Meet The Team

Mary Merriman

CEO & Principal

Mary is a native Oregonian and graduate of the University of Oregon, with over 40 years of commercial and consumer lending experience, primarily in executive leadership roles, including Chief Credit Officer and various Credit Administration positions. She spent 10 years of her career leading an economic development lender, including being the Executive Director of one of Oregon’s largest SBA certified development companies. Her extensive leadership experience in finance, fund administration, credit administration and management of banks, and government economic development organizations gives her a unique, effective, and diverse lending foundation. She has expertise in all aspects of commercial, residential mortgage, and construction, for both consumer and business lending. Mary has experienced multiple economic cycles in Oregon as a finance professional and has an excellent understanding of the threats and opportunities in each cycle. She is a licensed mortgage loan originator, NMLS #811599.

Steven Yett

Principal

Steven received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon with a double major in finance and accounting. In 1999 he completed executive level classes at MIT’s Center for Real Estate. He is the manager, owner, and/or developer of numerous retail, office, warehouse, and residential properties in the Eugene/Springfield area with total square footage over 400,000 valued at over $60 million. Steven also has been a private lender for the past 20+ years. His experience in finance and real estate gives him a strong understanding of lending and investor management. He is a licensed commercial real estate broker and mortgage loan originator, NMLS #1577809.

Zach Smith

Principal & Lending Officer

Zach is an experienced lender and dedicated to helping his borrowers be successful. Prior to joining Cetan Funds, Zach was an entrepreneur and small business owner of several businesses in Eugene and Springfield. Through these experiences, he gained valuable insight into nearly every aspect of running and rapidly expanding a successful business, including the utmost value of integrity, loyalty, and excellent customer service. Zach also has a passion for real estate investing and is happy to be serving Oregon real estate investors, developers, builders and small businesses to help Oregon grow.

Zach is a licensed mortgage loan originator in Oregon, NMLS #1748167. His responsibilities include business development, loan origination, underwriting, processing, and servicing his portfolio of loans. He holds a B.A. from the University of Oregon, where he graduated with honors and a major in Psychology and a double minor in Business Administration and Spanish.

Mary Bartlett

Associate & Loan Officer

Mary has over 30 years of commercial lending experience and has been serving borrowers in Oregon since 2005. She has expertise in managing large, diversified commercial loan portfolios including investment real estate and construction. Mary delivers excellent customer service and provides creative solutions for her clients.  Outside of work, she enjoys serving her community. She is a long-time Board Member at the Hope and Safety Alliance (formerly Womenspace) and joined the Board of the Professional Women’s Forum in 2022. Mary holds a B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of California, Davis and an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University.  Her hobbies include horseback riding, tennis, and running.

Kim Voorhies

Associate & Office Administrator

Kim is a native to Eugene, Oregon that started her 30 year career in the financial industry at a local community bank. She has held a variety of positions in banking that include Loan Accounting Supervisor and most recently, Assistant Loan Operations Manager. In addition to banking, Kim worked for several years at a local government agency assisting borrowers with Small Business Administration and Economic Development loans.

Kim enjoys working with clients and investors helping them achieve their financial goals. She is responsible for loan operations, office administration and assists with investor relations.

Leah Mortensen

Lending Specialist

Leah is a native Oregonian from the Eugene area with 12 years in the financial industry.  She has held a variety of positions, with the last 7 years in commercial loan documentation and loan assisting. Leah’s experience and attention to detail makes her extremely proficient in many aspects of the lending process, including document preparation, insurance, title review and working with title companies.  She enjoys working with the Cetan Team and helping find creative solutions for their clients.