Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Sam Katz is a lifelong Philadelphian who has experienced a diverse and unique career in public and project finance, venture capital, civic affairs, development, politics and now documentary filmmaking.In 1976 he joined Public Financial Management, Inc., a municipal financial advisory firm.  During his 20 years there, the firm grew from two to 200 employees with Sam serving as its Co-CEO.  While at PFM, he structured and arranged financing for major projects including the Orlando International Airport; the Los Angeles, Metro Washington and Atlanta rapid transit systems; major stadiums and arenas including the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia), Camden Yards (in Baltimore), Coors Field (Denver) and others,  and assisted several fiscally distressed cities.  Sam led PFM for nearly two decades and helped the firm build a robust national public finance practice and reputation.During the Philadelphia's major fiscal crisis in 1991, Sam ran for Mayor commencing a long term quest to win that job.  In 1999, he lost the closest election in the city’s modern history.  Following that defeat, Sam was selected as the CEO of Greater Philadelphia First a business civic group focused on regional economic, education and other policy issues.  In 2003, he again ran for Mayor in a campaign that will long be remembered for the FBI's "bug", installed in the Mayor's office, and that ultimately swamped the campaign.  He also was a candidate in the Republican primary for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1994.In 2000, Sam created a venture capital fund, Wynnefield Private Equity Partners, which invested in Philadelphia area technology companies and was a co-founder of BioAdvance, the region's leading early stage investor in biotech.  He presently serves as Board Chair of BioAdvance. In February 2011, Governor Tom Corbett appointed Sam to the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, the State board overseeing the Philadelphia’s finances.  He currently serves as Board Chair.Over the past three years, Sam and his son, Philip, have been producing a documentary film series on the history of Philadelphia entitled, “Philadelphia: The Great Experiment”.  They have also produced films on the life of Bishop Richard Allen, the life of merchant-banker Stephen Girard and the founding of the Union League and are working on several other projects.Sam has recently joined USA250, Inc. a not-for-profit established to vision, plan, collaborate and develop a national celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, which will take place in 2026 and based in the Greater Philadelphia region.Sam and Connie Katz have been married for 40 years and raised their now four grown children in the West Mt. Airy section of the city.   They are both active leaders in organizations within the Greater Philadelphia Jewish Community including Germantown Jewish Centre, American Associates of Ben Gurion University, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and Barrack Hebrew Academy.Sam is a graduate of Central High School (226th graduating class, 1967), the Johns Hopkins University (BA, 1971) and the New School for Social Research (MA, 1974).

Mr. Sullivan has over twenty years of progressive financial analysis and control background with municipalities, large corporations, and "think tank" academic research organizations.  Prior to his current position he was Director of Financial Planning for the Long Island Power Authority, which owns the electric transmission and distribution system on Long Island that delivers power to more than 1.1 million retail customers.  His responsibilities at the Authority included the administration of LIPA’s long-term financial planning, including, oversight of financial modeling and economic forecasting.  In addition Mr. Sullivan was responsible for the financial implementation of one of the most ambitious energy efficiency programs in the country.Prior to that position, he was recruited to head revenue and economic analysis for the Nassau Interim Finance Authority created by Governor George Pataki under the leadership of Frank Zarb, former Chairman of the NASD and the NASDAQ Stock Market Inc.  In this role, Mr. Sullivan instituted the development of the County’s first Four-Year Financial Plan to identify future budget shortfalls and map recurring gap closing measures to achieve structural balance.  In 1996 Mr. Sullivan was brought in to serve as the initial director to head the budget office for the newly created Nassau County Legislature, which represents 1.3 million residents.  He has also performed research for Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates.Mr. Sullivan has a Master of Arts Degree in International Economics from Fordham University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from there as well.

Girard Miller is one of the nation’s most widely read authorities on public finance and retirement systems. His weekly columns in Governing magazine educate and inform thousands of public finance professionals. He is a senior strategist at the PFM Group working as a retirement plan design and management consultant. In 2008 he was a voting member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Previously, Girard was the president of the Janus mutual funds and was Chief Operating Officer of Janus Capital Group, Inc., a global investment company with $170 billion of assets under management. Prior to that, he was the president and chief executive officer of the ICMA Retirement Corporation for ten years after heading Fidelity Investments’ public funds group. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a past fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Natwar M. Gandhi is the chief financial officer (CFO) for the District of Columbia and is responsible for the city’s finances, including its approximately $7 billion in annual operating and capital funds. He was appointed to this position on June 7, 2000, and was reappointed in January 2007. As the independent CFO, Gandhi manages the District’s financial operations, which include more than 1,000 staff members in tax and revenue administration; the treasury, comptroller and budget offices; economic/fiscal analysis and revenue estimation functions; agency financial operations; and the DC Lottery. He works closely with congressional committees and the US Office of Management and Budget staff that oversee District affairs. He also regularly interacts with the Wall Street financial community, including rating agencies, regarding the District’s financial matters.Gandhi has built on the District’s financial progress by securing multiple rating upgrades (a total of 13 rating steps since FY2000) from the major rating agencies for its general obligation bonds, which are currently rated A+ by Standard and Poor’s and Fitch Ratings and A1 by Moody’s Investors Service.  These are the highest ratings ever assigned to the District of Columbia’s general obligation bonds.  In 2009, Standard & Poor’s assigned a rating of AAA to the District’s inaugural offering of income tax revenue bonds, which were rated AA by Fitch and Aa2 by Moody’s.  Savings on debt service costs from the income tax bonds are estimated to total $28 million between FY2010 and FY2013.As CFO, Gandhi sits on the boards of the Washington Convention and Sports Authority and Destination DC.Prior to this appointment, Gandhi served as deputy chief financial officer for tax and revenue, leading an organization that administers the District of Columbia’s tax laws. When Gandhi joined the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) in 1997, the agency was in disarray. Its revenue base was shrinking, and employee morale was sinking. Under his leadership, OTR demonstrated a remarkable turnaround. Successes included collecting substantially more in tax revenue than in previous years, turning projected city deficits into huge surpluses; issuing more than 150,000 tax refunds within 15 days during the 1999 and 2000 tax-filing seasons; and establishing a new one-stop, walk-in customer service center to improve public outreach.The momentum Gandhi established at OTR has continued under his leadership as the city’s CFO. In 2002, OTR received the Federation of Tax Administrators “Award for Outstanding Technology Applications for State Administrations” for its Electronic Taxpayer Service Center.Prior to his appointment to OTR, Gandhi served as associate director of Tax Policy and Administration for the US General Accounting Office (GAO), where he managed major research projects involving tax policy relating to large financial institutions. In that capacity he worked closely with the US House Ways and Means Committee and the US Senate Finance Committee, among others, and he testified numerous times on tax and financial issues before congressional and state legislative committees. In 1991, Gandhi served as a special assistant to New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio, where he studied the state’s pension system and advised on changes in its funding.From 1973 to 1976, Gandhi was assistant professor of accounting and then coordinator of the Department of Accounting in the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Business. From 1976 until 1998, he was an adjunct professor for the MBA programs of American University, Georgetown University, and the University of Maryland.In 2007, Gandhi was named one of Governing magazine’s 2007 Public of Officials of the Year and Washingtonian magazine’s 150 most powerful public officials. He was also named one of Washingtonian magazine’s 2006 Washingtonians of the Year and was a recipient of the Association of Government Accountants’ (AGA) 2007 Distinguished Local Government Leadership Award. His other honors include The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Meritorious Leadership Award (Inaugural Recipient) and the DC Chamber of Commerce Impact Award in 2005, as well as Achievement of the Year Awards from the AGA (National chapter in 2000 and Washington, DC, chapter in 1999). He also received the President’s Award from the Greater Washington Society of CPAs in 2000, and Distinguished Service and Meritorious Service Awards from the GAO.In 2005, the National Academy of Public Administration elected Gandhi as a fellow for his “sustained exemplary contributions and continuing active commitment to the improvement of public administration.” He is also a member of the Metropolitan Club of Washington, DC.Gandhi holds a doctorate in accounting from Louisiana State University, a master’s degree in business administration from Atlanta University, and an LLB and BCom in accounting from the University of Bombay.

Gavin manages the Special Accounts Group in Wells Fargo’s Corporate Trust Services Department.  The Special Accounts Group administers the portfolio of defaulted municipal and corporate bonds in which Wells Fargo serves as trustee.  Gavin joined Wells Fargo in this capacity in 1997.A quick review of the Lucite tombstones on Gavin’s desk provides a representative sample of Gavin’s experience in bond workouts, bankruptcies and (occasional) full recoveries including:Republic of Argentina City and Province of Buenos Aires Republic of Ecuador Enron Corp. Jefferson County Kmart Corporation Las Vegas Monorail Corporation NTL Corporation Sumner Regional Health Systems TWA Airlines United Airlines Waldorf CollegePrior to his work in bond workout, Gavin practiced law in St. Paul, Minnesota where he represented clients in securities fraud, antitrust and consumer fraud class actions.Gavin has degrees from the University of Minnesota and Macalester College (go Scots!).

Bill Rhodes is Chair of the Public Finance Department at Ballard Spahr LLP, and Practice Leader of the firm’s Municipal Recovery Initiative.He represents clients in the financing of public infrastructure, transportation, economic development, and other facilities for governments, nonprofits and utilities, with an emphasis on distressed municipalities and the offering of high-yield municipal securities.� Mr. Rhodes also advises clients in the evolving landscape of municipal securities regulation and enforcement, including regulatory compliance, primary and secondary market disclosure, and enforcement actions.Mr. Rhodes is a graduate of The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University, Swarthmore College and Phillips Exeter Academy.

Patrick J. Harvey is a partner in the Litigation Department and a member of the Labor and Employment Group and the Municipal Recovery Initiative. Mr. Harvey's practice includes the defense of claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).Mr. Harvey represents employers in labor arbitration and collective bargaining in both the private and public sectors. He litigates and advises clients regarding NLRB and PLRB litigation, Heart and Lung Act litigation, police and fire disability and pension issues, and litigation involving public sector employees. He also represents municipal employers in Act 195 and Act 111 interest and grievance arbitrations. He places special focus on defending the often conflicting and confusing claims resulting when an employee simultaneously files workers' compensation, ADA, FMLA, Heart and Lung claims, and union grievances. Mr. Harvey uses his disability law background to ensure that employers are fully represented and works towards the goal of globally resolving all employment claims.Mr. Harvey also defends employers in general employment litigation matters, including claims of wrongful discharge, employment tort and contract claims, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). He litigates and advises employers on compliance with federal and state equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, and on laws in such areas as hiring and firing practices, discrimination, and sexual and other types of harassment investigations. Mr. Harvey defends employers in state courts against such claims as workers' compensation retaliation and Whistleblower Act claims.Mr. Harvey’s education: Villanova University School of Law (J.D. 1985) Villanova University (B.S. 1982)

Nancy Winkler is the Chair of the GFOA Debt Committee. She has just ended her five year term as Treasurer of the City of Philadelphia under Mayor Michael Nutter.��Prior to joining the City, she was a Managing Director at the PFM Group, managing the firm's New York office from 1998 until 2011.�Ms. Winkler worked for the PFM Group from 1982 - 2011. Named a Managing Director in 1990, she worked on a wide range of municipal market transactions and privatizations in over 20 states.�As City Treasurer, she oversaw the City’s $8.5 billion debt portfolio, including general obligation, service agreement, and revenue bonds, the Philadelphia Airport, City of Philadelphia Water department, and the Philadelphia Gas Works, and other City-related agencies. She oversaw the investment of $2.0 B of operating and bond funds, managed the City’s $1 billion derivatives portfolio and all depository banking and payments from the City Treasury. She managed the City’s rating agency relations. During her tenure, S&P has increased the City's bond ratings several times, from BBB to BBB+ in April 2012 and from BBB+ to A- in June 2013 and to A+ in December of 2013.Ms Winkler is one of the five members of the newly created City of Philadelphia Water, Sewer and Stormwater Rate Board. Ms. Winkler was the Finance Director's representative on the Philadelphia Gas Works (“PGW”) Pension Board managing $500 MM.�

Robert S. Dakers is the executive finance officer for the state of Connecticut's Office of Policy and Management (OPM). His previous work includes serving as director of municipal finance services with OPM, the emergency administrative and financial manager for the Waterbury state financial oversight board and the assistant director of the Bridgeport and West Haven state financial oversight boards. He also worked for the City of Phoenix, Arizona in its Management and Budget Department and the cities of Norwich and Norwalk in Connecticut.He graduated from Bryant University and earned a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.