Tyler Burleyson

TIF and Capital Markets
Thursday, November 20, 3:00 - 3:55 PM

Associate
KeyBanc Capital Markets

Tyler Burleyson joined KBCM in July 2022 and is an associate in the Cleveland office. Tyler has worked on transactions for clients throughout the country, assisting with transaction execution and support. His experience is primarily with non-rated, project finance transactions including property & sales TIFs, special district transactions, and lease revenue bonds. Tyler graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 2022 earning a major in Applied Mathematics. He holds his Series 52 and 63 licenses.

Price Finley

Understanding Your TIF Statute
Thursday, November 20, 11:10 - 11:45 AM

Partner
Bricker Graydon

Price Finley has been practicing law at Bricker Graydon since he started his legal career in 1990, all of those focused on public finance. Price has experience in all areas of public finance, including local government, economic development finance, port authority financings, and other structured and project financings. He has substantial experience in the use of various economic development tools, including frequent use of tax increment finance (TIF). Price has also created and served as counsel for Ohio’s new community authority financings (also known as community development authorities or CDAs). In addition, Price’s practice includes assisting local governments and developers in negotiating and documenting development agreements for infrastructure finance and tax incentive arrangements, including community reinvestment areas (CRA), enterprise zones (EZ), and job creation tax credits (JCTC). Price has also created joint economic development districts and zones (JEDD), special improvement districts (SIDs), and he has represented port authorities across Ohio.
 
Price is a member of the Council of Development Finance Agencies and a member of its Board of Directors, the Ohio Economic Development Association, and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. He received his undergraduate degree from Capital University and his JD/MBA from The Ohio State University. Price received the CDFA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Brendan Heil

Model TIF Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures
Thursday, November 20, 11:45 - 12:30 PM

Of Counsel
Bricker Graydon

Brendan Heil is a seasoned attorney in Bricker Graydon's Political Subdivision group. Brendan has extensive experience handling a variety of municipal law issues, including counseling cities and private entities on economic development transactions, public finance, legislation, eminent domain, annexation, land use, and zoning. Brendan is also well-versed in handling litigation matters for public and private clients in federal and state courts, including land use and zoning disputes, complex commercial class actions, and multi-district litigation.

Sue Hounsel

Performance Monitoring & Managing Active TIF Districts
Thursday, November 20, 3:55 - 4:55 PM

Senior Manager
City of Dallas

Sue Hounsel is a Senior Manager in the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development (OED) and has been employed with the City of Dallas since 2002. During this time, she has developed expertise in all aspects of the tax increment financing (TIF) program. As part of the Real Estate Development Division of OED, a comprehensive economic development toolbox is deployed to support a variety of projects ranging from large master-planned developments to community driven transformative projects. She has over thirty years of experience in urban planning and economic development. Before moving to Dallas, she previously worked with the City of Houston and the City of Austin in planning and economic development. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Michigan State University and a Master of City Planning from Georgia Tech, including a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate.

Mark Huddle

TIF and the Project's "Capital Stack"
Thursday, November 20, 2:00 - 2:50 PM

Senior Counsel
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C.

Mark Huddle brings extensive experience in public finance and governmental matters to Miller Canfield's Public Finance Group. He routinely serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriter's counsel, and issuer's counsel for a variety of public and private issuers. His practice spans school districts, municipalities, airport authorities, solid waste and recycling facilities, and manufacturers in Illinois and elsewhere.

In addition to his public finance work, Mark advises both public and private entities on a range of municipal and state governmental issues. His expertise includes economic development and tax incentive programs, tax increment financing, MBE/WBE certifications, contract procurement, real estate tax abatements, zoning and land use, liquor and cannabis licensing, and regulatory compliance. Mark also provides counsel on corporate and real estate development matters for privately held businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

Mark is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the informal Illinois Cannabis Bar Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors for DL3 Cares Community Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing mentorship support, academic and professional resources and other opportunities to those facing socioeconomic challenges throughout Chicago. Mark holds a B.A. from Knox College, a J.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and an M.F.A. from the University of Chicago.

Larry Kilmer

TIF Feasibility Analysis and Underwriting
Thursday, November 20, 12:40 - 2:00 PM

Redevelopment and Special Projects Director
City of Milwaukee

Larry Kilmer, II is the Redevelopment and Special Projects Director for the City of Milwaukee’s Department of City Development. In this role, he oversees the department’s housing efforts including TIF for housing development, subsidy programs for single-family and multifamily affordable housing rehabilitation and construction, owner occupant down payment assistance and housing rehabilitation loan programs, and housing policy work. Larry has over 15 years of diversified experience in affordable housing and real estate development including past experience overseeing a mid-sized housing authority and managing the housing rehabilitation division for a Milwaukee-based non-profit. In 2017, he received the Housing Development Finance Professional Certification through Grow America (NDC). Additionally, he is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Urban Planning at UW-Milwaukee and a Lecturer in the Real Estate and Urban Land Economics Department at UW-Madison. Larry holds Master’s Degrees in Architecture and Urban Planning, a BS in Architectural Studies, and has achieved ABD status for his Ph.D. in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Emily Metzler

Performance Monitoring & Managing Active TIF Districts
Thursday, November 20, 3:55 - 4:55 PM

Managing Director
Stifel Nicolaus & Company, Inc.

Emily Metzler brings nearly two decades of experience to her role as a Public Finance Managing Director at Stifel. Prior to joining Stifel, she served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at MuniCap, Inc., a registered municipal advisor. Throughout her career, Emily has supported catalytic real estate public finance development projects in over thirty states and has been involved in the issuance of more than $2 billion in development district bonds.

Her expertise spans the full lifecycle of financial structures for public and private investment projects—from initial concept and capitalization to post-issuance administration. Emily is particularly well-versed in a variety of financing and revenue mechanisms, with a strong focus on tax increment financing, special assessments, and special taxes.

An active leader in the industry, Emily contributes her insights to several professional organizations, including the Association of Public Finance Professionals, the Urban Land Institute, Lambda Alpha International, and Women in Public Finance. She serves on the board of the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA), where she also chairs the strategic planning committee. Additionally, she has completed two terms on the MSRB Compliance Advisory Group, offering municipal market expertise to the MSRB.

Emily holds Series 50 and 54 licenses and is currently pursuing her Series 7, 53, and 62 licenses to support her expanded role at Stifel.

Toby Rittner

Understanding Your TIF Statute
Thursday, November 20, 11:10 - 11:45 AM

President & CEO
Council of Development Finance Agencies

Toby Rittner is the President & CEO of Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA), a national association dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. CDFA is comprised of the nation’s leading and most knowledgeable members of the development finance community representing hundreds of public, private and non-profit development finance agencies. Mr. Rittner runs the day-to-day operations of the Council including the organization’s various educational, advocacy, research, resources, and networking initiatives. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the CDFA Foundation.

Rittner is one of the most vocal and recognized leaders of the development finance industry nationwide and has advised local, state, and federal leaders, including Presidents Biden and Obama, on economic development finance policy. Through his leadership and guidance, CDFA was successful in preserving private activity bonds and other critical development finance tools during the 2017 tax reform deliberations and has had numerous pieces of legislation introduced in the United States Congress. In 2021, Rittner successfully led a national effort to reauthorize and fund the $10B State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. He has written and crafted dozens of strategic finance plans for development finance agencies and advised communities throughout the world on development finance approaches.

Rittner focuses on sustainable finance with an emphasis on infrastructure, clean energy, food systems, small business, and innovations in the development finance industry to drive sustainable outcomes. He has written extensively about impact ready initiatives that leverage and engage capital in ways that drive local sustainability in business and industry and the environment and economy.

Rittner is a frequent speaker at local, state, and national conferences and events focused on economic development finance. He has been featured in The Bond Buyer, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, NPR and other national media publications concerning the advancement of development finance tools. He is the author of CDFA's highly acclaimed Practitioner's Guide to Economic Development Finance and co-author of CDFA's Unlocking Capital: A Handbook for Becoming a High Performing Development Finance Agency.

Rittner is an adjunct faculty member at The Ohio State University and Carnegie Mellon University. He is also a Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) and has completed the prestigious Oxford University Sustainable Finance Foundation Course.

Mr. Rittner previously served on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Financial Advisory Board and is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Community Fund I. Mr. Rittner holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master's of City and Regional Planning degree from The Ohio State University. Mr. Rittner was awarded the Ohio State University College of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2016.

David Saikia

TIF Feasibility Analysis and Underwriting
Thursday, November 20, 12:40 - 2:00 PM

Executive Vice President
MuniCap, Inc.

When it comes to developing forecasts of tax increment revenue, David is among the nation’s leading experts. As the firm’s head of research and analytics, David oversees MuniCap’s most technically advanced projects. He also writes most of the complex reports that MuniCap produces, including those that provide estimates of the revenue available to repay bonds, and he supervises the analytical efforts of the rest of the team. For any given project, David advises clients on a range of aspects—from creating the plan of finance, to navigating the governmental approval process, to bringing the deal to market.

Noelle Sheets

Welcome & Overview
Thursday, November 20, 11:00 - 11:10 AM

Vice President, CDFA and Executive Director, CDFA Foundation
Council of Development Finance Agencies

Noelle Sheets is Vice President overseeing the Knowledge & Networks Division at the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA), and Executive Director of the CDFA Foundation. She plays a pivotal role in shaping CDFA's future direction and ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of development finance.

Ms. Sheets came to CDFA in 2019, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit association management gained through positions at SSTI, the National Association of the Remodeling Industry of Central Ohio, and the Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland.

As VP of the Knowledge & Networks Division, Ms. Sheets implements strategies to expand, energize, and optimize CDFA’s portfolio of work including the CDFA Training Institute, CDFA Advisory Services, membership, sponsorship, and event activities.

As Executive Director of the CDFA Foundation, Ms. Sheets designs and coordinates the Foundation’s activities, focusing on creating equitable and inclusive opportunities for socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and communities involved in the development finance industry. She is deeply passionate about the Foundation’s mission and actively champions initiatives such as the CDFA Foundation Scholarship Program and the Caren S. Franzini Fellowship Program.

She is skilled at connecting with people authentically and positively, leading to effective collaboration and shared success. Ms. Sheets holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Relations from Capital University.

James Snyder

TIF and the Project's "Capital Stack"
Thursday, November 20, 2:00 - 2:50 PM

Senior Principal
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, P.L.C.

Jim's primary practice concentration is municipal finance, with an emphasis on economic development transactions such as those involving tax-increment financing and public/private partnerships. Mr. Snyder is a frequent speaker on municipal finance issues that involve economic development.

He regularly serves as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, bond purchaser’s counsel and special counsel on a variety of public finance transactions, including general obligation financings, revenue obligations, special service area and special assessment financings, tax increment bond financing, industrial development revenue bonds, multifamily housing financings, solid waste disposal facility bonds, and Section 501(c)(3) revenue bond financings.

Jason Tiemeier

Model TIF Policies, Guidelines, and Procedures
Thursday, November 20, 11:45 - 12:30 PM

Partner
Bricker Graydon

Jason Tiemeier is a member of the Bricker Graydon Public Finance practice group. He works with local governments, special purpose districts, developers, and financial institutions on a variety of public finance and local government matters. His practice includes the structuring and documentation of economic development projects and general obligation and revenue bond transactions. Jason has experience with a variety of economic development tools such as tax increment financing (TIF), community reinvestment areas (CRA), new community authorities (NCA), and joint economic development districts (JEDD). Jason has also been involved with the rapid development of property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing in Ohio. He provides general counsel services to energy special improvement districts and bond and lender’s counsel services to the organizations that finance energy efficiency and clean energy projects through PACE.

Kip Wahlers

TIF and Capital Markets
Thursday, November 20, 3:00 - 3:55 PM

Partner
Ice Miller LLP

Kip Wahlers has more than two decades' experience in the field of public finance, economic development and public law. Kip has represented state and local governments at all levels as bond counsel and has also served as underwriters' counsel, bank counsel and counsel to private sector entities doing business with government.

Kip's experience includes financings and projects with port authorities, counties, municipalities, townships and school districts. Kip also advises clients on public records issues and ethics issues.

Kip has authored legislation relating to financing programs in Ohio and elsewhere, including tax credits, loan programs and amendments to legislation establishing new community authorities and authority for impact facilities. He has assisted private companies in obtaining incentives from state and local governments, including tax incentives, tax abatements and tax increment financing.