Alumni Profile: Juanita Russell '95

Juanita Russell ’95 knows that technology has had a transformative effect on the business world. Her company wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for electronic data transfers, secure online transactions, and of course, the Internet.

MERSCORP, Inc. (MERS) is a utility for the mortgage banking industry that streamlines the process of doing business by eliminating many of the industry’s manual practices. By creating an electronic registry of mortgage originators and servicers, the company has saved its customers millions of dollars.

The Internet in particular has had a strong impact. Russell, who remembers the days of dial-up, says that using a browser-based system improved the company’s processes and made it easier for customers to access the system. Those customers include almost all of the nation’s largest mortgage companies.

“More than half of all new residential loans originated in the United States are registered on our system,” says Russell. “We ultimately envision ourselves as the first step in a completely paperless mortgage.” Russell has been with the company since 1997, and has been involved since its inception when she was a financial analyst with EDS, the company that designed MERS’ technology platform.

As controller and vice president of MERS, Russell is responsible for the company’s accounting functions. When she joined the start-up, it had yet to acquire any customers. Russell established all of its accounting policies and procedures. She also developed the financial controls and reporting protocols.

It’s a job she loves, and one she never could have gotten without her Smith School experience. Russell returned to college in her mid-twenties as a wife and mother of two small children. “I came with a different frame of reference than the other undergraduates,” she laughs. “But the Smith School was a very supportive environment. Everyone wanted you to succeed. Coming here was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

After a number of years focusing on her family and career, Russell has become more involved with the alumni community. Last fall she served as a round one judge at the 2006 MBA Case Competition, letting her give feedback to teams preparing to enter the competition’s semi-final round.

“Serving as a judge allowed me to give back to my school and to impart some of my real-world experience to the next generation of professionals,” Russell says. “It was an honor and a pleasure for me to participate.”

Russell lives in Leesburg, VA, with her husband and two children.

This profile appeared in the Spring 2007 issue of Smith Business magazine
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/smithbusiness