As Provident’s President and Vice Chairman of the Board, Mr. Hicks is a member of the executive team that establishes the company’s strategy, culture, and fulfillment of its charitable missions. Mr. Hicks also spearheads Provident’s public-private partnership financings, working with project partners and beneficiaries, financing partners, investors, and rating agencies to ensure successful financial execution and an ongoing commitment to our partners for the life of our engagement. His role includes management of origination, analysis, and execution efforts for transactions and project relationships across a variety of asset classes. Chris works to foster relationships with universities, healthcare systems, and state and local governments, along with other key stakeholders, allowing Provident to utilize its financing platform to further not only its non-profit missions, but the missions of each of our partners. Prior to joining Provident, Mr. Hicks spent 18 years in the Public Finance Department of Citigroup Global Markets Inc., serving in the firm’s New York City, Boston, and Raleigh offices, departing in 2019 as a Director in their Infrastructure and Public Private Partnership Groups. During his time at Citi, Mr. Hicks worked with clients on over $25 Billion in financing. Mr. Hicks holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Wake Forest University.

Matt Hastedt is the Treasurer for the City of Charlotte. As Treasurer Matt actively manages the city’s Treasury Division which is responsible for all debt management, and capital financing for the city, as well as the daily cash management and investment of the city’s consolidated cash pool. The city’s Revenue Division also reports up to Matt as City Treasurer. Matt joined the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Treasury and Investment Management Committee in 2023 and was recognized as a member of the 2024 Bond Buyer Rising Star class. In addition to serving as the City Treasury, Matt serves as an ex-officio Board Member for the Charlotte Firefighters’ Retirement System and serves on the Investment Committee since March 2022. Prior to serving as the City Treasurer, Matt served as the Debt Manager, Assistant Debt Manager, and an Economic Research Analyst. Matt is a graduate of Roanoke College with Bachelor of Arts in Economics and received a Master of Public Administration from James Maddison University.

Gary Hall is President, Head of Infrastructure & Public Finance at Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC. He is also a Partner of American Triple I Partners, an infrastructure private equity firm that focuses on transportation, energy, knowledge and information systems, and smart city investments. Before joining Siebert and Triple I, Hall was an investment banker with JPMorgan Securities LLC, where he assisted state and local governments with accessing the capital markets for close to $50 billion of senior-managed municipal bonds issuances, credit facilities and derivative transactions. He also worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Banc One Capital Markets, Inc. assisting both middle-market companies and financial sponsor firms with strategic alternatives. Prior to his career in investment banking, Hall was appointed a White House Fellowship by President William Clinton to work as a Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance in the U.S. Department of Treasury. He was also a corporate finance attorney with Gardner, Carton and Douglas (now Faegre Drinker) and served posts in the administration of former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Hall is a member of the Board of Directors of the SIFMA, Bay Area Council (Executive Committee), and Las Trampas. He also serves on the Fixed Income Advisory Committee of FINRA, the Public Finance Advisory Board for the Milken Institute (Executive Committee) and is a trustee for the National Recreation Foundation. Hall is a former Chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. Hall received a B.B.A. in Finance from Howard University and J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.

Jessica R. Giroux serves as General Counsel and Head of Fixed Income Policy at the American Securities Association (ASA). In this role, she oversees ASA’s legal, regulatory, and fixed income affairs, leveraging her extensive experience in the financial services industry and public policy. Giroux’s expertise spans across various aspects of securities regulation, government relations, and public finance where she also assists the ASA in navigating complex regulatory landscapes and advocating for the interests of ASA’s regional financial services firms. Before joining the ASA, Jessica was Director of Government and Public Affairs at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). In that capacity, she was responsible for developing and implementing a proactive government relations strategy that advanced the MSRB’s mission and goals. She was also the principal liaison before federal officials and policymakers and was directly responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders including core industry groups. Prior to joining the MSRB, Jessica served as Director of Governmental Affairs at the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL). There, she led advocacy efforts including anticipating and responding to federal legislative and regulatory activities that impacted the public finance industry including tax reform, municipal securities disclosure, and regulatory proposals. Jessica also served as the primary staff liaison to various NABL committees including Governmental Affairs, General Law & Practice, Securities Law & Disclosure, and Tax Law Committees. Prior to joining NABL, Jessica served as General Counsel and Managing Director for the Bond Dealers of America (BDA). There, she was responsible for member engagement, advocacy on Capitol Hill and with federal regulators, research, analysis, and information collection regarding regulatory initiatives derived from efforts at the MSRB, FINRA, SEC, and the Treasury. Jessica obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the State University of New York at Albany and a law degree from Albany Law School of Union University. She is admitted to the New York State and U.S. Supreme Court Bars.

Jay Gillespie is the Director of Alternative Finance at the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and is based in Atlanta. At GDOT, Jay leads financial support of public-private partnership (P3) procurements, analysis of project delivery options, financial planning for major projects, and support for state and P3 financing to deliver GDOT’s multi-billion-dollar major capital program. Prior to joining GDOT, Jay spent 12 years with Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors where he advised public sector clients on financial, procurement, strategic and P3 issues for large-scale infrastructure projects and programs across multiple sectors. Previously, Jay was an associate in the Atlanta office of AECOM as part of their urban planning and design practice, leading and supporting major private real estate development and public sector projects in the U.S. and globally. Jay holds master’s degrees from Columbia University and Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia.

Lynne Funk is Executive Editor at The Bond Buyer. She leads markets coverage and manages guest commentary. Lynne is The Bond Buyer’s Arizent Research Team liaison and contributes to Bond Buyer Conferences, Leaders and podcasts. Lynne previously worked on policy and markets at Municipal Market Analytics and in Policy and Public Advocacy at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

Susan Wilhelm is the Assistant Director of the Alabama Department of Finance. The department provides innovative, resourceful leadership and service in financial management and operational support across state government. With 13 divisions and more than 350 employees, the Department of Finance claims a number of responsibilities. The Finance Director is the chief financial officer of the state, the advisor of the Governor and the Legislature in financial matters, and is responsible for protecting the financial interests of Alabama. Susan’s responsibilities for the department include the state’s risk management, debt issuances and debt management, communications, federal funding related to the Covid-19 pandemic, and, working with Governor Ivey’s staff, the department’s legislative efforts on behalf of the department’s fiscal operations divisions and real property operations. Before joining the department, Susan served as executive director and general counsel for the state’s Board of Dental Examiners. Raised in Selma, Susan lives in Birmingham with her husband Randy.

Tom Falcone is the President of the Large Public Power Council (LPPC), an association of 29 of the largest not-for-profit public power systems in the United States. Together, LPPC members provide electricity to over 30 million customers in 22 states and Puerto Rico. Prior to joining LPPC, Tom was the chief executive and chief financial officer of the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), the nation’s third-largest public power utility. During his decade-long tenure, LIPA increased investment in the electric grid by 300% to over $6.4 billion, reduced power outages by 40%, achieved top 10% reliability, brought online the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm, achieved approval of $3.3 billion of transmission investments to integrate 3,000 megawatts of clean energy, implemented smart meters and opt-out time-of-day rates, obtained four credit-rating upgrades, and reduced leverage by 25%, while keeping electric rate adjustments below the rate of inflation. LIPA’s accomplishments were recognized by the American Public Power Association (APPA) with two national achievement awards – the E.F. Scattergood Award for sustained achievement and the Sue Kelly Award for Community Service. Tom is the past chair of the LPPC and also served on the boards of the APPA, the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, and the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University. Before joining LIPA, Tom was an investment banker and advisor to publicly owned utilities and state and local governments. In that role, Tom raised more than $25 billion for infrastructure investments across the country. Tom received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Jamie is Head of Public Finance Syndicate and Origination at Truist Securities. In this role Jamie manages the day-to-day efforts of Truist’s Public Finance Origination and Syndicate teams and coordinates efforts with Truist’s Healthcare, Higher Education and Government verticals within Wholesale banking. Prior to this role, Jamie severed as the Head of Municipal High Yield for Truist. Before joining Truist Securities, Jamie was Head of Municipal Sales for CITI’s Municipal Securities Division. During that time Jamie worked with a team of 20+ Senior Municipal Sales Professionals and was an instrumental part of directing distribution activity of all Primary and Secondary products to include High Yield, High Grade, Taxable, Tax Exempt, Public and Private Placement Offerings. Over the course of his Tenure at CITI, the Municipal Markets group transacted over $120 billion annually with strong market share across all sectors, including 20%+ share in High Yield. Additionally, Jamie was responsible for engagement and management of 300+ client relationships that were managed by the Municipal Sales Team. Before Jamie joined CITI’s Municipal Securities Division. Jamie held roles within the Municipal firm he founded, Cooper River Capital, and held several trading roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch including, running the Municipal High Grade Trading Team where he was responsible for managing a balance sheet of $1 billion+ and a team of 11 traders. On average his trading team executed 2000 trades a day with a notional average of $500 million. Jamie started his professional career as a Naval Officer after graduating from the United States Naval Academy in May of 2000. He served in a variety of roles in the Navy to include, Football Coach at the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, RI, Division Officer on the USS McClusky a Frigate based in San Diego, CA, and an Assistant Operations Officer for Special Boat Team Twenty based in Little Creek Virginia. During his time at the Naval Academy Jamie participated in both Varsity Football, where he was named Co-Captain his Senior Year, and Varsity Lacrosse.

Mr. Doe is President of Municipal Market Analytics, Inc. (MMA) which acquired Municipal Market Advisors in 2014. Mr. Doe founded and served as the CEO of Municipal Market Advisors, the leading independent research firm in the municipal industry, from its inception in 1995. Mr. Doe contribution to the municipal industry has been extensive as an analyst, strategist and visionary of the industry’s future. His perspective has been sought after by the leading organizations and institutions and his independence, and that of his firm, has resulted in appearances before Congress and financial regulators to help inform them of the dynamics, issues and challenges in the municipal market and financing public infrastructure. Most memorably, on January 20, 2011, Mr. Doe forcefully represented the industry in a CNBC interview to accurately define market credit risks in response to Meredith Whitney’s alarmist municipal default projection. Mr. Doe is also lead analyst on MMA’s monthly Municipal Advisor publication which began in 1995, and the firm’s Strategist report. He also contributes to the Insight product Between 2002 and 2005, Mr. Doe served a 3-year term as a public member on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), the regulatory entity of the municipal securities industry. Prior to founding MMA, Mr. Doe served as an analyst and manager at Municipal Market Data, Inc. from 1984 to its successful sale to the Thomson Reuters Corporation in 1994. Mr. Doe received his undergraduate degree from Colgate University and a Master’s from Harvard University.