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.

Ken Surgenor is the analytical lead for credits in Texas, Kansas and Colorado metropolitan districts. Ken has served as analytical lead in Missouri and New Mexico and has also covered charter school credits nationally. 

Prior to joining Moody’s, Ken worked for the City of San Antonio in the Office of Management and Budget. Ken holds a Master of Public Service and Administration degree from the Bush School at Texas A&M University

Maddie Atkins is an Analyst for the San Francisco Local Governments Ratings Team covering credits primarily in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. Maddie serves as the lead analyst for local government credits in Nevada. In addition to her analytical work, Maddie contributes to research on water in the western US.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Maddie was a Financial Consultant with Carollo Engineers. Maddie holds a Master of Environmental Management with a focus in Water Resources Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University and BA degrees in Geology and Environmental Studies from Case Western Reserve University.

Frank Mamo is a Vice President, Senior Analyst on Moody’s US Local Government team. He is the state lead for local government ratings in Georgia, covering cities, counties, K-12 school districts, and municipal utilities. Frank’s portfolio also includes Florida and South Carolina local governments. Frank has led a range of research initiatives that assess how demographic, economic and socioeconomic trends influence local government credit quality.

Prior to joining Moody’s, Frank was a tax policy researcher at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy as well as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, DC. Frank holds an MPA from Columbia University and a BBA from the University of Iowa.

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.