HousingWire Names Tidalwave's Laurie Krause to its 2026 Women of Influence Award

HousingWire is proud to recognize the 2026 Women of Influence honorees, celebrating 100 leaders whose expertise, vision and leadership continue to shape the housing industry. Now in its 17th year, the Women of Influence award honors professionals across mortgage, real estate, fintech and housing whose contributions are driving meaningful progress for their organizations, their customers and the broader industry.

This year’s class includes CEOs, founders, presidents, chief officers and senior executives leading some of housing’s most influential organizations. Their work spans lending, servicing, brokerage, technology, homebuilding and trade associations, reflecting the breadth of leadership guiding the industry through a changing market. Whether driving innovation, leading operations, shaping strategy or advancing the customer experience, these women are helping define the future of housing.

2026 Woman of Influence: Laurie Krause

Laurie Krause is head of Sales Engineering at Tidalwave, where she works at the intersection of mortgage operations, technology adoption and artificial intelligence. Bringing more than 30 years of mortgage operations experience and over a decade in mortgage technology leadership, she helps lenders evaluate and implement AI-driven solutions within highly regulated lending environments.

Since joining Tidalwave in 2026, Krause has played a key role in supporting enterprise clients through the adoption of the company’s agentic AI platform. She leads technical demonstrations, workflow analysis and implementation discussions designed to help lenders understand how automation can be integrated into existing processes while maintaining compliance and operational controls.

Throughout her career, Krause has been recognized for her focus on education and workforce development. At Ellie Mae, she created the Life of Loan Academy training program, which became an important resource for both internal teams and industry professionals. She continues that focus at Tidalwave by leading mortgage education efforts for sales and engineering teams while helping bridge communication between technology developers and lending professionals.

Krause is also actively involved in mentoring colleagues and developing future industry talent. Outside of mortgage banking, she has supported Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. for more than 25 years, contributing both financial support and mentorship to young riders and students.

Through her work in mortgage technology, education and mentorship, Krause continues to help lenders navigate operational change while supporting the responsible adoption of emerging technologies.

Article link.