Janice Hofferber is Head of US Public Finance for Moody’s Ratings overseeing ratings and research for over 12,000 State and Local Governments, Hospitals, Higher Education institutions, Charter Schools and other tax-exempt obligors. 

Prior to this role, Janice was a Managing Director in the North America Corporate Finance Group leading analytical teams covering over 500 investment grade and high yield issuers in the Real Estate, Consumer, Retail, Gaming, Lodging, Apparel and Restaurant sectors since 2013. 

In addition, Janice is a leader in several company wide initiatives including spearheading Moody’s efforts to deliver globally consistent and high-quality market and customer engagements, acting as an Ambassador for Ratings and Research support to improve recruitment and training for Moody’s young credit professionals. Janice is an active supporter of Moody’s inclusion efforts and served as the cochairperson of the Policy and Recruiting committee for the Veteran’s BRG where she helped to lead important changes to Moody’s leave policies for employees. 

Janice also brings a wealth of knowledge from other senior positions held over the 25 years she worked in the investment banking fixed income and equity analytics sectors. She served in leadership positions at Fulcrum Global Partners, an independent equity research boutique, was a Director of Equity Research at Van der Moolen, the NYSE Specialist firm and served as Vice President in mergers and acquisitions and investment banking at JP Morgan Chase. 

Janice holds a LEAD Certificate from Stanford University School of Business, an MBA in Finance from NYU, a BA in Psychology from Rutgers University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

William (Bill) Foster is a Senior Vice President in Moody's Sovereign Risk Group in New York, where he currently serves as lead analyst on a portfolio of sovereign and supranational credits that include: the United States, Canada, Israel, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Honduras, the IFC and FONPLATA. He previously served as lead analyst for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Chile and the World Bank. Bill is global head of Moody's Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Cyber Risk Working Group and also serves as co-host of fv/oody's Talks- The Big Picture podcast series.

Bill joined Moody's in August 2016, following 10 years at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He most recently served as Senior Advisor for International Financial Markets based in New York, where he was the Office of International Affairs' first dedicated liaison to New York's international financial community. From August 2012 to March 2015, he served as U.S. Financial Attache to India at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Bill joined Treasury's Office of International Affairs as an international economist in 2006 and covered a range of geographies during his tenure, including Latin America, South and East Asia. Prior to joining Treasury, he worked as a management consultant at Accenture.

Bill holds a Master of International Affairs degree in International Financial and Economic Policy from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a BA from Wesleyan University.

Nick Samuels is a Senior Vice President for the States and High Profile Ratings Team covering credits for the state of Texas, New York City, and the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Nick worked for the National Association of State Budget Officers analyzing state fiscal and expenditure trends. Nick holds a BA degree in government from Skidmore College and a Master’s in Public Administration from the George Washington University.

Brad is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer based out of Moody’s San Francisco public finance office. As a senior member of the Healthcare ratings team, Brad covers a variety of institutions throughout the country, focusing geographically on the western United States. His areas of expertise include derivative products, variable rate financings, liquidity issues, and debt securitization structures. Brad joined Moody’s in 2006.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Brad worked as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs & Co. serving not-for-profit healthcare clients, universities, and other notfor-profit organizations. Prior to working on Wall Street, Brad worked in the field of international economic development in South East Asia. 

Brad holds an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, with majors in finance and not-forprofit management, and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Gabriel Agostini is an Assistant Vice President on the Macro Research Team in Moody’s Ratings’ Center for Credit Research. In his current capacity, he helps establish and articulate the firm’s house views through thematic, data-driven and credit-relevant macroeconomic research, with a focus on labor markets, demographics and immigration. Gabriel is co-author of the Global Macroeconomic Outlook, a flagship quarterly publication with a spotlight on the G20, and a frequent contributor to Moody’s Macro Mondays, a weekly column that contextualizes economic data releases. Before joining the Macro Research Team in 2022, he worked in the Sovereign Risk and US Public Finance Groups at Moody’s Ratings and as a US economist at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Gabriel holds a Master of International Affairs in International Economic Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a BA from Fordham University. He is a also a CFA Charterholder.

Sunny Zhu is currently an Assistant Vice President-Analyst on the State Ratings Team, covering a few states and mass transit issuers on the West Coast. She previously worked on Moody’s Local Governments Ratings Team, covering select California cities, counties, water/sewer enterprises, school districts, and community college districts.  

Before joining Moody’s, Sunny worked as a financial advisor for public sector issuers, primarily airports and transportation agencies. Sunny holds a BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Emily Raimes is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s Ratings Public Finance Group, overseeing the global higher education and nonprofit team, covering over 700 colleges, universities, and nonprofit institutions worldwide.

Previously, she managed the States Team, covering state credits across the US. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2006, Emily spent seven years at the New York City Office of Management and Budget, working primarily in Economic Analysis. Emily holds a BA degree in government from Wesleyan University and a Master’s in Public Administration from New York University.

Susan Shaffer manages a portfolio of highly complex higher education and nonprofit institutions across the United States, particularly in the northeastern and southern US. She also oversees the department’s nonprofit sector and special credit and operations projects. In addition, Susan is a regular speaker at a variety of industry conferences and has become widely recognized as one of the leading voices for higher education and nonprofit organization credit nationally. Her authorship of research pieces covers topics such as the higher education outlook, leadership and governance challenges, pricing strategies, and self-liquidity issuance.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Susan managed financial incentive programs that support New York State businesses and major institutions as part of New York State’s economic development agency, Empire State Development. Her higher education sector expertise includes roles in admissions and marketing at Tulane University and New York University. Susan holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a BA in Classics from Tulane University.

Geordie Thompson leads the Charter School and Municipal Supported Products Teams. Prior to this role, Geordie was an analytic lead for the Methodology Development Group (MDG), where he specialized in developing the analytical frameworks used by MIS in assigning ratings to US public finance, project finance and corporate finance issuers and obligations. In this role, Geordie lead a broad range of projects, including updates to the Higher Education and US Special Tax sector methodologies, several Housing Finance and MSPG methodologies, and the Financial Statement Adjustments in the Analysis of Non-Financial Corporations cross-sector methodology, which serves as a foundation for our analysis of financial metrics. 

Before joining MDG, Geordie spent 16 years in the US local government group as an analyst and managing a local government team, with overall responsibility for ratings and research on local government credits in most of the eastern US. Before joining Moody’s in 2000, Geordie worked in non-profit fundraising in Chicago, including as manager of Corporate & Foundation Giving at public television station WTTW. Geordie has a bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia University and a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. 

David is a Vice President on the Midwest Regional Ratings Team. He has served as lead analyst for most of the largest Midwest local governments and his current portfolio includes the City of Chicago, Cook County and Chicago Public Schools. In his leadership role, David chairs rating  committees, coordinates research, mentors and supports workflow management. David  is regular speaker and panelist at industry conferences, webinars and podcasts. David serves in an officer role on the board of the Chicago Municipal Analyst Society.

 Prior to joining Moody’s David worked in state government, local government and the non-profit sector. David earned an MPA  degree from the University of Delaware and a BA in political science from Western Michigan University.

Tim Blake is a Managing Director in Moody’s Public Finance Group responsible for US state ratings as well as local government ratings in the Eastern region. He also oversees ratings for US transit systems and a specialist team on government pension analysis. Tim has thirty years of experience in the municipal market. 

Prior to joining Moody’s, Tim was a credit risk manager and ratings advisor at Goldman Sachs, and a credit and liquidity facility specialist at NatWest Markets. 

He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany.

Michael Wertz is a Vice President/Senior Analyst for the Eastern Local Governments Ratings Team. His primary coverage responsibilities include cities, towns, counties, and school districts in Connecticut and Mississippi, for both of which he is the state lead, as well as New York and various water and sewer utilities throughout the Eastern United States. As a senior member of Moody’s ESG task force, Michael has published commentary on Moody’s approach to incorporating exposure to climate change in local government ratings and on the impact of drought on credit quality. He has also published research about community colleges and city pension reform.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Michael was a public sector consultant focusing on federal and local government projects. Michael holds an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and a BA in Political Science from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.

Cintia Nazima is a Vice President - Senior Analyst in the Global Project and Infrastructure Finance team in Moody’s Ratings (MIS), based in New York. Cintia’s portfolio includes US toll roads, airports, public power issuers, project finance and power projects. Cintia joined the team in New York in 2019 having previously worked as an associate analyst in the Public, Project and Infrastructure Finance team based in Sao Paulo office from 2014 to 2017. During her time in Sao Paulo Cintia worked on the portfolio monitoring, research and outreach activities related to a broad portfolio consisting of toll roads, utilities, water and sanitation, project finance and power projects and was the back-up analyst for the entire sub-sovereign portfolio in Brazil.

Being passionate about diversity and inclusion, Cintia has been actively involved as a member of the NY Multicultural ERG since 2019. She is the co-lead of the Professional Development Subcommittee where she manages the Active Language Studio, a program that offers Moody’s employees the opportunity to learn or improve their skills to communicate in a particular language, and other training focused on providing employees with continued development opportunities.

Prior to joining Moody’s in New York, Cintia was a senior credit analyst at XP Investimentos where she was responsible for the coverage of the entire Brazilian infrastructure portfolio.

Omar Ouzidane is a VP–Senior Analyst in Moody’s Public Finance Housing & State Revolving Funds Team. He serves as a rating committee member and chair. He is also a lead analyst for a wide range of credits that span across all sectors covered by the team. These include state and local housing finance agency bond programs, state revolving funds programs, and project finance credits. Prior to moving into his current role, Omar was a member of the U.S. Public Infrastructure Team where he was responsible for the assessment and rating of a portfolio of U.S. toll road, airport, mass transit, state revolving funds and solid waste sectors. Omar holds a B.A. from Baruch College and a M.S. from Pace University.

Firas Saleh, Ph.D., is a Director of Product Management at Moody's based in New York, specializing in insurance, wildfire, and flood risk. He leads strategy and innovation for Moody's RMS U.S. flood and wildfire solutions, bridging quantitative analytics with insurance industry applications.

Mark Zandi is chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research. Moody’s Analytics, a subsidiary of Moody’s Corp., is a leading provider of economic research, data and analytical tools. Dr. Zandi cofounded Economy.com, which Moody’s purchased in 2005.

Dr. Zandi is on the board of directors of MGIC, the nation’s largest private mortgage insurance company, is the lead director of PolicyMap, a data visualization and analytics company used by policymakers and commercial businesses, and is a director of the Coleridge Initiative, a nonprofit that facilitates the exchange of data across governments. 

He is a trusted adviser to policymakers and an influential source of economic analysis for businesses, journalists and the public. Dr. Zandi frequently testifies before Congress and conducts regular briefings on the economy for corporate boards, trade associations and policymakers at all levels. 

Dr. Zandi is the author of Paying the Price: Ending the Great Recession and Beginning a New American Century, which assesses the monetary and fiscal policy response to the Great Recession. His other book, Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis, is described by The New York Times as the “clearest guide” to the financial crisis. Dr. Zandi is host of the Inside Economics podcast. 

Dr. Zandi earned his BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mark Zandi is chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research. Moody’s Analytics, a subsidiary of Moody’s Corp., is a leading provider of economic research, data and analytical tools. Dr. Zandi cofounded Economy.com, which Moody’s purchased in 2005.

Dr. Zandi is on the board of directors of MGIC, the nation’s largest private mortgage insurance company, is the lead director of PolicyMap, a data visualization and analytics company used by policymakers and commercial businesses, and is a director of the Coleridge Initiative, a nonprofit that facilitates the exchange of data across governments. 

He is a trusted adviser to policymakers and an influential source of economic analysis for businesses, journalists and the public. Dr. Zandi frequently testifies before Congress and conducts regular briefings on the economy for corporate boards, trade associations and policymakers at all levels. 

Dr. Zandi is the author of Paying the Price: Ending the Great Recession and Beginning a New American Century, which assesses the monetary and fiscal policy response to the Great Recession. His other book, Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis, is described by The New York Times as the “clearest guide” to the financial crisis. Dr. Zandi is host of the Inside Economics podcast. 

Dr. Zandi earned his BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.

Janice Hofferber is Head of US Public Finance for Moody’s Ratings overseeing ratings and research for over 12,000 State and Local Governments, Hospitals, Higher Education institutions, Charter Schools and other tax-exempt obligors. 

Prior to this role, Janice was a Managing Director in the North America Corporate Finance Group leading analytical teams covering over 500 investment grade and high yield issuers in the Real Estate, Consumer, Retail, Gaming, Lodging, Apparel and Restaurant sectors since 2013. 

In addition, Janice is a leader in several company wide initiatives including spearheading Moody’s efforts to deliver globally consistent and high-quality market and customer engagements, acting as an Ambassador for Ratings and Research support to improve recruitment and training for Moody’s young credit professionals. Janice is an active supporter of Moody’s inclusion efforts and served as the cochairperson of the Policy and Recruiting committee for the Veteran’s BRG where she helped to lead important changes to Moody’s leave policies for employees. 

Janice also brings a wealth of knowledge from other senior positions held over the 25 years she worked in the investment banking fixed income and equity analytics sectors. She served in leadership positions at Fulcrum Global Partners, an independent equity research boutique, was a Director of Equity Research at Van der Moolen, the NYSE Specialist firm and served as Vice President in mergers and acquisitions and investment banking at JP Morgan Chase. 

Janice holds a LEAD Certificate from Stanford University School of Business, an MBA in Finance from NYU, a BA in Psychology from Rutgers University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

William (Bill) Foster is a Senior Vice President in Moody's Sovereign Risk Group in New York, where he currently serves as lead analyst on a portfolio of sovereign and supranational credits that include: the United States, Canada, Israel, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Honduras, the IFC and FONPLATA. He previously served as lead analyst for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Chile and the World Bank. Bill is global head of Moody's Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Cyber Risk Working Group and also serves as co-host of fv/oody's Talks- The Big Picture podcast series.

Bill joined Moody's in August 2016, following 10 years at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He most recently served as Senior Advisor for International Financial Markets based in New York, where he was the Office of International Affairs' first dedicated liaison to New York's international financial community. From August 2012 to March 2015, he served as U.S. Financial Attache to India at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Bill joined Treasury's Office of International Affairs as an international economist in 2006 and covered a range of geographies during his tenure, including Latin America, South and East Asia. Prior to joining Treasury, he worked as a management consultant at Accenture.

Bill holds a Master of International Affairs degree in International Financial and Economic Policy from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a BA from Wesleyan University.

Tim Blake is a Managing Director in Moody’s Public Finance Group responsible for US state ratings as well as local government ratings in the Eastern region. He also oversees ratings for US transit systems and a specialist team on government pension analysis. Tim has thirty years of experience in the municipal market. 

Prior to joining Moody’s, Tim was a credit risk manager and ratings advisor at Goldman Sachs, and a credit and liquidity facility specialist at NatWest Markets. 

He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany.

Nick Samuels is a Senior Vice President for the States and High Profile Ratings Team covering credits for the state of Texas, New York City, and the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Nick worked for the National Association of State Budget Officers analyzing state fiscal and expenditure trends. Nick holds a BA degree in government from Skidmore College and a Master’s in Public Administration from the George Washington University.

Emily Raimes is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s Ratings Public Finance Group, overseeing the global higher education and nonprofit team, covering over 700 colleges, universities, and nonprofit institutions worldwide.

Previously, she managed the States Team, covering state credits across the US. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2006, Emily spent seven years at the New York City Office of Management and Budget, working primarily in Economic Analysis. Emily holds a BA degree in government from Wesleyan University and a Master’s in Public Administration from New York University.

Firas Saleh, Ph.D., is a Director of Product Management at Moody's based in New York, specializing in insurance, wildfire, and flood risk. He leads strategy and innovation for Moody's RMS U.S. flood and wildfire solutions, bridging quantitative analytics with insurance industry applications.

Susan Shaffer manages a portfolio of highly complex higher education and nonprofit institutions across the United States, particularly in the northeastern and southern US. She also oversees the department’s nonprofit sector and special credit and operations projects. In addition, Susan is a regular speaker at a variety of industry conferences and has become widely recognized as one of the leading voices for higher education and nonprofit organization credit nationally. Her authorship of research pieces covers topics such as the higher education outlook, leadership and governance challenges, pricing strategies, and self-liquidity issuance.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Susan managed financial incentive programs that support New York State businesses and major institutions as part of New York State’s economic development agency, Empire State Development. Her higher education sector expertise includes roles in admissions and marketing at Tulane University and New York University. Susan holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a BA in Classics from Tulane University.

Cintia Nazima is a Vice President - Senior Analyst in the Global Project and Infrastructure Finance team in Moody’s Ratings (MIS), based in New York. Cintia’s portfolio includes US toll roads, airports, public power issuers, project finance and power projects. Cintia joined the team in New York in 2019 having previously worked as an associate analyst in the Public, Project and Infrastructure Finance team based in Sao Paulo office from 2014 to 2017. During her time in Sao Paulo Cintia worked on the portfolio monitoring, research and outreach activities related to a broad portfolio consisting of toll roads, utilities, water and sanitation, project finance and power projects and was the back-up analyst for the entire sub-sovereign portfolio in Brazil.

Being passionate about diversity and inclusion, Cintia has been actively involved as a member of the NY Multicultural ERG since 2019. She is the co-lead of the Professional Development Subcommittee where she manages the Active Language Studio, a program that offers Moody’s employees the opportunity to learn or improve their skills to communicate in a particular language, and other training focused on providing employees with continued development opportunities.

Prior to joining Moody’s in New York, Cintia was a senior credit analyst at XP Investimentos where she was responsible for the coverage of the entire Brazilian infrastructure portfolio.

Michael Wertz is a Vice President/Senior Analyst for the Eastern Local Governments Ratings Team. His primary coverage responsibilities include cities, towns, counties, and school districts in Connecticut and Mississippi, for both of which he is the state lead, as well as New York and various water and sewer utilities throughout the Eastern United States. As a senior member of Moody’s ESG task force, Michael has published commentary on Moody’s approach to incorporating exposure to climate change in local government ratings and on the impact of drought on credit quality. He has also published research about community colleges and city pension reform.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Michael was a public sector consultant focusing on federal and local government projects. Michael holds an MPA from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and a BA in Political Science from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.

Brad is a Vice President – Senior Credit Officer based out of Moody’s San Francisco public finance office. As a senior member of the Healthcare ratings team, Brad covers a variety of institutions throughout the country, focusing geographically on the western United States. His areas of expertise include derivative products, variable rate financings, liquidity issues, and debt securitization structures. Brad joined Moody’s in 2006.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Brad worked as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs & Co. serving not-for-profit healthcare clients, universities, and other notfor-profit organizations. Prior to working on Wall Street, Brad worked in the field of international economic development in South East Asia. 

Brad holds an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, with majors in finance and not-forprofit management, and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley.

David is a Vice President on the Midwest Regional Ratings Team. He has served as lead analyst for most of the largest Midwest local governments and his current portfolio includes the City of Chicago, Cook County and Chicago Public Schools. In his leadership role, David chairs rating  committees, coordinates research, mentors and supports workflow management. David  is regular speaker and panelist at industry conferences, webinars and podcasts. David serves in an officer role on the board of the Chicago Municipal Analyst Society.

 Prior to joining Moody’s David worked in state government, local government and the non-profit sector. David earned an MPA  degree from the University of Delaware and a BA in political science from Western Michigan University.

Omar Ouzidane is a VP–Senior Analyst in Moody’s Public Finance Housing & State Revolving Funds Team. He serves as a rating committee member and chair. He is also a lead analyst for a wide range of credits that span across all sectors covered by the team. These include state and local housing finance agency bond programs, state revolving funds programs, and project finance credits. Prior to moving into his current role, Omar was a member of the U.S. Public Infrastructure Team where he was responsible for the assessment and rating of a portfolio of U.S. toll road, airport, mass transit, state revolving funds and solid waste sectors. Omar holds a B.A. from Baruch College and a M.S. from Pace University.

Geordie Thompson leads the Charter School and Municipal Supported Products Teams. Prior to this role, Geordie was an analytic lead for the Methodology Development Group (MDG), where he specialized in developing the analytical frameworks used by MIS in assigning ratings to US public finance, project finance and corporate finance issuers and obligations. In this role, Geordie lead a broad range of projects, including updates to the Higher Education and US Special Tax sector methodologies, several Housing Finance and MSPG methodologies, and the Financial Statement Adjustments in the Analysis of Non-Financial Corporations cross-sector methodology, which serves as a foundation for our analysis of financial metrics. 

Before joining MDG, Geordie spent 16 years in the US local government group as an analyst and managing a local government team, with overall responsibility for ratings and research on local government credits in most of the eastern US. Before joining Moody’s in 2000, Geordie worked in non-profit fundraising in Chicago, including as manager of Corporate & Foundation Giving at public television station WTTW. Geordie has a bachelor’s degree in English from Columbia University and a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. 

Sunny Zhu is currently an Assistant Vice President-Analyst on the State Ratings Team, covering a few states and mass transit issuers on the West Coast. She previously worked on Moody’s Local Governments Ratings Team, covering select California cities, counties, water/sewer enterprises, school districts, and community college districts.  

Before joining Moody’s, Sunny worked as a financial advisor for public sector issuers, primarily airports and transportation agencies. Sunny holds a BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Gabriel Agostini is an Assistant Vice President on the Macro Research Team in Moody’s Ratings’ Center for Credit Research. In his current capacity, he helps establish and articulate the firm’s house views through thematic, data-driven and credit-relevant macroeconomic research, with a focus on labor markets, demographics and immigration. Gabriel is co-author of the Global Macroeconomic Outlook, a flagship quarterly publication with a spotlight on the G20, and a frequent contributor to Moody’s Macro Mondays, a weekly column that contextualizes economic data releases. Before joining the Macro Research Team in 2022, he worked in the Sovereign Risk and US Public Finance Groups at Moody’s Ratings and as a US economist at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Gabriel holds a Master of International Affairs in International Economic Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a BA from Fordham University. He is a also a CFA Charterholder.