Embrace Employee Spotlight: Darlene Ballard and Chelsea Ragosta

There’s a lot to love about Embrace Home Loans, but one of our strongest assets has always been our employees. We have teammates who have been with us for 10, 20, even 30+ years. And we’ve also been hiring new employees at a furious pace recently.

In this Employee Spotlight, we’ll be featuring two Embrace teammates — one new employee, and one employee who has already been with us for a while. Each will give different perspectives on the Embrace experience and a little more personal info so you’ll be able to get to know them better.

Want to nominate someone to feature in a future spotlight? Email Mary Mack at [email protected]

CHELSEA RAGOSTA, Retail Processor

What is your official title and what do you do at Embrace?

I’m a Retail Processor, so I’m a liaison between borrowers and underwriters. 

What made you want to work at Embrace?

Donny Schulze and Sophia Leteri are previous work colleagues of mine — they’ve both had a positive experience working here and had great things to say about the company. 

How has it been starting a new job at Embrace?

I started with Embrace while working remotely from my home office — I love it! I’m also loving working at Embrace!

What did you do for a living before you came to Embrace?

I’ve been in the mortgage and title business for going on 12 years. Prior to starting with Embrace, I was Director of Operations for a title company in Smithtown, NY.

We’d love to get to know you a little better! Tell us about yourself.

Originally from FL, I attended the University of Central FL in Orlando. I moved to Long Island, NY in 2007.

My husband, Michael, and I have two daughters who are 4 and 8 years old. I love spending time with family, going to the beach, and practicing the ukulele. 

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DARLENE BALLARD, Closing Officer Team Leader

What is your official title and what do you do at Embrace?

I’m a Closing Officer Team Leader. I manage a team of closing officers that services Embrace’s Southeast region.

How long have you worked for Embrace?

I celebrated 5 years earlier this month!

What made you want to work at Embrace?

I was suffering from burnout at my previous job in Social Work when I learned of an opportunity at the Closing Department at Embrace. From the moment I was greeted by reception before my interview 5 years ago I knew in my gut that this was the change I needed. I was looking for something challenging, with room to grow and enough flexibility to maintain a working mom’s balance. It checked every box!

What’s one of your favorite Embrace memories?

During an Emotion Management TREAD workshop a few months ago, a few closers and myself performed some sketches in the community room at the East Providence office. It was so fun to use an outside-of-the-box method as a training tool within the Closing Department. We had more than a few laughs that day and some relevant and insightful discussions, too.

How was it working from home for most of this year?

I was so grateful to be able to work from home last year when going into the office wasn’t an option. I am loving my current hybrid schedule. I work from home on Mondays and Fridays, and from the East Providence office on Tuesday through Thursday. It’s really the best of both worlds. I can pick my kids up from school two days a week and I know my dog appreciates it when I’m home, plus I get three days of face time with teammates, Barre class in the office a couple mornings, and a commute that’s been halved since I transferred from Middletown.

We’d love to get to know you a little better! Tell us about yourself.

My husband, Jeremy, and I live in Swansea, MA with our 7-year-old son Baker and 5-year-old daughter Aurora. 

When I’m not rushing with the kids from karate to dance to soccer, I enjoy reading, cooking and baking, playing board games, live theatre, and traveling. I adore movies and television and I’m always down for a chat on my favorite fandoms — Marvel, Star Wars, Ted Lasso, A Song of Ice and Fire, Pixar, the list goes on and on…