Banco Popular de Puerto Rico is a full-service financial services provider with operations in Puerto Rico, the United States and Virgin Islands. Popular, Inc. is the largest banking institution by both assets and deposits in Puerto Rico, and in the United States Popular, Inc.
Latest NewsJoseph Plonski, Vice President, is a credit research analyst on the municipal credit research team at BlackRock, which oversees $120 billion in municipal assets. Joe is the sector lead for the education related credits. Mr. Plonski's service with the firm dates back to 1999, including his years with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM), which merged with BlackRock in 2006. At MLIM, he was responsible for tax-backed and derivative credit sector research. Mr. Plonski began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1999 as a trading assistant. Mr. Plonski earned a BA degree in finance from the College of New Jersey in 1999, and a MBA degree in finance from Rutgers University in 2005.�
Eric has been in the municipal bond field for over 30 years.� He is currently a Principal Administrative Analyst, in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, involved in Metropolitan’s large and diverse bond and swap program. ��Eric has been with Metropolitan since 1998. Prior to joining Metropolitan, Eric worked for Moody’s Investor Service, as an analyst in Moody’s municipal department.� Eric has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Lehigh University.
Chris Roberts is a Director in the Los Angeles office of Barclays Capital Inc. and leads the firm�s coverage of western region utilities.� Chris has over 22 years of municipal finance experience in providing solutions to his clients in meeting both short and long-term fiscal objectives on their new money, refunding, restructuring, cash flow and interest rate/commodity hedging transactions. He has primarily focused on public power, water and wastewater issues during his career and has assisted his clients; including Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California with gaining access to capital to fund projects to meet an ever-changing regulatory, environmental and economic landscape.Chris received a B.S. in Finance from the University of Arizona.
Harvey Zachem is a Senior Director in the Public Finance group at Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc. Harvey co-authored KBRA’s 2014 GARB Methodology, and focuses on infrastructure, transportation, tax and revenue backed debt. Harvey has over 20 years of experience in public finance and credit risk management. Prior to joining KBRA, Harvey was a Vice President and Senior Analyst at HSBC Global Asset Management, where he focused on municipal, sovereign, and sub-sovereign portfolio credits. Prior to this, he served as a Director at FGIC and as a Vice President and Senior Credit Officer at Moody’s Investors Service. Harvey has a Master’s in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan and a BA from Columbia University.
David Alvarez is a Principal Consultant in the strategic consulting group of Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global infrastructure strategic consulting, engineering and program/construction management organization. At Parsons Brinckerhoff, David supports existing and future projects as a key technical and commercial advisor taking a lead in execution of major public-private partnerships (PPPs) and other advisory assignments.�Prior to joining Parsons Brinckerhoff, David was the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (PRPPA), the first centralized PPP government agency in the US.� He was responsible for implementing PPP legislation in Puerto Rico and led the first generation of contemporary P3 projects in Puerto Rico. Under David�s leadership, the Puerto Rico P3 Authority formulated and delivered the largest and first design-build-maintain project for public schools in Puerto Rico, known as �Schools for the 21st Century�. David was also responsible for managing the process that led to the financial close of the long-term concession of toll roads PR-22 and PR-5 and the long-term lease of the Luis Mu�oz Mar�n International Airport under the FAA�s Airport Privatization Pilot Program.Prior to the P3 Authority, David served as a Senior Advisor to the President at the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico and also held various positions within Santander Bank in Puerto Rico.David received a Master of Science degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Affairs from West Virginia University.
J. Douglas Koelemay was appointed Director of the Virginia Office of Public Private Partnerships (VAP3) in January 2014. He previously advised Virginia technology companies on government relations, policy development and change management; served abroad as Foreign Service Officer; and worked as a Congressional assistant. In 1993 Koelemay edited “Financing the Future: Report of the Commission to Promote Investment in America’s Infrastructure,” a charge of the 1991 federal ISTEA legislation, which sparked adoption of TIFIA, private activity bonds and other alternate financing tools. He also has served on Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board and on Fairfax County’s Tysons Corner Task Force.
As Director of the Office of Innovative Project Delivery, Jodie Misiak guides the Department�s P3 and other innovative project delivery initiatives, including all stages of project development, solicitation, and delivery. She has been MDOT�s point person for recent statewide efforts to strengthen and clarify P3 policies and processes, including the P3 Commission in 2011 and the P3 law that was enacted in 2013. Prior to joining MDOT, she has held positions in the Economics and Business Solutions Group at Halcrow and in the Municipal Securities Group at UBS, specializing in transportation and P3s. She holds a bachelor�s degree in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University and dual master�s degrees in City Planning and Transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Vincent Casey is a partner in the firm�s Project Finance practice group with extensive experience in public private partnerships, and other project financings and complex financial transactions. He represents sponsors (contractors and infrastructure funds), lenders and underwriters in connection with the financing and development of infrastructure projects.He has played a lead role in energy and infrastructure project financings involving bank lending, tax-exempt bonds, wraps from financial guarantors, the sale of deferred payment certificates and swaps.Vincent has significant experience on P3 transactions throughout the country and has helped clients in their bids for a large number of projects, many of those to financial close. Some recent engagements include representations of various parties in connection with the Purple Line Project, I-4 Ultimate Project, SH 288, LaGuardia Central Terminal, SH 183, Presidio Parkway, Denver North, Route 460, Midtown Tunnel, Denver FasTracks, Long Beach Courthouse, and SH 130 Toll Road, some of which have been named �deals of the year� by Project Finance Magazine, Euromoney, The Banker, Project Finance International, and other publications.Vincent earned a J.D., cum laude, from Tulane University Law School and a B.A. from Columbia University.
Sara Brown has worked in municipal finance since 1996, beginning her career as a policy analyst and lobbyist in Washington DC first for Public Securities Association (PSA, the predecessor to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) and then for the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies (NALHFA). She moved into investment banking in 1997, focusing mainly on cities, counties and special districts in California. Ms. Brown joined Stone & Youngberg (which was later acquired by Stifel) in 2000, serving as investment banker to agencies throughout the State of California and other western U.S. states. Her assignments while at Stone & Youngberg/Stifel have covered a range of financing structures available to municipalities, however she has particular expertise in tax increment, land-secured (community facilities district, assessment district and public improvement district), water and wastewater enterprise and general fund financings. Since joining the firm, she has been actively involved in bringing to market more than 240 successful California financings totaling nearly $5 billion. Included in this total are development/redevelopment financings for the California Cities of Santa Monica, Irvine, Tustin, Malibu, Camarillo, Burbank, Fontana and Riverside, as well as the Counties of Santa Cruz, San Bernardino and Riverside (among others). She was the lead banker on the first (and, to date, only) land-secured community facilities district financing within the State of Hawaii. Ms. Brown graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Applied Statistics. She received a master’s degree in Public Sector Financial Management from the University of Maryland.
As a member of the Tax-Exempt Municipal Team located in Orlando, Fla., Andreson leads a credit team that focuses on credit research and investment strategy for a group of tax-free municipal bond funds and separately managed accounts.� He is responsible for sector and security recommendations that add value to the overall portfolio management process. Previously, Scott was a Senior Vice President and the Head of Municipal Bond Research for The Hartford�s Investment Management Company�s Municipal Group, and other positions included a First Vice President at Ambac, a Senior Securities Analyst for RiverSource Investments at Ameriprise Financial, and a Director in Fitch Ratings� Global Power Group, based in Fitch�s San Francisco�s officeScott has more than 20 years of credit experience and has published and spoken on industry and investments relevant to municipal securities. He earned a Bachelor of Science from North Dakota State University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He is a current board member of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts.






