Jim has twice been honored with the Distinguished Service Award (2004 and 2006) from the Rhode Island mortgage Bankers Association in recognition for service to the association in managing their legislative efforts. A graduate of Rhode Island College with a B.A. in English (minoring in Communications and Political Science), Jim later earned a J.D. from Suffolk University.

When he’s not busy setting the standard at Equity National, Jim coaches youth sports teams as he’s done since 1999, and spends time with his family.

Tom Frunzi — Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Tom has had an extensive and wide-ranging career in the insurance and mortgage industries. During his career, he’s started two separate consulting businesses (Execution, Inc. in 2002 and The Phenix Group in 2004), and held a number of leadership roles for several prominent insurance companies. In addition, Tom was Vice President of National Marketing at Lender Services Inc., eventually serving as their Senior Vice President for Home Equity Sales, Senior EVP, and strategic corporate development officer.

In support of industry organizations, Tom has served on both the Executive Committee and the International Development Committee of the National Home Equity Mortgage Association. Tom is also a member of the mortgage Bankers Association’s Residential Loan Committee and sits on the Board of its non-prime affiliate. From 1996 to 1998, Tom served on the Board of Directors for the American Financial Services Association, and in 1999, the AFSA honored Tom with their Distinguished Service Award for his dedicated service to the Association and the industry.

Tom holds a B.S. degree in marketing from St. Peter’s College and is an avid boater, wine connoisseur and sports fan. He and his wife live outside of Pittsburgh near their two daughters and three grandchildren.

Stacy Lanphere — Chief Information Officer
Stacy’s tenure as Equity National’s CIO began in 2005, before which she’d worked for two years as CIO for a growing biotech company in the region. Prior to that role, Stacy spent a decade taking on successively more responsible positions within the IT department of American Power Conversion, a Fortune 1000 electronics manufacturer headquartered in southern Rhode Island.

Unlike many tech-minded leaders, Stacy’s original area of study was Fine Arts. That ex¬perience developing a nonlinear approach to problem solving has been a boon to her work at Equity National. As Stacy puts it, “I seek the best solution, not just the technical one.”

After studying Fine Arts for three years, Stacy graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in Computer Science. Stacy has two sons in the U.S. Air Force and on the weekends, she can be found racing her sail boat in Narragansett Bay.

Brian Dietz — Chief Operating Officer
Brian’s career with Equity National began in 2009 after he’d served for nine years as Director and SVP of title and closing services for Wachovia Settlement Services. Brian started his career at Mellon National Bank in Pittsburgh where he stayed for 18 years, finally settling into the role of vice president of retail mortgage originations. Brian then transitioned to Lender Services Inc. in Pittsburgh, where he worked as vice president of title and closing operations before moving to Wachovia.

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Brian is a licensed title agent in 35 states. In his spare time, Brian is a successful baseball and fast-pitch softball coach at the junior high school level. He currently resides in Florida with his family, where they enjoy boating, waterskiing, and the beach.

Jim Dammerich — President, Secure Collateral
Jim's career in valuation and appraisal services included a number of positions in operations management, account sales and special products development. From 1996 to 2000, he served as vice president for First American’s appraisal services department before joining Wachovia Settlement Services as their SVP for valuation services. In 2007, Jim launched Secure Collateral, a group that provides BPOs and field services based in Jacksonville, Florida. Secure Collateral was acquired by Equity National in 2009.

With a diverse background that includes work on both the provider and customer sides of the transaction, and experience developing five different start-ups, Jim’s entrepreneurial perspective is right in line with Equity National’s innovative approach to doing business.

Jim graduated from Southern Illinois University with a B.S. in business marketing and was trained at the Appraisal Institute. He is the proud father of four children (and two dogs) and the grandfather of four. When not working, Jim enjoys fishing at the beach and riding his motorcycle. 

Diane Chase — Vice President, Operations
One of Equity National’s long-tenured team members, Diane worked for ten years performing title and settlement services for several local law firms before joining Equity in 1995 as a Closing Coordinator. Over the years, she’s grown her experience and skills, playing a key role in refocusing the organization to be more client-centric and helping to grow Equity National's structure to serve clients nationwide.

Diane has a B.S. in business management and marketing from Bryant University, and enjoys cooking and boating in her spare time.