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Janice Arrington   Film Commissioner   ORANGE COUNTY FILM COMMISSION   Janice Arrington has been California’s Orange County Film Commissioner for 10 years. Prior to becoming Film Commissioner, she was chosen in 1990 for the Directors Guild/Producers Alliance training program. After working two years in this program at the major film studios, she joined the Directors Guild of America. ... [ Read More ]

Jake Bayham   Program Manager   CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES / U.S. COMMUNITIES   Jake Bayham, Program Manager, joined the California Statewide Communities Development Authority (the "Authority") in 2009. Mr. Bayham participates in various finance programs for the Authority which includes industrial development bonds, 501(c)(3) bonds, multifamily housing bonds, and various municipal programs. Mr. Bayham is also a Program Manager for the ... [ Read More ]

Keith H. Black CAIA   Associate Director of Curriculum   CHARTERED ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT ANALYST ASSOCIATION - CAIA   Keith Black has over twenty years of financial market experience, serving approximately half of that time as an academic at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the other half as a trader and consultant to institutional investors. He currently serves as Associate Director of Curriculum for the Chartered Alternative ... [ Read More ]

Dale E. Bonner   Former Secretary of the Business, Transportation & Housing Agency   STATE OF CALIFORNIA   Secretary Dale E. Bonner returned to public service in March 2007, when he appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Bonner previously served in the public sector as deputy secretary and general counsel for BT&H from 1996 to 1998. From 1998 to 1999, he ... [ Read More ]

Natalie R. Brill   Chief of Debt Management   CITY OF LOS ANGELES   Natalie Brill has served as the Chief of Debt Management in the Office of the City Administrative Officer, City of Los Angeles, since 2000. Ms. Brill manages a $6.3 billion debt portfolio, consisting of general obligation bonds, judgment obligation bonds, lease obligations with the Los Angeles Convention and Exhibition Center ... [ Read More ]

John R. Cavalieri   Executive Vice President   PIMCO   Mr. Cavalieri is an executive vice president and product manager in the Newport Beach office, overseeing PIMCO's asset allocation products. He also serves as a member of the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Advisory Committee. Previously, he was a product manager on PIMCO's real return team. Prior to joining PIMCO in ... [ Read More ]

Dennis Coleman   Finance Director/Treasurer   CITY OF SOLANA BEACH (CA)   Dennis M. Coleman has 28 years of municipal finance experience with over 21 years of finance and accounting experience in redevelopment. He has coordinated 25 bond issues totaling over $415 million. Mr. Coleman is the Finance Director/Treasurer for the City of Solana Beach. He has held this position since August ... [ Read More ]

David Crane   Former Special Advisor to the Governor for Jobs and Economic Growth   STATE OF CALIFORNIA   David Crane is a lecturer at Stanford University and serves on the boards of Building America’s Future, the California High Speed Rail Authority, the Carla & David Crane Foundation, the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco and the Regents of the University of California. From 2004-2010 he served as special ... [ Read More ]

Keith Curry   Council Member   CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH   Keith D. Curry is a Managing Director of Public Financial Management and manages the firm’s Newport Beach office. Since 1987, Mr. Curry has assisted state and local governments in the issuance of over $14 billion in various types of debt instruments. He currently directs PFM Environmental Finance. PFM Environmental Finance is ... [ Read More ]

John Decker   Fiscal Advisor to State Treasurer Bill Lockyer   CALIFORNIA STATE TREASURER’S OFFICE   John Decker is fiscal advisor to State Treasurer Bill Lockyer. The University of California published his book on the state budget, “California in the Balance: Why Budgets Matter a year ago. He also teaches public budgeting at UC-Berkeley’s graduate school of public policy. Prior to working ... [ Read More ]

Joseph S. Fichera   Senior Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer   SABER PARTNERS, LLC   Joseph S. Fichera is one of the founders and current CEO of Saber Partners, LLC ( www.saberpartners.com ), and is a Senior Advisor to The Williams Capital Group, L.P. Saber Partners, LLC, is an issuer-side financial advisory firm that provides senior-level strategic services for private and public sector clients, ... [ Read More ]

John Filan   Vice President   DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS, INC   John Filan is a Vice President with Development Specialists, Inc. (“DSI”), concentrating in both the public and nonprofit sectors. For more than 30 years DSI has provided financial advisory, turnaround, forensic and litigation services. The firm is based in Chicago with offices throughout the U.S. and in Europe. Prior ... [ Read More ]

Steven B. Frates   President, CENTER FOR GOVERNMENT ANALYSIS, Director of Research   DAVENPORT INSTITUTE AT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY   Steven B. Frates is the author of over 50 studies and reports on state and local government finance and public policy issues. His research has addressed areas ranging from public education system finances to municipal government expenditure patterns. He is often quoted in the media and has written columns for ... [ Read More ]

Michael Genest   Founder, CAPITOL MATRIX CONSULTING, former Director of Finance   STATE OF CALIFORNIA   Michael Genest opened Capitol Matrix Consulting in January of 2010 to provide advice, analysis and advocacy on fiscal and policy issues affecting state and local government. Prior to going into private practice, Mr. Genest served for four years as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's chief financial policy advisor in his role as ... [ Read More ]

Michael Hammons   Partner   SAIL VENTURE PARTNERS   Mike infuses nearly 20 years of senior leadership experience into building operational value for SAIL's portfolio companies. He has diverse domestic and international experience across multiple verticals such as telecommunications, energy, automotive, aerospace and defense, data storage, enterprise software, and electronic hardware. His diverse background has spanned the gamut of ... [ Read More ]

Stanton Hazelroth   Executive Director   CALIFORNIA INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK   Stanton C. Hazelroth is the first Executive Director of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank), a financing entity housed within the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. In this capacity, Mr. Hazelroth manages and directs the Infrastructure Bank's day-to-day operations and affairs. He also serves as the I-Bank's ... [ Read More ]

Eric Hoffmann   Senior Vice President   MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE   Eric Hoffmann is the head of Moody's California Local Government Ratings Team, primarily covering city, county, and school district ratings in the state. He is a senior member of Moody's Rating Committee and a member of the firm's Public Finance Credit Policy Committee. Prior to joining Moody's in 1993, Eric ... [ Read More ]

Hank Kim   Executive Director and Counsel   NCPERS   Hank H. Kim is Executive Director and Counsel for the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, the largest public pension trade association in the United States. Prior to joining NCPERS, Hank served for six years as a governmental affairs representative for the International Association of Fire Fighters, working on firefighter ... [ Read More ]

Andrew Kingman   Chief Financial Officer   POSEIDON RESOURCES CORPORATION   Andrew Kingman is the Chief Financial Officer for Poseidon Water LLC. Mr. Kingman has over 20 years of experience in the development, construction, management and financing of major industrial and infrastructure capital projects. Mr. Kingman has overall responsibility for the company's fund raising, investor relations, contract negotiations and project ... [ Read More ]

Jed Kolko   Associate Director and Research Fellow   PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE OF CALIFORNIA   Jed Kolko is Associate Director of Research and Research Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a non-profit, non-partisan research foundation. At PPIC, Jed has written numerous reports on the California economy, economic development, housing, and technology policy. He advises policymakers in California and Washington, DC, on a ... [ Read More ]

Larry Kosmont CRE   President & CEO   KOSMONT COMPANIES   Mr. Larry J. Kosmont, CRE, is the President and CEO of Kosmont Companies, which he founded in 1986. He is Managing Partner of Renaissance Community Fund, which invests and develops mixed use, residential and commercial projects throughout California. In 2009, Mr. Kosmont created the Kosmont Muni Horizons Funds, a proprietary ... [ Read More ]

Richard Little   Director   KESTON INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC FINANCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY   Richard G. Little is a Senior Fellow in the School of Policy Planning and Development and Director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the University of Southern California. Mr. Little teaches, consults, and develops policy studies aimed at informing the discussion of infrastructure financing issues ... [ Read More ]

Brian Mayhew   Chief Financial Officer   BAY AREA TOLL AUTHORITY   Brian Mayhew joined the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) as Chief Financial Officer in October 1999. As CFO, Mr. Mayhew manages all accounting, treasury, and financial functions, including debt issuance and management for MTC, MTC Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways (SAFE), the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and the Bay ... [ Read More ]

Todd Mitchell   Group Manager, Tax Exempt Bonds Group   INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE   Todd Mitchell is a Supervisory Tax Law Specialist with the Internal Revenue Service Tax Exempt Bonds division. As a member of the management team in TEB Compliance and Program Management, Mr. Mitchell is involved in the IRS’s voluntary compliance, taxpayer assistance, and compliance analysis and review programs within TEB. ... [ Read More ]

Abel Mojica   Head of Corporate Development   TORTOISE CAPITAL ADVISORS   Abel Mojica joined Tortoise Capital Advisors in 2005 and in 2008 was named Head of Corporate Development. Mr. Mojica played a key role in the development and investing of Tortoise Capital Resources Corp., the company's publicly traded private equity fund. He brings more than 13 years of experience, ... [ Read More ]

Joe Nation   Professor of the Practice of Public Policy   STANFORD UNIVERSITY   Joe Nation is a Professor of the Practice of Public Policy at Stanford University. He directs the graduate student Practicum in public policy and teaches policy courses on climate change, health care, and California state issues. He is also a Principal at his own consulting firm, where his ... [ Read More ]

Rene Nunez   Former Chairman   TEXAS PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND   Rene Nunez is a former chairman of the Texas Permanent School Fund. As part of the Texas Education Agency, the Permanent School Fund is a twenty-six billion dollar educational endowment for the State of Texas. Mr. Nunez served as an elected member of the SBOE Board for 22 years. Rene Nunez ... [ Read More ]

Mark Pisano   Senior Fellow   UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, SCHOOL OF POLICY, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT   Mark Pisano is a senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development. For 31 years, he served as executive director of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the nation's largest regional planning agency. The association consists of a voluntary group of local governments that focuses on ... [ Read More ]

Lori Raineri   President   GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL STRATEGIES INC.   Lori Raineri is a Certified Independent Public Finance Advisor and serves on the Board of the National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors, and is also a Certified Fraud Examiner. Lori has developed long-range capital financing plans for hundreds of California public agencies and is well known for her ability ... [ Read More ]

Richard F. Reiner   President   SHOOTING STAR PICTURES   Richard F. Reiner, an established entertainment executive and lawyer, founded Shooting Star Pictures twenty years ago. He is currently Managing Director of that Company. His company specializes in structuring and implementing sound strategies for long term investment in motion pictures distributed by major studios as ... [ Read More ]

Bruce J. Richards   CEO & President   MARATHON ASSET MANAGEMENT   Bruce Richards is the CEO and Managing Partner of Marathon Asset Management. Founded in 1998, Marathon is a credit-based investment manager focused on opportunistic investing in the corporate and structured credit markets globally, including high-yield, distressed and situational opportunities. With offices in New York, London and Singapore, Marathon invests in ... [ Read More ]

Jean Ross   Executive Director   CALIFORNIA BUDGET PROJECT   Jean Ross joined the California Budget Project (CBP) as its first executive director in 1995. The CBP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established to promote a better understanding of state fiscal and economic policy issues and their impact on low and middle income Californians. Her prior professional experience includes serving ... [ Read More ]

Deborah Ruane   Vice President, Real Estate Department   SAN DIEGO HOUSING COMMISSION   Deborah Ruane has been in the Real Estate and Financial markets for over 20 years, focusing on affordable housing finance and development exclusively over the past 15 years. Her employment history includes six years at Bank of America’s Community Development Banking Group where she provided loans to the for-profit ... [ Read More ]

Morris Ruskin   CEO   SHORELINE ENTERTAINMENT   Over the course of producing over forty-five films, Morris Ruskin has structured deals that incorporate deferments, soft money and international co-productions in order to create financially-viable motion pictures. These productions focus on bankable genre content and star-driven projects that can secure success in a sometimes-uneven marketplace. Amongst such productions are ... [ Read More ]

Lois Scott   President   SCOTT BALICE STRATEGIES, LLC   Lois Scott is co-founder and President of Scott Balice Strategies, LLC, one of the largest financial advisory firms in the Midwest. The firm specializes in managing the capital funding process for leading government, nonprofit and corporate clients throughout the country. It consistently ranks as the top firm in ... [ Read More ]

Steven G. Shaw JD, MBA, PhD, CFP   Former Vice Chairman - Board of Trustees   DALLAS POLICE & FIRE PENSION SYSTEM   Steven Shaw has served as the Vice-Chairman of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System since 1999. In that capacity he also chairs the Actuarial Valuation Committee and serves on the Investment Advisory Committee. He sits as a fiduciary over $3b in assets, including over $1b in direct ... [ Read More ]

Michael A. Shires   Associate Professor   PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY   Michael Shires is an associate professor of public policy. He previously was a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California and a doctoral fellow at RAND's Graduate School of Policy Studies, concentrating on domestic education policy, California fiscal policy, and international trade policy. His works in higher education include: ... [ Read More ]

Sean L. Spear   Executive Director   CALIFORNIA DEBT LIMIT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE   Sean L. Spear is currently the Executive Director of the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) for the California State Treasurer's Office, which administers the private activity bond program for California. Each year, CDLAC distributes this allocation to privately-controlled projects and programs with a public purpose under six ... [ Read More ]

Robert M. Stern   President   CENTER FOR GOVERNMENTAL STUDIES   Bob Stern is President of the Center for Governmental Studies, which was recently named by Campaigns & Elections Magazine one of California's leading "political influencers." Peter Schrag in the Sacramento Bee called him: "the godfather of modern political reform in California." He began drafting and analyzing political reform laws as ... [ Read More ]

John P. Stoecker   Financial Advisor   CALIFORNIA MUNICIPAL FINANCE AUTHORITY   Financial Advisor John Stoecker serves as a Financial Advisor to the California Municipal Finance Authority, assisting borrowers with qualified projects to facilitate taxable and tax-exempt bond financings throughout the state of California. His previous experience includes providing tax-exempt Financial Advisory services to borrowers in over 30 states. Mr. Stoecker ... [ Read More ]

Gail Sussman   Managing Director – U.S. Public Finance   MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE   Gail Sussman is the Managing Director for US Public Finance at Moody’s Investors Service. In that role, she is responsible for all aspects of rating analytics and research in the public finance sectors including states and local governments, health care, housing, higher education and municipal supported products. Gail has been ... [ Read More ]

Brian G. Thomas   Former Assistant General Manager & Chief Financial Officer   METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA   Brian Thomas is the Assistant General Manager/Chief Financial Officer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. He manages all of Metropolitan's financial programs, including financial and capital planning, risk management, investments, debt management, the annual budget, and accounting operations and reporting. He is also responsible for developing ... [ Read More ]

Damon Vickers   Author   THE DAY AFTER THE DOLLAR CRASHES: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR THE RISE OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER   Market pundits may not always agree with money manager and media personality Damon Vickers but they'll know where he stands. Mr. Vickers has a 25-year track record of articulating investment themes with striking clarity and then holding his ground as the daily barrage of market noise forces others to falter. ... [ Read More ]

Karyn L. Williams   Managing Director & Principal   WILSHIRE ASSOCIATES INCORPORATED   Karyn Williams is a Managing Director at Wilshire Associates Incorporated, a leading global investment technology, investment consulting and investment management firm with four distinct business units including Wilshire Analytics, Wilshire Consulting, Wilshire Funds Management and Wilshire Private Markets. Dr. Williams joined Wilshire in 2001 and provides investment consulting services to corporate ... [ Read More ]

Frank V. Zerunyan JD   Adjunct Associate Professor   UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, SCHOOL OF POLICY, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT   Frank Vram Zerunyan, his wife Jody, children Daniel (20-USC Class of 2012) and Nicole (17-UW Class of 2014) are long time residents of the City of Rolling Hills Estates, California. Frank�s career demonstrates distinguished service in both the public and private sectors; Frank is a founder, principal and general counsel ... [ Read More ]

Steven Zimmermann   Managing Director   STANDARD & POOR'S   Steven Zimmermann is the Managing Director of Standard & Poor's Western Regional office in San Francisco, and has over 25 years experience in finance, including senior positions at Standard & Poor’s and a major investment-banking firm. The Standard & Poor’s Western Regional Office is responsible for ratings in 13 ... [ Read More ]