Lorry Palacios is a Senior Managing Director at Ramirez & Co., Inc. and is the Co- Head of the Public Finance department at the Firm. She provides investment banking coverage to state and local issuers across Texas as a senior banker and in the Midwest as Head of the Midwest Region for the Firm. She joined Ramirez in January 2011 and has 25 years of public finance experience. In 2001, she began her career in structured finance with a focus on single family and multifamily housing issuers while at her prior firms of UBS and RBC. Ms. Palacios is an Independent Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and was elected by the Bank’s members at-large to serve a four-year term that commenced on January 1, 2023. Lorry is an active member of the Women in Public Finance (National, Texas and Chicago chapter) and has participated in the mentoring and scholarship committees. She is a past board member of the Municipal Advisory Council of Texas and is a member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Austin Advisory Council. She received a BA in Public Policy from Stanford University and holds Series 7, 52, 53, 63 and SIE licenses.
Yousef R. Salama is Director of Education at the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI), where he leads the development and delivery of professional education for public-sector infrastructure leaders. He oversees AIAI’s P3 Certificate Program, curriculum development, instructor engagement and continuing-education initiatives, and led AIAI’s successful effort to become an IACET Accredited Provider.
Yousef brings more than 15 years of experience spanning infrastructure policy, P3 procurement, project development and institutional capacity building. His previous roles include Director in Deloitte’s Middle East Government and Infrastructure practice, where he advised on major transportation and airport P3s; leadership positions at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he helped advance a multibillion-dollar P3 pipeline; and Principal at PPP Canada, where he supported public agencies in developing and procuring major infrastructure projects. Yousef holds a Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law from York University in Toronto, Canada.
Ron Banaszek is currently Executive Director, Head of Public Finance and Underwriting at Blaylock Van. He joined Blaylock Van in 2022 after more than 11 years at Ramirez & Co., where he served as Municipal Institutional Sales Manager and a member of the Institutional Sales Team. Prior to Ramirez, he worked in the municipal department at UBS as an institutional salesperson and later as sales manager. Since joining Blaylock, Mr. Banaszek has served as a lead underwriter and the firm’s National Sales Manager, roles he held until January 2026, when he was promoted to Head of Public Finance. He brings more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry, including over 30 years focused on the municipal bond market, with extensive background in trading, underwriting, and sales. Mr. Banaszek holds Series 7, 53, and 63 licenses.
