Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

John Kromer is a housing and development consultant who specializes in the design and implementation of reinvestment strategies for distressed urban communities.As the City of Philadelphia’s Director of Housing from 1992 to 2001, Kromer supervised the expenditure of more than a billion dollars in public investment in support of housing preservation and development activities that improved living conditions for thousands of Philadelphia families. The perspective gained through this experience is described in his most recent book, Fixing Broken Cities: The Implementation of Urban Development Strategies.Since 2001, Kromer has maintained an affiliation with the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government as a Senior Consultant. In this capacity, he has completed consulting projects in Camden, Allentown, Reading, York, and other postindustrial cities. At Penn, he also teaches a fall-semester course on “The Politics of Housing and Urban Development.”

Jerry W. Ford is president of Ford & Associates, Inc. a Florida based financial advisory firm. Mr. Ford founded Ford & Associates in 1998 after spending fourteen years as head of Florida public finance for a major southeastern regional bank and, subsequently, for one of the nation’s largest privately-held investment banks. His advisory practice includes K-12 education, local infrastructure and not-for-profit organizations. Since 1998, he has completed a full range of tax-exempt, taxable, and tax-credit financings totaling over $8 billion for clients from Florida to California. Ford & Associates is nationally recognized for developing negotiated issue pricing protocols designed to increase retail sales by encouraging and rewarding co-manager performance while increasing accountability. Before entering investment banking, Mr. Ford was a senior consultant with Booz, Allen, and Hamilton Applied Research, Washington, D.C. His duties included providing financial and economic analysis to military research and development programs, both U.S. and foreign. He developed financial models for funding research development and subsequent implementation of military equipment/programs. Mr. Ford’s initial employment after college was as a staff member in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, where he developed financial models and measurement systems for government programs and agencies. He is a graduate of California State University (Bachelor of Science) and received a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of South California.Mr. Ford is an active member of the Tampa community where he serves on various boards, and is involved in other church and community activities. He is a founding member of First Nesters, a charitable organization that furnishes first homes for young adults leaving foster care.

Known as an internationally recognized expert on performance auditing, an authority on governance, and a fine public speaker, Mark Funkhouser has been helping people and associations learn about leadership, auditing, and how to change the culture of government for over thirty years. Mark holds a BA in Political Science, an MSW, an MBA, and a PhD in Public Administration and Sociology. He has held a variety of positions during his forty-year career, from Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor to Assistant Professor to State and City Auditor. He is currently theMayor of Kansas City, Missouri. Mark has authored the book “Honest, Competent Government: The Promise of Performance Auditing," which shows how auditing can increase citizens’ trust in government. Mark has also authored numerous articles and essays that have been published in journals such as Public Administration Review, and in books including Public Administration: Cases in Managerial Role- Playing. In addition, Mark was the editor for Local Government Auditing Quarterly for nineyears, and has served as a reviewer for American Review of Public Administration since 1989. Mark is a regular keynote speaker for conferences and events hosted by a variety of organizations, and has been featured on many local and national broadcast media programs including ABC’s “Good Morning America,” NPR, and Fox Business Channel’s “LIVE” and“Money For Breakfast.” He’s also appeared countless times in the local and national press,including the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. In 2003 Mark was named one of Governing Magazine’s “Public Officials of the Year.”

Daniel J. Stermer joined the Miami office of DSI in 2009, bringing with him more than 20 years of private and public sector experience. Mr. Stermer has been appointed as fiduciary by both state and federal courts to liquidate a variety of businesses. In addition, he has acted as advisor to others appointed as the fiduciary, where he has managed the day to day operations of receiverships, assignment and other estates, coordinated and assisted the estates’ legal, accounting and other professionals, investigated the estates’ interest in or ownership of assets, and managed the recovery and disposition of those assets. He has also coordinated claims processes and analysis and consulted and strategized with clients regarding potential and ongoing governmental investigations and prosecutions. Among his fiduciary appointments, Mr. Stermer is the Receiver for the Hess Kennedy Receivership Estate, a matter commenced by the Florida Attorney General’s Office against a number of entities who were supposed to provide debt settlement and debt consolidation services to over 90,000 consumers across the country but did not. As Receiver, Mr. Stermer has obtained in excess of $150 million in debt forgiveness for consumers, tradeline deletions for more than 15,000 consumers, and has conducted an extensive claims procedure including more than 20,000 submitted claims providing distributions of over 30.5% to Approved Claimants.Before joining the private section, Mr. Stermer served in the Economic Crimes Litigation Unit of the Florida Attorney General’s Department of Legal Affairs, where he commenced and participated in all facets of civil enforcement pre-complaint investigations and litigation, including bankruptcy litigation, related to Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, from inception of investigation through trial. While with the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney’s office, Mr. Stermer served as Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Organized Crime Unit and as Assistant District Attorney in a federally-funded task force prosecuting high volume narcotics trafficking and related violent crime. Mr. Stermer served as a Commissioner for the City of Weston (Florida) from 2002 through 2010, leaving office due to term limits. Mr. Stermer served on and was elected Chair of the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization for four terms, rose to become the First Vice President of the Broward League of Cities, served as Chairperson of the Broward League of Cities Sustainability Committee for three years, and continues to serve on the Oversight Committee for the Implementation of the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning, Broward County, Florida. During Mr. Stermer’s terms in office, the City of Weston achieved a triple A rating from Standard and Poors and Moodys, consistently had the lowest ad valorem tax rate in Broward County, and maintained reserves in excess of $50MM. The City of Weston ranked No. 1 in the Bloomberg Businessweek Housing Survey of the nation’s largest 1,000 cities for the largest gains in home values, up 15.1%.Mr. Stermer received his Juris Doctor degree in 1988 from Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center and his Bachelor of Arts from State University of New York at Binghamton in 1984. As an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University School of Law, Mr. Stermer regularly teaches “Receivership Practice and the Inter-Relationships between the Legal, Accounting, and Business Worlds” and his professional and community involvement includes his participation in local bar associations and the Florida Fiduciary Forum.

Lancaster County Commissioner- Elected, January 2008-Present Elected by the citizens of Lancaster County to develop policies and procedures, oversee mandated services and 1,700+ employees and manage $250,000,000 budget.  Essential Involvement: Board of Commissioners (Chairman), Lancaster County Prison Board (Chairman), Lancaster County Transportation Coordinating Committee (MPO, Chairman), National Association of Counties (NACo) Justice & Public Safety Committee, County Commissioners Association of PA (CCAP) Board of Directors, Pennsylvania Republican County Commissioners Caucus (Chairman), CCAP Criminal Justice System Best Practices Committee (Chairman), CCAP Assessment & Taxation Committee, CCAP Human Services Committee, PA Commission on Crime & Delinquency Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, Governor Tom Corbett’s Local Government Advisory Committee (appointed), many other advisory boards.Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center, Director, April 1994 – April 2007Responsible for providing a safe and secure environment, maintaining the health and welfare of the residents and staff, as well as providing accountability for staff interaction, implementation of programs and policy, and ensuring serviceability of a 72-bed juvenile detention and 24-bed emergency shelter-care facility.  Essential involvement: Juvenile Detention Center Association of PA (JDCAP, Vice-President), Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency Detention Steering Committee.Contracted Security Specialist with Behavioral Interventions, Inc., May 2000 – December 2008Licensed Realtor, 1997- PresentEDUCATION Millersville University, Millersville, PA                                        B.A., Sociology/Criminal Justice;  Minor: Athletic CoachingInstitute of Real Estate Studies, Carlisle, PA Lancaster Catholic High School, Lancaster, PA HONORS Six-time winner of the County of Lancaster’s Spirit of Good Government Award, Two-time All-American football player for Millersville University, National and State High School Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, Lancaster Catholic Athletic Hall of Honor, PIAA District III Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, Millersville University Athletic Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Athletic Hall of Fame (Susquehanna Valley Chapter) 2006 & 2008 JDCAP President’s Award WinnerOTHER COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT / VOLUNTEERGene A Carpenter Football Foundation (2006-Present), Board of DirectorsDedicated to raising money to enhance scholarships and facilities for the Millersville University Football team.

During his first term he restored the city to the financial black, running budget surpluses every year and allowing the control board to terminate itself two years ahead of schedule. He brought some $40 billion dollars of investment to the city. Unprecedented capital investments and service improvements also came to some disadvantaged neighborhoods under Williams' administration.By 2001, real property values were climbing steadily and Washington D.C. was experiencing a real estate investment boom in the residential, commercial and retail markets. Congress dissolved the Financial Control Board in September 2001. In 2002 the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) named Washington, D.C. the top global and U.S. city for real estate investment. (It made the top slot again in 2003 and 2004.)Williams also alienated some lower-income residents. His first term in office was marked by the beginning of a period of gentrification throughout the city. Longtime residents complained of being priced out of their homes and neighborhoods and forced to move to neighboring Prince George's County, Maryland.[16] In addition, one of Williams' budget-trimming measures was the closure of inpatient services at D.C. General Hospital, the only public hospital in the District. The City Council voted down Williams' proposed closure in the spring of 2001, but their decision was overturned by the Control Board soon afterwards.

Mayor Moseley has a long history of civic involvement that began with being a school volunteer and continues to this day to be a strong education advocate and voice for the city.Lori Moseley has been an elected official since 1995 where she served as city commissioner from 1995 to 1999, and since 1999, she has been the Mayor of the City of Miramar. The City Of Miramar is a culturally diverse community, home to Caribbeans, Hispanics, African-Americans and Anglos. The City is not only ethnically and culturally diverse, but also economically diverse. Not only have we had to deal with the challenges of new development, but also the unique challenges of redevelopment. During her term, the City of Miramar has grown from 40,000 to over 120,000 residents. Under the Mayor’s leadership, the City of Miramar has become home to many Fortune 500 companies and schools of education of every level. Miramar prides itself on its ability to communicate and create a vision by working with the residents and all sectors of the community, by creating partnerships through shared communication and visioning. Mayor Moseley is the President of the Women’s Caucus of the US Conference of Mayors, is a member of the Advisory Board of the US Conference of Mayors and she also participated in the Mayor’s Institute on City Design in New York City through the US Conference of Mayors. Mayor Moseley serves on the Information & Technology Committee for the National League of Cities, is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Florida League of Cities, and she is also the President of the Florida League of Mayors. Mayor Moseley is also a past president of the Broward League of Cities, is currently serving as a member of the Executive Committee and as chairperson of the Advocacy Committee of the Broward League of Cities. Mayor Moseley was also chair of the Broward County Charter Review Commission. Mayor Moseley is proud of the role that she has played in making Miramar one of the nation’s safest and most desirable communities for businesses and families alike. She continues to work hard every day to let the rest of the world know what she has known for a very long time, that in Miramar, “We’re at the Center of Everything.”

Natalie Cohen is a managing director and Head of Municipal Research, a new coverage area for Wells Fargo’s Global Economics and Research group. She was previously president of National Municipal Research, Inc., an independent consulting and research  company focused on U.S. state and local government finance. Prior to National Municipal Research, she was managing director at Financial Security Assurance, a bond insurance company. She has also held positions in high yield municipal bond insurance at Enhance Financial Service Group, now Radian, and American Capital Access. In addition to bond insurance, Natalie was a vice president at Moody’s Investors Service and supervising analyst at the New York City Office of Management and Budget.Natalie is well-known for her studies and articles about municipal credit risk and bond defaults. While at Enhance Re, she authored the widely distributed “Municipal Default Patterns: a Historical Study.” She also authored and published the monthly trend letter, Fiscal Stress Monitor. The Brookings Institution published her white paper, “Business Location Decision-Making and the Cities: Bringing Companies Back.” More recently the Municipal Finance Journal published “When Market Risk becomes a Credit Factor,” an article about short-term crises. She is a member of the Municipal Analysts Group of New York and the Municipal Forum, has served on the board of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, and has been a representative to the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Committee.Natalie holds a master of public administration degree from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and a BA from Hampshire College.

In November 2004, Lois Wexler was elected to the Board of Broward County Commissioners to represent the residents of District 5. District 5 includes the entire city of Cooper City and portions of Davie, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, The Town of Southwest Ranches, Sunrise and Weston. She previously served as a member of the School Board of Broward County from 1992 to 2004. Elected Mayor by her peers on the County Commission in November of 2007, she was instrumental in the formation of the Broward County Foreclosure Prevention Blue Ribbon Panel. The 16-member Panel first convened in March 2008, and developed recommendations which were presented to the Board of County Commissioners. Her involvement currently includes membership on the Children’s Services Board, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the School Oversight Committee; she Chairs the Housing Council of Broward County and was instrumental in organizing a Youth Anti-Violence Summit. Providing for the needs of our elderly population is critical and one of the Commissioner’s priorities. To that end, she serves on the Broward Aging Alliance and spearheaded the first Broward County Elder Services Summit. “While I continue to pursue excellence in education and seamless care for children, I am committed to addressing issues relating to affordable housing, smart growth, elderly care and mental health.” In May of 2009 Commissioner Wexler was recognized as 2-1-1 Broward’s Agent of Change and in July of 2010 was named Legislator of the Year by the Broward County Council of Professional Firefighters. She has received numerous awards on behalf of her contributions to the community including the Wisdom in Action Award from Senior Volunteer Services and the Humanitarian of the Year from the Samuel M. & Helene Soref Jewish Community Center. In June of 2008 Mayor Wexler was honored with the Above and Beyond Award from the Teen Advocacy Coalition of the One Community Partnership. Broward House recognized her with their Spirit Award. The Emergency Assistance Service Effort (EASE) Foundation recognized her as their Humanitarian of the Year, 2006. The American Jewish Congress paid tribute to her as a Civic Leader of the Year by bestowing on Vice Mayor Wexler its Distinguished Civic Achievement Award. Ms. Wexler is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. Having lived in Broward County for over thirty years, Lois has seen a lot of growth and with it a lot of change. Commissioner Wexler is accessible and responsive to constituent issues and concerns. She very much appreciates the trust her constituents have placed in her and fully realizes the importance of her responsibilities and duties. She will continue to champion those issues which promote a quality lifestyle for the residents of Broward County.