The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) presented Christine (Chrissi) Rhea, former President and CEO of the Mortgage Investors Group (MIG), with its Lowrie-Woodward Distinguished Service Award during MBA’s 2025 Annual Convention and Expo.
The award was created to recognize the recipient’s dedication and prominent service to MBA and the mortgage lending industry in a variety of capacities involving both legislative and regulatory activities, according to an MBA press release.
“Chrissi was a true trailblazer, co-founding MIG in the late 1980s, and leading the company until just before her untimely and unfortunate passing in 2024,” 2026 MBA Chair and Executive Vice President Christine Chandler said during the presentation ceremony. “Her vision and passion for the industry not only helped build a successful company but also inspired countless other professionals. She was the driving force behind MBA’s recent legislative victory banning abusive mortgage trigger leads, signed into law just last month. Chrissi exemplified leadership in every sense and is incredibly deserving of this recognition.”
Rhea co-founded Mortgage Investors Group in 1989 and helped expand the company from seven employees to more than 300 professionals across 26 branches focusing on residential mortgage lending across the Southeast, according to the release.
She was an active member of several MBA boards and committees, including MBA’s Independent Mortgage Bankers Executive Council (IMBEC). She formerly sat on MBA’s 2024 Board of Directors and served as the 2023 Chair of MBA’s Residential Board of Governors (RESBOG). She was a force in MBA’s advocacy efforts through her participation in MBA’s “Advocacy in August” campaign, and through her contributions to MBA’s Political Action Committee (MORPAC). Rhea was also the 2024 recipient of MBA’s Burton C. Wood Award.