For the third straight year, New American Funding’s Karen Chiu has been honored by Profiles in Diversity Journal as an “Asian Leader Worth Watching.”

Chiu, who serves as the vice president, Builder Division at NAF has made the prestigious list in each of the three years the award has been handed out. The award honors leaders who excel in “guiding their staff, influencing their peers, mentoring emerging leaders and being involved in the community at large.”

That’s an apt description for Chiu, who has constantly ranked at or near the top of all New American Funding Loan Officers, making the company’s President’s Council—an honor reserved for the company’s top originators—in each of her nine years at NAF.

In fact, Chiu was first in the company in lending volume in 2022 and is leading so far in 2023. In 2020, she became the first woman to lead NAF in origination volume. Chiu is also consistently among the top 1% of mortgage originators in the country and was named to the Scotsman Guide‘s list of the top 50 women originators in the nation in 2023. 

Chiu has spent more than two decades in the mortgage industry, building strong relationships with numerous homebuilders and real estate agents, working diligently to help her partners serve their clients’ homebuying needs.

“Karen is truly one of a kind and we are so lucky to have her as part of our team,” NAF Co-Founder and CEO Patty Arvielo says. “She is, without a doubt, one of the hardest working people we have at NAF. She’s thoughtful, earnest, dedicated, and caring. Karen is a shining example that our entire company can aspire to.”