Karen Ard

Development Finance and the Cannabis Industry
Tuesday July 19 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Senior Managing Director
Boustead Securities

Throughout her forty-five years of experience in the securities industry, Ms. Ard has
participated in hundreds of public offerings. Most recently, Ms. Ard has served has Senior
Managing Director with Boustead Securities and has managed and closed nine cannabis
offerings. She is regarded as the “cannabis expert” within her firm and has gained national
recognition for her extensive knowledge of the cannabis industry and its successful interface
within the financial community.

Ms. Ard has been instrumental in assisting over 500 companies pursuing public offerings with
obtaining the required Depository Trust Company (DTC) eligibility. Often establishing trust
accounts, escrow accounts, CUSIP numbers, and listings with various securities related
organizations. She has assisted issuers with initial public offerings (IPOs), preferred stock
offerings, rights offerings, private placements, real estate investment trusts (REITs), corporate
bonds, 144A filings, and Regulation S offerings. Each of these instruments require rigorous due
diligence and a significant amount of research.

A vast national and international network has been cultivated by Ms. Ard which has allowed her
extraordinary opportunities in the investment banking arena and, over the last seven years, the
cannabis industry. She has conducted nearly thirty cannabis on site due diligence visits with the
majority being vertically integrated. Substantial time is spent with all facets of the facilities
including owners, managers, bud tenders, accounting, extractors, procurement, etcetera.
Ms. Ard has maintained membership in several professional organizations and continually
participates in numerous industry related conferences. These conferences address topics such
as the turbulent regulatory environment associated with the cannabis industry, financing
strategies, legalization in new states, legislative changes at the state and federal levels, and
potential partners for client, to name but a few. Ms. Ard is long time member of NIBA, TNDDA,
MJBiz, Women Grow and FactRight

Elizabeth Bellis Wolfe

Investing in Resiliency with Green and Blue Bonds
Tuesday April 19 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Senior Advisor, Loan Programs Office (LPO)
U.S. Department of Energy

Elizabeth Bellis Wolfe is a senior advisor to the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where her work focuses on innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy transactions, including virtual power plants. Prior to joining LPO, Elizabeth provided technical assistance on energy bonds on behalf of DOE through Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)/Cadmus. Elizabeth was previously an attorney in the Energy & Infrastructure Finance group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a large California law firm, where she advised tax equity investors, sponsors and developers on utility-scale wind, solar and battery project acquisitions and financings. Prior to that, she served as Vice President at the New York Green Bank, a division of the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA). As Counsel & Director of Finance Programs for nonprofit Energy Programs Consortium, Elizabeth helped develop and implement the Warehouse for Energy Efficiency Loans (WHEEL), a multi-state public-private partnership that securitized state-supported unsecured residential efficiency loans in an asset backed securitization (ABS) bond issuance. She has spoken at a Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee staff briefing on energy bonds and consulted for the World Bank; her work on qualified energy conservation bonds (QECBs) was featured in an article in the New York Times. She began her career as an attorney in the tax group at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a large New York law firm. Elizabeth holds degrees from the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School.

Laura Brunner

Racial Equity in the Bond Markets
Tuesday June 21 2:00 - 3:00 PM

President & Chief Executive Officer
The Port - Cincinnati, Ohio

Laura Brunner is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Port, a public, mission-focused, quasi-governmental agency dedicated to expanding prosperity by repositioning real estate and creating value from land assets in a way that benefits everyone in Hamilton County, Ohio.
Since her appointment in 2011, Laura has leveraged her background in commercial real estate and public accounting to lead The Port in strengthening its platform to improve regional economic, social, and environmental conditions and foster greater economic mobility. Laura works closely with The Port’s Board of Directors delivering on a three-pronged revitalization approach that guides its work – an innovative Public Finance practice that drives development; a holistic Neighborhood strategy that restores property to productive use and raises quality of life; and an urban Industrial revitalization initiative designed to create development-ready sites that support next-generation manufacturing to attract high paying jobs to our region. She launched an impact investing program to support these bold initiatives, creating a Patient Capital Note structure that raises private capital and a revolving loan fund to help distressed neighborhood business districts.
More recently, Laura led the unprecedented effort to keep the American dream of home ownership alive for many Cincinnatians by acquiring nearly 200 single-family homes previously owned by out-of-town investors who were renting these properties. The Port’s intent in acquiring these homes is to create a pathway for homeownership.
Laura earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, and spent 15 years in the public accounting industry, achieving the status of partner at Barnes, Dennig & Co. She is the recipient of dozens of awards, including Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year and the Merlin G. Pope, Jr. Diversity Leadership Award. She is also a board member of Cincinnati ArtsWave and the Queen City Club.

Oreste Casciaro

Analyzing the Impact of COVID-19 Emergency Loan Funds
Tuesday February 22 2:00 - 3:00 PM

What Development Finance Needs to Know about Web3
Tuesday May 17 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Funding Childcare Facilities
Tuesday November 15 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Vice President, Relationship Management
The Bank of New York Mellon

Oreste has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry. He is a senior relationship manager at BNY Mellon’s Corporate Trust Public Finance group, covering the North East region, primarily supporting the largest municipal issuers in New York City and New York State. Oreste began his career at a New York Stock Exchange specialist-trading firm during which he obtained his BBA and MBA in Finance.

Dave Castillo

Deploying Capital in Native American Communities
Tuesday September 13 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Chief Executive Officer
Native Community Capital

Mr. Castillo serves as CEO of Native Community Capital – a 501c3 tax exempt not for profit organization, Department of Treasury certified, Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).  NCC maintains offices in New Mexico and Arizona.  In addition to overseeing day-to-day operations Mr. Castillo’s primary role is to maintain and develop strategic partnerships with banks, public-sector agencies, as well as CDFI and foundation partners to raise public- and private-sector capital to provide housing, community- and economic development financing on tribal lands.

Mr. Castillo is active in developing technical assistance services that build the capacity of tribal professionals in the use of debt financing for housing- and community development projects as well as to support the development of Native led small business incubators to similarly build capacity of Native entrepreneurs.

Mr. Castillo’s professional contributions to tribal community- and economic development began in 1997 through work first with the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., later in tribal government and financial institution settings, and since 2009 in the CDFI industry. Mr. Castillo serves on the Board of Directors for New Mexico Community Capital and the Housing Assistance Council.  Mr. Castillo holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University and an MBA from ASU.  Mr. Castillo is of Nahua Indian descent.

David Clower

Financing Approaches to Meet Affordable Housing Needs
Tuesday December 20 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Executive Vice President
Raza Development Fund, Inc.

David G. Clower, RDF’s Executive Vice President for Strategic Investments, previously served as RDF’s Chief Investment Officer and its Chief Credit Officer. He joined in 2010 with over 20 years of commercial and investment banking experience across commercial real estate, venture-debt, private equity, alternative and socially responsible, impact investment platforms. In his current role, David is responsible for concepting new strategic initiatives; and designing, vetting, and commercializing innovative and scalable community development financial products and services including the establishment of a mission-driven, third-party asset management platform.

Mr. Clower currently serves as the Vice Chair of the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (“NTCIC”); Chair of its Audit, Finance & Risk Committee; and Member of its Investment Committee. He also serves as Chairman of the Community Development Advisory Board for Quontic Bank, New York-based, CDFI depository and as Vice Chair of the Phoenix Conservatory of Music’s Board of Directors. Mr. Clower previously served as an Executive Committee Member of the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition’s Board of Directors, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Community Advisory Board, and the Association of Latino Professionals for America – Phoenix Chapter Corporate Advisory Board.

He is a multi-national with dual citizenship in the United States and México. He studied Applied Economics at the University of San Francisco; Commercial Real Estate Finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Strategic Business Leadership at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Seth Crone

Forecasting the Bond Market’s Response to Federal Infrastructure Investments
Tuesday January 18 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Financing Tools to Invest in Clean Energy
Tuesday October 18 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Financing Approaches to Meet Affordable Housing Needs
Tuesday December 20 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Vice President, Relationship Management
The Bank of New York Mellon

A senior relationship manager with BNY Mellon in Houston covering municipal and nonprofit clients, Seth started in corporate trust in 2003 at JPMorgan, following careers in public finance (healthcare and higher education) from 1987 to 2003 and public accounting (audit, tax, and management consulting) from 1978 to 1987. His experience with municipal bond and project finance began in 1982 as a feasibility consultant at Peat Marwick. A holder of the CFA charter and a CPA license, Seth is a Fellow with the HFMA and has been a Diplomate in the ACHE. Appointed to the board of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Seth received his MBA from New York University and his BA from Amherst College.

Surabhi Dabir

Funding Childcare Facilities
Tuesday November 15 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Senior Advisor, Community Facilities
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Surabhi Dabir is a Senior Advisor with the Community Facilities Program at U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service. Surabhi provides strategic and policy advice to the Community Facilities Program Deputy Administrator and other senior officials on legislation, policy, program priorities and administrative reform, and supports stakeholder outreach and engagement. She has been leading the effort to support rural hospitals in the Community Facilities portfolio through the provision of technical Assistance in partnership with the National Rural Health Association. Surabhi has over 25 years of expertise in rural housing and community development.

Surabhi has a Bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of Bombay and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan.

Lisa Dargis

Analyzing the Impact of COVID-19 Emergency Loan Funds
Tuesday February 22 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Manager, State Small Business Credit Initiative Unit

Lisa is an Outreach Manager for the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She serves as the liaison to a portfolio of jurisdictions to support their successful deployment of SSBCI funds. Prior to joining the Treasury in August of 2022, she managed the SSBCI Unit for the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development. During her ten years at the State of Minnesota, she created and administered a variety of finance programs to assist businesses throughout their lifecycle. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s University.

Tammy Davis

Development Finance and the Cannabis Industry
Tuesday July 19 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Deploying Capital in Native American Communities
Tuesday September 13 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Vice President, Senior Relationship Management
The Bank of New York Mellon

Tammy is currently a Senior Relationship Manager in Corporate Trust for The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company. Based in the Detroit office, she manages trustee, paying agent and escrow services for a portfolio of healthcare, higher education, state/ local government and housing clients. She has experience with a very diverse mix of corporate trust products and bond financing structures. Previous to her current business development role, Tammy was a Team Leader managing several administrators with responsibility for managing overall client relationships, reviewing documents associated with bond financings, ensuring accounts are properly established on all systems and, performing day to day administrative duties such a investments, cash movement, compliance monitoring, and debt service processing for numerous relationships. Tammy joined the public finance corporate trust industry in 1996 through heritage organizations and has over 26 years of total banking experience. She has a Bachelor’s in Accounting and a Master’s in Finance.

Joseph Dieguez

The Latest Community Engagement Strategies for TIF
Tuesday August 16 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Senior Vice President
Kosmont Companies

Joseph Dieguez is a Senior Vice President with Kosmont Companies serving public and private sector clients primarily through market and economic analyses, strategic planning, and real estate development advisory. His recent work includes special / tax increment financing (TIF) district implementation, market supply and demand analysis, fiscal impact and economic benefit studies, financial feasibility and development pro forma evaluation, and property reuse strategies for municipalities, real estate investment and development firms, as well as multiple Fortune 500 clients.

Darla Garrett

Analyzing the Impact of COVID-19 Emergency Loan Funds
Tuesday February 22 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Director
Maryland Department of Commerce

Darla Garrett is a Program Manager with the Maryland Department of Commerce and oversees the Office of Finance Programs Accounting and Administration Unit. Additionally, she administers Maryland’s Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Businesses Account-Video Lottery Terminal Fund, and the State’s Small Business Credit Initiative. Darla has over 20 years of combined professional experience in finance, banking and economic development. Prior to joining Commerce in 2001, Darla worked with First National Bank of Maryland in the Small Business Lending Center. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Public Policy, a Master’s degree in Public Administration, and is Maryland’s first to obtain CDFA’s Development Finance Certified Professional designation.

Lourdes Germán

Racial Equity in the Bond Markets
Tuesday June 21 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Executive Director
Public Finance Initiative

Lourdes Germán, J.D., began her career after graduating from Boston College and the Boston University School of Law as a public finance attorney at the law firm Palmer & Dodge LLP (now Locke Lord LLP) and then led investment banking efforts in the Northeast and New York Tri-State region as Vice President of Municipal Finance at Fidelity Investments. She then served as Vice President and General Counsel at Breckinridge Capital Advisors, founded a small financial services start-up, and then served as a Director at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy where she helped launch and lead a global program of work on municipal fiscal health, which included activities in partnership with the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, and engagement with members of congress via the first Congressional Briefing focused on the fiscal health of cities. At Lincoln, Lourdes served on the team of expert advisors for the municipal finance policy unit who developed the frameworks in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Lourdes has also worked with several higher education institutions including, Boston College, where she served as co-director of the Managing for Social Impact Program and Assistant Professor of Practice, Boston University, and the Northeastern University School of Law. Outside of her role leading the Public Finance Initiative, Lourdes serves on the faculty of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design where she teaches Public Finance.

In addition, Lourdes serves as a senior advisor to several foundations and non-profits, including the Kresge Foundation's Social Investment Practice, Hyphen Partnerships, and others. She also serves as the appointed chair of the Massachusetts State Finance and Governance Board, and serves on the boards of the Rappaport Center for Law & Policy at BC Law, the board of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and on the board of trustees of Claremont Lincoln University.

Jonathan Glover

Investing in Resiliency with Green and Blue Bonds
Tuesday April 19 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Senior Client Advisor
Northern Trust

Jonathan Glover is a Vice President in the Public Not for Profit sector of BNY Mellon’s US Corporate Trust group covering the Midwest region. He has more than 10 years of Corporate Trust experience covering transactions in Structured Finance, Corporate Finance, and Alternative Investments. He has worked on complex transactions including affordable housing, public private partnership arrangements, cross border project finance, Tax Increment Financing, Special Service Area and Special Assessment Area structures for clients ranging from state-level issuers to local municipalities.

Jonathan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Babson College, and his Juris Doctor degree from New England Law School. He has completed Executive Education coursework at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business as a Chicago Urban League IMPACT Fellow. Jonathan is admitted to the New York State Bar.

Joe Gromacki

The Latest Community Engagement Strategies for TIF
Tuesday August 16 2:00 - 3:00 PM

TIF Coordinator
City of Madison, WI

Mr. Gromacki has been the Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) Coordinator for the City of Madison, Wisconsin for the past 13 years and has over 23 years of experience as a development finance professional. Mr. Gromacki is responsible for the administration of the City’s active 14 TIDs (Madison has created 39 TIDs since 1977) as well as conducting financial underwriting and feasibility analysis for complex real estate and economic development projects seeking City of Madison TIF and other City financial assistance.

In 2001, Gromacki was appointed to the Governor’s Committee on Tax Increment Finance to explore potential changes to the state’s Tax Increment Finance law enacted in 2004. He was an integral member of City staff responsible for developing and implementing the City of Madison’s adopted TIF Policy.

Gromacki has testified before the state legislature on proposed changes to TIF Law. Gromacki gives guest presentations on TIF to graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Urban Land Economics and Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He also frequently serves as guest speaker on TIF and economic development finance at various professional associations and neighborhood groups each year.

Abigail Johnson

Financing Tools to Invest in Clean Energy
Tuesday October 18 2:00 - 3:00 PM

President
Abacus Property Solutions

Abby Johnson is Executive Director and founder of the Virginia PACE Authority (VPA) and President of Abacus Property Solutions (Abacus).  Since 2012, Abby has specialized in PACE financing, advising commercial building owners, lenders and public sector clients in PACE project and program development. She has been instrumental in developing PACE programs around the country through crafting of PACE legislation, creating program guidelines, and launching and administering PACE programs. In her capacity as an advisor, Abby works with building owners to develop “PACE-able” projects, structure PACE within the capital stack, and source senior debt as needed. Currently, Abby and her team are the state PACE program administrators for both Virginia and Maryland.
 
Prior to specializing in PACE, Abby worked for over 15 years in commercial real estate in the US and Europe as an architect, management consultant, and commercial mortgage banker. She is the recipient of numerous awards at both the state and national level and has been successful in garnering numerous grants around energy efficiency and resiliency. Abby is active in supporting affordable housing, sustainability, and economic development, evidenced by her service as a Board member of Virginia Housing, PACE Nation, the MidAtlantic PACE Alliance, and Wahoos for Sustainability.  She has a Bachelor of Architectural History from the University of Virginia and a Master’s in Business from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.

Kurt Krummenacker

Forecasting the Bond Market’s Response to Federal Infrastructure Investments
Tuesday January 18 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Associate Managing Director
Moody's Investors Service

Kurt is an Associate Managing Director for Moody’s Investors Service’s Project Finance and Infrastructure team. He manages a team of ratings analysts that cover a range of infrastructure entities including public-private partnership projects, airports, public power, seaports and toll roads.  He has authored Moody’s methodologies for public airport ratings and public port ratings. Kurt is also a former member of the Airports Council International Associates Board.  Before joining Moody’s, Kurt was an Aviation Project Manager for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 
 
Kurt is a retired United States Army aviation officer and pilot who holds commercial ratings in both airplanes and helicopters.  He commanded several aviation and administrative units in the 101st Airborne Division and the Army’s Soldier Support Institute.  Kurt has a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle University, and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University Business School.

Caitlin A Langfitt

Capitalization Strategies & Funding from the American Rescue Plan
Tuesday March 15 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Associate
Bricker Graydon

Caitlin Langfitt is a public finance attorney who helps her clients manage and take advantage of innovative financing options, including tax increment financing (TIF), community reinvestment area (CRA) abatements, joint economic development districts (JEDDs) and special assessment financing. Caitlin specifically partners with political subdivisions, financial institutions and special purpose districts, including energy special improvement districts, to help them negotiate and execute their participation in various economic development programs. Caitlin is highly involved in property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing transactions, helping property owners access innovative financing for energy saving and renewable energy improvements. A former Bricker & Eckler summer associate, Caitlin also served as a legal research assistant as well as a legal intern with the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. Prior to law school, she held several management and leadership positions with technology companies, most recently with Microsoft. She also has experience dealing with highly sensitive data and information through a project management role she held with Lockheed Martin, which involved collaboration with the United States Mint and the United States Department of Defense. Additionally, Caitlin has held internship positions with NPR, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Law Institute. Bar Admissions & Activities b Admitted, State of Ohio, 2021 Education b The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law (J.D.), 2021; Associate Editor, Staff Editor, Ohio State Business Law Journal; Co-Creator, Executive Board Member, Future Tech Law Organization; Student Board Member, Women Lawyers of Franklin County; Academic Merit Scholar; Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals b American University (B.A. in Communication, Law, Economics and Government), 2011 Education: The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law (J.D.), 2021; Associate Editor, Staff Editor, Ohio State Business Law Journal; Co-Creator, Executive Board Member, Future Tech Law Organization; Student Board Member, Women Lawyers of Franklin County; Academic Merit Scholar; Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals b American University (B.A. in Communication, Law, Economics and Government), 2011

Cindy Larson

Funding Childcare Facilities
Tuesday November 15 2:00 - 3:00 PM

National Program Director, Child Care & Early Education
Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Cindy Larson has dedicated her career to supporting children, families and communities. As Senior Director of Child Care and Early Learning at LISC she leads strategic investments, advocacy and technical support focused on growing access to high quality childcare opportunities and early learning environments nationwide. Cindy has more than 35 years of industry experience and brings a rich understanding of the complex intersections between child care and community development with an eye for the kind of bold, transformative actions needed to create systemic change. With an astute understanding of the complex nature of child care financing she is especially adept at innovatively structuring public-private partnerships to maximize locally driven impact for the early learning sector. She is the author of an array of nationally published technical resources focused on child care facilities development, funding and design and a frequent trainer and speaker. Her expertise has been foundational in offering strategic support to government and philanthropic leaders and which included serving as the architect of two distinct early learning facility needs assessment projects for the State of Rhode Island, both of which unlocked significant new resources for the sector.

Shannon Martin

Capitalization Strategies & Funding from the American Rescue Plan
Tuesday March 15 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Partner
Bricker Graydon

Shannon Martin focuses on the general counsel, finance and real estate development, and property management needs of health care and public sector clients, banks and other lending institutions, developers, and non-profit and for-profit corporations. She advises clients on a full range of general governance, compliance and operational matters, and has diverse transaction experience including serving as borrower’s counsel, bond counsel and bank counsel on financing transactions, and as counsel to buyers, sellers, developers, utility companies and public entities on acquisition and development projects. Shannon’s health care practice includes representing hospitals and other health care organizations including nursing, assisted living and long-term care facilities, with respect to general counsel matters such as corporate compliance and governance for non-profits and public sector requirements for public hospitals. She also advises health care clients with financing and real estate matters including bond and other financing facilities, medical practice acquisitions and physician leasing, equipment leases and the purchase, sale and development of health care facilities. Shannon also serves as general counsel and special counsel to port authorities, counties, municipal corporations and other political subdivisions in connection with a variety of operational and legislative matters, Public Records Act and Open Meeting Act compliance, land-use issues, public improvement projects, public-private partnerships, procurement processes and disputes, conflicts of interest, charter review and amendment processes, annexations and appropriations. Shannon also advises clients on Ohio’s economic development laws, programs and resources, including use of tax increment financing, creation and operation of special improvement districts, joint economic development zones, community reinvestment areas, state and federal loan and grant programs and the like. Shannon’s real estate experience also includes work with procurement and sale of real estate, zoning, leasing, condominium creation and operation, ground leases, management contracts and the like for a wide range of developments, including office and medical office, ancillary health care facilities, industrial and commercial space, student housing, long-term care facilities and multi-use projects.

Robert Mattler

Financing Tools to Invest in Clean Energy
Tuesday October 18 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Manager
Green Portfolio Solutions LLC

Conor McCarthy

Funding Childcare Facilities
Tuesday November 15 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Director of Lending
National Development Council

Conor McCarthy, NDC Small Business Lending, Director of Lending, manages a team that is responsible for originating and structuring small business loans in NDC’s respective markets throughout the country. Conor has worked and managed various small business loan programs, which deployed tens of millions of dollars, up and down the capital continuum. Those include complicated commercial real estate transactions for businesses looking to acquire their real estate and smaller infusions of working capital to fund a business’ operating cycle. Conor holds a B.A. from Colorado College, a Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College, a Masters of Business Administration from New York University and is an NDC Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP). He brings years of experience at both the local, state and national level in small business finance and within the wider field of economic development.

Chelsea McDaniel

Racial Equity in the Bond Markets
Tuesday June 21 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Senior Fellow
Activest

Chelsea McDaniel has deep experience in corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policy and economic development. She leads the Fiscal Justice research for Activest, where she works to identify fiscal practices that lead to negative outcomes for Black, Brown, and poor communities. Her research includes tax policy, policing and economic development and exploring ways that these can create disparate outcomes for communities and alternatives that serve the needs of communities.

Prior to joining Activest, Chelsea was a Sustainability Advisor at the leading ESG company in the Middle East. In this role she authored several National Energy and Industry Sector Sustainability Reports on workforce development for Qatar and conducted many sustainability assessments for leading energy and industry sector companies in the region. She also led the development of a high impact financing product for youth technical education and training

Chelsea holds an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from University of California at Santa Cruz.

Joshua Meyer

Financing Approaches to Meet Affordable Housing Needs
Tuesday December 20 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Partner
Kutak Rock LLP

Josh serves as bond counsel and disclosure counsel to sanitary and improvement districts in the State of Nebraska. He acts as bond counsel for other Nebraska state and local government issuers, including cities, school districts and counties. In addition to this traditional public finance practice, Josh is actively involved in the affordable multifamily housing industry, with experience acting as bond counsel, underwriter's counsel and as lender/credit enhancer counsel in LIHTC and 501(c)(3) affordable multifamily bond financed deals.

Beth Mullen

Forecasting the Bond Market’s Response to Federal Infrastructure Investments
Tuesday January 18 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Partner, National Director - Affordable Housing Industry
CohnReznick LLP

Beth Mullen, CPA, is the National Director of the Firm’s Affordable Housing Industry Practice and a member of the Firm’s Tax Practice Executive Committee and Project Finance and Consulting team. She has more than 30 years of experience providing consulting, tax, and accounting services to real estate owners, developers and investors. A significant portion of Beth’s time is devoted to helping clients to facilitate transactions by structuring public/private partnerships that are financed in part by Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the federal and state historic tax credit programs, the federal New Markets Tax Credit Program, energy tax credits, and historic rehabilitation tax credits.

Beth teaches internal and external courses on these tax credits and has published articles in affordable housing and not-for-profit trade magazines. Her extensive knowledge of partnership tax law has been invaluable in resolving allocation, at-risk, exit tax, residual value, and other common partnership problems.

Beth is an industry spokesperson and is a frequently invited speaker at national and local industry trade conferences. She teaches internal and external courses on low-income, New Markets, and historic tax credits and has published articles in several trade magazines.

Chris Parrington

Development Finance and the Cannabis Industry
Tuesday July 19 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Partner
Zuber Lawler LLP

Since 2014, Christopher has been actively involved in representing businesses and business owners in the hemp and state-legal cannabis industries throughout the U.S. He represents hemp and cannabis clients in matters related to business formation, corporate compliance, regulatory compliance, labor and employment, real estate, financial services, mergers and acquisitions, FDA labeling compliance, due diligence and investments. Christopher has also represented numerous clients in applying for state-issued licenses to operate marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and dispensary businesses.

Cory Phelps

Financing Approaches to Meet Affordable Housing Needs
Tuesday December 20 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Vice President
Idaho Housing and Finance Association

Cory Phelps has been with the Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) for seven years, leading its business finance and economic growth activities, and building its portfolio to an average of $200 million in annual business. Mr. Phelps currently manages a team of 22 in the administration and oversight of Idaho’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), HOME loan, Collateral Support (CSP), and Tax-Exempt Bond Financing programs.

As Vice President, Mr. Phelps manages the competitive application process for annual LIHTC awards and all aspects of tax-exempt bond financing for manufacturing, nonprofit, and affordable housing projects. He also coordinates communication with all finance partners, including project developers, investors, underwriters, borrowers and commercial banks. In 2016, he consolidated the Economic Development and Multifamily Housing departments to form the Project Finance business unit.

Previously, Mr. Phelps held finance positions with Zions First National Bank as the Vice President and Commercial Portfolio Manager and Washington Mutual Commercial Bank as a Commercial Banking Officer. Most recently before IHFA, he was with the Eastern Idaho Development Corporation.

Mr. Phelps is currently a Board Chair of Capital Matrix, a SBA 504 lender, and the New Market Tax Credit Advisory Board of MoFi (formerly Montana & Idaho CDC). A graduate of the Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce Leadership Pocatello program, he also served on the program’s Board of Directors and as a facilitator. His community involvements include leadership positions with the Southeastern Idaho Community Action Agency, Portneuf Greenway Foundation, Greater Pocatello Chamber of Commerce and the Pocatello Zoological Society. Mr. Phelps earned a Bachelor’s degree of Business Administration in Finance with a minor in Political Science from Idaho State University.

Mark Ritacco

Capitalization Strategies & Funding from the American Rescue Plan
Tuesday March 15 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Chief Government Affairs Officer
National Association of Counties

Mark Ritacco serves as the Chief Government Affairs Officer at the National Association of Counties. Mark leads NACo’s legislative and executive branch outreach, coalition building and advocacy on behalf of NACo’s members and America’s 3,069 counties.

Before joining NACo, Mark spent over a decade on Capitol Hill working in both the U.S. House and Senate. Most recently, Mark served as Director of Strategic Initiatives for Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut, where he directed the Senate Appropriations and HELP Committee portfolios, cultivated diverse bipartisan relationships, and built coalitions to pass economic policy, influence agency rulemaking, and shape regulatory policy.

A Connecticut native, Mark lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two sons, and is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.

Adam Rose

Deploying Capital in Native American Communities
Tuesday September 13 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Director of Strategic Partnerships and Growth
Travois New Markets, LLC

Adam Rose is the director of partnerships and growth for Travois, a Certified B Corporation focused exclusively on promoting housing and economic development for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities. Travois has helped clients to develop more than $1.5 billion in housing and economic development projects in 22 states. Adam joined Travois in 2008 and has more than a decade’s experience helping tribes and tribal housing authorities to develop affordable housing and other community amenities. Working with clients, tribal leadership, and community stakeholders, Adam listens and learns about needs, discusses and explores development possibilities with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, and other gap financing applications, such as grants through the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), and the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. Adam helps clients to bring private investor funds and grants to build new homes, rehabilitate existing homes and expand businesses and services to help strengthen Native communities. Adam also works with the state and federal agencies that make funding decisions to ensure that tribally sponsored projects can compete evenly with other developments. Adam graduated from Marquette University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a master’s degree in urban planning. He is a Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP), designated by the National Association of Home Builders. Before becoming director of partnerships and growth, Adam served as senior project coordinator and project coordinator for the affordable housing team. He supports local housing efforts as a member of the board of directors for Kim Wilson Housing of Kansas City, KS.

Eric Shrago

Investing in Resiliency with Green and Blue Bonds
Tuesday April 19 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Vice President of Operations
Connecticut Green Bank

Eric is responsible for the general management of the operations of the Green Bank. This includes the organization’s strategic planning, impact assessment, marketing, communications, and evaluation, measurement, & verification as well as the administration, human resources, and technology functions.
Prior to joining the Connecticut Green Bank, Eric worked in management consulting, advising clients in the financial services and energy sectors on operations, regulation, and strategy. Eric started his career and spent 9 years working at Goldman Sachs in the US and Asia.
Eric holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Tufts University and a Master of Public Administration degree with a concentration in Global Energy Markets and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is a member of the Sustainability Committee for the town of Weston, Connecticut.

Joel Smith

Deploying Capital in Native American Communities
Tuesday September 13 2:00 - 3:00 PM

SVP – Chief Credit Officer
Native American Bank

Joel D. Smith has served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of Native American Bank since 2013, and worked for the bank for a total of twelve years in various lending and credit roles. He is an enrolled member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. He has sixteen total years of experience in commercial credit, lending, and management. He holds a M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Colorado Denver, and a dual B.B.A in Finance and Accounting from the University of Oklahoma. Joel also is an alumnus of the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado, and holds a RMA Credit Risk Certification designation.

Sean Stein Smith

What Development Finance Needs to Know about Web3
Tuesday May 17 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Professor
City University of New York – Lehman College

Sean is a professor at the City University of New York – Lehman College. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, where he chairs the Accounting Work Group. Sean sits on the Advisory Board of Gilded, a cryptoasset payment firm, and serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Central Bank Digital Currency Think Tank. He has a weekly column with Forbes, in the Crypto & Blockchain vertical. Sean is also the immediate past chairperson of the NJCPA's Emerging Technologies Interest Group (#NJCPATech), where he hosts the NJCPA TechTalk Podcast, and is the President-Elect of the NYSSCPA Manhattan-Bronx Chapter.  Sean has guest lectured at over a dozen universities in the United States, including multiple institutions ranked in Top #25 overall, and has delivered lectures and training to Top 10 accounting firms, the PCAOB, and the FDIC. He is a Visiting Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, with a book due out in 2022. Sean is a sought after speaker on the topic of crypto and blockchain, and is an award winning researcher.

David Tancabel

Financing Tools to Invest in Clean Energy
Tuesday October 18 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Environmental Policy Analyst
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

David Tancabel is an environmental policy analyst with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Protection Partnership Division, which develops tools and technical analyses to support state policymakers; local governments; and utility regulators as they develop, implement, and assess energy policies that aim to reduce emissions. Prior to joining the EPA, David served as the director of the Power Plant Research Program within the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, where he worked closely with developers, utilities, and the Maryland Public Service Commission.

David started his career with the US Navy as a submarine warfare officer, completing multiple submarine deployments before reporting to the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he evaluated foreign energy policy and infrastructure as an all-source intelligence analyst. After leaving active duty, David was the lead contractor for the Department of Defense (DoD) Siting Clearinghouse, where he de-conflicted renewable energy development with DoD testing, training, and operations.

David is currently a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy Reserve, serving as the operations department head for a Naval Reserve unit at the Office of Naval Intelligence. He holds a Master of Science in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University a Bachelor of Science in economics and finance from Boston College.

Brian Vosburg

The Latest Community Engagement Strategies for TIF
Tuesday August 16 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Director of Brownfield Redevelopment
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation

Brian Vosburg has worked at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) since 2015 staffing the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (DBRA). He currently serves as the Director of the DBRA where he leads the underwriting and approval process of new projects requesting Brownfield TIF, as well as assists in managing the DBRA’s existing portfolio of 118 Brownfield TIF projects representing $9.2 billion in investment and $1.7 billion in Brownfield TIF reimbursement. In addition to TIF, Brian also reviews and manages projects seeking grant and loan funds, as well as works with a City team that focuses on redeveloping large tax foreclosed and vacant properties. Prior to joining the DEGC, Brian worked in the community development field for 15 years in affordable housing development as well as community economic development in government and non-profit organizations. Brian received a Master of Urban Planning from Wayne State University and a B.A. from North Central University in Minneapolis, MN. He is also member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Ira Weinstein

Development Finance and the Cannabis Industry
Tuesday July 19 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Principal
CohnReznick LLP

Ira Weinstein serves as CohnReznick’s Managing Principal – Real Estate, Cannabis Industries, where he oversees the advisory, assurance, and tax services pertaining to both industries. His role is to develop and execute strategy that grows the capacity and capability of the firm’s resources dedicated to these industries for the benefit of our clients, our people, and our communities.

The real estate practice includes the community development platform (all tax credits, public finance and affordable housing), commercial real estate, and construction. CohnReznick works with the full spectrum of real estate industry stakeholders including developers, institutional investors, private equity firms, lenders, asset management companies, REITs, and construction companies. The firm provides project finance and consulting, audit and tax regulatory services, and helps many of these companies improve financial processes, implement technologies, and employ best practices in process redesign.

The cannabis practice includes regulatory compliance for audit and tax services, tax structuring and all the advisory services designed to improve the operational effectiveness of many industry participants (plant touching and ancillary companies).

Prior to taking on this role, Ira spent the eight years managing the Baltimore office and over 20 years managing a consulting practice focused on providing strategic advisory services to clients in support of their vision for growth and enhanced enterprise value. He has extensive knowledge of the public-private partnership, specifically leveraging government programs to accomplish the project finance goals of his client base. Such programs include the federal and state New Markets Tax Credit Programs, the federal and state historic tax credit programs, renewable energy tax credits for investment and production, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

Ira is a subject matter expert and firm leader on Opportunity Zones, an economic development provision passed as part of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, providing technical, transaction advisory, and entity formation services related to this provision. In this role, Ira co-authored “The Guide to Making Opportunity Zones Work” in 2020.

Ira speaks at conferences and seminars nationwide on a variety of topics. Before joining CohnReznick, he advised local economic development organizations on strategies to revitalize their geographic footprint. Before that, he spent several years in the corporate finance department of a public company raising capital for corporate and project finance and completing acquisitions and divestitures of company assets. His initial experience just post-college was doing credit analysis for a factor in extending credit nationwide across a variety of industries.

Stuart Weiss

Capitalization Strategies & Funding from the American Rescue Plan
Tuesday March 15 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Racial Equity in the Bond Markets
Tuesday June 21 2:00 - 3:00 PM

The Latest Community Engagement Strategies for TIF
Tuesday August 16 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Vice President, Sales
The Bank of New York Mellon

Stuart has over 30 years of corporate trust sales experience and is responsible for new business development and client relationship management of municipal trust and agency appointments in California, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon and Hawai’i. He began his corporate trust career in 1990 as a business development officer at Security Pacific Bank in Los Angeles. Stuart continued at Security Pacific during their acquisition by Bank of America, N.A. through 1995 while covering a Southern California sales/client territory. Subsequently, Stuart represented U.S. Trust Company, N.A. in their western U.S. territory from 1995 – 2000 and Wells Fargo Corporate Trust covering a similar territory from 2000 – 2017. Stuart is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and resides in Los Angeles.

Jennifer Wilhelm

Analyzing the Impact of COVID-19 Emergency Loan Funds
Tuesday February 22 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Director of Commercial Lending
Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh

Jennifer Wilhelm directs the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh’s (URA) Commercial Lending and Investment division. Deploying more than $7M in direct lending a year, the division provides critical capital for emerging and growing businesses across the City of Pittsburgh, focusing particularly on entrepreneurs from underserved populations. Under Jennifer’s management, the URA has grown lending across all segments, including tripling technology-based investing over a two year period and launching a micro enterprise lending program that in the last two years has deployed more than $2M to emerging women and minority led companies.

Jennifer has more than 13 years of experience in program development and execution, partnership building, strategy development, project management, and policy analysis across nonprofit, for-profit, and government sectors. Prior to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Jennifer worked in government and healthcare strategy consulting executing large scale technology transformations for state governments.

Jennifer serves as Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Invest PGH, the URA’s emerging CDFI, and as a member of the advisory council for Kiva Pittsburgh and the Sister Cities Association of Pittsburgh. Jennifer holds a Master of Science degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from Baldwin-Wallace University.

Gwen Yamamoto Lau

Investing in Resiliency with Green and Blue Bonds
Tuesday April 19 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Executive Director
Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority

Gwen Yamamoto Lau is the Executive Director of the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (“Authority”), an agency attached to the State’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The Authority was constituted in November 2014 to administer a green infrastructure loan program to make clean energy investments accessible and affordable to Hawaii’s underserved ratepayers, stimulate private investments, and leverage innovative tools to mitigate risks and reach new markets.

Drawing from over twenty-five years of experience in conventional commercial financing, Gwen continues to find new ways to facilitate non-traditional financing tools to fill market gaps and promote economic development for the State of Hawaii. Seeing the positive impact is what she finds the most rewarding.

Active in her community, Gwen is currently President of the Rotary Club of Honolulu and Director and Executive Committee member for Goodwill Industries of Hawaii. She has also served in a variety of leadership roles for a number of other nonprofit organizations, including former Board Chair for Sacred Hearts Academy, former Treasurer and Executive Committee member for the Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organization, and former Director and Finance Committee member for the YWCA of Oahu, to name a few.