Jodi Sie is the Controller at Rice Park Capital. She is responsible for overseeing accounting, administration, audit, and tax, along with financial analysis and reporting for the funds managed by Rice Park.

Jodi has over 20 years of experience in the alternative investment industry. Prior to joining Rice Park, Jodi was the Controller at Merced Capital. In that role, she was responsible for overseeing all accounting functions, audit, fund administration, and financial and regulatory reporting. She partnered with stakeholders to develop and implement critical business processes, optimize efficiencies, and provide accurate and timely financial reporting across the business and portfolio companies.

Jodi graduated from the University of Minnesota, Morris, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and management.

Nick Smith is the founder, managing partner and Chief Executive Officer of Rice Park Capital, overseeing all aspects of Rice Park’s strategies and operations.

Nick brings nearly 25 years of experience to his role. Before founding Rice Park Capital, Nick served as Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone’s private residential mortgage REIT and was the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Finance of America Companies (NYSE: FOA), a Blackstone portfolio company.

Prior to Blackstone, Nick served as Managing Director, Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE: TWO), where he built and led the investment platform for mortgage servicing rights (MSR) and residential whole loans. From 2004 to 2012, Nick served in a variety of areas for Green Tree Investment Management (“GTIM”). As Chief Investment Officer, he was responsible for the residential mortgage investment platform of Green Tree Holdings, GTIM’s parent company, and its affiliate, Green Tree Servicing. He also served as the Senior Portfolio Manager for the SerVertis Master Fund I LP, a $1.45 billion re-performing mortgage loan investment fund co-managed by GTIM. Nick worked at GMAC ResCap (formerly GMAC-RFC) from 1998 to 2004. He served in a variety of roles on the mortgage trading desk and in corporate development, where he led the valuation of equity investments in U.S., Asian and European consumer finance companies.

Nick studied economics as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota and was a Master of Science, Quantitative Finance candidate at the University of London. Nick is currently a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Minnesota.

Nick has served on several boards for private companies and charitable organizations throughout his career. He currently sits on the board of Brass Ring Capital.

Matt Kennedy is a partner of Rice Park and serves as the co-Chief Investment Officer, overseeing the firm’s investment team and overall portfolio management activities.

Matt served as a senior member of various investment teams for Varde Partners from 2009 to 2021, where he gained extensive investment experience across various fund vehicles, relative value, and activist-based strategies. In his roles, he was responsible for managing opportunities across both residential and commercial assets, and his investment activity took on multiple forms and was inclusive of securities, whole loans, private debt, corporate debt, and equity-based investments. Matt also served in various board member roles within specialty finance companies with a focus on residential lending while at Varde. Prior to 2009, Matt was a trader and portfolio manager at GMAC Residential Capital Corporation, where he managed positions in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), asset-backed securities (ABS), and performing and non-performing whole loans. He also previously worked as an associate for Deloitte with a focus on auditing, capital markets, and securitization.

Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Management Information Systems from the University of Iowa.

Craig Freel is a partner of Rice Park and serves as the President and co-Chief Investment Officer, overseeing the firm’s investment team and overall portfolio management activities.

Before joining the Rice Park team in 2020, Craig was the Senior Vice President of Portfolio Management for RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corp. At RoundPoint, he was responsible for building and managing the company’s MSR trading desk and secondary marketing functions. He also oversaw the acquisition and management of an MSR portfolio exceeding $100 billion in unpaid principal balance. Additionally, he was a key participant in the firm’s successful placement of $100 million of preferred equity as well as completion of a $650 million MSR term loan. Prior to RoundPoint, Craig worked in the New York office of Navigant Consulting. As a Managing Consultant in the Disputes and Investigations practice, he oversaw and managed a series of complex projects across multiple industries.

Craig holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering with a Minor in Economics from the University of Virginia. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Shawn Kelly is a Rice Park partner, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, overseeing the firm’s accounting, operations, transaction management, and asset management.

Before joining Rice Park, Shawn previously worked as Managing Director, Residential Mortgage Operations at Two Harbors Investment Corp. from 2013 to 2019. During that time, he built and led operational and oversight functions supporting a market value of $2+ billion in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). From 2005 to 2010 Shawn served as the Director of Servicing Operations at Wilshire Credit Corporation (and successor entities).  After IBM acquired the assets of Wilshire in 2010, Shawn led several process re-engineering and system implementation initiatives as the Vice President of Servicing Solutions Delivery from 2010 to 2013.  Shawn served as the Director of Servicing Oversight and Strategy at GMAC ResCap (formerly GMAC-RFC) from 2002 to 2005 where oversaw a network of special servicer.  Prior to joining GMAC ResCap, Shawn was a Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers within the bankruptcy and litigation practice.

Shawn graduated cum laude from Western Washington University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He also holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame, graduating magna cum laude.

Craig Opp is a partner of Rice Park. As General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, he manages the firm’s legal and compliance functions.

Before joining Rice Park, Craig was General Counsel and a member of the executive committee for GWG Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: GWGH) from 2018 to 2020. Prior to GWGH, Craig served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Incenter LLC, a Blackstone portfolio company, leading Incenter’s legal and compliance staff in investment advisory, employment, IP, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial transaction matters. Prior to Incenter, Craig held a variety of roles with Green Tree Servicing and Green Tree Investment Management (“Green Tree”) from 2008 to 2014. In his roles at Green Tree, he served as lead transaction counsel for $200+ billion of MSR and sub-servicing acquisitions and $1+ billion of distressed mortgage loan acquisitions. He also oversaw $5 billion in committed credit for numerous securitizations and credit facilities, including securitizing residential mortgage loans, consumer loans, manufactured housing loans, servicer advance facilities, master repurchase facilities, and corporate credit facilities. From 2003 to 2008, Craig was in-house counsel at GMAC ResCap (formerly GMAC-RFC), a globally diversified real estate finance company. Before that, he worked as an attorney with various law firms in Minneapolis and New York, including Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe LLP, where he represented Fortune 500 companies on complex financial transactions.

Craig holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and a Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law.

Mark Filler is a Senior Advisor of Rice Park Capital, overseeing investments with a focus on the loan origination sector.

Mark brings more than 25 years of mortgage sector experience and approximately 35 lending company acquisitions to his role. From 2019 to 2020, he was a Managing Director of Guaranteed Rate Co., a top five national mortgage lender. He joined Guaranteed Rate Co. after founding Jordan Capital Finance (“JCF”), a top five lender to residential real estate investors originating in over 40 states. He spearheaded the sale of JCF to Finance of America Companies (NYSE: FOA), a Blackstone portfolio company, in 2017. In 2007, Mark founded Prospect Mortgage Company, where he served as CEO, Executive Chairman, and President. Under his leadership, Prospect grew to be a top five independent retail lender with approximately $10 billion of annual mortgage volume and a retained servicing portfolio of approximately $15 billion. From 2002 to 2006, Mark served as Executive Vice President of American Home Mortgage, a NYSE listed company, with a market capitalization of $1.7 billion. He joined American Home Mortgage after co-founding and leading Prism Financial Corp., which eventually grew to $15 billion in annual origination and $275 million in revenue. The company went public via an IPO and then later went private in a transaction with the Royal Bank of Canada in 2000. Prior to his mortgage career, Mark worked at The Equity Group, Sam Zell’s primary investment vehicle. He was also a lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis, a leading national law firm.

Mark holds an undergraduate degree from University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.

Chris Bixby is Managing Director of Strategic Equity Investing for Rice Park and is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, structuring and managing investments in early to mid-stage technology companies operating in the real estate-based finance, equity, services and payments sectors.

Chris has a diverse background having served both in investment and entrepreneurial roles. Prior to Rice Park, Chris was Vice President of Growth at Sezzle, a rapidly growing fintech, where he was focused on building strategic partnerships with enterprise retailers. He joined pre-IPO as Vice President of Marketing and led the successful rebranding efforts. Before Sezzle, Chris joined General Mills in brand management and later founded Collaborate Brands where he advised early-stage businesses in strategy, growth, and fundraising. Chris began his career on Wall Street, working as an investment banking analyst in mergers and acquisitions at Jefferies, LLC, and later as a private equity associate at Castle Harlan, a $1 billion fund, where he spent three years investing in middle-market private equity transactions.

Chris is Chair of the Board for Candor Technology, an automated underwriting platform. He serves as an advisory board member for several PropTech companies including Purlin (Ai-led Real Estate Tools), Capacity (Ai Support Automation Platform) and Realized (1031 Exchange Platform).

Chris received his A.B from Bowdoin College, majoring in Economics and Government & Legal Studies. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2014. 

Patrice Blaeser is Senior Corporate Governance and Compliance Specialist, Project Manager, and Assistant Secretary at Rice Park. Patrice’s responsibilities include the daily oversight, management, and implementation of best practices in legal, governance, and compliance, including entity management and corporate records, as well as transaction management across all of Rice Park’s investment strategies.

Before joining Rice Park, Patrice was Assistant Secretary and Governance Specialist at Xcel Energy, Inc., SuperValu Inc., and nVent Electric, plc. She most recently served in a consulting role as Governance, Compliance, and Paralegal Specialist at several large public and private companies in Minnesota and California. Patrice brings over 20 years of experience in the legal, governance and compliance sectors to Rice Park.

Patrice holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Phoenix, a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Business Communications and Legal Studies from the University of Minnesota, Project Management Professional Certification (PMP) from the University of St. Thomas, and ABA Approved Paralegal Certification and Associates Degree from Inver Hills Community College.

Jimmy Bohmbach is an Accountant at Rice Park Capital. He is responsible for providing support for accounting and finance functions.

Before joining Rice Park, Jimmy previously worked as a Treasury Analyst at Naviga Global. During that time, he provided daily cash flow reporting, cashflow forecasts, cash variance analysis, intercompany activity, and international payment processing. Prior to Naviga Global, Jimmy has held positions as an Accounts Payable Lead, Staff Accountant, and Senior Accountant.

Jimmy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting with a minor in Law Enforcement from the Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Travis Brown is an Associate of Systems, Reporting, and Analysis at Rice Park. He is responsible for the development and implementation of technology infrastructure and the data landscape.

Before joining Rice Park, Travis worked at Nexben, Inc. as a Data Analyst. During that time, he handled all data and analytical requests for both internal and external facing customers. At Nexben, Travis also constructed and facilitated reporting for the financial operations and sales teams.

Travis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Statistics from Carleton College

Danielle Collignon is Controller at Rice Park Capital. In this role, she is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership for all accounting and finance functions.

With over 25 years of experience, she has held executive-level positions in accounting, financial management, financial analysis, and controllership within diverse high-profile corporations both nationally and internationally.

With a wealth of experience in managing and overseeing accounting operations, evaluating and mitigating risks, ensuring regulatory compliance, publishing financial statements, analyzing financial data, monitoring expenditures, forecasting revenues, coordinating audits, maintaining the accuracy of financial information, and managing relationships with stakeholders, she is a seasoned professional.

Gail Callueng is Vice President of Servicing Oversight at Rice Park, responsible for the daily operations of Servicing Oversight for the MSR portfolio.  Before joining Rice Park, Gail was the Subservicing Manager for Pacific Residential Mortgage where she conducted forensic servicing file reviews.  Prior to working for Pacific Residential Mortgage, Gail was a Senior Relationship Performance Manager at Fannie Mae for 7 years where she conducted servicing oversight and reviewed new servicer applications. Gail brings over 25 years of experience in the residential mortgage sector to Rice Park.

Gail graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Jacksonville University located in Jacksonville, Florida.

Ken Casteel is the Senior Compliance Counsel at Rice Park. Ken’s responsibilities include managing the legal and compliance functions, monitoring for legal and regulatory changes, overseeing licensing maintenance, and managing regulatory examinations for the MSR strategy.

Before joining Rice Park, Ken was in-house counsel for Freedom Mortgage Corporation (Freedom). During that time, he served as subject matter expert and regulatory counsel for Freedom, focusing on the areas of collections, foreclosure, and bankruptcy. While at Freedom, he oversaw the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Debt Collection Final Rules. Prior to Freedom, Ken worked for RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation (RoundPoint), most recently as in-house counsel. During that time, he served as subject matter expert for all regulatory, GSE, and governmental agency mortgage servicing requirements. While at RoundPoint, he oversaw the implementation of the CFPB’s Final Rule Amending the 2013 Mortgage Rules under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z).

Ken holds a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from East Carolina University and a Juris Doctor degree from Charlotte School of Law.

Ghillian Grantham is Vice President of Transaction Management and Transfers with Rice Park. She is responsible for the initial set up and ongoing engagement with counterparties and oversees the service transfer process for the MSR portfolio.

Before joining Rice Park, Ghillian served as Transaction Analyst at Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO) from 2016 to 2021. While in this role, Ghillian managed multiple facets of the service transfer process for bulk and flow MSR acquisitions, including GSE engagement, counterparty set up, subservicer oversight, and loan-level support. Prior to Two Harbors, Ghillian held multiple positions at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage from 2002 to 2016, including Private Mortgage Banker, Relationship Specialist, and Loan Document Specialist.

Ghillian holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Journalism and Spanish from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Stephanie Huotari is Vice President of Systems, Reporting, and Analysis at Rice Park. She is responsible for the developing and implementation of technology infrastructure and the data landscape.

Before joining Rice Park, Stephanie was Assistant Vice President, Data Analyst of Systems, Reporting and Analysis at Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO).  During that time, she provided analytical support, reporting, and data reconciliation.  Additionally, she held previous positions at Two Harbors, including Mortgage Accountant and Controls & Remittance Specialist, from 2015 to 2019.  Prior to Two Harbors, Stephanie was with Thomson Reuters as a Business Systems Analyst of the Tax and Accounting Division.

Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Michigan Technological University.

Ashley Kelner is Vice President of Servicing Oversight and Document Management at Rice Park. She is responsible for the daily operations of servicing oversight and mortgage documents for the MSR portfolio.

Before joining Rice Park, Ashley was Assistant Vice President of Counterparty Oversight for Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO). During that time, she was responsible for the oversight of servicing activities including GSE guidelines and vendor oversight. Additionally, she was a key leader in document management functions, including vendor oversight and management of collateral and trailing documents. Prior to Two Harbors, Ashley was with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, most recently as the Regional Services Manager providing loan processing training and development. Ashley brings over 12 years of experience in the mortgage sector to Rice Park.

Ashley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Institutional Finance and Human Resource Management with a minor in Business Administration from the Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Kate Nelson is Vice President of Servicing Oversight and GSE Relations at Rice Park. She is the liaison with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in GSE relationships, as well as being responsible for the daily operations of Servicing Oversight for the MSR portfolio.

Before joining Rice Park, Kate was the Assistant Vice President of Counterparty Oversight for Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO). During that time, she was responsible for the oversight of servicing activities at multiple subservicers, including their GSE performance monitoring. Prior to Two Harbors, she was with Fannie Mae, most recently as Director, Servicing Oversight, managing teams of Relationship Performance Managers for several servicing partners and Servicer Approval Analysts for new Fannie Mae servicer-only applicants.

Prior to Fannie Mae, Kate provided leadership in servicing oversight activities for multiple servicing companies as Director at Meridian Asset Services Inc and as Senior Portfolio Manager in the Servicing Oversight and Strategy division of GMAC ResCap (formerly GMAC-RFC). Kate brings over 35 years of experience in the residential mortgage sector to Rice Park.

Karissa Olson is the Executive Assistant to CEO Nicholas Smith.  In addition to her administrative responsibilities, Ms. Olson is also responsible for managing client relations, supporting Rice Park’s internal and external marketing initiatives, content creation, managing Rice Park’s website and social media pages, event planning, and managing our Plymouth office.

Ms. Olson comes with 9 years of professional experience supporting both high-growth start-ups and Fortune 500 companies in Europe and the United States.

Karissa holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Interior Design from Escola Superior Das Artes Decorativas, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Emily Potrykus is Vice President of MSR Analytics at Rice Park where she is responsible for key elements of MSR pricing, hedging, and portfolio management.
Prior to joining Rice Park, Emily worked as Director at Finance of America Capital Management, in acquisitions, hedging and portfolio management of the MSR portfolio. Additionally, she was Director of MSR Hedging at Incenter Mortgage Advisors, a wholly owned subsidiary of Finance of America Companies (NYSE: FOA). Emily established her specialization in the MSR asset class at Optimal Blue where she oversaw and built proprietary MSR products. At Optimal Blue, Emily also managed MSR advisory services and hedging analytics. Prior to Optimal Blue, Emily held risk management positions at Key Bank Capital Markets and Ford Motor Credit.

Emily holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Minnesota. She also holds an MBA from Georgetown University and is a certified Financial Risk Manager.

Mitch Steffen is Vice President and head of systems, reporting, and analysis at Rice Park Capital. He is responsible for the development and implementation of the firm’s technology infrastructure and data landscape.

Before joining Rice Park, Mitch was Vice President of Systems, Reporting and Analysis at Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO). During that time, he built and led a team that provided analytical support and data reconciliation. Prior to Two Harbors, Mitch was Director of Agency Claims at DiTech (formerly Green Tree). Prior to DiTech, Mitch served ten years in the Wisconsin Army National Guard, with a combat tour in Iraq in 2009. Mitch holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Management from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.

Audrey Peter is a Senior Accountant at Rice Park Capital. She is responsible for performing corporate and fund accounting activities for Rice Park Capital and its related Funds.

Audrey has over 10 years of experience in fund accounting. Prior to joining Rice Park, Audrey was a Fund Accounting Manager at SS&C Technologies, a globally recognized fund administrator. During that time, Audrey performed a wide range of fund accounting activities including, but not limited to, processing capital calls and distributions, reconciling derivative positions, trial balance reconciliations, and calculating expense and investor allocations in accordance with governing documents. In her role she also regularly worked with external clients and internal teams to solve problems and improve efficiencies.

Audrey graduated from Minnesota School of Business with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

Bryan Hill is the Chief Administrative Officer, overseeing the firm’s budgeting and financial planning, vendor management, project management, and human resources functions.

Before joining Rice Park, Bryan worked as Director, Business Development and Strategy at Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO) from 2013 to 2024. During that time, he built and led the transaction management and counterparty oversight functions that facilitated the company’s acquisition of more than $500B unpaid principal balance in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). From 2010 to 2013, Bryan served as a Vice President of Structured Finance in U.S. Bank’s Global Corporate Trust practice working with issues of asset-backed and residential mortgage-backed securities. Prior to that, Bryan worked at Merrill Lynch from 2003 to 2009 where helped build the company’s mortgage loan conduit and was responsible for managing loan data and analytics for the entire portfolio. Bryan started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Financial Advisory Services practice before joining the firm’s National Mortgage Banking and Asset Securitization Group where he performed collateral due diligence, bond structuring, and financial audits.

Bryan graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in both accounting and finance. He also holds the designation of Certified Public Account (Inactive) in the State of Minnesota.

Alex Zlotnikov is Vice President of Portfolio Management at Rice Park where he is responsible for key elements of MSR strategy, hedging, and trading.

Prior to joining Rice Park, Alex worked at Flagstar Bank, managing the bank’s MSR and overall balance sheet activity. His previous roles included portfolio management and trading positions for Lockheed Martin pension and the Fannie Mae investment portfolio. Alex began his MSR career at Washington Mutual bank in the hedging group.

Alex holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and an MBA from the University of Rochester. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Bryce Bradley is a Rice Park partner, President of Originations, overseeing the firm’s residential mortgage originations business.

Bryce joins Rice Park through its acquisition of Rosegate Mortgage, LLC which he helped co-found and most recently served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer.  Prior to co-founding Rosegate Mortgage, LLC in 2020, Bryce was an Account Executive at Deephaven Mortgage from 2018 to 2020 where he partnered with mortgage originators to drive new business opportunities.  Bryce started his career as an Associate Director for CNL Financial Group’s institutional finance group from 2015 to 2017 where he was responsible for raising capital for the firm’s private investment funds through their registered investment advisor channel.

Bryce graduated from Wofford College in 2015 with a degree in Finance.  He is a licensed mortgage loan originator.

Nick Boardman is a Rice Park partner, EVP of Finance & Administration, helping oversee the firm’s residential mortgage originations business.

Nick joins Rice Park through its acquisition of Rosegate Mortgage, LLC where he most recently served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.  Prior to joining Rosegate Mortgage, LLC in 2022, Nick worked for several companies in the commercial and residential real estate industry with his most recent role as Division Controller with Tri Pointe Homes from 2020 to 2021.  Nick also served as a Senior Financial Analyst with Newland Real Estate Group from 2017 to 2020, and as a Tax Manager for Movement Mortgage from 2016 to 2017.   Nick started his career in public accounting with Ernst and Young in 2014 with a primary focus on financial services.

Nick graduated from Samford University with a Bachelors and a Master’s Degree in Accounting.

Jennifer DeCoteau is a Senior Accountant at Rice Park Capital. She is responsible for providing fund accounting and support services for Rice Park Capital and its related Funds.

Before joining Rice Park, Jennifer was an Associate Manager in the fund accounting division at SS&C Technologies. During her time at SS&C, Jennifer provided financial support and reporting for hedge fund and private equity fund clients. Prior to SS&C, Jennifer worked in public accounting preparing tax returns and providing tax advisory services to individuals and small businesses. Additionally, she also held a fund accounting position at Integrity Viking Mutual Funds, a boutique asset manager based in North Dakota.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Minot State University. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).