Chris works as a Director in the Public Finance Group – Eastern Region at Assured Guaranty, focusing on utility and transportation sector transactions in the Americas. Prior to working in the Public Finance Group – Eastern Region, Chris worked as a Director in the Infrastructure Finance Group. In addition to covering a variety of issuers and sectors located in the eastern region of the United States, Chris brings a deeper concentration on the utility and transportation sector both domestically and internationally. Prior to joining Assured Guaranty, Chris worked at U.S. Bank, N.A., managing the Public Utility Group in the Government Banking Division. Prior to U.S. Bank, he was a Senior Director/Manager of Fitch Ratings Public Power Group in the Public Finance Division and worked at MBIA Insurance Corporation as a Managing Director in the Public Finance Division. Having extensive prior experience working in bond insurance, at a rating agency and for a commercial bank, Chris brings a unique set of risk assessment, negotiation and rating skills to the revenue bond and tax-supported credit sectors.
Phil Cox has directed more than one hundred political, corporate, and issue advocacy campaigns in 49 states and 1 territory, including campaigns for Governor, US Senate, and President. Last year, Phil was Senior Adviser to America PAC, one of the largest Trump-aligned super-PACs. Phil served as Executive Director of the Republican Governors Association, the national political committee for the Republic Governors, helping to increase the number of GOP governors from 22 to an historic high-water mark of 31. Following his tenure at RGA, Phil has helped elect Governors in a half dozen states, served as national Co-Chair of the successful effort to pass the USMCA, and on the Board of the Senate Leadership Fund. The Boston Globe called him “a force for the GOP” and The Washington Times “a Republican Kingmaker.”
Jennifer Poersch is a leading policy and political advisor for clients in areas ranging from telecom, transportation, and defense to health and wellness. For more than 16 years, Jennifer has been a key advisor to Members of Democratic Senate Leadership and Committee Chairmen, including Sen. Chuck Schumer. She managed finance operations for two Presidential campaigns and dozens of Senate and gubernatorial races across the nation. This unique political background enables her to frame a wide range of issues into winning strategies before Members of Congress. An experienced policy advocate, Jennifer has developed and led strategies resulting in successful appropriations funding efforts, winning competitive federal grant awards, approval of foreign military sales, securing favorable agency regulatory actions, and enacting federal land transfers. Her previous employment includes serving as a Senior Advisor to Sen. Patty Murray at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and senior political advisory roles to numerous Senators including Jack Reed and Tom Udall.
Giles Nicholson is a Senior Managing Director at Siebert Williams Shank where he serves as Head of the Quantitative Solutions Group. He has more than 35 years of investment banking experience across the municipal finance industry and has extensive experience with complex financings, including debt restructurings, tenders, swaps and pooled loan programs. Mr. Nicholson holds a B.A. in Economics from Harvard University and Series 7, 24, 50, 53, 63, and 79 licenses.
Nico Procos serves as the Electric Utility Director of Silicon Valley Power, where he is focused on meeting rapidly growing energy demand and advancing reliable, affordable, and clean power solutions. He assumed this role in July 2025 after previously serving as Chief Operating Officer in 2024.
With more than 25 years of experience in the electric utility industry, Nico brings a strong record of innovation and results. He previously served as General Manager of Alameda Municipal Power, where he modernized operations and customer service, achieved a 100% carbon-free power portfolio, strengthened financial performance, maintained stable rates, and oversaw the deployment of 36,000 smart meters, all while prioritizing safety.
He has also held leadership roles with the Port of Oakland, the City of Palo Alto, and the California Public Utilities Commission.
Josh Lentz, Senior Vice President, specializes in project development financing for commercial and residential projects nationwide. He helps clients unlock funding through special financing districts, sales tax and hotel tax revenues, C-PACE assessments, tax credits, and monetization structures. His experience spans public-private development, infrastructure finance, land-secured financings, and tax-exempt and taxable capital solutions for cities, counties, developers, and nonprofit entities.
Mr. Lentz joined HilltopSecurities in July 2022, and previously he was a commercial municipal and nonprofit banker with Western Alliance Bank (January 2016 through July 2022) and a municipal advisor with Fieldman, Rolapp & Associate (August 2006 through January 2016). Mr. Lentz has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Arizona State University and is a Registered Representative of FINRA and holds the following professional registrations: Securities Industry Essentials (SIE), Uniform Securities Agent (Series 63), Municipal Securities Representative (Series 52), and Municipal Advisor Representative (Series 50).
Mr. Nagahama has served as Lead Banker on over $80 billion airport bond transactions over 30+ year career. Mr. Nagahama joined Ramirez & Co., Inc. in 2018 to expand the Firm’s airport franchise nationally. Mr. Nagahama has designed and executed comprehensive financing programs to support multi-year airport capital investment programs, has launched new airport and re-launched airport credits. Mr. Nagahama also served as the municipal advisor to the sponsors of the New Terminal One P3 project at JFK International Airport on their first two issuances, totaling $4.0 billion, establishing important benchmarks for their future issuance.
For his airport clients, in addition to designing and executing financing programs, Mr. Nagahama has developed rating agency strategies to achieve ratings upgrades and defend ratings in the face of large capital investments; and has executed unique marketing strategies to differentiate his airport clients’ offerings and to improve the breadth and depth of investor penetration in all segments of buyers. Mr. Nagahama has also worked to create several new airport credits and indentures, update older revenue bond indentures, and developed financial transactions to leverage PFCs, AIPs, CFCs and implemented interest rate swaps, commercial paper programs, has negotiated over $10 billion of bank facilities, including direct purchases and has drafted debt, derivatives, refunding, investment and targeted capital policies.
Mr. Nagahama graduated from Harvard University with a B.S. in Engineering Science and Columbia Business School with an MBA in Finance and Economics
Cameron Parks is a Managing Director within the public finance origination group at Truist Securities. He leads the firm’s specialty infrastructure and government finance banking efforts. Cameron recently joined Truist following nearly 22 years as a part of Citi’s public finance department. At Citi, Cameron was Managing Director and head of the firm’s national water infrastructure finance group. During his time at Citi, Cameron’s responsibilities included various account coverage responsibilities across regions and product groups as well as areas of focus including, most recently, utility securitizations (rate reduction bonds) and tender refinancings. Cameron specializes in working with clients to address large, complex financing programs. His experience includes serving as senior manager on approximately $100 billion of financings on behalf of state and local governments. Cameron was a senior manager on The Bond Buyer’s 2018 National Deal of the Year awarded to the City and County of Denver’s $2.5 billion transaction on behalf of its Department of Aviation. Prior to joining Citi, Cameron was a Senior Managing Consultant at PFM where he worked primarily with utilities and airports. Cameron received a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Middlebury College.
Scott Monroe is a San Francisco-based Senior Director in Fitch Ratings’ U.S. Public Finance Group. He serves as Sector Head for the Municipal Infrastructure Team, which covers airports, seaports, and toll roads. Scott joined Fitch in 2007, previously headed Corporate’s Infrastructure Team, and was an analyst on Fitch’s tax-supported, and water/sewer teams.
Scott earned a BS in business administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and is a CFA Charterholder. In addition, he is a member of the California Society of Municipal Analysts and the National Federation of Municipal Analysts. Scott was named as a Rising Star by the Bond Buyer in 2018 and a Municipal All-Star by Smith’s in 2023.
Mukesh “Mookie” Patel, C.M., is the Director of Aviation for SJC, where he leads more than 200 employees and manages an annual operating budget of $176 million and a $614 million Capital Improvement Program. Patel’s career spans three decades across major U.S. airports and airlines, including leadership roles at Denver International, San Antonio International, Austin-Bergstrom International and Alaska Airlines. He has overseen major capital programs, expanded non-airline revenues and built strong community and industry partnerships. A graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in Aviation Management and a licensed pilot, Patel serves on the American Association of Airport Executives Policy Review Committee and is the incoming Chair of the California Airports Council.