Leonard Jones is a Managing Director in Moody’s Public Finance Group and is co-manager of local government ratings in the US. He is responsible for managing the New York, Boston and San Francisco based local governments ratings teams. Mr. Jones also leads Moody’s PFG efforts in focusing on cybersecurity and environmental issues as well as charter school ratings.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Lenny was a Partner at Rice Financial Products Company, where he managed Rice Financials investment banking business and specialized in public infrastructure finance. He was also a Senior Consultant at ABT Associates, Chief Consultant to the Zambia Privatization Agency, Vice President at Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., Vice President at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. and Assistant Treasurer in the International Department of Chase Manhattan Bank. Lenny holds an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and an AB in Economics from Dartmouth College.

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.

Adebola (Bola) Kushimo is responsible for a team of analysts covering credits in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

She is currently the Chair for the Southern Municipal Finance Society and remains a board member for the National Federation of Municipal Analysts (NFMA) where she leads membership outreach.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Bola worked for AmeriCredit Financial Services in Arlington TX.

Bola holds an MPA from the University of North Texas and an Honors BS in Psychology from University
of Texas, Arling

Matt Kuchtyakis Senior Vice President –Sustainable Finance for Moody’s Ratings. In this capacity, Matt heads the Sustainable Finance Assessments team in the Americas, leading a team of analysts primarily responsible for the publication of Second Party Opinions (SPOs) –which provide an opinion on the overall sustainability quality of financial instruments or financing frameworks –and Net Zero Assessments (NZAs) –which provide an independent and comparable view on the strength of an entity’s carbon emissions reduction plans compared to a global net zero pathway.

In his role, Matt is also responsible for the origination and publication of thematic research related to the global sustainable finance markets. He also leads outreach and engagement on sustainable finance issues, cultivating relationships with investors, intermediaries, issuers and other market participants. He frequently participates in high-profile outreach including investor briefings, webinars, third-party conferences and media engagements. Matt also represents
Moody’s Ratings on a variety of industry initiatives, such as the International Capital Market Association’s sustainable finance working groups.

Before his current role, Matt was an analyst on the ESG team at Moody’s Ratings, where he advanced the rating agency’s efforts to incorporate ESG considerations systematically and transparently into its credit ratings. He was a key contributor to the development of the cross-sector ESG methodology, launch of the ESG Issuer Profile Scores and Credit Impact Scores and the development of the Carbon Transition Assessments. He was also the lead analyst for the Moody’s Ratings Green Bond Assessments. Previously, Matt was a credit analyst in the US Public Finance Group, where he served as a lead analyst for a diverse portfolio of hospitals, public and private universities and other not-for-profits.

Matt holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science summa cum laude from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa