The American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (AACFB) elected two new members to its board of directors as well as a new vice president, Laura Estrada with Preferred Capital Funding. The new AACFB secretary/treasurer will be Roderick Knoll, CLFP Associate with Marathon Commercial Capital and Amanda Zeken, CLFP with Smarter Equipment Finance was elected as a director at large. They will begin their service in their new positions in May of 2020.

AACFB President Paul Burnham said, “I am pleased to welcome the newest members to our board of directors. I know they will be valuable additions and I look forward to what they have to offer. Sincere gratitude also goes to AACFB Past President Sheri Bancroft as she completes her service on the board. Sheri did an outstanding job and showed a tremendous amount of leadership and vision during her term. Also completing his service on the board is Jim Phelps. We appreciate Jim’s contributions and keeping a close watch on the finances during his term as Secretary/Treasurer.”

Officers:

• President – Cindy Downs, Heartland Capital Group
• President-Elect – Carrie Radloff, CLFP, American Financial Partners
• Vice President – Laura Estrada, Preferred Capital Funding, Inc.
• Secretary/Treasurer – Roderick Knoll, CLFP AS, Marathon Commercial Capital
• Past President – Paul Burnham, CLFP, El Dorado Commercial Finance

Directors-at-Large:

• Bud Callahan, BPB, CLFP, National Equipment Leasing, Inc.
• Teresa Thacker, Brahma Lending and Leasing
• Amanda Zeken, CLFP, Smarter Equipment Finance, LLC

More about the newest board members:

Roderick Knoll, CLFP Associate, is a partner at Marathon Commercial Capital in Louisville (Boulder), CO. At Marathon, Knoll has specialized in real estate finance and real estate consulting. He has arranged permanent loans, construction loans, construction lines of credit and construction equity. Consulting has included financial planning for new construction, due diligence for property acquisitions, strategy and operational guidance for property turn-arounds, and property problem-solving. Regarding equipment finance, Knoll concentrates on portable cabins and manufactured/modular houses. He loves to learn and says that his membership in AACFB has been central to learning the equipment (and factoring/MCA/bridge) aspects of commercial finance.

Amanda Zeken, CLFP is the credit manager and corporate liaison for Smarter Equipment Finance, an equipment financing brokerage based out of Las Vegas. She first got into the equipment finance industry in 2014 while working in vehicle titling for a sub-prime direct lender that specialized in IRP tractor-trucks and trailers. Zeken has a deep background in vehicle titling and has used that unique skill set to set herself apart as a credit manager. Since being with Smarter, she has refined and expedited their internal credit processes to increase growth and the department’s capacity. In October of 2019, Zeken became a CLFP, making Smarter Equipment Finance one of the few equipment financing brokerages that employs two or more CLFPs.