NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson will be the keynote speaker at the American Credit Union Mortgage Association's (ACUMA) 2005 Leadership & Networking Conference that will be held Oct. 9-11 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Among some of the other expected guest speakers for the three-day conference are: Craig Focardi, research director, consumer lending, Tower Group; Steve Eisenburg, general counsel, SVP, Pentagon FCU; Nathan Hagen, president, Secondary Marketing Resources; and Bob Lawhead, principal, Raddon Financial Group. In addition, Tracy Ashfield, president, Strategic Mortgage Solutions LLC will offer a pre-conference workshop on "Moving Mortgage Off its Island." As real estate lending presents both the greatest challenge and greatest opportunity for credit unions today, ACUMA President Bob Dorsa said the topics that will be covered at the conference such as strategic pricing, Asset Liability Management and regulatory and compliance issues are critical.