enjoys playing in her spare time.

Welcome to the "Spark the Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers. You may know Dave Meyers as the West Area Manager for Pulte Financial Services, but did you know this about Dave? Dave grew up in the Seattle-Bellevue area in Washington state and later moved to Northern California during his High School years. He completed his Undergraduate degree from California State University in Fullerton, CA and his master’s degree in Education at Azusa Pacific University. He started his career in financial services working for a private equipment financing company. He did his first career change and transitions into job as a high school algebra teacher and then as an assistant principal. He did his second career change back to financial services when he started working for Pulte Mortgage in 2006. Dave offices out of the Pulte Southern California division in Mission Viejo and has been in his current role for 4 years. He finds his early career experiences of working in equipment financing and education gave him skills that he uses on a daily basis educating the Sales team on how to use Pulte Mortgage financing to sell homes. Dave and his wife have 4 children. Their oldest is 17 years old and is a competitive rock climber who plans to join the Coast Guard to become a rescue swimmer. They have twin 16 year old girls who play volleyball and soccer, and their youngest who is in 7th grade also plays soccer. All of his kids to well with math. Outdoor family and enjoy camping in the Sierra mountains with they are not on a volleyball court or soccer field. Dave feels he is in his element when he is climbing mountains on his own. He has climbed Denali in Alaska, Mt Shasta and Mt Rannier. He has more climbs on his bucket list in the Himalayas and South America. In his downtime he likes to read every day. He recently re-read Malcom Gladwell's "Outliers". Dave also likes to cook and take on wood working projects. Dave enjoys getting to know others and find out what he has in common with people. 

This month we're talking with Kaitlin Grunder, who you may know as the Marketing and Social Media Manager for Pulte Financial Services, but did you know this about Kaitlin?   Originally from Chicago until the 5th grade, her family moved to Dallas for 2 years, and then Atlanta where she attended 7th to the 11th grade. Her family was impacted by the recession following the mortgage crisis of the late 2000s. Instead of fulfilling her senior plans to be Captain of the volleyball and basketball teams and editor of the yearbook, she moved to Castle Rock her senior graduating from Castle View High School. She attended Auburn University where she studied Journalism. Kailin even negotiated her own Major of Visual Journalism with a Minor in Business Marketing. Feels moving around taught her to be flexible and she enjoys change and feels antsy if there's not change Parents and two younger brothers all live in Caste Rock, CO Created a book cover which got her discovered by an ad agency. Has never really taken a real vacation and she is finally taking her first trip to Mexico with her boyfriend Finds being outdoors working in the yard or hiking in nature restorative which she describes as "it refills my cup". Music is a passion and all-time favorite artist is The Weekend. She is celebrating her 4th employment anniversary with Pulte Financial Services in October

This month we're talking with Dan Huddleston. You may know that Dan is a Loan Consultant San Antonio and Minnesota team in Loan Origination, but did you know these things about Dan?   Dan born in Avon England and moved to Florida shortly thereafter. Dan grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and then attend the UNC Chapel Hill where he earned a degree in Dan earned a Biology and Environmental Science degrees. He considered pursuing applying to medical school, but decided to move to Colorado and start a career recreation and restaurant management. Dan is an avid year round outdoor activity enthusiast with instruction certifications in snowboarding and freestyle riding. He also picked up whitewater, kayaking and paddle board instruction certifications along the way. He lived in Vail, Aspen and Breckenridge where also spent time in the restaurant management world. He also taught hand gliding in the Outer Banks in the summer of 2016. Dan took inspiration from three generations of members who worked in the mortgage industry and he joined Pulte Mortgage in September of 2020. Dan still enjoys outdoor activities, but makes friendships and connections with others a priority. Dan also enjoys learning about psychology, sociology and finds meditation and yoga help his clear and organize his thoughts.

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers. This month we're talking with John Cutaia, who is a Product Owner on the Digital Customer Experience team in ISD.  Did you know this about John? John grew up in the small town of Nederland in SE Texas. John’s dad was very influential in teaching John both a good work ethic as well as how to enjoy life. His favorite memories of his dad are of helping his dad at work and spending time fishing together. John has a 33-year-old daughter, has family still in SE Texas, and spends a lot of time with his friends in Colorado hiking and camping. In the 1990 John fronted a spoken poetry performance on KUT Radio. He also made the 10 o'clock news doing a "shave you head" challenge reading poetry from memory while his head was being shaved. John's other creative outlets include photography, writing, and playing guitar. John is a perpetually curious person and finds that creativity is an integral part of who he is. He has recently completed a short novel inspired by stories like Old Yeller.

Welcome to the Spark The Conversation Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers. This month we're talking with Katie Amundson, who is the Regional Sales Manager for Central, North and Southeast Florida. Did you know that Katie…. Katie has been with PulteMortgage for 18 years and loves mentoring and developing team members Was born and raised in Quebec City, Canada and her first language is French First learned English when her family moved to Calgary Furthered her English speaking at Nova scotia University where she earned a business degree Self-described as passionate, dedicated, and friendly – has a contagious smile and laugh Has two daughters ages 11 and 22. Her oldest daughter just graduated from Seattle University and her youngest is a competitive dancer training at the Parker School for Performing Arts Loves to travel and spends the weekends skiing and doing outdoor activities. Her family’s favorite ski resort is Monarch Finds personal and family wellbeing (her happy place) with playing board games and reading teen books in French to her 11-year-old

Show Notes: Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers.   This month we're talking with Ryan Brown, VP of Enterprise Architecture and Cloud Solutions. Ryan followed in his Dad's footsteps who was an Engineer Started programming software at the age of five with a TRS Tandy home computer - his first software program was Pong Stared his undergraduate education studying Psychology and then changed routes to work as a software developer Ryan found that he could solve problems and delight people using technology Enjoys spending time with his family and considers them his heart and soul Enjoys kayaking, paddle boarding, biking and hiking Recently took a father/son trip to an Japanese animation (Anime) Planning a trip to Maui to visit family this Summer Enjoys bringing fun to work and likes sparking conversations with interesting Teams background images Being outside is a magical potion for his wellbeing

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers. This month we're talking with Katie Vigil, who is the VP of Product Development and System Support. Did you know that Katie… Attended nursing school and has experience a cadaver lab. Worked as a teller, personal banker and an investment banker where she still felt like she was helping people . Became a mortgage specialist at her bank and fell in love with mortgage banking. Worked in a number of mortgage banking roles including running a lock desk, originating loans, product development and has helped with LOS and pricing engine implementations. Has three daughters and one boy. She runs around on the weekend with Karate, Football, Soccer and loves trips to the mountains with her family. She takes care of herself by exercising and trying to eat well. Always taking care of others and now taking care of her own appointments.

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our team and customers. This month we're talking with Lichelle Augustson, who is the Pulte Mortgage New Hire Supervisor over the MB1 Program.  Did you know this about Lichelle?   Graduated from the University of Colorado. One of her first jobs after college was working retail at Mervyn's in the Boulder mall. She started at PulteMortgage in 2003 in the MB1 program for Loan Consultants. One of her first manager roles was in the Nevada market where learned new parts of the business. During the mortgage market downturn, Lichelle pursued an interest and went to Cosmetology School around 2009. Lichelle returned to Pulte Mortgage a few years later as an OPS and then moved into her current role in 2017 as MB1 Manager One of her favorite parts of the job is getting to know new people and then having connections with them wherever they go in the organization. Lichelle and her wife Glenda spend their weekends with their Terrier Jack, who was a rescue. They also enjoy traveling and cruises in particular. They have traveled all over Europe and they plan to take a cruise in the New Zealand and Australia January 2022.

This month we're talking with Ryan Frick, who is a Loan Consultant on the Florida team.  You may know Ryan for his excellent customer service, but did you know Ryan…. has worked at PulteMortage for the last two years used to be shy before he developed a lot of his customer service skills from working as a Starbucks Barista prior to Pulte While a Denver native, he has never been skiing.  He likes having the mountains in his backyard to go for hikes or what he calls “mini vacations” Enjoys traveling, exploring new places and road trips especially  He visited 28 States in 5 years and 15 national parks including, Death Valley, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone Wants to visit Austin, Dallas/Ft Worth and Justin Texas He also wants to visit the Orlando and Tampa Florida markets where he helps customers today Driving his Suburu WRX makes him happy Enjoys spending time with his nephew Conner New Years resolution to buy a new home

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our organization.  This month we're talking with Rachel Weatherly.  You may know Rachel as a Tax Research Specialist, but did you know this about Rachel?   Rachel has an identical twin sister and comes from a long line of Colorado natives She saw her first Star Wars movie at the age of 7 with her sister and dad and is fan to this day There were 18 students in her graduating high school class Rachel majored in Communication with minors in History and Political Science at the University of Northern Colorado Just took a trip to Florida in May with her 11 year old son named Alexander Rachel has a lot of hobbies and keeps bees and chickens She belongs to a medieval recreation society called the Society of Creative Anachronism where she's learning to blow glass and archery In addition to blowing glass and archery, Rachel creates tumblers, does wood working, photography, crochets and enjoys reading She is currently reading Memoir of a Holocaust survivor and The Adventures of Tom Stranger

Welcome to the "Spark The Conversation" Podcast where we get to know individuals around Pulte Financial Services, what makes them unique and the collection of experiences they bring to our organization.   We're talking with Greg Pattee, who is the Vice President of Finance and Controller for PGP Title out of Coppell, TX.   About Greg: Greg grew up in Chicago Miami University of Ohio for undergrad.  Finance Major, International Business Minor School had a campus in Luxemburg; lived with a host family for 5 months Married to wife Kim for 15 years, who he met in High School Three girls 13 and twin 9 year-olds Enjoy skiing in Colorado Spends time with family doing basketball, gymnastics and running Enjoys reading books on parenting, but currently enjoying "Can't Hurt Me" by David Goggins

This month on "Spark The Conversation we're talking with Naji Pitts, who is the Branch Manager for the Pacific Northwest Division in Bellevue, Washington.  Did you know this about Naji? Born in Freemont, California, but his dad’s job moved the family to Colorado when he was 3 His family lived in Colorado until he was 9 and then moved to St Louis Naji considers Colorado home and moved back to Colorado to major in Business Management Marketing with a Minor in Finance at CU First job out of college was at a tech start up in Downtown Denver Naji’s brother was an OPS with Pulte Mortgage and recruited Naji to be a Loan Consultant and go through the MB1 program Started at Pulte as a LC in 2013, moved to Las Vegas in 2017 as an MFA, and most recently moved to Washington to be the Branch Manager Naji and his wife Zanari like to travel, hike and eat good seafood

This month on "Spark The Conversation" we're talking with Gene Kyung, who is an Regional Sales Manager for Pacific NW, Nevada and Dallas.  Did you know this about Gene? He’s a Colorado native, born in Aurora and grew up in Castle Rock, but he’s also lived in Highlands Ranch, Parker, and currently lives in Monument Went to CSU, Business Finance and he once thought about moving to NYC to be a stock broker He got into the mortgage industry in 2001 and worked for former Denver Bronco Olandis Gary and Home American Mortgage before coming to Pulte in June of 2002 Worked in Treasury with John DAgostino His son has special needs, but they love going for walks and playing board/card games Gene is planning to do his first 14er and targeting Mt. Bierstadt Gene enjoys motocross/trail riding, mountain biking and snowboarding Snowboards and has a goal to learn to ski Enjoys reading non-fiction and especially author Ryan Holiday and the book The Daily Stoic