About Stephen Breden
About Stephen Breden
Stephen Breden entered the mortgage industry in early 1989 after a 15 year career in high technology electronics. He became a licensed Broker in California in 1990, and opened up his own brokerage in early 1991. Terra Firma Group, Inc. remains an active brokerage in California to this day, and is under the active management of Parham Shekarlab, a friend and associate since 1993. In 1996, after moving to Texas, Stephen continued a part-time participation in the mortgage industry as an originator and Broker and is currently licensed in both California and Texas.
Like many IT professionals, Stephen was not educated originally in the IT world, but rather has a Masters Degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University. His interest in computers and technology extends back many years, and he acquired his first computer in late 1981. Completely self-taught, he is a recognized expert on technology and a Contributing Editor to Mortgage Originator Magazine. He has written the cover artice in the annual technology issue of Mortgage Originator Magazine on three separate occasions.
In the Calyx Training arena, he has become particularly noted for his expertise in the purely technical side of optimizing Point® in a network environment, and also writes much of the training materials for the training department. By virtue of his active pursuit of ongoing expertise in both the mortgage and IT industries, he is particularly valuable as a consultant who can bridge the gap between the mortgage staff and IT staff working together to setup technology solutions in a mortgage enterprise.
Consulting Specialties
Calyx Point Data Server® - Implementation and optimization in a multi-branch environment
Calyx Point® Workflow Optimization - Designing and setting up master templates and custom forms in a mortgage office
Specialized Mortgage Training - Advanced features of Calyx Point®, including FHA loans and customizing advanced management reports
Contact Management Solutions - Successful integration of Calyx Point® with ACT!® and other contact management solutions
Small Group Training in ACT!® - Specializing in legacy installations of ACT!® version 6.0
Personal Philosophy
Stephen's consulting philosophy can be summed up: "Because of my own frustration early in my mortgage career of dealing with computer professionals, I elected to train myself as much as I could. I fully believe in helping my clients become self-sufficient, and in minimizing my presence in your office to only the time necessary to get you set up, and to show you how to teach yourself how to use other features in your software."
