Arlene Bohner
The Partners Involved
Wednesday August 9 2:00 - 3:45 PM
Managing Director
Fitch Ratings
Arlene Bohner is Head of Fitch’s U.S. Public Finance department. In this role, she leads an experienced, national team responsible for analytical coverage of a wide range of municipal market issuers, including state and local governments, hospitals and life plan communities, higher education and nonprofit institutions, public power and water & sewer utilities, as well as community development & social lending institutions. In addition to assigning and maintaining credit ratings, the group is responsible for research and commentary across these sectors, as well as criteria development.
Arlene joined Fitch in 2010. Prior to joining Fitch, Arlene was a principal at a consulting firm providing credit-related services to commercial banks, rating agencies and bond insurers. She also served as vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s Investors Service, covering tax-supported and revenue-supported credits in the Great Lakes and Northeast regions.
Arlene is based in New York City. Her experience includes presentations at industry events and interviews with top tier television and print media outlets.
Arlene received a B.A. in Political Science from Villanova University and a Master of Governmental Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government. She is a member of the Board of Northeast Women in Public Finance, a member of the Board of Governors of the Municipal Forum of New York and is also a member of the Municipal Analysts Group of New York, Women in Public Finance, the National Federation of Municipal Analysts and the Society of Municipal Analysts.
Caitlyn Burchfield
The Basics of Bond Finance
Wednesday August 9 1:00 - 1:45 PM
Partner
Butler Snow LLP
Caitlyn Burchfield is an attorney with Butler Snow LLP, which she joined in September 2014. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the Honors program at the University of Alabama, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Cardinal Key, and the Chi Omega fraternity, and is a 2014 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law, where she was Managing Editor of the Law & Psychology Review. She works in the Public Finance Group of Butler Snow. Caitlyn is admitted to the State Bars of Alabama and Mississippi, the U.S. District Courts for all Districts of Alabama and Mississippi, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Caitlyn has experience with various types of tax-exempt and taxable debt, including direct bank placements and public market offerings, general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, bond anticipation notes, tax anticipation warrants, special assessment revenue bonds, tax increment bonds, USDA financings, and refundings of prior issuances. Caitlyn’s representative projects include developments in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, New Hampshire, Texas, Massachusetts, and California. She is a member of the American Bar Association and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Caitlyn’s work has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® as “One to Watch” in both Public Finance and Real Estate law for three consecutive years (2021 - 2023). In Fall 2021, she was recognized in the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2021 NextGen: Law, which honors up-and-coming individuals in the legal world who are under the age of 40. She is active in a wide range of community organizations, most recently having served as the Executive Vice President of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham from 2020-2021.
Michael Busada
Closing the Deal
Thursday August 10 3:45 - 5:00 PM
Senior Counsel
Butler Snow LLP
Mike practices within the Public Finance, Tax Incentives, and Credit Markets Group. Mike’s approach to public finance places an emphasis on utilizing all available revenue streams to minimize project costs. Mike has extensive experience representing clients as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, and disclosure counsel on a wide range of transactions. Additionally, he advises numerous economic development agencies, 501c3 organizations, private developers, and some of the nation’s largest and most recognizable private companies on project financing, utilizing various traditional and alternative funding streams. In 2010, Mike was instrumental in working with the Louisiana legislature to amend the state’s Payment In Lieu of Taxes economic development law to provide more security to local governmental bodies. In 2022, Mike wrote the law establishing Louisiana’s mega-site economic development program. Mike serves as the Chair of the National Association of Bonds Lawyers’ Governmental Affairs Committee. He is also a member of the Louisiana Committee of 100 for Economic Development. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards appointed Mike to the Resilient Louisiana Commission’s Economic and Community Development Task Force. As a task force member, he advocated for the expanded use of tax-exempt and taxable direct pay bond financing to aid in the economic recovery. Mike is a frequent speaker on the subject of public finance and economic development.
Seth Crone
Closing the Deal
Thursday August 10 3:45 - 5:00 PM
Senior 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.
Sisera Daniel
The Partners Involved
Wednesday August 9 2:00 - 3:45 PM
Partner
Kutak Rock LLP
Sisera Daniel is a partner and Chair of the Public Finance Department in the Washington, D.C. office. She counsels governmental entities, financial institutions and non-profit organizations on housing and other public finance transactions. Sisera routinely advises state and local housing finance agencies on single family and multifamily transaction structures’ compliance with relevant federal, state and local securities, tax and other laws. She also represents state and local issuers, and, on occasion developers, on economic development, industrial development, non-profit, and higher education transaction structures.
Gregory Jordan
The Partners Involved
Wednesday August 9 2:00 - 3:45 PM
Managing Director
U.S. Bank
Greg is a Managing Director and Business Development Officer with the U.S. Bank’s Global Corporate Trust Department based in Richmond, Virginia. He is responsible for cultivating new business in corporate, municipal and federal sectors, offering trust services for various complex debt financings, merger and acquisition transactions and litigation settlements. He is also responsible for implementing and overseeing strategic initiatives with law firms, financial advisors and private equity companies throughout the mid-atlantic region.
Greg attended Richard Bland College of William & Mary and received the Certified Corporate Trust Specialist designation from Cannon Financial. He has served on the business council for The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and a board member of local not-for-profit organizations. Greg has been actively involved in humanitarian and missions efforts in Niger, Africa for more than 10 years.
Lauren Mack
Issuing Bonds - The Rules
Thursday August 10 12:15 - 2:00 PM
Attorney
Law Office of Lauren Mack, P.C.
Lauren has over 30 years of experience in financing (tax-exempt, taxable and public-private partnerships), federal tax, non-profit organizations, health care, corporate, and governance matters. She works with clients to provide practical solutions to their real-world problems. Lauren has been involved in a wide range of public financing transactions, serving as bond counsel and issuer’s counsel, as well as advising borrowers (including health care organizations, cultural institutions, schools and universities, and Indian tribal governments), underwriters, and banks (as direct lenders, liquidity providers and letter of credit providers) on tax and other matters. She advises clients with respect to transaction structuring, as well as post-closing covenant and tax compliance. She also represents clients before the IRS in connection with audits, closing agreements under the IRS’ Voluntary Compliance Program, and private letter rulings. Lauren also advises clients on corporate transactional and financing matters, including issuance of public and privately placed debt, use of special purpose vehicles, public-private partnerships and other joint ventures, and corporate acquisitions and dispositions. Her representative clients include corporations, municipal entities, commercial lenders, and credit enhancers. She works with the client’s financial team on transaction structure, due diligence, documentation, continuing disclosure, and post-closing covenant compliance. Lauren received her J.D. from Duke University School of Law, graduating with distinction. She received her B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame.
Mark Miller
The Partners Involved
Wednesday August 9 2:00 - 3:45 PM
Managing Director
KeyBanc Capital Markets
Mark Miller has been a member of the public finance community for over 35 years. Mark hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and graduated from Penn State University in 1982, majoring in Finance with an emphasis in Management Information Systems. Mark started his professional career in the private sector at Marathon Oil Company as a data analyst and electronic data processing auditor. Mark’s introduction to public finance began when he brought his internal audit and data analytics skills to National City Corporation in 1987. Mark rose to become a Vice President and Manager of Corporate Trust Administration. Mark’s public finance banking career expanded at Pryor McClendon Counts & Company, now Rice Financial Products Company, where from 1998 to 2010 he worked on financings across the county. Mark later moved to PNC Capital Markets where he led the firm’s Ohio practice which included covering Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan. In addition to marketing and executing transactions, his responsibilities included leading the team of licensed financial professionals, hiring additional staff, training, and ensuring adherence to internal and external compliance procedures and regulations. In 2016, Mark joined Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors (successor firm to H.J. Umbaugh & Associates) as the team leader for the Ohio practice. Mark was instrumental in developing strategic business plans, providing municipal advisory services to a number of high-profile clients, and supporting the firm’s large issuer group. In 2021, Mark accepted the position of Managing Director with KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. as Head of the Public Sector/Public Finance Central Office where he is focused on compliance, legal, back-office operations, and other matters related to the firm’s public finance practice.
Toby Rittner
Why Bond Financing?
Wednesday August 9 12:15 - 1:00 PM
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 entities. Members are state, county and municipal development finance agencies and authorities that provide or otherwise support economic development financing programs. Mr. Rittner runs the day-to-day operations of the Council including the organization’s various educational, advocacy, research, resources and networking initiatives.
Rittner is one of the most vocal and recognized leaders of the development finance industry nationwide and has advised state and federal government leaders, including President Biden and President Obama’s Administration Transition Teams, 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.
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 both 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 teaching planning and finance for sustainable economic development. He is also a Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) and has completed the prestigious Oxford University Sustainable Finance Foundation Course.
Prior to joining CDFA, Mr. Rittner was the Director of Legislative Affairs for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Mr. Rittner has also worked for the Franklin County, Ohio Board of Commissioners and the City of Gahanna, Ohio. 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.
Austin Root
Structuring the Deal
Thursday August 10 2:15 - 3:30 PM
Associate
Ice Miller LLP
Austin Root is an associate in Ice Miller’s Municipal Finance Group. He acts as bond counsel and disclosure counsel to governmental entities throughout the State of Illinois including school districts, cities, villages, counties, park districts and special districts and as underwriters counsel to various municipal bond underwriters.
Cheri Scott-Geraci
Issuing Bonds - The Rules
Thursday August 10 12:15 - 2:00 PM
Vice President,
Senior Relationship Manager
Huntington National Bank
40+ year veteran of the industry, Cheri started her career in Corporate Trust at The First National Bank of Cincinnati, worked for JPMorgan Chase and has been with Huntington National Bank for 22 years. Cheri has administered all types of issuances during her career. Cheri currently administers, taxable and tax-exempt Industrial and Building Revenue Bond, Bond Fund Program bonds, Economic Revenue Bonds, Variable Rate Bonds, TIF Financings, PACE Financings and Special Obligation Revenue Bonds.
Mitchell Smith
Welcome & Overview
Wednesday August 9 12:00 - 12:15 PM
Senior Director, Government & External Affairs
Council of Development Finance Agencies
Mitchell Smith is the Senior Director of Government and External Affairs at the Council of Development Finance Agencies. Previously, Mitchell worked for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission on the education research team and served as the committee staffer for the House of Representatives Primary and Secondary Education Committee. There, Mitchell drafted legislation and completed legal research on behalf of the Ohio General Assembly.
A native of Bentonville, Arkansas, Mitchell attended the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville, where he received his B.A. in American Studies and Political Science in 2009 and was a punter for the Razorbacks. He went on to complete his M.A. in American History and then relocated to Ohio University to complete a Ph.D. in American History. His specialization is in American diplomatic history, politics, and culture.
Andy Struckhoff
Structuring the Deal
Thursday August 10 2:15 - 3:30 PM
President
PGAV Planners, LLC
Andy Struckhoff brings to PGAV a variety of skills in economic and community development. Andy’s professional career includes both public and private sector experience. Andy has led underwriting activities analyzing potential acquisitions, tax increment financing planning activities including composing redevelopment plans and cost/benefit analyses, business retention and recruitment projects, undertook return analysis activities and also performed a variety of demographic analyses. Andy works with communities to develop solutions regarding open space, neighborhood, downtown planning, and public financing. His breadth of experience allows him to engage in projects as varied as land use policy, fiscal impact analyses, and market analyses. He also works with communities to develop effective policies and guidelines for using public incentives to attract private development.
Lynda Templen
Types of Tax-Exempt Bonds
Wednesday August 9 4:00 - 5:00 PM
Senior Counsel
Husch Blackwell LLP
Lynda focuses her practice on public finance. She has extensive bond/tax experience with a variety of industrial revenue bond structures, including variable and fixed-rate taxexempt bonds, taxable convertible bonds ("Cinderella bonds") and taxable notes.
Lynda is skilled at finding ways to reduce costs for clients in bond financings. She has notable experience assisting growing companies in identifying and securing local and state incentives that can help bridge the "equity gap" that often proves a challenge for such clients.
She has significant experience with both tax-exempt and taxable lease revenue bond structures and TIF financings. She is the lead attorney for numerous general obligation bond issues, as well as municipal and school district bond counsel engagements. Her experience in this area includes Recovery Zone Facility Bonds (RZFBs), Midwestern Disaster Area Bonds (MDABs) and other long-term financings, Revenue Anticipation Notes, Bond Anticipation Notes and Tax & Revenue Anticipation Notes, refundings and lease financing.
Lynda worked extensively with the Wisconsin Department of Commerce (now Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) to develop the regulations and procedures to implement RZFBs and MDABs in Wisconsin. She has been lead counsel on hundreds of bond transactions in several states totaling billions of dollars. She speaksfrequently at seminars on a variety of public finance issues and is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers.
Rodney Wendt
The Partners Involved
Wednesday August 9 2:00 - 3:45 PM
Executive Director
Washington Economic Development Finance Authority
Rodney Wendt has served as WEDFA’s Executive Director since 2007. He has been involved in public finance transactions for over 25 years, including many years as a public finance attorney in private practice prior to joining WEDFA. His greatest passion at WEDFA is bringing the public finance toolbox to innovation-promoting economic development projects, including research institutions and projects that create value from streams of waste products. He has helped WEDFA finance many critical economic development projects in Washington State, without using the State’s taxes or other funds. Rodney has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and law degree from the University of Michigan.