We are proud to be a Friend of Housing sponsor at the 2022 NCSHA Annual Conference & Showplace. Our analyst will speak at the following session. We hope to see you there!Â
Session:
Post-Pandemic Housing Market Trends (C19, DA, GO, RE, RU)
Monday, October 24 I 1:15 pm
Karen Fitzegerald
Senior Director, U.S. Public Finance
For more information and to view the full agenda, please visit the conference website.Â
Dennis M. Pidherny is a Managing Director – Public Finance at Fitch Ratings, Ltd, and responsible for overseeing the analytical activities for the firm’s Municipal Utilities Groups including U.S. Public Power and Water & Sewer, as well as its Municipal Structured Finance and Housing Groups. In his current role he is also responsible for is also responsible for presenting and disseminating Fitch’s research to a wide variety of institutional investors, lenders and other financial intermediaries.
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As a member of the U.S. Public Finance leadership team, Dennis has also held managerial responsibilities for a broader group of Fitch’s municipal sector revenue-supported analytical groups including Healthcare and Higher Education.
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Prior to joining Fitch Ratings in 2010, Dennis was Managing Director at Ambac Assurance Corporation where he was principally responsible for managing the underwriting activity for the company’s U.S. based investor-owned, cooperative and wholesale municipal utility clients, as well as for many international clients.
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Beginning in 2008, Dennis was Managing Director of Credit Risk Management, where he was responsible for overseeing material credit decisions related to its Structured and Public Finance portfolios and was active in the firm’s governmental affairs and lobbying activities.
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Dennis began his career as a member of The Bank of New York’s Energy Industries Division and Capital Markets Division, where he was responsible for financing domestic and international electric and gas utilities, municipal electric companies, and independent power producers.
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Dennis earned a B.A. degree in Economics and Organizational Psychology from the University of Rochester. He also earned an M.B.A. degree in Finance, Accounting, and Corporate and Market Organizations from the William E. Simon School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester. He has served as a member of the William E. Simon School’s Executive Advisory Committee and its Alumni Council, and is a frequent seminar speaker.
Arlene Bohner is head of Fitch Ratings' U.S. Public Finance Department. In this role, Arlene leads a national team responsible for analytical coverage, criteria and research commentary for a wide range of public finance issuers, including state and local governments, hospitals and life plan communities, higher education and nonprofit institutions, public power and water & sewer utilities, community development & social lending organizations as well as municipal structured finance ratings.
Arlene joined Fitch in 2010 and is based in New York City. Prior to joining Fitch, Arlene was a principal at MuniPro, a consulting firm providing credit-related services to commercial banks, rating agencies and bond insurers. She also served as vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s Investors Service.
Arlene received a B.A. in Political Science from Villanova University, and a Master of Governmental Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government. She is a member of the Municipal Analysts Group of New York, Women in Public Finance, Northeast Women in Public Finance and the National Federation of Municipal Analysts.
Karen Fitzgerald recently joined Fitch Ratings in U.S. Public Finance (USPF) as a Senior Director and the new Sector Head for Community Development & Social Lending (CDSL). Karen previously spent over two decades at S&P Global Ratings, where she developed a reputation as a recognized leader in affordable housing and municipal structured finance. Prior to joining Fitch Ratings, Karen served as the analytical leader for USPF Housing Enterprises & Structured Securities, and most recently as a Director and Review Officer on the Analytic Quality & Validation team under S&P Global’s Risk & Compliance division. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and an MBA in finance from Yale University’s School of Management. Karen is based in Fitch’s San Francisco office.
Omid Rahmani is an associate director with Fitch Ratings' U.S. Public Finance Tax-Supported group, where he serves as the US Public Finance, International Public Finance and Global Infrastructure & Project Finance cyber security lead. In addition, he serves as a representative in the company-wide cyber risk group and as a cyber risk subject matter resource in the company's cross practice ESG group. Omid has been recognized as one of the Bond Buyer 'Rising Stars' of 2021 and has been featured as a keynote speaker at national conferences on cyber risk in public finance. Prior to joining Fitch Ratings, Omid worked as an analyst at S&P Global with a focus on public finance utilities and cyber risk. Omid is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and subsequent to his schooling worked at the US House of Representatives. Omid is also a National Geographic featured field archeologist and generally spends vacations working on archaeological sites in South America. In addition, Omid is very active with several charities and community activities in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington DC areas.