Veteran bond attorney Jeremy A. Spector is the new executive director and secretary of the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority.
Spector, who began his NJEFA post on Nov. 13, has 28 years of experience as a tax attorney in the public finance and tax-exempt bond arena, most recently at Mintz Levin. He has counseled municipalities, educational institutions, underwriters and bond purchasers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts on the tax aspects of public finance transactions.
In his role with the NJEFA, Spector, a Princeton resident, will have overall responsibility for the authority's operations including oversight and management of all statewide debt issuance. He will also oversee higher education capital facilities grants administered through the NJEFA for colleges and universities in the Garden State. As of Dec. 31, 2014, the agency has completed 482 transactions totalizing over $14.3 billion with no defaults.
"I want to help colleges raise funds at a low cost to increase their academic capacity," said Spector. "I have always wanted to do public service so this is a wonderful opportunity for me."
Spector is a former chair of the American Bar Association's Tax Exempt Financing Committee and was named Best Lawyers' 2014 New York City Public Finance Law "Lawyer of the Year." He is a fellow with the American College of Bond Counsel and the American College of Tax Counsel.
Sheryl A. Stitt, who worked as NJEFA's acting executive director since last December, was appointed as deputy executive director. She has spent 15 years with the authority and held the executive director position on two previous occasions.
"Sheryl has been an invaluable resource to the authority," said Spector. "She has great command of policy issues."
Spector added that his deep background on tax issues should be beneficial to the NJEFA when issues of tax reform get debated in Washington. He said keeping the tax-exempt status of public and private colleges is vital.
"It is something very important to protect," said Spector. "I'm glad I will be in position to advocate for these issuers in New Jersey and on a national level."
