Mike Kortas, Tom Ahles, and the Vetted VA Community Unite Around A Shared Mission

POTTSBORO, Texas, Aug. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vetted VA, the professional credentialing, education, and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting Veterans and the home loan benefit they earned through service, today announced the formation of its inaugural Board of Advisors.

The board brings together two influential leaders from the wholesale mortgage community and three of Vetted VA's highest-ranked professionals:

• Gay Veale, VVA7 Vetted VA Professional, Guidon Mortgage Group LLC
• Jason Sharon, VVA7 Vetted VA Professional, Home Loans Inc.
• Mike Alberico, VVA7 Vetted VA Professional, Carolina Mortgage Advisors, LLC
• Mike Kortas, Founder and CEO of NEXA Lending
• Tom Ahles, Chief Growth Officer of Edge Home Finance

The board will help Vetted VA expand its educational reach, strengthen its professional standards, develop strategic industry partnerships, and provide guidance as the organization enters its next stage of growth.

"We have always asked for advice. We have simply never fully formalized the process," said Christopher Griffith, Founder and CEO of Vetted VA. "We have spent seven years proving that we will not compromise what Vetted VA was created to be. Now, we are building the leadership structure that will allow us to educate more professionals, reach more Veterans, and create an impact they can actually feel when using their VA home loan benefit."

Since its founding in 2019, Vetted VA has challenged mortgage and real estate professionals to look beyond production and evaluate success by a more meaningful standard: how well they serve Veterans.

Vetted VA professionals earn their rank on a scale from VVA1 through VVA7 by completing more than 38 hours of coursework, adhering to required service standards, and demonstrating an ongoing commitment to education and teaching. Production alone does not determine a professional's standing within the organization.

"Our professionals earn their standing through real work and real accountability, not production numbers," said Nathan Knottingham, COO of Vetted VA. "This board gives us the experience and reach to scale that discipline without compromising it, so more Veterans can be served by professionals who have proven themselves worthy of that trust."

The addition of Kortas and Ahles is particularly significant because NEXA Lending and Edge Home Finance represent two of the largest organizations in the wholesale mortgage broker channel. Their participation demonstrates what is possible when leaders from competing organizations come together around a responsibility that is bigger than any individual company.

"Scale means nothing without standards," said Kortas. "Vetted VA has built something rare: a community that holds professionals accountable to the people they serve. This is an opportunity to bring the industry together, raise the standard, and make sure more Veterans receive the knowledge, choices, and service they deserve."

Vetted VA will remain independent and open to mortgage and real estate professionals from across the industry. It is not a recruiting initiative for NEXA Lending, Edge Home Finance, or any other organization. Recruiting and solicitation are prohibited within its communities, allowing professionals to pursue education and collaboration without pressure to change companies.

"Vetted VA has built something special by putting education, credibility, and the Veteran first," said Ahles. "I'm excited to be part of helping expand that mission and making sure more Veterans have access to knowledgeable professionals who truly understand how to serve them."

Since its founding, Vetted VA has tracked more than 5,190 VA loans representing approximately $2.3 billion in origination volume. Of those, 2,042 loans, approximately 39.5 percent, were sourced directly through the Vetted VA network, connecting Veterans with professionals educated and held accountable to the organization's standards.

Vetted VA's reach now approaches 100,000 people across its digital communities. This includes a private Facebook community of approximately 88,800 members, a dedicated professional group with more than 6,400 members, a YouTube audience exceeding 1,800 subscribers, and growing communities on Reddit, Instagram and Threads. These platforms serve Veterans and professionals without consumer tracking, marketing, recruiting, or solicitation.

"What makes Vetted VA special is the commitment to education, accountability, and doing right by the Veteran," said Gay Veale. "I am humbled to help preserve that foundation while guiding the organization into its next chapter."

The organization has also developed nearly 40 hours of specialized educational content and published original research, including its 2026 VA Loan White Paper and the November 2025 field report, Rising Diversity in VA Homebuying, produced using data analytics from Polygon Research.

The field report found that younger Veterans achieved a 75 percent homeownership rate, compared with 56.6 percent among their non-Veteran peers, demonstrating the potential impact of the VA benefit when Veterans receive knowledgeable and responsible guidance.

"Veterans deserve advocates who understand the benefit completely and are prepared to stand beside them throughout the process," said Jason Sharon. "That is what Vetted VA represents, and that is what this board is committed to protecting."

As the Board of Advisors begins its work, Vetted VA intends to increase the availability of its education, with a goal of offering one live class every day in 2027. The organization will also advance this work through the upcoming VA Summit at AIME Fuse, in partnership with AIME, bringing together professionals committed to strengthening VA lending knowledge and improving service across the industry.

"The VA loan is the only mortgage program in the country that is earned, and those who have served deserve every opportunity to use that benefit," said Mike Alberico. "The success stories we see from Veterans and the professionals who serve them motivate us every day. I am beyond excited to see this community continue its mission and expand its impact."

For Vetted VA, the formation of the board is not a departure from its original mission, it is the structure necessary to bring that mission to a larger audience.

"True service means giving someone the information they need to make their own decision and understand the implications of every option," Griffith said. "Our role is not to make the choice for the Veteran. Our role is to protect that choice through education, transparency, and verified professional knowledge."

Founded on May 14, 2019, Vetted VA is guided by a single principle: Trust, But Verify, ensuring that trust is earned through education, accountability, and a proven commitment to serving Veterans.

SOURCE Vetted VA