Caleb Bell

Residential vs Commercial PACE Considerations and Case Studies
Wednesday, May 6, 3:25 - 4:55 PM

Partner
Bricker Graydon Wyatt

Caleb Bell is chair of Bricker Graydon Wyatt's Public Finance practice group with a regional practice that emphasizes public finance and economic development matters.

He has served as bond counsel in a wide variety of transactions. His clients include municipalities, counties, townships, school districts, and public universities, as well as private developers and property owners across Ohio, Kentucky, and the Midwest. Caleb is well known for his representation of special purpose financing entities such as port authorities, new community authorities (NCAs), special improvement districts (SIDs), energy special improvement districts (ESIDs), and energy project assessment districts (EPADs).

Caleb has diverse economic development experience and is sought after for his knowledge of development tools such as tax increment financing (TIF), special assessments, community redevelopment area (CRA) abatements, enterprise zone (EZ) abatements, joint economic development districts (JEDD), and local tax credits.

Caleb has been instrumental in advancing energy financing across the Midwest. He is a national thought leader in Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. He is a Board Member of PACENation, a member of the C-PACE Alliance, and has been appointed by the U.S. Department of Energy as a C-PACE Advisor. He was retained by clients to author Ohio's PACE financing statute, he served as bond counsel for Ohio's first issue of PACE-secured bonds, and he has financed over $1B of PACE financing for over 200 PACE projects. Caleb has structured PACE financing into a variety of transactions, including retrofit projects, new construction projects, redevelopment projects, and tax credit projects in the Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee markets. In addition, he advised the State of Hawaii on its commercial PACE legislation, which was enacted into law in 2022. Caleb has served as bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel in more than $4 billion of natural gas and electricity prepayment bonds, including Ohio’s only tax-exempt refunding of energy prepayment bonds.

Caleb is an experienced negotiator, regularly advising his clients on complex projects involving multiple aspects of public finance and economic development law. He advises both public entities and private developers, and he brings a broad-based perspective to every transaction.

Emma Ellis

PACE Players Involved and Their Roles
Wednesday, May 6, 11:55 - 12:35 PM

Senior Counsel
Connecticut Green Bank

Emma is Senior Counsel at the Connecticut Green Bank — the nation's first green bank, established in July 2011 and a global leader in leveraging public and private funds to scale up renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency projects. She provides legal and regulatory advice across a broad range of matters, with a particular focus on the Green Bank's suite of financing programs. Her experience spans debt and project financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, and she serves as legal lead on the Green Bank's Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program. Prior to joining the Green Bank, Emma was an Associate in the Finance and Real Estate group at Dechert's New York offices.

Banu Erdim

Understanding PACE
Wednesday, May 6, 11:10 - 11:55 AM

Director of Market Research
PACENation

Banu joined PACENation as Director of Market Research in 2026 after serving as a Sustainability and ESG Analyst at Kitsap Bank, where she began her work as a Climate Corps Fellow in 2020. At Kitsap, Banu played a key role in the regional expansion of sustainable finance, spearheading the implementation and tracking of the C-PACER program across Washington counties, supporting documentation and compliance efforts, and delivering high-level presentations to stakeholders. She brings a data-driven approach to compliance and program development, along with deep experience in technical assistance, helping translate building-sector policies and compliance requirements into clear, actionable guidance. Before her work in banking, she spent several years as a Sustainability Consultant, focusing on energy modeling, high-performance buildings, and green building frameworks, while leading LEED certification and greenhouse gas accounting processes for multiple engineering consulting firms. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a Master’s degree in Environmental Control and Building Technologies. She also serves as a volunteer with Women in Clean Tech & Sustainability and is a Certified Sustainable Development Professional (CSDP).

Peter Grabell

PACE Program Management
Wednesday, May 6, 2:10 - 3:15 PM

Managing Director, Head of Production
PACE Loan Group

Peter Grabell joined PLG in 2024 as Managing Director, Head of Production.

For over 25 years, Peter has led commercial PACE and CMBS originations teams situated nationwide and oversaw administration of the California Enterprise Development Authority's PACE program for seven years. Prior to joining PLG, he spearheaded over $5 billion in CRE structured financing for PACE Equity, Dividend Finance, and Bridger Commercial Funding.

Peter holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Haverford College. He is a California licensed real estate broker. Peter is also President of Gift of Adoption's California Chapter, which funds grants to families with financial shortfalls that otherwise prevent them from completing adoptions.

Rachel Hobbs

Residential vs Commercial PACE Considerations and Case Studies
Wednesday, May 6, 3:25 - 4:55 PM

Senior Vice President, Government Affairs
Home Run Financing

Rachel Hobbs is Senior Vice President of Government affairs for Home Run Financing. Rachel joined Home Run Financing at its inception in 2015 and has led government affairs growing PACE eligible territory in California, Florida and Missouri, working with federal, state, and local legislators and regulators. Winner of the PACENation PACESetter of the year award in 2026, Rachel began her career in London, UK and has previously worked in solar finance and in the Tax and Legal department of PwC, as well as in UK local government.

Abigail Johnson

Understanding PACE
Wednesday, May 6, 11:10 - 11:55 AM

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 serves as the Executive Director of VPA, the PACE program administrator for the state of Virginia and consultant to the PACE program administrators for North Carolina and Alberta, Canada. 
 
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 past service on the Boards of Virginia Housing and Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and current service on the Boards of the Virginia PACE Authority and PACENation.  She has a Bachelor of Architectural History from the University of Virginia and a Master’s in Business from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.

Colin Kalvas

Legal, Policy & Regulatory Considerations
Wednesday, May 6, 12:45 - 1:15 PM

Partner
Bricker Graydon Wyatt

Colin Kalvas practices public finance and economic development law. Colin serves political subdivisions, financial institutions, developers and special purpose districts such as special improvement districts and new community authorities in many different capacities. He regularly represents clients in matters related to the issuance of bonds, securities law, federal income tax law, contracts, real property acquisition, development, and governmental revenues.

Colin has been at the forefront of developing property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing in Ohio. His PACE efforts include serving as counsel to PACE administrators and energy special improvement districts throughout Ohio, as well as serving as bond counsel and lender’s counsel to Ohio port authorities and other financial institutions that finance energy efficiency and clean energy projects through PACE.

He is well known within the national PACE community and has spoken at several national PACE conferences. He has extensive experience negotiating, documenting and closing PACE transactions, including as part of complex capital stacks. Colin is frequently called upon to advise PACE capital providers of all kinds with respect to transactional best practices and documentation.

Colin serves on Bricker Graydon Wyatt’s public finance federal income tax support committee. In that capacity Colin advises clients on federal income tax issues related to municipal bonds.

Other significant portions of Colin’s practice include port authority common bond fund financing and the negotiation, implementation and monetization of economic development tools like tax increment financing (TIF), special assessments, community redevelopment area (CRA) abatements and new community authority charges.

Michael Lingenfelter

PACE Financing Options
Wednesday, May 6, 1:15 - 2:10 PM

Managing Director, Originations
CleanFund Commercial PACE Capital, Inc.

Michael Lingenfelter brings over 15 years of experience in clean tech banking, capital markets advisory, strategy consulting, business development, and financial operations.

At Wells Fargo, he led PACE credit policy and lender consent initiatives from the Global CleanTech Group, where he also managed the bank’s venture equity investment into CleanFund. Michael’s responsibilities extended to assessing C-PACE securitizations, coordinating with private equity and financial sponsors, and managing a $100 million P&L.

Michael’s diverse experience includes serving as VP of Business Development and Interim CFO at Wrightspeed, a Series D commercial vehicle technology startup, and leading private placement investment sponsorship and advisory services. He holds FINRA SIE, Series 63, and 82 licenses.  He also lends his time to various non-profits, including Young Professionals in Energy SF Bay Area, where he was until recently Co-President & Chairman of the Board.

Michael earned a BA, cum laude, from Tufts University, where he played collegiate soccer and was a Gibson Scholar, and an MBA from the University of California, Davis where he held fellowships in Energy & Sustainability, Leadership, and Innovation. Michael is based in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two young sons.  In his spare time, he can be found on the sports fields coaching and in the great outdoors.

Kristin Niver

PACE Players Involved and Their Roles
Wednesday, May 6, 11:55 - 12:35 PM

Counsel
Robinson & Cole LLP

Kristin E. Niver is Counsel at Robinson+Cole LLP in the New York and Washington, D.C. offices, with a focus on real estate finance and affordable housing transactions. She is a nationally recognized affordable housing finance and tax credit attorney, formerly an urban planner, working at the intersection of clean energy and affordable housing.

Kristin represents CDFI lenders, nonprofit organizations, and green banks in transactions utilizing GGRF-funded loans and grants, IRA tax credits, and other IRA direct spending sources, as such programs increasingly supplement and complement the existing affordable housing development and financing tools of which she has extensive expertise. She also counsels borrowers and developers who are the beneficiaries of the same.

Kristin has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law since 2023, and in 2024 was honored with Bisnow's DMV Women Leading Real Estate Rising Star Award.

She earned her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where she was the Howard & Irene Levine Distinguished Fellow for Affordable Housing in the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and a full-time legal extern at HUD. She holds a Master's in Urban Planning and a Master's in Social Work (concentration in affordable housing policy), both from Columbia University, and a Bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Chicago.

Glenn Silva

PACE Program Management
Wednesday, May 6, 2:10 - 3:15 PM

Chief Operating Officer/Program Administrator
Lone Star PACE

Glenn has more than 35 years of real estate industry experience. As COO of Lone Star PACE, he oversees the company’s day-to-day operations and drives marketing and growth opportunities within the cities and counties of Texas.

Glenn holds the Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) designation, is an MAI Member of the Appraisal Institute and is a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser in Texas. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Real Estate Financial Executives Association in Dallas. 

As President and owner of KLM Realty Advisors, Glenn specializes in real estate due diligence, underwriting and consulting. Since 2004, he has been engaged by B-Piece Investors of commercial mortgage-backed securities, and the KLM team has underwritten over $18.5B in loans.

Glenn received his master’s degree in Land Economics and Real Estate and a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics, both from Texas A&M University. He and his wife reside in Plano, have two daughters and are devout Aggies. 

James Vergara

PACE Financing Options
Wednesday, May 6, 1:15 - 2:10 PM

Managing Partner
FOURSun Financial Group LLC

James Vergara is the principal of FOURSun Financial Group, a capital markets advisory that assists specialty finance companies with capital raising.  Prior to FOURSun, James was chief operating and chief investment officer of Home Run Financing, a leading residential PACE lender, where he manages the underwriting, technology and servicing aspects of the business as well the company’s investor and capital markets relationships. At HRF, James managed the transition of the company from a whole loan seller to a structured finance vehicle and completed four securitizations of R-PACE assets. Prior to joining HRF, James established the SprucePACE program at Spruce Finance. James started his career as a banker and trader at large investment banks in New York, including Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank. James is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Yaki

Residential vs Commercial PACE Considerations and Case Studies
Wednesday, May 6, 3:25 - 4:55 PM

SVP and Sr. Counsel, Policy & Programs
Petros PACE Finance, LLC

Michael’s PACE law and policy expertise has driven new market creation and PACE innovations across the country. As an industry thought leader, Michael has advised legislators in both state and local governments and local program administrators on how to establish successful C-PACE programs, including advancing the basic structure of CPACE statutes and programs across the country. His most recent accomplishments include drafting the statutes and programs for the states of Washington (2020), Tennessee (2021), Nevada (2022), and Idaho (2024), and was a primary consultant/drafter for Hawaii (2023, 2024) and the CPACE amendments in Florida (2024).   A PACE veteran of 10 years, his deep knowledge of the intricacies of C-PACE law and its programs and a deft hand with deal-making has resulted in the completion of some of the largest C-PACE financings to date in the industry.