AFD May BOOK - Live Oak Bank · 2020-05-19 · these days. As general manag-er, death-care lending, for the Wilm-ington, North Caroli-na-based, Live Oak Bank, Dunn is championing

ProfileBy Patti Martin Bartsche

(Stephanie Dunn’s photos by Matthew Furman Photography)

Pg. 54 Stephanie Dunn (Bartsche)_AFD May BOOK 9/29/14 9:51 AM Page 54

Stephanie Castagnier Dunn is a woman with anattitude and an aptitude for business and people.From humble beginnings, she’s overcome tremendouspersonal hardships and disadvantages to become aforce to be reckoned with in death-care lending.

theBoardroom

Beyond


here are manyways to describe

Dunn, general manager,death-care lending, for Live

Oak Bank: former reality showcontestant, astute businesswoman,philanthropist, author and nationalspeaker, to name a few.

But ask the Montreal-born Dunnto describe herself, and the first thingyou’ll likely hear is “fighter.”

“I was raised to be a fighter … togo for it, take a risk and not take no

for an answer,” Dunn ex-plained. “It has always

been (that) I am start-ing from the bottom

and need to worktwice as hard aseveryone else. I al-ways need to betwo steps aheadof the pack.”

D u n n ’ sfighting spir-it is servingher wellt h e s edays. Asg e n e r a lmanag -e r ,d e a t h -c a r e

lending,for the Wilm-

ington, North Caroli-na-based, Live Oak Bank,Dunn is championing thecause for funeral profes-sionals who want togrow their businesses, butwho only heard “no”from traditional lendinginstitutions.

“I think that the LiveOak platform in the fu-neral industry is so pow-erful,” Dunn said. “It’sa place where funeral di-rectors can come andshare their dreams withus. We understand theirbusiness and what theyare trying to accomplish,

understand the challenges they faceevery day. We work with funeralprofessionals, empower them to helpmake their dreams a reality. I wantto be their reality maker.”

To better understand Dunn’s pas-sion and unwillingness to just acceptthings, you need only look to herearly life.

As Dunn explains in her 2007 mem-oir, “Fear to Fire: My Life as an AIDSOrphan,” her parents were both teens(her mother, Nancy, was 16, her fa-ther, Richard, 18) when they broughther into the world. The couple waspoor and uneducated; her father couldthink of no other way to find successthan to deal drugs. “He was a greatand passionate man but made thewrong choices,” Dunn noted.

Along the way, though, he con-tracted the HIV virus and infected hiswife, who died at age 33. Dunn wasjust 16. Her father died eight yearslater.

Facing the world alone, the then24-year-old Dunn had two choices:follow in her father’s footsteps ofdrugs and crime or honor her par-ents by finding something else –something more.

Growing up, the Montreal-bornDunn recalled watching Americantelevision and loved following busi-ness success stories. “I would thinkto myself, ‘I can do that!’” Andreading about Donald Trump becom-ing a success in New York in the realestate market, Dunn was inspired tofollow in his footsteps.

Dunn enrolled in Montreal’sMcGill University with a verythought out plan: acquire all thetools she needed and then move toAmerica to find her own success. “Idid just that,” she pointed out. “Iworked full time and went to McGillfull time pushing myself to always betwo steps ahead of everyone else. Iwanted to graduate with a littlemoney set aside to invest when I ar-rived in America.”

Dunn worked hard for a numberof years with endless nights ofstudying as well as endless nights of

American Funeral Director • October 201456

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working to pay for her schooling. Itwas difficult and demanding, butDunn refused to give up. “I remem-bered what my father had told meyears earlier: ‘If it was easy, every-one would be doing it,’” Dunn re-called. “So I kept my focus … andmade it through.”

Following her graduation fromMcGill University, Dunn was readyto take on the world … first stop,Chicago.

“I wanted to follow my dream offinding success in real estate and then,hopefully, finding my way to workfor Donald Trump,” Dunn said.

Her career path took her fromstockbroker to commercial real estatebanking. She also became an integralcontributor to the United Stateseconomy as a board member of theChicago Certified Development Co.for the Small Business Administra-tion, financing hundred of millions ofdollars for small businesses acrossthe country.

“Things were going well, and I wasmaking a lot of money,” Dunn said,“but then the recession hit and itwasn’t as fun.”

So Dunn decided to step awayfrom the business world – at least fora short time – to try her luck on“The Apprentice.” Like the othertens of thousands of would-be con-testants, Dunn slept on the sidewalkand waited in line. In the end, Dunnand 15 other contestants were chosenfrom a pool of more than 25,000 ap-plicants for the 10th season of “TheApprentice.”

“I felt as though I needed to takecharge of my career and kick-start itagain,” Dunn noted. “Working forDonald Trump would be the perfectopportunity for me to kick-start mycareer and think outside the box.”

Instead of hearing, “You’re hired”during the series finale though, Dunnheard the dreaded “Stephanie, you’refired.”

While she might have been votedoff, Dunn was not out.

“To me, it’s all about having adream … that’s the first step,” Dunnpointed out. “The second step – themost important step – is understand-ing how to obtain that dream and

have a plan to see that dreamsparkle.”

One of the biggest takeaways fromher time on “The Apprentice,” Dunnnoted, was not to worry what every-one around you thinks. “You have tostay true to yourself. I can honestlysay I was true to myself on ‘The Ap-prentice.’”

The glaring media spotlight was attimes daunting, and Dunn had tolearn early on not to take things per-sonally or second-guess everythingshe did. Still, the positives of beingon the show outweighed the nega-tives. “It was an opportunity of alifetime, and I would do it all overagain,” she said. “To me, it was allabout the journey, not the destina-

tion. When would I ever have the op-portunity to produce a Broadwayshow, to stage a fashion show, tomake a television commercial?”

Her time on the show led Dunn tobecome a spokeswoman representinga Trump brand. It also gave her aplatform to help raise money for avariety of causes, including substanceabuse, AIDS and children in poverty– all things close to her heart.

She also penned her 2007 memoir,“Fear to Fire,” which deals with herlife as an AIDS orphan, and foundedChild Cause, a nonprofit foundationthat provides a positive peer networkfor young people affected by AIDSand substance abuse through educa-tion, sports and the arts.

“For about a year I was able to raisethousands of dollars for a number ofnonprofits,” she explained. “The silverlining about being on TV was that Iwas able to use the experience to dogood. I was happy that I had a forum

to help make a difference.”But after about a year, Dunn real-

ized she needed to get back to “realwork.” And what she realized, shesaid, was she wanted to find a jobwhere she felt she could make a dif-ference.

What she wanted to do, she realizedwith clarity, was return to banking.

“I’m a good banker; I’m good atwhat I do,” she said. “I was invigorat-ed to go back to helping others realizetheir dreams. I knew I wanted to goback into small business banking.”

A relationship Dunn had devel-oped with another female bankerwhen she was just starting out wouldbring her to Live Oak Bank.

“Kay Anderson has always been

my mentor,” Dunn explained. “Backin 2003 I was a young female bankerand the only other female working atthe bank was Kay. I gravitated to-ward her. I tagged after her … askedher to teach me everything she could.I wanted to emulate her.”

So when she made the decision toreturn to banking, Dunn’s first callwas to Anderson, now director ofemerging markets at the Wilmington,North Carolina, firm.

“I never had a female role modelgrowing up … she was truly my firstfemale role model,” Dunn said. “Itrusted her opinion, so I called her. Iasked for advice … we started talk-ing about what I wanted, what kindof banker I wanted to be, what weremy goals.”

After talking with Anderson, sheknew where she belonged. In 2012,she joined Live Oak Bank as seniorloan manager, death-care lending. Ayear later, Dunn was promoted to

I wanted to understand this industry, so

I started meeting with funeral directors, listening

to not only how they run their businesses, but

how they do what they do.

“”


general manager, death-care lending.“When Kay said she’d like me to

join the bank and there was an in-dustry – funeral homes – that I wantyou to work with, helping funeralhome owners finance their dreams,my initial thought was this was hap-pening for a reason,” Dunn said. “Ireally had never come to terms withmy parents’ deaths, I never thought itout, stayed as far away from it as Icould. I was in denial.”

Like all the challenges she hasfaced over the years, Dunn set aboutlearning about the death-care indus-try with determination. “I cannotexplain how enriching it has been,”she said. “I wanted to understandthis industry, so I started meetingwith funeral directors, listening tonot only how they run their business-es, but how they do what they do. Ican’t imagine being a funeral directorand dealing with death and loss everyday; the respect that I have for thesefuneral professionals is beyondwords. It has been so rewarding towork with people who are that car-

ing … they truly inspire me.”At first, Dunn listened more than

she spoke. “I quickly realized that itwas my job to go to as many funeralhomes as possible, talk to as manyfuneral directors as I could, attend asmany industry events, state and na-tional association shows as possible,”she said. “I’ve tried to meet with thetop funeral homes and funeral direc-tors to see what the big guns aredoing and what the little guys canlearn from them.”

Since Live Oak has PreferredLender status for funeral service fromthe Small Business Administration’sPreferred Lender Program, it allowsfuneral professionals to gain access toloans more quickly, ensuring the capi-tal is available for them to grow theirbusinesses. “Traditional banks havedifficulty understanding the funeralprofession, they don’t understandwho the funeral (professional) cus-tomer is,” Dunn pointed out.

The Live Oak Bank platform in thefuneral industry, in contrast, is pow-erful. “It’s a place where funeral di-

rectors can come and share theirdream with us,” Dunn noted. “Theycan explain their business, and weunderstand that business. What weare able to do – whether we do busi-ness or not with a customer – is givehim or her insights and recommenda-tions that empower that funeral pro-fessional to make the best decisionfor him or her.”

In the past two-and-a-half years,Live Oak Bank has lent more than$200 million to funeral home ownersacross the country.

What gives her the most satisfac-tion, she says, is to help a customerrealize a dream, as was the case of afuneral director who wants to addonto his funeral home and wasturned down by traditional banks.“He stumbled upon us, and now hesends us business on a regular basis,”Dunn said. “We understood what hewanted, what he needed to do.There’s a great sense of accomplish-ment and happiness for him.”

Happiness is a word that surroundsDunn these days, both professionally



and personally.There is the job she loves, “It’s

where I was meant to be,” she said. “Ican’t imagine doing anything else.”

And then there is the family sheloves.

As her husband, Chris, explains it,the couple had a mutual friend thathad been trying to set them up formonths. The only issue was that helived in Austin, and she lived inChicago and neither wanted a long-distance relationship.

“With that being said, we did notmeet or make any form of contactand assumed that was that,” he re-called. “Three months later, I receivedan invite to Chicago from a totallyunrelated friend to attend a charityevent for wounded soldiers. I bookedmy ticket on a Tuesday and arrived afew days after on that Friday. We hada dinner planned and when I arrivedStephanie was one of five people atdinner. Over several hours during din-ner we struck up a conversation andcame to the realization that this is theperson our mutual friend was trying

to introduce us to.”The couple married Aug. 25, 2012.Her husband, Dunn said, is her

biggest fan, her rock. And Dunn would need that sup-

port.The couple made the decision to

move to Wilmington last year to becloser to Dunn’s work. “I believed somuch in the future of the bank andloved the people I work with … Iwanted to be closer,” explainedDunn, who was pregnant with twinswhen the couple relocated fromChicago to Wilmington.

Dunn was excited about becominga mother and starting a new life inWilmington.

But in late January, she was rushedto the hospital. Diagnosed withHELLP syndrome, a life-threateningpregnancy complication usually con-sidered to be a variant of preeclamp-sia, the twins were delivered at 29weeks.

Noah and Maggie spent 79 daysin the neo-natal intensive care unitbefore growing strong enough to be

Stephanie Dunn and her husband, Chris.



American Funeral Director • October 2014 63

released. “They’re my life,” Dunnsaid. “I’m appreciating every mo-ment with my babies.”

Dunn also has a new appreciationfor working moms. “If you’re notone, you don’t truly understandwhat it takes to juggle,” she said.“It’s not easy, but it is the most re-warding thing.”

The year has been a wave of emo-tional ups and downs, but Dunnwouldn’t change a thing. “The ba-bies are getting stronger, I have ahusband I love and a job I am pas-sionate about,” Dunn said. “And asmy father told me all those yearsago, ‘If it was easy, everyone would

be doing it.’”And while as a young girl growing

up in Montreal, Dunn believed thatthe American dream was tied towealth, an older – and wiser – Dunnknows that isn’t the reality – or atleast her reality.

“Success to me isn’t related tomoney,” she said. “My definition ofsuccess is related to happiness –what makes me happy and howmuch happiness I bring to others. If Iam a positive force in the world, if Ican motivate and inspire others on adaily basis, and people can feel mylove and happiness for life, work andfriends, then that is success.” •

Maggie and Noah Dunn were born Jan. 30, 2014. (Photo credit: Vanessa G. Photography)


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AFD May BOOK - Live Oak Bank · 2020-05-19 · these days. As general manag-er, death-care lending, for the Wilm-ington, North Caroli-na-based, Live Oak Bank, Dunn is championing