Meet The Bond Buyer's 2025 Rising Stars

August 18, 2025 11:11 AM

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The new class of Rising Stars will be honored at an awards dinner at the close of The Bond Buyer's INFRASTRUCTURE conference, which takes place September 29–30, 2025, at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf. Scroll through to meet the Class of 2025.

Leslie Bacon

Title: Senior Associate
Firm: Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

Not many people can say they found a career right out of the gate.

Although Leslie Bacon knew she wanted to become an attorney when she was just 10 years old, it was a summer internship at Norton Rose Fulbright that introduced her to public finance and its highly complex and fast-paced transactional work that helps local communities.

Read the full profile here.

Connor Benoit

Title: Senior Vice President
Firm: Hilltop Securities

Connor Benoit serves as a municipal investment banker and is focused on growing Hilltop's underwriting business, covering transportation and infrastructure issuers nationally.

Benoit has worked on more than 100 municipal transactions for toll road issuers, transit agencies, state departments of transportation, Garvee issuers, airports and seaports, amounting to more than $33 billion.

Read the full profile here.

Joe Buckshon

https://www.bondbuyer.com/news/joe-buckshon

Title: Senior Managing Consultant
Firm: PFM Group Consulting LLC

It's not surprising Joe Buckshon was attracted to public finance: His family has a long tradition of local government and community involvement.

Both his father and grandfather were elected officials in Buckshon's northeastern Pennsylvania hometown.

Read the full profile here.

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MICHAEL WILSON

Alexandra Byrnes

Title: Executive Director
Firm: Wells Fargo

With a major in international business and a minor in German and Chinese, Alexandra Byrnes expected to be an international banker. Her first round of job interviews with Wells Fargo had her meeting a mergers and acquisition banker and a public finance banker.

"The M&A banker's flight ran late, leaving just me and the public finance banker. I became infatuated with the ability to work with higher education institutions and in investment banking," said Byrnes.

Read the full profile here.

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Steffi Chan

Title: Senior Associate
Firm: Orrick

For Steffi Chan, being a public finance attorney is the best of both worlds.

In her role as senior associate in Orrick's public finance department, Chan combines her legal expertise and affinity for transactional work with doing good for the community.

Read the full profile here.

Sara Cheek

Title: Senior Vice President
Firm: Ramirez & Co., Inc.

Sara Cheek didn't plan on providing banking advisory services to municipalities across Texas on an all-women team, but she's sure glad that's how it turned out. After losing her job in the recession in 2009, Cheek was cruising Career Builder and Monster.com and came across an opportunity at HilltopSecurities.

She took it, started learning about municipal finance and never looked back.

Read the full profile here.

Tony Conza

Title: Vice President of Finance
Firm: Hillsborough County Aviation Authority

Tony Conza has played a big role in the expansion of Tampa International Airport, including bringing in international airlines and nonstop domestic flights, growing reserves and improving airline operating agreements.

Passenger numbers continue to increase. Conza has led multiple financings for the airport's multibillion dollar capital program as he strategically plans for future aviation needs that serve both the local community and air travelers.

Read the full profile here.

Jered Davidson

Title: Partner
Firm: Public Finance Law Group PLLC

Oklahoma City is experiencing a renaissance and Jered Davidson is playing an important role in the city's ongoing urban revitalization efforts.

The city has a lot going for it: Affordable living, a strong job market and a thriving economy. The 2025 National Basketball Association champion Oklahoma City Thunder will continue to call the city home following the announcement of a new $900 million downtown arena scheduled to open in 2028.

Read the full profile here.

Jenna Dilorio

Title: Vice President
Firm: Assured Guaranty

Graduating as a math major from Villanova, Jenna Dilorio wasn't sure what career she wanted to pursue, so she posted a message on LinkedIn in her alumni group asking for suggestions and career advice. A Villanova alum who was working at Assured Guaranty responded.

"He really talked me through the bond insurance industry and as I got closer to graduation there was an opening at his firm. I applied and got the job, and since have been so grateful for the opportunity," said Dilorio.

Read the full profile here.

Katherine Estes

Title: Vice President Municipal Underwriting
Firm: Fidelity Investments

Katherine Estes joined Fidelity right out of college in the personal investing division on the customer service side. It took about a year for Estes to move over to capital markets and get hooked on municipal finance. Since 2018, Estes has been actively bidding and helping price new issue deals for the firm.

"This work is like a puzzle with lots of moving pieces. It's fun to problem solve. I also love that it sits in the intersection of finance and public impact," said Estes.

Read the full profile here.

Isela Hernandez

Title: Global Capital Markets Relationship Manager
Firm: Wilmington Trust

Isela Hernandez covers the daily administration of complex trust accounts for Wilmington Trust's public finance team and has emerged as a standout leader.

"Her impact has been immediate and impressive. She has quickly become one of our most trusted and capable professionals," said Daire McCormack, head of conventional debt and specialized agency services at Wilmington Trust.

Read the full profile here.

Kristin Hilson

Title: Partner
Firm: Chapman and Cutler LLP

Kristin Hilson has always been very good at math. She's also a quick study, able to master complex taxation frameworks and financial structures with speed and precision.

From her time as an undergraduate economics major at University of Arizona through Notre Dame Law School, Hilson knew that transactional work was her calling. What she didn't know was that her calling also included public finance.

Read the full profile here.

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Charity Karanja

Title: Public Finance Attorney
Firm: Butler Snow LLP

Born and raised in Kenya, Charity Karanja experienced firsthand the challenges that come with inadequate infrastructure and limited access to financial resources in a rapidly growing population.

During an internship with Equity Group Holdings Ltd. for high performing Kenyan students, she worked with innovative financing tools including microfinance and mobile banking. Her next stop was the Charles H. Dyson School at Cornell University, followed by the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Read the full profile here.

Benjamin Kitto

Title: Partner and Public Finance Group Vice Chair
Firm: Ice Miller LLP

Ben Kitto knew he wanted to do transaction work and he had always envisioned himself working in a corporate environment. But a summer law clerk internship at Ice Miller opened his eyes to the world of public finance.

He loved that projects were tangible and benefited communities. By the time he graduated from Washington University Law he was sold on public finance.

Read the full profile here.

Diban Photography/Diban Photography

Blake Lynch

Title: Head of Sales
Firm: IMTC

Blake Lynch is on a mission to modernize fixed income portfolio management.

Before joining IMTC as one of its initial team members in 2019, he got his feet wet in municipal finance working with portfolio managers at municipal bond brokerages including Hennion & Walsh and Columbia Threadneedle. But he also experienced frustration having to work with antiquated and inefficient bond management processes.

Read the full profile here.

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Cintia Nazima

Title: Vice President-Senior Analyst
Firm: Moody's Ratings

Coming from an emerging country, Nazima was naturally drawn to infrastructure projects.

"It is easy to see how much economic potential is held back by lack of infrastructure. That's why I started my career covering the infrastructure sector at Moody's in Brazil,." said Nazima, who went through the ranks at the associate level before leaving for a brief stint at a bank.

Read the full profile here.

Gabby Rizzo

Ben O'Malley

Title: Assistant VP
Firm: Build America Mutual

After graduating from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2018, Ben O'Malley joined BAM as an analyst in a two-year rotational program. "He was a standout analyst from day one. Today, he continues to steadily build his municipal credit experience and network," said Juliet Stiehl, co-head of public finance at BAM.

As an underwriter, O'Malley has worked on multiple deals that have earned him accolades, including being the lead bond insurance analyst on the Greater Texoma Utility Authority water and wastewater financing which was recognized as the Bond Buyer's Small Issuer Financing Deal of the Year in 2023.

Read the full profile here.

Richard Park

Title: Director
Firm: Fitch Ratings

Richard Park graduated with a triple degree in finance, marketing and communications from Boston College and went straight to work at Fitch Ratings in the firm's structured finance group working on residential mortgage-backed securities as an analyst.

"It was interesting because the market was collapsing and I watched it all unfold right in front of my eyes," said Park. "Eventually there was a very large drop in the pipeline and activity dried up."

Read the full profile here.

Michael Persichitte

Title: Director
Firm: RBC Capital Markets

As one of RBC's youngest managers, Michael Persichitte coordinates and manages the firm's municipal banking activities for Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West.

He is primarily responsible for directing the firm's banking staff in Colorado where the firm has enjoyed a No. 1 ranking in the negotiated underwriting market for 10 of the last 11 years.

Read the full profile here.

Tom Ricchiuto

Title: Senior Manager
Firm: Baker Tilly

"What am I going to do for the rest of my life?" That's a question that haunts most people just out of school, but Tom Ricchiuto had a pretty good idea of what he did and didn't want to do.

He wanted to put his business degree with a finance specialization from Ohio State University to good use. Working on Wall Street and suffering through 80-hour work weeks was not appealing. He wanted more work/life balance. Ricchiuto also wanted to stay in Ohio so he could be near family.

Read the full profile here.

Anne (Mongoven) Sample

Title: Managing Director
Firm: Baird

Anne (Mongoven) Sample has been with Baird's municipal finance team for 16 years, beginning her career as an intern while attending Marquette University and joining full-time after graduation.

For over a decade, she has served as a lead underwriter, specializing in charter schools nationwide and California and Wisconsin issuers. In 2025 alone, she priced over $1 billion in financings for Wisconsin school districts.

Read the full profile here.

Erika Smull

Title: Senior Research Analyst
Firm: Breckinridge Capital Advisors

What's the impact of climate change on water supply? How do local governments pay for water infrastructure? How can financing help solve problems of too much water or water scarcity? These questions and others attracted Erika Smull to Breckinridge Capital Advisors as a senior research analyst where she focuses on the intersection of climate risk and public finance related to water and wastewater systems.

Smull had a long-time interest in environmental impact and studied civil engineering as an undergraduate and water resources engineering for her Master of Science degree. Living in Colorado at the time, Smull worked for two boutique consulting firms primarily focused on water infrastructure for public sector entities.

Read the full profile here.

Cameron Thatcher

Title: Director, Head of Texas Region
Firm: TD Securities

Unlike most people in the industry, public finance runs in Cameron Thatcher's blood.

Thatcher comes from a long line of public administration officials. His father was a city manager in Texas and Thatcher is one of six brothers, four of whom work for municipalities across Texas.

Read the full profile here.

Terance Walsh

Title: Counsel
Firm: Nixon Peabody LLP

Terance Walsh loves a challenge. One deal that stands out for stretching his skills was financing a not-for-profit youth sports facility in Long Island. The market was unfavorable and he had to contend with complex real estate and tax issues, politics, and a demanding investors' counsel. It took three attempts over four years to sell the bonds, but Walsh and the team persevered.

As counsel in Nixon Peabody's Rochester, New York, office, Walsh applies that same dedication and commitment to industrial development agencies, local development corporations, municipal utilities and other municipal bond issuers as well as lenders and underwriters in tax-exempt bond and leaseback transactions.

Read the full profile here.

Brendan White, Assistant Commissioner, Financial Policy, Finance, City of Chicago

Walter S. Mitchell III/Walter S. Mitchell III, Samuel S

Brendan White

Title: Debt Manager
Firm: City of Chicago

Brendan White's journey into public finance is quite interesting despite his academic background in literature and poetry from the University of Chicago. Finance seems to be a family calling, with his mother being the co-president of Acacia Financial Group.

Although he remains involved in Chicago's literary scene, his passion for finance was solidified through two investment banking internships, ultimately leading him to a career in public finance.

Read the full profile here.

Thomas Zemetis

Title: Director and Lead Analyst
Firm: S&P Global Ratings

Tom Zemetis is a true mentor. At S&P Global Ratings he has developed a reputation for leading and mentoring junior analysts far and wide. His interest in developing and mentoring others extends to his role as a mentor in the Urban Leadership Fellows Program as well.

"Colleagues frequently commend Tom for his willingness to share his time and knowledge; he is authentic and fosters positive interactions that lead to successful results," said Sussan Corson, an S&P senior director and analytical manager for states and transportation.

Read the full profile here.