Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Jon Penkower, Program Manager, oversees the Public Finance Authority�s public and private activity bond issuance programs as well as new program development. The Public Finance Authority (PFA) is a unique governmental entity established in Wisconsin with the ability to issue tax-exempt conduit bonds for public and private entities nationally. PFA is jointly sponsored by the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the Wisconsin Counties Association and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. PFA�s mission is to provide local governments and private entities access to low-cost, tax-exempt financing for projects that provide a tangible public benefit, contribute to social and economic growth and improve the overall quality of life in communities throughout the country. PFA provides a streamlined and cost effective issuance process for borrowers with standalone and multijurisdictional facilities. During the last three years, PFA has issued more than $1.3 Billion in bonds for nonprofit, housing, exempt facility and other projects located throughout 31 states.Prior to working for the Public Finance Authority, Mr. Penkower practiced as an attorney with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, LLP in the firm�s finance group, where he represented project sponsors and lenders in structuring and negotiating real estate finance transactions and tax exempt bond issuances. Mr. Penkower received a bachelor�s degree from the University of Colorado and a law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Les Richmond's role in Build America Mutual’s credit underwriting group is to evaluate the pension and other postemployment benefit plans and liabilities of the municipal entities BAM guarantees.Prior to joining BAM, he was with Hay Group, where he was a Senior Principal. His experience includes project leadership of a four-year engagement to conduct an actuarial audit of the five New York City Retirement Systems.Les currently serves as a member of the Advisory Committee of the National League of Cities’ Public Sector Retirement Initiative. The goals of this new initiative are to develop research on trends, challenges and solutions to local government retirement and healthcare, and to engage and educate city leaders on strategies to achieve greater fiscal sustainability in these areas.He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. He holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Rutgers College.

Brian Forbath is a shareholder in the law firm of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth. Mr. Forbath works exclusively in the public finance area, serving as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriter�s counsel on a variety of financings. Mr. Forbath has extensive experience in general fund, redevelopment, public utility and land-secured financings and derivative transactions. Mr. Forbath is a 1998 graduate of Loyola Law School and attended the University of California, Santa Barbara as an undergraduate, where he also completed a semester abroad at the Universidad de Valencia, Spain. Mr. Forbath has been a lecturer on federal securities laws at the National Association of Bond Lawyers Workshop in Chicago and at the California Redevelopment Association Technical Institute in Anaheim. He is a frequent lecturer for the California Debt Investment Advisory Committee on a variety of topics. He was a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers� task force on drafting Disclosure Roles of Counsel in State and Local Government Securities Offerings (3rd Edition, 2008). Mr. Forbath works out of Stradling�s Newport Beach office, but represents clients throughout the State of California.

Peter Buffa joined the Barclays public finance team in 2011 after serving more than 25 years as a policy maker with a number of Southern California transportation agencies. In addition to 12 years as a Mayor and Council Member of the City of Costa Mesa, California, Peter served 11 years as a Director and Chair of the Transportation Corridor Agencies and 5 years as a Director and Chair of the Orange County Transportation Authority.Peter served on the finance committee of each of those agencies, directing the financing of transportation improvements using both traditional and innovative public-private financing strategies, such as the SR91 Express Lanes and the Orange County Toll Roads.In 2011, Peter was named the �Public Sector Leader of the Year� by Mobility 21 for his leadership in developing the �Breaking Down Barriers� initiative at OCTA � a strategy for accelerating project funding and approvals at the federal level � major elements of which were incorporated into the 2012 Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill (MAP-21).Peter is the son of Italian immigrants, was born and raised in the Bronx and served as a United States Air Force officer after graduating from the University of Arizona and graduate work at USC.

Jason Sisney is Deputy Legislative Analyst at California�s Legislative Analyst�s Office (LAO), the nonpartisan fiscal and policy advisory office of the California Legislature. At the LAO, Jason oversees development of the office�s widely-cited California economic and budget outlooks. He is also an expert on public employee pay and benefits. Prior to joining the LAO, Jason worked for a decade as a state and local bond analyst at Fitch Ratings in New York. He also worked in the Governor�s Office of West Virginia, his native state. Jason�s degrees are from the University of Virginia and the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. �

Ila Afsharipour joined U.S. Bancorp�s Municipal Securities Group in 2010 and leads the firm�s Education and Nonprofit practice providing investment banking and capital markets advisory services to borrowers nationally. Ila has been involved in over $10 billion of tax-exempt and taxable financings, private placements, un-enhanced and unrated bonds, third-party tender option bond programs, structured trades and interest rate derivatives.Prior to joining U.S. Bancorp, Ila was a member of the Public Finance department at Banc of America Securities and the Debt Capital Markets department at Credit Suisse First Boston.Ila has served on the Board and advisory committees of several nonprofit organizations and is currently serving on the Board of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation.Ila received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Nick Boyle is a Managing Director in MUFG’s Public Finance Group. Based in the Bank’s Dallas, TX, Agency Office, Nick joined the group early in its development and has helped expand MUFG’s credit facility and lending offerings in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Tennessee.Nick has been in the municipal markets for more than 28 years. Before joining MUFG, he was a Public Finance Investment Banker with Morgan Stanley & Co. and Jefferies, Inc. Prior to then, he ran Financial Security Assurance Inc.’s Southern Marketing Office for more than 15 years. He also was a bond insurance marketing officer for the San Francisco-based Capital Guaranty Insurance Co., which was acquired by FSA.Throughout his career Nick has underwritten and structured the full breadth of municipal credits. MUFG’s Power Utility clients include Austin CUS, Houston CUS, San Antonio CPS, the Lincoln (NE) Electric System, and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, which is a 22.7% owner of two nuclear power plants currently under construction.Nick has a BA from Kenyon College and an MA from the University of Virginia, and he holds FINRA Registrations 7, 63, and 79.

Mr. Malas joined Siebert Brandford Shank in 2009 after 10 years at UBS Securities and Bank of America. Mr. Malas manages Siebert�s national transportation finance group and has served as a senior banker on over $15 billion of transportation-related financings nationally. Since joining Siebert Brandford Shank in 2009, Mr. Malas has served as the lead banker on approximately $9.4 billion of transportation financings for issuers including Los Angeles World Airports, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, San Francisco International Airport, North Texas Tollway Authority, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Michigan DOT, New York MTA, Houston Metro, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Massachusetts Port Authority, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Detroit Airport, Cleveland Airport and DFW Airport. Prior to joining Siebert Brandford Shank, Mr. Malas spent 10 years at UBS Securities and Bank of America, where he served as the lead banker on over $6.0 billion of transportation financings for issuers including San Francisco BART, Utah Transit Authority, Port of Seattle, Massachusetts Port Authority, Houston Airport System, Chicago O�Hare International Airport, St. Louis Airport and Philadelphia Airport. Mr. Malas received a B.S. from Northwestern University and a M.P.A. from Columbia University. He holds a FINRA Series 7, 52 and 63 securities registration.

Executive Director, National Association of Municipal Advisors

Michael T. Burke, senior vice president and vice dean, corporate chief financial officer, oversees the hospital and medical school�s finance departments and played an instrumental role in the transformation of the financial performance and profitability of NYU Langone Medical Center. Since joining the Medical Center in 2008, he initiated an assessment and overhaul of the institution�s existing business processes, systems, and organization. As a result of his approach, funds for capital investment have increased and the institution�s investment grade was raised by all ratings agencies.