Ashlee B. Gabrysch is the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Chicago. She brings over nineteen years of professional experience and twelve years of public finance expertise spanning credit analysis, fiscal management, and organizational leadership across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.

Prior to joining the City, Gabrysch served as Senior Director and Mid-Central Region Manager at Fitch Ratings, where she led a regional analytical team covering local and state government credits across a $50 billion portfolio. She previously served as Deputy Director of Secure Choice at the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, as a Financial Research Analyst at the Cook County Office of the Chief Financial Officer, and as a Senior Research Associate at The Civic Federation.

Gabrysch held a Master of Public Policy with Distinction from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, where she was a full tuition Dean’s Scholar, and a Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of Chicago.

She was recognized with the C.C. DuBois Alumni Service Award from the University of Chicago Harris School in 2025, the Bond Buyer Rising Star Award in 2023, and the Global Fitch ACE Award in 2023. She served as Global Chair of the Fitch Women’s Network, leading a 1,400 member organization across 18 cities and 6 continents.

Gabrysch serves on the boards of the Chicago Summer Business Institute and the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, and teaches at the Municipal Bond Club of Chicago’s Bond School.

Jeff has been a municipal securities credit analyst and market strategist for over 25 years, with expertise extending to all sectors of the public finance ecosystem. During this time, Jeff has held leadership positions across sell-side and buy-side organizations. In his current role at The Bond Buyer, Jeff developed and launched the firm’s municipal market intelligence platform. 
 
Jeff provides thought leadership and subject matter expertise, offering actionable guidance to The Bond Buyer’s stakeholder communities, including legal counsel, municipal advisors, issuers, underwriters and institutional investors. In this position, Jeff often moderates topical panels and presents to various industry organizations.
 
Prior to joining The Bond Buyer, Jeff was a Managing Director and head of Oppenheimer & Co.’s municipal research and strategy effort. Before Oppenheimer, Jeff worked as a Senior Municipal Analyst in a major insurance company’s investment division and served as the Director of Municipal Research at two buy-side investment management firms. At these firms, Jeff provided in-depth municipal credit analysis and strategic guidance for managing capital and risk exposure. 
 
Jeff holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Delaware. He is a member of the Municipal Analysts Group of New York and the National Federation of Municipal Analysts. Jeff maintains FINRA Series 7, 63, 50, 52, and 53 licenses and has received industry awards.

Madison is an Executive Director in Oppenheimer’s Public Finance Investment Banking group in Chicago, recognized for her high‑impact transaction work and hands‑on client coverage. Throughout her career, she has played key roles in financings for major issuers including the City of Chicago, the State of Wisconsin, and the Indianapolis Local Public Improvement Bond Bank. She was part of the senior managing finance team on the City of Chicago’s Sales Tax Securitization Corporation 2023 transaction, which won The Bond Buyer’s 2023 Deal of the Year award. Madison was subsequently named a Rising Star by The Bond Buyer in 2024.

Madison’s dedication to the public finance community extends well beyond her day‑to‑day work. She is President of The Municipal Bond Club of Chicago and has previously held multiple leadership positions within Women in Public Finance, including Chair of the inaugural Emerging Leaders Council, where she guided national initiatives to elevate rising professionals and expand access, visibility, and engagement for the next generation of public finance leaders.

Phil Culpepper is a Managing Director and Head of Public Finance at American Veterans Group PBC, a veteran-owned broker-dealer, where he leads the firm’s municipal finance practice. A non-commissioned officer and U.S. Army veteran, Phil brings over 20 years of public finance experience spanning state government, public-private partnerships, and the capital markets.
 
Phil began his post-military career in Illinois state government, serving as Director of Debt Management for the State of Illinois, Deputy Executive Director and Chief of Staff of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, and as a bond analyst for the Illinois Tollway. During that tenure, he led the issuance of over $10 billion in bond and derivative transactions. After departing state government in 2010, Phil joined Ramirez & Co. as Head of Midwest Operations, where he served as their lead banker on over $15 billion in primary market offerings.
 
Phil holds a degree in Economics from Loyola University Chicago.

Randy Conner is the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Water Management (DWM. No newcomer to the field, he is returning to the role after previously serving as the DWM Commissioner from 2017 to the end of 2020. 

Commissioner Conner brings more than two decades of experience in urban engineering and infrastructure to the department. He formerly served as the First Deputy Commissioner at both the Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation.

At the Department of Water Management, Commissioner Conner oversees a system that delivers high-quality drinking water to more than 42% of Illinois residents daily. This system includes over 4,300 miles of water mains, 4,450 miles of sewer mains, two of the world’s largest water treatment facilities, and over 2,100 employees. He manages an annual operating budget of approximately $1.4 billion and a capital budget of approximately 750 million dollars annually.

When he previously held the position, Commissioner Conner created a Division of Performance Management to elevate professionalism in the department; established mandatory EEO training for all employees to improve the department’s culture; and oversaw the implementation of the ambitious 10-year “Building a New Chicago” capital plan which represented a $6 billion investment in water infrastructure to support the city’s future growth.

In 2024, Commissioner Conner will spearhead DWM efforts to deliver a robust capital improvement program to replace water mains, and sewer mains and renovate critical DWM facilities. He will ensure that the department will continue to increase the number of lead service line replacements throughout the City. This work is critically important as the nation looks to Chicago- the city with the most lead service lines at 406,000- for best practices on how to effectively address this legacy infrastructure issue.

He is a licensed minister and has logged thousands of service hours with many community and civic service organizations. A recipient of the Man of Honor Award from the Chicago Defender, he attended Purdue University, where he studied Engineering and Construction Principles, and is certified in Emergency Action Planning by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A lifelong Chicago resident, he resides in the West Pullman neighborhood and is the father of one daughter. 

Young Lee, global head of Orrick’s Infrastructure practice, advises on market-leading infrastructure and energy projects involving complex project structuring and innovative delivery models, including public-private partnerships (P3), design-build, progressive design-build, energy-as-a-service (EaaS) structures and long-term concessions. She represents sponsors, lenders and investors across the full project lifecycle, including development, construction, financing, operations, acquisitions and divestitures of infrastructure and energy assets. Her experience spans resilient energy infrastructure, distributed energy and EaaS platforms, and many of the largest U.S. P3 transactions to reach financial close in recent years. Young is highly recognized in the market, with top-tier accolades that include Band 1 rankings from Chambers USA and Chambers Global in P3 & Infrastructure and recognition as a Leading Lawyer by Legal 500 for Project Finance & Infrastructure. Young also serves as Lead Director of Orrick’s Board.

Beth joined Oppenheimer in 2024 as Head of Public Finance. With over 30 years of industry expertise, she has completed $40 billion in transactions throughout her career. Ms. Coolidge most recently led UBS’s Midwest Public Finance unit for over six years.

She has served as lead banker on numerous hallmark financings including: the Chicago Housing Authority’s Capital Program Revenue Bonds, backed solely by the federal grants that the Authority received from HUD, which won the inaugural Deal of the Year award by The Bond Buyer in 2002, The Indianapolis Local Public Improvement Bond Bank’s Community Justice Center financing which won Midwest Deal of the Year in 2019; and, most recently, Ms. Coolidge was awarded the 2023 Bond Buyer Deal of the Year Award for her work on the City of Chicago’s Sales Tax Securitization transaction, inclusive of the City’s inaugural social bond issuance that achieved the highest pricing differential on an ESG financing to date.

In 2017, Beth was recognized as a Trailblazing Women in Public Finance by The Bond Buyer and continues to pave the way for women of our industry.

Ms. Coolidge is a lifelong resident of the City of Chicago and serves on numerous charitable boards in Chicago. She has served on the board of the Chicago Summer Business Institute since its inception and has served as Co-Chair for over 10 years. Ms. Coolidge also serves on the board of The Civic Federation of Chicago where she sits on the Executive Committee. She serves on the Board of Regents of St. Ignatius College Prep, and the boards of Catholic Charities, The Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago and the board of Maryville Academy. Ms. Coolidge is also a member of The Economic Club of Chicago where she serves on the membership committee. In October 2018, Ms. Coolidge was appointed to the board of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago City Council. For the past 10 years, she has served as an instructor for the Municipal Bond Club of Chicago Bond School.

Ms. Coolidge received her B.A. in English from the University of Illinois‐Urbana on a General Assembly Scholarship. Ms. Coolidge holds FINRA Series 7, 24, 52, 53, 63, 65, and 79 licenses.

Phil is the Executive Director of the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority. The Authority works with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, financing a water and sewer system that serves 9.5 million people. The system’s $36B 11-year Capital Improvement Plan funds maintenance and improvements to a water and sewer system which delivers 1,000mgd of clean water and treats 1,230mgd of wastewater. Phil started his public finance career in 2000 working for the Authority, and has since worked as an investment banker, municipal financial advisor and for Nassau County and New York City. In July 2023, Phil returned to the Authority to serve as its Executive Director. Prior to his career in finance, Phil worked as an environmental engineer, designing and building nuclear waste treatment facilities. He holds an MPA from Columbia University, an MS from the University of Texas, and a BS from Cornell University.

Mark Teden oversees the origination, underwriting and servicing of MassHousing’s multifamily loans, leads the development of new loan products and business opportunities, and serves as the primary liaison for the Agency’s multifamily development and management business lines. Immediately prior to joining MassHousing, Mark served as the Managing Principal and Chief Operating Officer for Bruner/Cott & Associates, Inc., and prior to that as Executive Vice President at Cambridge Savings Bank. In addition, Mark served as a Board member at Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc., for over 20 years. He earned an undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Master’s in Business Administration from Northeastern University.