Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Mollie Foust is a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab, which provides pro-bono technical assistance to state and local governments. In her current role, Mollie is embedded in the IL Governor’s Office and offers her expertise to the State as they consider utilizing Pay for Success contracts (also known as Social Impact Bonds) in new contexts. She holds a Masters in Public Administration from the London School of Economics.

Ajay Thomas is a Managing Director and Head of U.S. Public Finance in William Blair & Company’s Debt Capital Markets Division. Mr. Thomas joined William Blair in 2014. Prior to joining William Blair, Mr. Thomas worked with Morgan Stanley, Raymond James and Robert W. Baird as a senior banker within their municipal departments managing investment banking groups in the Southwest United States.Ajay has over 15 years in public finance experience and has significant transaction experience having led transactions across sector disciplines for a diversity of municipal issuers across the country.� A selected U.S. General Course Scholar at the London School of Economics, Mr. Thomas received his B.A. in Economics from Southwestern University, his Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University, and his J.D. from the University of Texas.Ajay currently serves as a member on the Texas Business Leadership Council (formerly the Governor’s Business Council) and is a member of the TBLC’s Legislative Task Force and involved with subcommittees on Texas Public Education, Infrastructure and Water helping to advise state leaders on various policy matters. Ajay was most recently appointed to the Board of Visitors of Southwestern University, one of our nation’s leading liberal arts undergraduate universities to advise University leadership on matters of higher education policy.

On January 11, 2016, Governor John Bel Edwards was sworn in as the 56th Governor of Louisiana.� �The governor grew up in Amite, Louisiana as one of eight children.� With four Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs in his lineage, he learned the importance of public service at an early age.� Governor Edwards graduated in 1988 from the United States Military Academy at West Point.� The governor served eight years as an Airborne Ranger on active duty with the United States Army and commanded a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.� He went on to graduate Order of the Coif from Louisiana State University Law Center and set up a civil law practice in his home town of Amite.� In 2008, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 72, where he served for eight years until the voters of Louisiana elected him governor in November 2015.� Governor Edwards and his wife, First Lady Donna Edwards, have three children: Samantha Bel, Sarah Ellen, and John Miller.

DeVona Wright Cottrell is Director and Associate General Counsel at Baird and supports the firm’s Fixed Income business unit. Joining Baird in 2007, she partners with the Fixed Income Capital Markets Business Unit by providing Fixed Income Sales & Trading and the Public Finance team with legal advice and support regarding municipal finance transactions and best practices. DeVona also provides legal support to several of the firm’s internal departments, including Marketing & Communications, Facilities, and Compliance. In addition, she is the primary in-house attorney overseeing Baird’s IP Portfolio and advising the businesses with regard to IP related matters. DeVona also provides support to Facilities with the negotiation and drafting of commercial real estate leasing transactions and other real estate related matters.Prior to joining Baird, DeVona was a partner at Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan LLP, where she represented corporate clients on public finance, real estate, intellectual property, general transactional matters. She is a past co-chair of PRISM, Baird’s Multicultural Associate Resource Group and is President of SWSIC, a Baird-sponsored women’s investment club focused on increasing financial literacy in the African-American community. DeVona also participates as a Mentor in Baird’s Mentoring Circles Program between the Lubar School of Business at UW – Milwaukee and Baird.DeVona is a diligent volunteer and mentor in the greater Milwaukee-area community as well. She is pro bono corporate legal counsel to her church and serves on numerous boards and committees throughout the city, including the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation’s (WWBIC) loan committee, Milwaukee Collegiate Academy, UW–Milwaukee Foundation, Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast and Milwaukee County Research Park Corporation. DeVona earned her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and B.A. in political science from Jackson State University, summa cum laude.DeVona is a Wisconsin native and a proud wife and mother. She was selected as one of The Milwaukee Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 winners for 2014 and was for 2 consecutive years recognized as R3-100: Poised For Prominence as published in Inside Counsel, August 2014 and R3-100: Ready to Rise as published in Inside Counsel, August 2015 and in October of 2015 received the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Alumni Gold Award (Graduate of the Last Decade). Other honors and awards include the 2006 Milwaukee Times – Black Excellence Award, 2007 Wisconsin Law Journal – Leader in the Law Award and 2009 Super Lawyers Magazine – Wisconsin Rising Star.

Mr. Cowan has 29 years of experience in the banking and securities industry including 25 years with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and its predecessor entities. In his role as a senior public finance banker, he provides bond underwriting services to local, regional and state governmental entities throughout the Midwest and leads the firm’s public finance investment banking efforts in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma. He has completed numerous financings aggregating several billion dollars for many prominent local and statewide issuers to finance general governmental capital improvements, highway and light-rail transportation improvements, water and sewer infrastructure, K-12 schools, public higher education and economic development projects. His professional experience also includes many financings for not-for-profit organizations, private primary and secondary education and affordable housing. Mr. Cowan received his bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1986 and serves on the Boards of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the St. Louis Regional Chamber.

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) serves on the House Committee on Financial Services.

Scott Nagelson joined the US Bank Municipal Products Group in July 2011.. Prior to joining US Bank, he was a senior banker at Jefferies & Co., Banc of America Securities, Merrill Lynch and Artemis Capital Group. He brings 28 years of municipal finance experience including 25 years of work in California.� Since 2001, Scott has served as an underwriter, remarketing agent, broker/dealer or swap counterparty on more than $50 billion of debt for California issuers.� This experience includes service as lead manager on more than $12 billion of transactions for a variety of issuers in California and the West including states, cities, counties and special districts.�A substantial component of Scott’s practice has involved City and local government issuers in California and has structured fixed rate, variable rate demand, auction rate and synthetic fixed rate debt for these clients.� For many issuing clients, he has assisted in the development of new senior or subordinate lien indentures, crafting additional bonds tests, rate covenants and other indenture provisions.� One of his primary areas of focus is ratings and credit where he has developed credit presentations for rating agencies, credit enhancement providers and investors.Scott has served issuers including the State of California, City & County of San Francisco, Port of San Francisco, San Francisco PUC, City of San Jose, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, Santa Clara County, City of Petaluma, City of Sacramento, Sacramento County, City of Stockton, San Francisco International Airport, San Joaquin County, and Sonoma County, among others.Scott Nagelson is a graduate of MiamiUniversity with a BS in Finance.� He maintains FINRA Series 7, 53 and 63 licenses.