About Gabe
AJerseyguywhobuilta450-personcompanyononerule:treateveryoneasfamily.
Gabriel “Gabe” Gillen is a New Jersey native who came home from George Washington University with two degrees and one plan: build a career in finance that actually helps people.
After learning the business inside mortgage banks and brokerages, he co-founded Family First Funding in 2011 — three people in a Toms River office. Thirteen years later it was 450+ people across 25 offices, a Fannie and Freddie seller-servicer. In 2023 the company joined forces with AnnieMac Home Mortgage, where Gabe now serves as EVP of Divisional Sales — helping producing managers and loan originators grow the way he did.
The same instinct runs through everything else he does: President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey. Vice President of A Need We Feed. Habitat for Humanity committee member — a commitment inherited from his grandfather’s twenty years with the organization.
people, from founding to exit
offices across 10 states
states licensed as seller-servicer
Gabriel “Gabe” GillenBuilder of teams & tables
The road here
Two decades, one direction.
2004
George Washington University
Graduates from the GW School of Business with a BBA in International Business and Entrepreneurship — then comes straight home to New Jersey to put both to work.
2011
Founds Family First Funding
Wanting to be in finance and help people, Gabe co-founds Family First Funding LLC in Toms River. It starts as an office of three. The motto: “Treat everyone as family.”
2018
Building homes, not just loans
Gabe and the Family First team raise over $80,000 for Habitat for Humanity’s Northern Ocean chapter — then show up in person to build and raise the walls themselves.
2020
Joins A Need We Feed
He becomes an officer of A Need We Feed, helping deliver freshly prepared meals to veterans, seniors, children, and families in need across Ocean County — every week.
2023
EVP of Divisional Sales, AnnieMac
Family First Funding — grown to 450+ people across 25 offices in 10 states — joins forces with AnnieMac Home Mortgage, a top-35 U.S. lender. Gabe steps up to lead divisional growth.
2025
President, MBA New Jersey
Elected President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey in January 2025, representing the industry across the state and giving him a market-level view few executives have.
Today
Leading a $1.2B division
Gabe now leads a $1.2 billion division within AnnieMac and serves on the executive team, helping drive the future of the company — while still making the weekly meal runs as Vice President of A Need We Feed.
What he believes
The rules haven’t changed since the office of three.
Family first
Husband to Neusa, dad to Brandon, Hailey, and Madison. The name of his first company wasn’t branding — it was the operating system.
Structure over hustle
Talent doesn’t stall for lack of drive; it stalls when the platform can’t keep up. His job is removing constraints so people can do the best work of their careers.
Leave the door open
A seat at the table shouldn’t be something you fight for. Everyone passionate about growing deserves one — that’s the standard he holds every team to.
Want the longer version?
Gabe would rather tell you over a conversation than a webpage. Bring your story — he’ll bring his.