Karen Pryor began her mortgage lending career as a broker associate in 1993. Focusing on referral-based business, she grew her loan production, became a retail branch of a direct lender, then in 2017, took on a regional role, managing both wholesale and retail channels for another direct lender.
Ultimately, she realized she had drifted far from her original passion: helping to make a difference on a personal level. Deciding to focus on reverse mortgage lending, she opened her own company, Pryority Lending Group, and immediately joined the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce as a way to reconnect with local businesses. It was through her Chamber membership that her own business took off. Obtaining her Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional designation (one of less than 100 in CA), she then joined Mutual of Omaha Reverse in July of 2022, acknowledging that they had superior brand name recognition!
It was through the Chamber’s Government Affairs Policy program that Pryor decided to become more involved with her community: she joined the Professional Advisory Council at Torrance Memorial Medical Center in 2019 and became a Commissioner for the City of Torrance, Commission on Aging in December of 2020. Serving on the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors has been a way to give back to the organization that has given so much to her. As Co-Chair of the Small Business Council at the Chamber, Pryor has the opportunity to bring topics of interest and value to the business community and build lasting connections. “I truly feel that every business in Torrance should be a member of the Chamber. You just don’t know what you’re missing out on if you aren’t!”