Maxine B. Baker 1952–

Business executive

Joined Freddie Mac Corporation

Moved Up the Corporate Ladder

Involved in Foundation Programs

Obligated to Give Back to Community

Sources

Since 1997 Maxine B. Baker has served as executive director of the Freddie Mac Foundation, the philanthropic offshoot of the Freddie Mac Corporation. Baker also serves as the Corporation’s vice president of community relations. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., the Freddie Mac Corporation is a private enterprise chartered by Congress to help create a continuous flow of funds to mortgage lenders. “Maxine has been an integral part of the Freddie Mac team for many years…She brings to the position her professional and personal involvement coupled with her strong operational background,” said Leland C. Brensdel, chairman and chief executive officer of the Freddie Mac Corporation in a press release issued upon Baker’s appointment.

Baker was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh, and grew up in Washington, D.C. Her father, Evan, was a funeral director; her mother, Maxine, was a home economics teacher. The family also included Baker’s sister, Dianne, and brother, Evan, Jr. Baker attended local District of Columbia public schools. “I had a wonderful public school education with nurturing and caring teachers who were wonderful role models,” Baker said in a personal interview withContemporary Black Biography. “I excelled in science, but my favorite subject was English, especially literature. In junior high school, we were required to read a least thirty books a semester.” After graduating from Western High School, Baker attended Emerson College in Boston, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communications.

Joined Freddie Mac Corporation

Returning to Washington, D.C, Baker worked for a consulting firm and then as manager of staff services at the Urban League. She joined Freddie Mac in 1982 at the prompting of a former colleague who suggested that the growing company offered many opportunities for advancement. “Freddie Mac only had 400 employees at the time..I found the company when it was small and [I] was willing to take on additional responsibilities,” Baker told CBB.

Officially called the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation, Freddie Mac was founded in 1970 in order to help create a larger pool of money available to homebuyers and to keep mortgage loan interest rates low. Freddie Mac operates primarily by buying mortgages from

At a Glance…

Born on February 29, 1952 in Homestead, PA; daughter of Evan Posey Baker (a funeral director) and Maxine Reynolds Baker (a home economics teacher); married, Mark Stokes; children: Morgan, Taylor. Education: Emerson College, BS, speech communications; graduate studies at University of Maryland and Southeastern University.

Career: Pacific Consultants, assistant vice president for administration; Urban League, manager of staff support services; Freddie Mac Corporation, vice president of administration and corporate properties, acting vice president of human resources, director of administrative services, manager of procurement and regional administrative services, contracts and budget administrator, vice president of community relations, 1997-; Freddie Mac Foundation, president and chief executive officer, 1997-.

Addresses: Business —Freddie Mac, 8200 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA, 22102.

banks and other lending institutions and packaging the mortgage money into securities. Freddie Mac then sells the securities to investors. Mortgage lenders use the proceeds from the sale of loans to Freddie Mac to fund new mortgages. Currently, about half of all new single-family home mortgages are sold to Freddie Mac or other secondary mortgage conduits.

Freddie Mac’s chief competitor is Fannie Mae, another Congressional-charter corporation. Baker explained to CBB, “Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are both in the business of making home ownership and quality, affordable rental housing more available in America…We both purchase mortgages from lenders and package them into securities that are sold to investors, creating a flow of capital that lenders can use to make more loans. The subtle differences are in the business strategies we employ to make this happen.” Freddie Mac is not a government agency, receives no government funding, and is among the nation’s leading federal taxpayers. However, five of the eighteen members of Freddie Mac’s board of directors are appointed by the President of the United States.

Moved Up the Corporate Ladder

Throughout her career, Baker has held several positions at Freddie Mac. As Freddie Mac’s vice president of administration and corporate properties, Baker lead the effort to acquire, build, equip, and furnish the corporation’s new headquarters in McLean, Virginia. She also oversaw the company’s 1991 move from Reston, Virginia to the new office in McLean. “It was an exciting process that required a great deal of attention to detail, “Baker told CBB.In addition, Baker was responsible for managing the building and employee services such as cafeteria, on-site sundry shop and fitness center, mailroom, and cleaning services.” I helped shape the quality of life for employees, making Freddie Mac an exceptionally employee-friendly work environment, “Baker told CBB.

From 1991 to 1994, Baker served as the Freddie Mac Corporation’s acting vice president for human resources. Baker explained to CBB that “during those times Freddie Mac was growing rapidly, so I was instrumental in helping dramatically increase and diversify our workforce as well as develop competitive benefits.”

In 1997, Baker was appointed vice president of community relations. In this position, Baker was charged with overseeing a large corporate giving program that supports the company’s community building efforts. She also directed an extensive Freddie Mac employee volunteer program. About one third of Freddie Mac’s 3, 700 employees offer their time to various volunteer activities in the Washington, D.C. area including Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and business/school partnerships.

In 1997, Baker was also appointed president and CEO of the Freddie Mac Foundation, founded in 1990. Because the Freddie Mac Foundation is a separate entity that is not officially a part of the Freddie Mac Corporation, two separate leadership positions must be maintained. “I am very excited by this opportunity to continue my involvement with the communities that Freddie Mac and its Foundation serve…Freddie Mac is firmly committed to making a difference in the communities in which we live and do business, and I look forward to extending that commitment to make even more homes safe, happy, and healthy,” Baker said in press release issued upon appointment.

As the head of the Foundation, Baker was responsible for fostering initiatives designed to improve the lives of children and strengthen families. The Foundation has placed specific emphasis on child abuse and neglect prevention, early childhood education, and child welfare programs. In 2000, the Foundation distributed about #18 million in grant money. However, the Foundation’s work does not stop once a grant has been issued. Rather, the foundation, working alongside nonprofit community organizations, attempts to determine what impact has been made. Baker explained to the Washington Post that the Foundation does this “so we’re not just funding something and walking away from it. We want to be involved in sustained change for this community.”

Involved in Foundation Programs

Baker’s position as head of the Freddie Mac Foundation has allowed her to be a part of several important programs.

Though the Foundation focuses the bulk of its attention on the Washington, D.C. area, it has in recent years expanded its reach nationwide. In 1999, the Foundation awarded a #200,000 grant to the Children’s Research Triangle of Chicago. Located in the city’s North Lawndale neighborhood, the Children’s Research Triangle aims to develop a comprehensive array of mental health and family support services for fifty children in foster care and their foster families. “By collaborating with the Children’s Research Triangle, we are confident that we can provide foster parents and high-risk children in foster care with the support they need to create a stable and loving environment,” Baker told the Chicago Defender.

Obligated to Give Back to Community

Baker believes that corporations have an obligation to give something back to the communities they serve. She explained to the Washington Post that corporate involvement in community affairs is “important for corporate presence, corporate citizenship, employee morale.” Baker explained that the philanthropic sensibility of her company is due largely to the nature of the work done there. She told CBB, “We help people improve the quality of their lives by owning a home. That gives everyone who works here a greater sense of purpose.” An additional benefit, Baker noted, is that a philanthropic-minded company attracts employees who desire a greater of feeling of purpose in their work. “From top to bottom, giving back is a defining trait of our company and is reflective in our work, our people, and our philanthropy,” Baker explained to CBB.Baker lives close to her office in McLean, Virginia with her husband, Mark Stokes, and two adopted children, Morgan and Taylor.

Sources

Periodicals

American Banker, September 15, 1997, p. 12.

Chicago Defender, November 23, 1999, p. 20.

National journal, May 1, 2000.

Washington Post, June 18, 1999, p. D2, September 1, 1999, p. B03, May 8, 2000, p. F21.

Other

Additional information was for this profile was obtained on-line at the Freddie Mac website http://www.freddiemac.com and from a personal interview with Contemporary Black Biography.

—Mary Kalfatovic