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I first met LaDonna in Las Vegas at the ICE Experience conference, sitting across from her at a dinner our mutual friend, Coby Hakalir, hosted. Within minutes, I watched her balance a pizza on top of Steve Wynands’ head to snap a photo. Yes — a pizza. No — she didn’t eat it. But in that moment, I knew I needed to connect with her.
And as if her energy wasn’t memorable enough, her name sealed it — LaDonna and DeLaine. Almost like this friendship was meant to be!
Since then, LaDonna and I have stayed in touch, cheering each other on and creating space for one another to shine. She’s had me on her MaxConvos and Take It to the Max segments to share my story, and now it’s my turn to spotlight hers — because that’s what we do best. We are all about women supporting women.
And LaDonna? She shows up. She burns the candle at both ends yet will still carve out time for you, even if she’s rushing to her next destination. She’s the woman who will put a pizza on someone’s head, eat hot chicken wings so spicy she nearly went blind, and stride onto a stage in a short suit to tell women to stop waiting for permission.
LaDonna has a story — and this might be the most unfiltered chat I have ever had.
Because behind her bold moves and quick wit is a leader who’s redefining what it means to have a feminine edge in a male-dominated industry — and she’s bringing other women right along with her.
LaDonna didn’t set out to be in the mortgage space. She started in title as a document runner, working her way up to receptionist and escrow assistant — all within nine months. And then, at just 19, she was fired. Not for performance, but because two women in the office actively sabotaged her.
It was a moment that shaped her more than she realized.
For years, it framed how she worked with women.
In her own words: “I remember telling my boss, ‘Women don’t like me and I don’t like women.’”
That boss called her out: “That is the most short-sighted thing you could possibly say.” It took years for the message to sink in — but when it did, it became a turning point.
As LaDonna’s career evolved — from title to property & casualty insurance to launching a compliance department with her sister — she began to advocate fiercely for women in the workplace. She made sure women had the support she never had early on. And she dismantled her own limiting belief, replacing it with a new one:
women aren’t competition, they’re collaborators.
Today, her team is 100% women. “It’s the strongest, most efficient, most healthy workplace I’ve ever been part of,” she says. “And I couldn’t do business without them.”
If you follow LaDonna on LinkedIn, you’ve probably seen the post — the one where she talks about wearing short suits at conferences. What started as a comment on a leadership panel turned into a mini movement when women across the expo hall stopped her to say they were inspired to do the same.
At first, she thought it was just a fun moment. But the more she reflected, the more it hit her: Why does showing up as yourself still feel so radical?
“We’ve been conditioned to think we need permission — to dress a certain way, speak a certain way, lead a certain way,” she said. “I want women to know they don’t need anyone’s approval to own their space.”
Her advice?
“Wear the shorts. Buy the shoes. Speak up for yourself — and for others. Confidence isn’t about being loud, it’s about being unapologetically you.”
Ask LaDonna what her superpower is, and she doesn’t hesitate:
“I can find the good in anyone. When I see it, it gives me something to work from — I can find your strength and figure out how to make you stronger. Just by seeing you.”
That gift for spotting potential creates instant, authentic connections. It skips the small talk and goes straight to real conversation — the kind that opens doors to trust and collaboration.
But seeing the good in people doesn’t mean ignoring the bad. LaDonna is quick to cut out toxicity when it shows up.
“If someone is toxic, I’ll cut them out. At one point, they might have been your people. But if you’ve evolved and you’re on different paths now, that’s okay. Keep moving forward.”
She believes in surrounding yourself with people who lift you up, not drain you — and being intentional about who you let into your circle.
“Don’t drop down to someone’s level just to keep them in your life. You know who your people are. Keep progressing forward.”
When I asked how more women can step into leadership roles in this male-dominated industry, LaDonna didn’t hesitate:
“It takes representation. It’s not just saying, ‘I’m here to empower you.’ It’s saying, ‘You — you’re coming with me.’”
She’s done exactly that at MaxClass, bringing on women she knew would rise to the challenge and giving them strong titles they could grow into. Her vice president joined on day one with full backing. Her former executive assistant? Promoted into a role designed for her strengths.
“I want to be the representation of what a strong woman looks like,” LaDonna told me. “We can be comfortable, happy, and confident — wearing what we want, leading how we want — while still having that feminine edge. And when you find the good ones, you elevate them.”
That’s when I told her, “These women on your team — they’re not wearing hats, they’re wearing crowns.”
She paused, smiled, and said, “That gave me chills.”
LaDonna doesn’t sugarcoat it — in a male-dominated industry, men hold more seats, more power, and more influence. That means they also have a responsibility.
“If a man can’t look himself in the mirror and say, purely and authentically, ‘I am a champion of women,’ then he’s not showing up,” she says. “Do better.”
Championing women isn’t just about titles or token gestures — it’s about advocating for them in rooms they’re not in, mentoring, providing tools, and modeling respect in how they speak about women to other men.
LaDonna also believes men can offer something often overlooked: safety.
She recalls a traumatic hotel break-in and the hesitance she felt asking two men at her table to walk her to her room for fear of “sending the wrong signal.”
That experience led her to share a vulnerable LinkedIn post to raise awareness — and to challenge men directly:
“Be the type of man a woman can trust to walk her to her room, because you might be the reason she gets back there safely.”
Her challenge to men is simple: one small act of advocacy or protection every day can create massive change.
Or as she puts it, empower one woman a day.
When I asked LaDonna what trends in the mortgage industry actually excite her — in a sea of LinkedIn doom and gloom — her answer was instant:
“The return to simple. The simple things that work.”
For her, that means the basics: handwritten notes, thoughtful follow-ups, and real conversations. The kind of small, intentional gestures that build trust and relationships, not just transactions.
“Everything has become so automated that it feels fake, it feels inauthentic. And we as humans have an inauthenticity radar — if something feels off, our shields go up,” she says.
It’s not that she’s anti-automation. Quite the opposite — she’s all for leveraging tools that make us more efficient. But she believes the pendulum swung too far, and now it’s time to bring back the human touch.
We both agreed: keep it simple, keep it smart, keep it human.
That also means rethinking how companies are being built. Many of the most exciting startups in mortgage today aren’t bolting AI onto old processes — they’re starting with it. Founders are keeping teams lean, moving fast, and obsessing over customer experience.
“We can be strategic, we can automate a lot — but there are certain things you should not be automating,” she says. “Keeping a human component will keep you warm and relevant. I think people are realizing we might have gone a little too far, and it’s time to bring it back.”
LaDonna swears she’s solar-powered. Her ideal start to the day is stepping outside, facing the sun, closing her eyes, and letting its warmth set her course.
“Sometimes it’s affirmations. Sometimes it’s just me saying, ‘Point me where you want me to go. Fuel me however you want to fuel me.’ But the sun directs my energy for the day.”
When she’s traveling and can’t get outside, she’ll at least stand by a window for a mini sun salutation — anything to soak in a few moments of light.
And while her mornings once ran purely on coffee (so much that she gave herself ulcers as a teenager), these days she rotates in matcha for a slower, steadier energy boost — often sipping both a hot and iced version at the same time.
I told her she should probably be a brand ambassador for matcha,” she laughs. “It would be nice to support my habit.”
It’s a ritual that blends intention with fuel — grounding her mindset while keeping her energy clear and steady for the day ahead.
It wouldn’t be a celebrity or a historical figure. For LaDonna, it’s her dear friend Nick, who tragically passed away just after her senior year of high school.
The night before he left for a summer job in Alaska, Nicholas Lee called her out of the blue.
“Hey, I’m leaving. I just wanted you to know that I love you, and I’ll let you know when I get back. Can’t wait to see you.”
She replied, “I love you too. Can’t wait to see you when I see you.”
It was the last conversation they’d ever have. A freak motorcycle accident took his life soon after.
Twenty-two years later, LaDonna still feels Nick’s presence as one of her guardian angels — in moments of instinct, in near-misses on the road, and in the quiet assurance that she’s being looked after.
Her daughter’s name, Charlee, is a living tribute — “Char-LEE” for both her late friend and her childhood grandfather, the man who helped raise her, and “Jo” for her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. It’s a name layered with love, legacy, and connection.
“If I could have coffee with him now,” she says, “I’d tell him, ‘My dude, look what your girl did.’ We were just two kids from a small town in Utah, and I’d love to show him the life I’ve built.”
From the crowns she places on her team to the sun that fuels her mornings, LaDonna leads with intention, authenticity, and heart. Whether she’s making a statement on stage, championing women behind the scenes, or sparking real change, she’s living proof you can be both fierce and feminine — and still bring the whole room with you.
If you want more of her insight, humor, and energy in your feed, connect with LaDonna Lockard on LinkedIn.
