New board and reset as Women in Public Finance celebrates 30 years

Women in Public Finance kicks off its 30th year with a diverse new board and plans for a strategic reset.

At the group's January meeting in New Orleans, "it was wonderful to see that even our first-year board members had a lot of input to share," said WPF President Melanie Johnson, managing director at Piper Sandler & Co. "Everyone is very passionate."

The board reflects a range of roles, ages and locations, Johnson said, which is appropriate given how much WPF has grown.

"It's really great that we will be back in Chicago this year (for the annual conference Sept. 16-18), where Women in Public Finance was founded," Johnson said. "We're hoping to have our founders involved in some way," to honor those who started the organization and saw the need for it.

As it turns 30, WPF is revisiting its mission and core principles as well as gauging how to grow its chapters and looking ahead, Johnson said.

It has hired a consulting firm and is speaking with the various stakeholders, including WPF's founders; past, current and future presidents; chapter presidents; outgoing board members and the Emerging Leaders Council (ELC).

The ELC encourages those early in their careers to get involved, Johnson said. Council members help the WPF board as well as launch their own initiatives, such as the Bonds 101 webinar series, which they marketed to college students who might be interested in public finance careers.

"I don't have a TikTok account, for example," Johnson said. "But these younger women do, they understand where these (young) women are looking, and how they're deciding what sort of careers they are interested in. So that's just been really amazing to have their input."

That's just one of the multiple initiatives the WPF is launching or pursuing.

Others include a speaker bureau, which acts as a resource for conference organizers and others in the public finance industry. WPF wants to expand the bureau to include training for novices who want to become conference panelists and moderators.

In a technology-focused initiative, WPF provided every chapter with a Mailchimp account, with the research, planning and rollout led by Sarah Sanchez of UMB Bank.

As the strategic planning takes shape, Johnson said, "We're looking forward to continuing to grow the organization," which now has over 1,000 members.

"Everyone is just so strong and passionate and hardworking," Johnson said.

WPF was cofounded by Lois Scott, Sarah Eubanks, Courtney Shea and Nancy Remar and has grown to include 25 chapters and affiliates.

Its board's leadership includes Johnson; President-elect Toni-Marie Kahre of San Diego County Water Authority; Immediate Past President Kathleen Bowe of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.; Vice President-Chapters Sarah Sanchez of UMB Bank; Vice President-Conference Shawn Dralle of Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC; Treasurer Laurie Scott of Integrity Public Finance Consulting LLC; Assistant Treasurer Christina Long of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority; and Secretary Anna Horevay of McGuireWoods LLP.

The 2026 WPF directors are Kirsten Chalke of Jefferies LLC; Nicole Conley of Siebert Williams Shank & Co.; Kristel Jech of Regions Bank; Mikki Mathews of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM); Romy McCarthy of D.A. Davidson & Co.; Rebekah Most of SouthState Securities; Emilie Ninan of Ballard Spahr LLP; Bhanu Patil Trustee, Helene Fuld College of Nursing; Christine Reynolds of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; Mary Kate Rogan of PNC Capital Markets LLC; Jessica Skibo of Denver; Abigail Urtz of FHN Financial; LLC; and Liberty Ziegahn, of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.