Dr. Morteza Farajian was appointed by President Trump in 2019 as the Executive Director of the Build America Bureau (Bureau) within the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). Under his leadership, the Bureau has become a dynamic, entrepreneurial team that blends the functions of an accelerator and a financial institution. It not only offers flexible, tailored, and low-cost financing options for infrastructure projects but also strengthens the capacity of local agencies and governments to explore and implement innovative funding, financing, and delivery solutions.
Dr. Farajian’s vision to empower local governments, expand into new asset classes such as airports and transit-oriented development, and proactively engage new clients has led to a loan pipeline exceeding $50 billion by the end of 2024 — 10 times the size of the pipeline in 2019 and nearly equal to the total loans closed in the previous 28 years combined.
Before assuming his current role, Dr. Farajian served as Acting Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Director of the Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Office in Virginia. Over the course of seven years, he led the procurement, financing, and contract negotiations for multimodal transportation projects totaling $14 billion. His strategic reforms to enhance competition, unleash private sector’s innovation, improve stakeholder engagement, and increase accountability elevated Virginia’s P3 program to become the leading P3 program in the U.S., earning numerous national and international accolades.
A true entrepreneur, Dr. Farajian co-founded a crowdfunding platform that allows local and small investors to participate in infrastructure projects, either as equity or subordinate debt investors. He has a proven ability to lead diverse teams and is highly skilled in structuring and negotiating P3 transactions, organizational transformation, conflict resolutions and consensus building, business development, and public policy.
Dr. Farajian’s impactful career in innovative infrastructure delivery and P3s, as well as his role in shaping large-scale multimodal transportation projects, has earned him numerous accolades, including the Trailblazer of the Year award from ARTBA and the P3 Individual of the Year award from P3 Bulletin.
Dr. Farajian holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Project Management from the University of Maryland, along with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.
Kate is the Executive Vice President at Regional Plan Association, overseeing RPA’s programs in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and working to advance RPA’s mission toward improved mobility, equitable economic growth, and environmental resiliency.
Kate joined RPA in 2016 to manage outreach for the Fourth Regional Plan. Since then, she has led RPA’s work for a New York City congestion pricing program, successfully advocated for the Interborough Express, established the Healthy Regions Planning Exchange, built coalitions to help address the region’s affordable housing crisis, and co-authored a number of RPA reports.
Kate has worked for over two decades for more equitable and climate friendly transportation and land use in the New York metropolitan region. She has helped secure billions of dollars in new funding for transit, cycling, walking, and sustainable development projects. She is deeply committed to addressing the region’s housing affordability and climate challenges and promoting a more inclusive society.
Previously, Kate served as assistant commissioner for government and community affairs at the New York City Department of Transportation. She spent a decade at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, serving as executive director from 2007 until 2012. Kate started her career at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation as an urban park ranger in Brooklyn.
Kate is widely published and cited in the media, including the New York Times, WNYC, Daily News, Star Ledger, and CNN. She has served on the New York City Sustainability Advisory Board, the MTA Fare and Toll Evasion Blue Ribbon Panel, and the Newark360 Master Plan Steering Committee. She received the 2025 City and State Above and Beyond Award: Women and the EPA’s Environmental Quality Award in 2011.
Kate has a master’s in urban planning from New York University, a bachelor’s in earth and environmental sciences from Wesleyan University and is an alumna of the International Honors Program. She is married to an urban sociology professor at the City University of New York and together they have two children.
Subit is the Chief Technology Officer at Floodbase where he manages a team of scientists and engineers with the goal of producing high-quality maps of peak flood extent relevant to the needs of disaster responders, flood managers, and insurers. His technical expertise and interest is in developing novel spatio-temporal machine learning methods applicable for large-scale earth imagery. He has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida where his thesis focused on machine learning-based superresolution of microwave imagery for land surface and biophysical models. Prior to Floodbase, Subit worked as a data scientist at Indigo Agriculture and Telluslabs on machine learning-based mapping of crop types, regenerative farming practices and crop yields using satellite imagery.
ALLEGRA F. IVEY is a Managing Director and Co-Head of the East Region in the Municipal Banking and Markets group at BofA Securities. In this role, she leads municipal origination efforts that support critical infrastructure for state and local governments, including airports, surface transportation, water and sewer systems, convention centers, parking facilities and other general governmental projects. Over the course of her career, she has structured and executed more than $50 billion in municipal financings across a wide range of security structures – from traditional general obligation, revenue and special tax bonds to more complex pooled financings, pension-related transactions, and tobacco securitizations.
During her 27-year career, Allegra has executed financings for many of the country’s largest and most sophisticated municipal issuers. Her experience includes multi‑credit engagements with the cities of New York, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Nashville, New Orleans, and Memphis. She has also completed state‑level transactions in Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oregon, and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.
Allegra served as co-chair for Bank of America’s Women’s Leadership Council Americas from 2022-25. She was recognized by The Bond Buyer and Northeast Women in Public Finance as one of the 2023 Trailblazing Women in Public Finance.
She received her bachelor’s degree (cum laude) from Harvard University, concentrating in Economics, and holds a Master in Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Allegra currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Syracuse University and has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs since 2017.
Allegra lives in New York City with her husband, four children, TJ (17), Elle (16), Kellan (14) and Braden (12).
Joung Lee leads AASHTO’s transportation policy, strategic initiatives, and external affairs with Congress, federal agencies, and partner organizations under the direction of the Association’s Strategic Plan and AASHTO President’s Emphasis Areas. Joung began his career with the Federal Highway Administration in 2000 before joining AASHTO in 2007. He founded Young Professionals in Transportation in 2008, and serves on the advisory boards of the Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy and The Road Gang in DC. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael P. Hale, Esq. was appointed Executive Vice President of EFC on November 8, 2021. Prior to this appointment he served in various roles as an attorney in EFC’s Legal Division since 2002. In that capacity he worked on several programs for the Corporation including the New York City Watershed Upgrade Program, served as closing counsel to the Catskill Watershed Corporation’s Catskill Fund for the Future, and was lead EFC attorney for Corporate Governance initiatives. Since 2005, Michael has served as lead and staff counsel for EFC’s Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds financing programs. In that role, he has closed on financings for municipalities and public authorities throughout New York State totaling over $10 billion. Michael has also led efforts to modernize EFC’s financial delivery models. He holds a B.A. from Syracuse University and J.D. from Albany Law School.
Abhishek is a FinTech trailblazer, pioneering the intersection of credit, technology, and data. As the Director of Strategy and Innovation at AG Analytics (AGA), he helps spearhead company strategy, development of cutting-edge products, new business opportunities, and strategic partnerships. In addition to his role at AGA, Abhishek is involved in key projects with AGA’s parent company, Assured Guaranty, a financial guaranty business, which includes credit analytics, electronic execution, and climate risk analysis. With a track record in fixed income, product management, engineering, and data science at various tech startups, he advocates for tech-enabled portfolio management, trading, and credit analysis. Abhishek holds a Master’s Degree in Operations Research from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Mumbai, India.
Kevin Roberts is a Vice President and senior underwriter in BAM’s Eastern Regional Group with a regional focus in the Northeast and Midwest as well as a nationwide sector focus on Airports. He joined BAM in 2017 from Wells Fargo Bank N.A., where he was a credit analyst in the Government Banking division. He holds a B.A. from Columbia University and is a CFA® charterholder.
Emily A. Jamieson was appointed Chief Financial Officer of EFC on June 22, 2023. Prior to joining EFC, she served as Assistant Chief Budget Examiner at the NYS Division of the Budget (DOB) in the Mental Hygiene Unit. In this role she oversaw the budgets for five agencies totaling $5 billion. Previous positions at DOB focused on Capital and Debt, and Performance Management. In the Capital and Debt Unit, Emily was involved in all aspects of the State’s capital budgeting process, including the issuance of Personal Income Tax (PIT) Bonds and Sales Tax Bonds which fund approximately half of the capital plan. She worked on spending models for the State’s statutory debt limit, evaluated and executed improvements to the State capital planning process, and served as Secretary to the Local Government Assistance Corporation. Emily was also involved in ensuring State eligibility for Federal COVID funding, compliance with the continuing disclosure reporting requirements of the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative, and adjusting the structure of the State’s Personal Income Tax Revenue Bonds in response to Federal tax law changes. Emily was the Lean Deployment Manager where she optimized the State’s Annual Information Statement (AIS) production process to ensure quality, reliability, and efficiency to meet deadlines for municipal bond sales. Emily holds a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.