Todd Kaufman

      Born and raised in California, Todd Kaufman received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Davis. In 1986, he moved to New York to start his Wall Street career with PaineWebber's Real Estate Securities division. After 2 years in Manhattan, he relocated back to Southern California to be close to family, but remained with PaineWebber for a total of 12 years, eventually managing its West Coast Capital Markets Division.

      In 1998, Todd Kaufman founded Alta Residential Mortgage Trust, a mortgage REIT. Alta's business was primarily geared toward buying mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. In 2000, he sold this business to Washington Mutual Bank, and as part of the deal, went to work for the bank.

      At WaMu, he started their Correspondent Lending Division, which ultimately grew into the bank's largest channel for mortgage loans. As his obligation neared its end with WaMu, he began to think about new opportunities as an entrepreneur, and began purchasing and developing real estate, but only as a sideline, as WaMu asked him to stay on to start a Mortgage Securities Division within the bank. In April 2001, he co-founded WaMu Capital Corp, which went on to become among the largest distributors of mortgage-backed securities on Wall Street.

      2007 marked the beginning of the "mortgage meltdown". From his position, it was clear that real estate had faltered, the mortgage market was in for a sustained downturn, and no mortgage lender was insulated. More importantly, no community was insulated, which meant that people everywhere were facing tough choices about how to handle their mortgage debt. In October 2007, Todd Kaufman founded Alta Community Investment, LLC.

      "I saw both the opportunity and the need to do something that would provide a meaningful solution to help people in my community. It was the perfect jumping off point, as I really wanted build a career that would, not only provide for my family, but one that would focus on helping others as well. I felt that government intervention would not help nearly enough people, and that the lenders were either too conflicted, or too weakened to provide a solution. However, I knew so much about finance and the mortgage industry, I was certain that there were much better solutions available to both banks and borrowers than foreclosure. That's why I founded Alta. This chapter in my life will allow me build a company that will have a profoundly positive impact on every community it touches."

      Todd has lived in the Conejo Valley with his wife and two children since 1988 and is an active volunteer within the community. He lends his support to the local schools, and has served for 6 years on the Board of Directors for CYFFA, a youth athletics non-profit organization.