Steven Peyser, President
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative; Series 54, Municipal Advisor Principal and Series 65, Investment Adviser Representative

Mr. Peyser serves as President of PRAG, with overall responsibility for the firm’s management and operations, including leading the firm’s quantitative efforts and pricing activities. He has over 36 years of experience in public finance. Mr. Peyser has significant expertise in structuring complex financings and has served as project manager on financings for a wide variety of purposes, including general government, transportation, sports facilities, convention centers, privatization, water and wastewater, solid waste disposal and transactions involving derivative products. Mr. Peyser advises numerous states and state-level issuers, as well as local governments and their municipal entities.

Mr. Peyser serves as Treasurer of the Municipal Forum of New York. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Peyser holds a B.A. in Economics and History with Distinction in All Subjects from Cornell University and a M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School.

May Chau, Senior Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative and Series 54, Municipal Advisor Principal

Ms. Chau joined PRAG in 2012, bringing over 14 years of experience in the municipal finance industry. Ms. Chau serves as Project Manager for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York, advising MTA on all aspects of its debt issuance across multiple credits. She also serves as Assistant Project Manager for The City of New York, the New York City Transitional Finance Authority and the Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporation and is involved in all aspects of each bond sale and assists Mr. Peyser in providing day-to-day coverage.

Prior to joining PRAG, Ms. Chau was an investment banker at Barclays and Lehman Brothers where she covered municipal issuers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. She was also a member of the Debt Strategies/Quantitative Analysis Group and the Transportation Finance Group.

Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Ms. Chau worked at DPC Data, Inc. and Thomson Financial Securities Data.

Ms. Chau holds a B.A. in Finance and M.I.S. from the State University at Albany.

Monika Jarecka-Conley, Senior Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Ms. Conley has worked on financings for a variety of purposes including transportation, water and wastewater, solid waste disposal and general governmental finance. She serves as project manager for several state and local government clients.

Ms. Conley has developed cash flow models and models for structuring new money and refunding issues. In addition to providing the quantitative analyses on these engagements, her responsibilities have included review of legal documents, drafting of the official statement and the notice of sale, preparation of presentations for rating agencies and communication with issuers, bond counsel, underwriters and investment bankers.

Ms. Conley received a B.S. and M.S. from the Central School of Planning and Statistics in Warsaw, Poland, and a Ph.D. from New York University. She also has an M.B.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Andrew Evanchik, Senior Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative and Series 65, Investment Adviser Representative

Mr. Evanchik provides quantitative analyses for some of PRAG’s largest clients including The City of New York, the New York City Transitional Finance Authority, the State of New York Division of the Budget, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, the New York State Thruway Authority, the New York State Housing Finance Agency, Empire State Development and the State of Georgia, among others.

Mr. Evanchik has served as the lead analyst advising New York City on all their competitive and negotiated new money and refunding issues for General Obligation, Future Tax Secured and Building Aid Revenue Bond credits since April 2012. Additionally, Mr. Evanchik provides ongoing refunding analyses and sequences for the City’s GO and TFA credits to keep the City apprised of refinancing economics over the medium-term. For the State of New York, Mr. Evanchik has advised on all PIT and Sales Tax bond issues since 2014. Mr. Evanchik has also served as lead analyst for the structuring of all competitive new money and refunding issues for the State over that time. He had a lead role in developing the optimization model that PRAG uses which allows the State to structure new money debt service on a level aggregate basis within the State Law final maturity and IRS economic life constraints. Mr. Evanchik has provided cash flow modeling for the State of Georgia Northwest Corridor Project including work on the TIFIA loan. He has also worked with the New York State Thruway Authority on cash flow modeling for the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to replace the Tappan Zee.

Prior to joining PRAG in 2004, Mr. Evanchik graduated from Columbia University with a M.S. in Financial Engineering. Mr. Evanchik also holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Daniel Forman, Senior Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative and Series 65, Investment Adviser Representative

Mr. Forman provides quantitative analysis for PRAG clients. His responsibilities include debt structuring and optimization, cash flow modeling, and derivatives analysis. This work includes identifying refunding opportunities, structuring new money issuance, evaluating derivative positions, and determining bond option values. Mr. Forman also participates in debt restructuring and has been the structuring analyst for PRAG’s rate reduction securitizations.

Prior to joining PRAG, Mr. Forman worked at State Street as a financial engineer constructing derivative pricing models and at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a research associate conducting macroeconomic and monetary policy research. He holds an M.S. in Financial Engineering from Baruch College and a B.A. in Physics and Economics from Swarthmore College.

Janet Lee, Senior Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Ms. Lee has been involved in the public finance field since 1990. She has served as financial advisor to numerous states and state-level entities. She has also provided overall project management and quantitative analysis for numerous transportation entities, including evaluating public-private proposals from the standpoint of financial feasibility. She has experience with various types of financing structures including general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, lease and appropriation backed bonds, commercial paper, variable rate bonds, among others. Ms. Lee works on all aspects of financings, including preparation of disclosure and sale documents, structuring new money and refunding issues, preparing rating agency presentations and coordinating with members of the financing team.

Prior to joining PRAG, Ms. Lee worked at Moody’s Investors Service in the public finance department, rating letter of credit supported bond issues. Ms. Lee formerly worked at the City of New York’s Office of Management and Budget in the Tax Policy, Revenue Forecasting and Economic Analysis Task Force.

Ms. Lee holds a B.A. in Government from Cornell University, at which she was a Cornell-in-Washington scholar, and an M.B.A from New York University.

Ellyn Dinzey, Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Ms. Dinzey provides client and transactional support to general government clients. She has been responsible for evaluating, developing and executing financing solutions based on client objectives and market dynamics. Ms. Dinzey has helped provide various services including bond structuring through pricing, closing and delivery of the bonds, and post-pricing analysis. Her responsibilities include quantitative analysis, documentation development, debt issuance execution, debt capacity analyses, general market and credit research, and support for clients including preparing proposals and comparisons. In addition to providing transaction advice for debt issuances, Ms. Dinzey has worked in various aspects of general advisory work, including ongoing support with ratings strategy, debt capacity concerns, Capital Improvement Plan formulation, debt management policies and procedures. Ms. Dinzey provides project support for several states, state-level authorities, and county and city governments.

Prior to joining PRAG, Ms. Dinzey was in a Public Finance joint internship program at the New York State Housing Finance Agency and Bear, Stearns & Co. Ms. Dinzey graduated from Skidmore College with a B.A. in Business and Economics.

Christine Ilarina, Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Ms. Ilarina provides credit and market support for various PRAG programs. Her responsibilities include credit research, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and support for clients. She provides support in all aspects of financings including the review of all the documents associated with the sale, verifying the bids, providing cashflows of the financings and providing post-sale analysis.

Prior to joining PRAG in 2005, Ms. Ilarina worked at Siebert Brandford Shank, SBS Financial Products and Muriel Siebert & Co. where she was responsible for marketing the firm’s banking products to state and local governments.

Ms. Ilarina received a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.B.A from Pace University.

Xun (Sean) Lin, Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Mr. Lin provides quantitative, marketing and transaction support on PRAG’s engagements, including structuring, refunding verification, pre-pricing and post-pricing analysis and cashflow modeling.  His responsibilities include conducting general market and credit research, providing structuring analysis, assisting with negotiated and competitive sales, and preparing evaluations of various requests for proposals. Mr. Lin has provided project support for some of PRAG’s New York issuers including The City of New York, the New York City Transitional Finance Authority, the Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporation, the State of New York through both the Division of the Budget and the Office of the State Comptroller, the New York State Thruway Authority, and for both the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its subsidiary, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.

Prior to joining PRAG in 2012, Mr. Lin was a public finance analyst at Raymond James and Associates, Inc., where he was responsible for composing municipal market reports and assisting in the preparation of bond financings, in addition to providing general quantitative and qualitative support. Previously, Mr. Lin was in a Public Finance Joint Internship Program of the New York State Housing Finance Agency and Raymond James.  A member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, International Economics Honor Society, he graduated summa cum laude from Skidmore College with a B.A. in Business.

Christian Lund, Managing Director
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Mr. Lund provides analytical, quantitative, and transaction support for PRAG clients, including the Maryland counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Prince George’s, and the states of South Carolina and New Hampshire. Prior to joining PRAG, he worked for the State of Maryland for a decade, where he gained broad government experience as a municipal finance executive, legislative aide, and executive branch budget analyst. His expertise includes the rating process, debt management best practices, and effectuating capital market solutions. He frequently draws on his background in government, which helps to keep him cognizant of the practical and policy aspects of challenges his clients face.

In Mr. Lund’s role as the Director of the Debt Management Division for the Maryland State Treasurer’s Office, he oversaw Maryland’s $10 billion GO bond program and its triple triple-A bond ratings. During his tenure, Mr. Lund led the State in the issuance of over $8 billion in GO bonds, including its largest ever single issuance totaling $1 billion of new money bonds, and its first forward delivery refunding bonds, which was also the State’s first negotiated transaction in nearly a decade. In addition to leading bond transactions, Mr. Lund acted as the sole point of contact for rating agency analysts and led the development of the State’s rating agency presentations and disclosure documents. He frequently briefed legislators and executive branch policymakers on debt issues, providing guidance on legislation, capital planning, and other fiscal matters, and performed the State’s annual debt affordability study to help the State determine its future levels of capital spending.

Mr. Lund earned his B.A. and Master of Public Policy and Administration from the University of Tennessee.

Jacob Neuthaler, Vice President
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Mr. Neuthaler joined PRAG in 2019. He provides analytical, quantitative, and project support to PRAG’s municipal financing engagements, encompassing market, credit and financial research and analysis, and general advisory support. Some of the clients that he supports include the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of South Carolina, the State of Rhode Island, and Baltimore County, Maryland, among others.

Mr. Neuthaler received his M.P.A. in Financial Management and Public Finance from New York University and his B.A. with Honors in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Qian (Doris) Wan, Vice President
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Ms. Wan provides day-to-day analytical and project support for PRAG’s municipal financing engagements. Her responsibilities include conducting general market and credit research, providing structuring analysis, assisting with negotiated and competitive sales, and preparing evaluations of various requests for proposals.

Ms. Wan started her public finance career at PRAG in 2017. Prior to rejoining the firm in 2022, she was as an investment banker in the public finance group of a major firm, where she covered public power issuers and worked on project finance transactions.

Ms. Wan received her M.P.A. in Financial Management and Public Finance from New York University and her B.B.A. with Distinction from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada.

Heather Sutherland, Associate
Certifications/Licenses: Series 50, Municipal Advisor Representative

Since joining PRAG in 2012, Ms. Sutherland has provided day-to-day analytical, marketing and project support to PRAG’s municipal financing engagements, encompassing credit, financial and market research, rating agency presentations, request for proposal evaluations and general advisory support. She assists the senior staff in all aspects of PRAG’s financing engagements and has provided support for both competitive and negotiated sales. During pricing, Ms. Sutherland provides steady market information, regarding current rates and economic news. She collects daily market information to analyze for market trends and developments to provide to PRAG’s senior members and clients. She also maintains issuance data for many of PRAG’s clients, including historical pricing results and secondary trading information.

Ms. Sutherland received a B.A. in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Brenda Henry, Controller

Ms. Henry manages the firm’s accounting department. The accounting department is responsible for administering the preparation of financial reports that summarize the firm’s financial position and analyze future earnings and expenses. Ms. Henry is also responsible for managing the firm’s fringe benefit program, including medical, disabilitiy and 401(k) programs.

Prior to joining PRAG, Ms. Henry worked for an independent accounting firm.

Ms. Henry received a B.A. in Accounting and an M.S. in Taxation from Long Island University.

Patrice Leonard, Business Manager

Ms. Leonard oversees the day-to-day administrative operations of PRAG’s headquarters in New York and supports the operations of the firm’s offices in Los Angeles, Oakland, Philadelphia and St. Petersburg. Ms. Leonard has primary responsibility for maintaining PRAG’s database of financings and special projects, and maintaining PRAG’s library of research tools. Ms. Leonard also provides research and compliance assistance to senior advisors and coordinates the production of proposals and presentations for prospective and existing clients.

Ms. Leonard received a B.A. in Psychology from Pace University.