NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kris Kolluri was appointed to lead the agency effective January 16, 2025. Mr. Kolluri is responsible for the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system with more than 11,000 employees providing more than 944,000 weekday trips on over 250 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through the agency’s Access Link paratransit service.
Prior to his appointment, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Gateway Development Commission, a bi-state entity overseeing the $16.1 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, the nation’s largest and most urgent infrastructure project. In two years, he transformed the organization from a start-up to one that received the largest investment the federal government has ever made in any mass transit project, closed on the largest Railroad & Rehabilitation Improvement Program loan package in United States history, and initiated construction of the first set of heavy rail tunnels under the Hudson River in over one hundred and fourteen years.
Previously, Mr. Kolluri served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Camden Community Partnership, Inc., a community and economic development nonprofit located in Camden, New Jersey. He oversaw an organization focused on designing and implementing outcome-focused and resident-driven programs. Under his leadership and in partnership with the local government, the organization implemented a first mile/last mile transportation solution for residents, an innovative job placement program, a once-in-a-generation street improvement program, the development and rehabilitation of six waterfront and neighborhood parks, and a large-scale COVID vaccine site.
He also previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Rowan University/Rutgers – Camden Board of Governors. During his tenure, he oversaw the development of the first of its kind multi-institutional research and teaching facility and implemented the Medical Assistants Training Program and the Alzheimer’s Patient Navigator Program, which were a pathway to serve a community health need and create jobs for residents.
He was the Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, where he oversaw the state’s $5.3 billion school construction program, focused primarily on socio-economically disadvantaged communities. He was also Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, where he led the effort to increase investment in mass transit and served as Board Chair of NJ TRANSIT and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and South Jersey Transportation Authority Commissioner, overseeing seventeen thousand employees.
Prior to his work in the infrastructure and social equity space, Mr. Kolluri worked as a staff member in the United States Congress for over a decade, eventually becoming a senior policy advisor to House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt. In that capacity, he assisted freshman members of Congress in developing long-term policy initiatives.
Mr. Kolluri has a Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University. He was an adjunct faculty member at Rutgers University Law School (2011 & 2012 academic years). He also served on the Rowan University Board of Trustees, the Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Board, and the New Jersey Board of the Regional Plan Association.
Scott Monroe is a San Francisco-based Senior Director in Fitch Ratings’ Global Infrastructure and Project Finance group. He heads the North American Infrastructure Team, consisting of approximately 20 analysts, which covers airports, seaports, toll roads, social infrastructure and sports facilities using demand-based and availability pay financing structures. Scott joined Fitch in 2007 as a member of Fitch’s tax-supported and later its water/sewer groups.
Scott earned a BS in business administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and is a CFA Charterholder. In addition, he is a member of the California Society of Municipal Analysts and the National Federation of Municipal Analysts. Scott was named as a Rising Star by the Bond Buyer in 2018.
Christopher Good is Managing Director and Head of Higher Education & Nonprofit Finance within the Global Investment Banking division at the Royal Bank of Canada. With over 15 years of experience, he advises universities, investors, governments, and nonprofit organizations on strategic and financial matters, including infrastructure monetization, M&A, debt capital markets structuring, and public-private partnerships. Christopher holds a master’s degree in public finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government and a doctorate in education finance from Penn’s Graduate School of Education. He teaches at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service, where his research is focused on financial sustainability in academic institutions. He also serves on the corporate boards of a private NCAA Division I research university and a public benefit corporation dedicated to medical education. Chris is based in New York City.
Douglas J. Kilcommons is a Managing Director in the Public Finance team at Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA). He is responsible for assigning and maintaining debt ratings on municipal issuers including tax-supported state and local government credits, as well as revenue-supported credits including transportation/project finance, higher education and health care. Doug also serves as rating Chair for Public Finance Credit Committee and is actively involved in methodology development and refinement.
Prior to joining KBRA, Doug served as a Senior Credit Officer and Executive Loan Committee member at First Republic Bank. In this role, Doug was responsible for approving loans to nonprofits, including educational and cultural institutions and social service providers. He also partnered closely with business bankers to tailor solutions to the unique needs of nonprofits and participated actively in the firm’s targeted client calling effort. In April 2020, Doug was asked to manage the credit process for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and served as senior credit approver on several complex PPP bankruptcies and loan workouts. Doug also mentored business banking support analysts at First Republic, notably on accounting for tax-exempt organizations and on underwriting fundamentals.
Previously, Doug held senior positions at Wells Fargo Bank, most recently as National Credit team manager for the Education/Nonprofit Banking team. In this role, he was responsible for extending credit to college, university, and nonprofit clients, monitored a $6.9 billion portfolio of loan commitments, and managed a team of portfolio managers. He also held senior positions at Moody’s Investor Service, where he headed the Public Finance Local Government Surveillance team, and at Fitch Ratings, where he was managing director of the Education/Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Housing sectors. While at Wells Fargo, Moody’s and Fitch, Doug refined analytic policies and practices, authored risk acceptance criteria and rating methodologies, and oversaw development and implementation of credit monitoring and surveillance systems. Doug also held positions at Radian Asset Assurance, Neuberger Berman, and Barclays. He began his career as a municipal analyst at Standard & Poor’s, focusing on enterprise credits, including higher education, health care, and transportation.
Doug holds a B.S. in financial management from the State University of New York at Binghamton and an MBA in investment management from Pace University.
Maria Sazon has been a Director in the Public Finance Underwriting Team of Assured Guaranty since July 2013, specializing in higher education financings and various tax backed, special districts, and enterprise credits. Previously, Maria was a Vice President and senior municipal research analyst in the Fixed Income Group of asset management company AllianceBernstein for 13 years. As a generalist with focus on education bonds, Maria was responsible for investment recommendations for the short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term tax-exempt portfolios. Additionally, Maria has experience in public charter school financings and policies as Senior Director of Facilities Initiatives at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in Washington, D.C. and subsequently, as Director of School Finance at the State University of New York (SUNY) Charter Schools Institute, the largest charter school authorizer in the state of New York.
Maria is a member of the Board of Governors of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts.
Maria holds a B.S. Degree in Business Management from Saint Peter’s University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and a M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University.
Daniel Solender is responsible for the oversight of all of Lord Abbett’s Tax-Free Fixed Income investment activities, including portfolio management, research, and trading. He also serves as the lead Portfolio Manager for the firm’s Tax-Free Fixed Income strategies. In addition, Mr. Solender serves on the firm’s Investment and Management Committees.
Mr. Solender joined Lord Abbett in 2006 and was named Partner in 2008. His previous experience includes serving as Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Nuveen Investments; Principal and Portfolio Manager at Vanguard Group; and Financial Analyst/Assistant Manager, Research and Product Development at Citibank. He has worked in the financial services industry since 1987.
Mr. Solender has been featured in a number of financial media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s, USA Today, Bloomberg News Service, Reuters News Service, and Dow Jones Newswires, and has appeared on Bloomberg Television, BNN, CNBC, and First Business Morning News. He earned a BA in history from Columbia University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He also is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designation.
Adam Gordon is a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Project Finance and Public Finance group. His practice concentrates on infrastructure, economic development, and project finance.
Adam serves as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriters’ counsel, and bank counsel on tax-exempt and taxable bond issuances. He has worked on private activity, nonprofit, housing, transportation, pooled lending, waste management, and public power financings, and has written and published articles on public finance topics.
Justin Marlowe is a Research Professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Center for Municipal Finance. He has published five books – including the forthcoming Public Debt Management: Strategy and Evidence (Cambridge University Press) – and dozens of articles on the municipal bond market, infrastructure finance, governmental accounting, and local fiscal policy. He regularly works as an expert witness in federal and state courts, and has served on technical advisory bodies for the California State Auditor, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency on Planning, among many others. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and co-hosts (with Liz Farmer) the popular Harris School-sponsored podcast “The Public Money Pod.” He holds a Ph.D. in political science and public administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.