Key Staff

Mr. Cushine specializes in comprehensive financing plans, the financial structuring of projects, infrastructure, real estate development, the assessment of best practices and performance measurement, and the development of innovative financing strategies. Mr. Cushine has worked in transportation finance for over 25 years. From 1990 to 1996, Mr. Cushine held a series of positions for the Aviation Department of the Port Authority of NY & NJ. In 1997, he became a founding member of Frasca to provide financial advisory and strategic consulting services for airports. He currently serves as advisor to several large airport issuers, including Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Philadelphia, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Charlotte Douglas, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, Los Angeles World Airports, and Phoenix Sky Harbor. He advised the PANYNJ on the DBFOM P3 process for a new LGA Terminal B, the City of Chicago on its TIFIA application for the O’Hare intermodal facility, and the FAA on a comprehensive review of the Passenger Facility Charge program. Mr. Cushine previously served as a panel member for the Transportation Research Board’s ACRP Project on “Airport Airline Agreements and Rate Methodologies”. Mr. Cushine received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, magna cum laude, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative. He has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Mr. Pittman specializes in developing innovative financial strategies for the advancement and expansion of airport and seaport capital projects. He has extensive airport and transportation finance experience as an investment banker, financial advisor and investment advisor. He has served in a consulting role to a variety of large capital programs including the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the San Diego International Airport, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the Los Angeles World Airports, the Philadelphia International Airport, and the Port of Los Angeles. He has over 25 years of municipal investment banking and project finance experience. Prior to joining Frasca in 2008, Mr. Pittman spent over a decade on Wall Street. He was a First Vice President in the Los Angeles office of PaineWebber and UBS, working on a variety of transactions with a total par value in excess of $8 billion. He subsequently joined the Los Angeles office of Bear Stearns, where he worked on over $10 billion of transactions, achieved the title Managing Director/Principal, and relocated to Atlanta to open a new regional office for the firm in 2007. A licensed attorney, Mr. Pittman served as a bond counsel lawyer before becoming an investment banker. In addition, he was appointed an Assistant Deputy Mayor for Policy and Finance under Mayor Richard Riordan and served as the debt manager for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Mr. Pittman is a graduate of Howard University with a B.A. in Political Science (1988) and received his J.D. from George Washington University (1992). He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative and a registered investment advisor. He has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Mr. Sun’s municipal finance career began in 1998, and he has been with Frasca since 2009. Previously, he was a Vice President in the public finance departments of Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch where he specialized in structuring and executing transactions for airport and other transportation issuers. Mr. Sun has experience with a variety of financings including fixed rate debt, variable rate debt, credit facilities, derivatives, interim financings and commercial paper. Mr. Sun graduated with honors from James Madison University with a B.B.A in Accounting and received his M.B.A. in Finance from New York University. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative. He has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Mr. Bean has been an investment banker or financial advisor continuously since 1985. His experience includes financings for state and local governments, debt refunding, debt restructurings, derivative products (including interest rate swaps, commodity swaps, and unwinding interest rate and basis swaps), public private partnerships, and mergers/demergers and acquisitions. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative. He has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Mr. Belinsky joined the firm in 2011, and has more than 30 years in government and finance, specializing in financial, strategic, and transactional advisory for airports and infrastructure development projects. Mr. Belinsky currently leads Frasca’s P3 practice focusing on infrastructure, including airports, real estate, parking and arenas. Mr. Belinsky advised LaGuardia CTB $4 billion Replacement Project, the Los Angeles World Airports on its $5.5 billion P3 Landside Access Modernization Program, Westchester County on the privatization of their Airport under the FAA Pilot Privatization Program and Port Everglades on the Development of a logistics center and foreign trade zone. He has advised the City of Kansas City ATAG committee on future Terminal development at MCI. As part of these projects, Mr. Belinsky reviewed and evaluated capital programs, financing structures and assisted in the development of alternative financing structures and the development of revenues streams. He assists ISP, STT, STX, Virgin Islands Port Authority, Bluegrass Station, State of New Jersey, Port Everglades, Westchester County and the 5th Avenue Association in the identification and development of other potential P3 Opportunities. Over the course of his career, at Merrill Lynch he served as the investment banker on the issuance of more than $10 billion of financing for various governmental entities and developed more than $250 million of real estate. He also has extensive green technology development experience, having developed multiple LEED projects and negotiated power purchase agreements for solar power. Mr. Belinsky served as a board member of the Long Island Power Authority. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany with a B.A. in Political Science and received his M.B.A. from Columbia University. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative. He has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Mr. Kurz has over 20 years of experience providing consulting and investment banking services to a diverse collection of municipal, nonprofit, and corporate clients. Prior to joining Frasca in 2024, Mr. Kurz spent nearly 12 years in public finance at Morgan Stanley where he successfully executed over $15 billion of senior managed bond transactions for a wide range of municipal entities including state and local governments, water, wastewater, and public power utilities, airports and other transportation agencies, K-12 and community college districts, and nonprofits, among others. Mr. Kurz specializes in implementing comprehensive plans of finance to help issuers minimize their borrowing costs, manage their risk exposures, increase their future flexibility, and achieve their immediate and long-term financial goals. In addition, Mr. Kurz has extensive experience developing sophisticated rating agency strategies that achieve strong credit outcomes, structuring complex bond transactions to raise capital via a range of financial products, and coordinating extensive marketing campaigns that maximize investor engagement. Mr. Kurz’s structuring experience includes general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, certificates of participation and lease revenue bonds, commercial paper and extendible commercial paper, floating rate notes, put bonds, and variable rate demand bonds. Mr. Kurz has a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University (2004) as well as an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA (2012). He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative. He has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Ms. Shanahan joined Frasca in August 2020. She has more than 30 years of financial management experience. Prior to joining Frasca, she was the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Global Business at Denver International Airport, the 5th busiest airport in the U.S. serving more than 69 million passengers in 2019. In that capacity, Ms. Shanahan led the business units that include finance, airline affairs, air service development, business management services, internal audit, IT, and strategic financial planning. She directed the financial and strategic management of the airport’s capital program and operating budget with annual revenues of more than $1 billion and a five-year $3.5 billion capital program. She was also responsible for overseeing the airport’s $2 billion expansion project adding 39 additional gates and renewing the existing concourse facilities. She developed the funding plan for the capital program, successfully closing the largest single municipal and aviation bond transaction ever completed, earning the Bond Buyer Deal of the Year award for 2018. During her six-year tenure at the airport, she also took on dual roles as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to Denver, she managed the finances, business development and airline affairs for the Colorado Springs Airport as Assistant Director of Aviation/CFO. She was instrumental in the development of the airport’s business park and the airport’s strategic plan. Her aviation and financial expertise include negotiating airline agreements, development and financing of real estate and infrastructure, bankruptcy negotiations, and Public Private Partnerships. Ms. Shanahan’s municipal experience includes managing the finances of Denver’s Wastewater and Stormwater Enterprise that is responsible for constructing, operating, and maintaining the sanitary sewer and storm drainage systems for the City and County of Denver. In addition, she has experience in both the private and non-profit sectors and has served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including the Federal Reserve’s 10th District Economic Advisory Committee. She is a Chartered Global Management Accountant. She is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Mr. Wheet joined Frasca as a Managing Director in 2009. He possesses a wealth of airport financing experience, having worked as senior managing underwriter or financial advisor for more than 25 years on many of the largest airport capital development programs in the country. Prior to joining Frasca, he was a public finance investment banker at Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co., where he headed the airport finance group. In addition, he worked as an attorney for five years with two national law firms, and with the government of the District of Columbia, responsible for the issuance of over $2 billion of debt by the District. His aggregate airport financing experience as a banker and financial advisor exceeds $35 billion. He has been involved in a range of transactions of all types, including those secured by general airport revenues, PFCs and CFCs, fixed and variable rate financings, special facility transactions, and transactions involving the use of swaps. He also served as the lead banker for the inaugural issuance of debt by the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority and currently advises the Maryland Department of Transportation and the District’s Convention and Sports Authority. Mr. Wheet is a graduate of Harvard University (A.B. with honors) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law (J.D.). He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative. He has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Mr. Chan joined Frasca in 2018 after 7 years at Rice Financial. Prior to joining Rice Financial in 2011, Mr. Chan worked at Precision Analytics, where he provided quantitative services to analyze, structure and verify the full scope of municipal bond issues. Before his work at Precision Analytics, Mr. Chan worked for DBC for 17 years. At DBC, Mr. Chan led the original team that created and developed DBC Finance to become the leading software application for structuring and analyzing municipal finance transactions. At Rice Financial, Mr. Chan was responsible for the quantitative analysis to structure bond transactions for major Northeast clients including New York City (GO, TFA, Water), New York State (DASNY, ESD), New York State EFC, New York City MTA, and the State of Connecticut. Mr. Chan has a B.S. in Computer Science from Yale University. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Ms. Klaiss joined Frasca in 2018 after over 18 years with Raymond James and Morgan Keegan. Prior to joining Morgan Keegan in 2000, Ms. Klaiss spent three years with the investment banking firm of Ferris, Baker Watts, Inc. and two years with the Pennsylvania regional accounting firm of Kreischer, Miller. Her municipal finance experience includes structuring the financings on over $6 billion of transactions on behalf of Virginia state and local governments and jail authorities as well as airport issuers throughout the country. Ms. Klaiss has led recent underwriting transactions for local governments such as the cities of Winchester and Newport News in addition to providing senior level banking support for recent state authority underwritings for the Virginia Public Building Authority and the Virginia Resources Authority. She has also provided senior level banking support on airport underwritings for issuers such as Indianapolis, Boise, Norfolk, Massport, Richmond and MWAA. Her municipal advisory experience includes working on behalf of GOAA and Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport, as well as the counties of Roanoke, Fluvanna, and Hanover in addition to Lynchburg College, the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority and the Town of Altavista. Ms. Klaiss’s general governmental municipal advisory assignments have varied and consisted, among other duties, of issuing and evaluating Request for Proposals, drafting rating presentations, negotiating contracts with banks and vendors, guiding the schedule of the financings, quantitative analysis, and document review. Ms. Klaiss attended Bloomsburg University. She is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative. She has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Mr. McNutt joined Frasca as a Director in 2017. He has over 10 years of airport finance experience, having worked for seven years at both Citi and Jefferies Municipal Finance Departments as part of their Airport Finance Groups as well as one year at Prager. He specializes in quantitative analytics, financing strategies and transaction execution and has provided investment banking and/or financial advisory services to a wide variety of large, medium and small hubs including Burlington International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Denver International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Pittsburgh International Airport, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, as well as special facility financings for American, Delta and United. Tim also worked for one year at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey as a Manager in the Long Range Financial Forecasting group determining the Port’s available capital capacity. He has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Rutgers University. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative. He has passed the Series 54 Municipal Advisor Principal Qualification Examination.

Ms. Richardson assists airport operators in use agreement negotiations through the development of financial forecasts, comparative analysis of airline agreements at other airports, presentations to air carriers, and agreement drafting. Ms. Richardson has extensive knowledge of the federal laws and policies that pertain to airport funding and rate setting and specializes in evaluating airport financial data, preparing requests for federal funding, benchmarking cost and staffing indicators, and forecasting financial results. Her airport consulting work spans a wide range of projects including bond issuances, federal funding applications, and rental car and parking development. Ms. Richardson has assisted many airport sponsors, including the City of Philadelphia, Maryland Aviation Administration, City of Manchester’s Department of Aviation, Los Angeles World Airports, Rhode Island Airport Corporation, Tulsa Airport Authority, Norfolk Airport Authority, and City of Boise. She contributes to industry trade associations including Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). At ACI-NA and AAAE meetings she has organized conferences and regularly presents on topics such as airline agreements, airport capital funding sources, rental cars and parking, PFC funding, and FAA Letters of Intent (LOI) applications. Before joining Frasca, Ms. Richardson worked for LeighFisher, a major investment bank, and Sun Microsystems. She holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. She is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Mr. Townsend joined Frasca after serving as the Chief Financial Officer of the Houston Airport System. Prior to that, Mr. Townsend was a consultant with LeighFisher where his clients included the operators of airports serving Albuquerque, Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, and Ontario. With expertise in capital program financial planning, airline negotiations, and airline rates and charges, Mr. Townsend developed long-range financial models for four of the five busiest airports in the U.S. For Atlanta, he assisted with capital program financial planning and airline negotiations related to the airport’s $1.4 billion international terminal, and for Dallas/Fort Worth, he assisted in preparing feasibility studies for the airport’s $3.5 billion capital improvement program. Most recently in Houston, he led financial planning and airline negotiations for HAS’s $4.0 billion capital improvement program, including the proposed $1.5 billion international terminal and FIS expansion at IAH. He has prepared passenger facility charge applications and amendments for Albuquerque, Baltimore/Washington, and Houston. At Frasca, Mr. Townsend has conducted various financial consulting and advisory projects, including passenger facility charge applications for Los Angeles; parking and ground transportation studies for Baltimore/Washington, Long Beach, and Orange County; financial modeling for Minneapolis/St. Paul; capital program financial planning for Long Beach, Orlando, San Diego, and Syracuse; rating agency presentations and coordination for Jackson, New Orleans, and San Diego; a management and financial benchmarking study for Louisville; concession program financial analysis for Myrtle Beach; and various air traffic analyses for Jackson, Long Beach, New Orleans, Phoenix, and San Diego. Mr. Townsend has a bachelor’s degree in economics and English literature from Texas Christian University and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Mr. Meador joined Frasca in 2019. He provides quantitative analysis, fundamental research and transaction support to transportation, general municipal and P3 clients. As a Municipal Advisor, Mr. Meador has advised and supported over $12 billion in bond transactions for clients that include Broward County, Florida (Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport), City and County of Denver (Denver International Airport), City of Chicago (Chicago O’Hare International Airport), City of Phoenix, Indianapolis Airport Authority, Los Angeles World Airports, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority, New York City Transitional Finance Authority and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Prior to joining Frasca, Mr. Meador was an Associate in the Municipal Finance department at RBC Capital Markets. At RBC Capital Markets, Mr. Meador structured and supported over $4 billion in senior managed transactions for clients that include City and County of Denver (Denver International Airport), Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, Harris County Toll Road Authority, Los Angeles World Airports, Miami-Dade County, Florida (Miami International Airport), Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Portland International Jetport, Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, State of Mississippi and Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority. Mr. Meador graduated from Villanova University with a B.B.A. in Finance and Real Estate. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Prior to joining Frasca in October of 2022, Mr. Neyer spent 14 years as an airport consultant with LeighFisher/Jacobs where his clients included Albany International Airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, Boise International Airport, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, Greater Rochester International Airport, Miami International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Santa Barbara Airport, T. F. Green International Airport, and Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, among others. With extensive knowledge in capital program financial planning, airline negotiations, and airline rates and charges, Mr. Neyer developed feasibility models and forecasts for the Albany International Airport, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Miami International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, and Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport; rates and charges models for the Greater Rochester International Airport, Santa Barbara Airport, and Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport; and master planning models for the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport and T. F. Green International Airport. At Frasca, Mr. Neyer continues to support airports through airline negotiations, financial planning, and rates and charges including airline negotiations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Greater Rochester International Airport, and Tulsa International Airport; rates and charges at Albany International Airport and Boise International Airport; financial modeling and capital planning at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport; and financial modeling for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Prior to joining LeighFisher, Mr. Neyer was a licensed trader with The Vanguard Group where he traded equities, worked in problem resolution, and developed dashboards for the Vanguard Brokerage Services division. Mr. Neyer has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Ohio University. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Ms. Kanu joined Frasca in 2015. She provides quantitative analysis, fundamental research and transaction support to general municipal and airport clients. Ms. Kanu served as the Program Coordinator for the Quality of Life Unit at the New York County District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Kanu graduated with a B.S. in Actuarial Science from the State University of New York at Albany. She is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Ms. Parry joined Frasca in 2024 as a Senior Associate. Prior to joining Frasca, Ms. Parry held consulting roles with Ricondo & Associates and LeighFisher. Specializing in the areas of PFC applications and amendments, capital planning, financial modeling, and airline rates and charges, Ms. Parry has assisted airport sponsors throughout the US. For the Charleston County Aviation Authority, Ms. Parry assisted in the development of a plan of finance for the Terminal Area Plan at Charleston International Airport. Ms. Parry led the preparation of financial projections for the Houston Airport System’s funding to support the George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport Terminal Redevelopment Program. Ms. Parry also prepared the first PFC application for Omaha Airport Authority, resulting in the initiation of PFC collections at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. She is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Mr. Bannard joined Frasca in 2022 as an Associate. Previously, Mr. Bannard was a consultant with Ricondo where he provided financial modeling and bond feasibility services to clients including the City of Chicago and the Houston Airport System. Prior to that, he was a consultant with LeighFisher, serving clients including the operators of airports in Austin, Boston, and San Francisco. Mr. Bannard has a B.S. in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Mr. Boukas joined Frasca in 2019 as an Analyst. He provides quantitative analysis, fundamental research and transaction support to general municipal and airport clients. Prior to joining Frasca, Mr. Boukas worked as the business line compliance officer for investment banking at MUFG Bank N.A. Mr. Boukas has a B.A. in economics from Haverford College. He is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.

Ms. Ma joined Frasca in 2021 as an Analyst. She provides quantitative analysis, fundamental research and transaction support to general municipal and airport clients. Prior to joining Frasca, Ms. Ma worked as the research analyst for Debtwire which specialized in analysis and reports for fixed income market and defaults. Ms. Ma received her MPA in Public Finance from New York University, and a BS in business and finance from New York University Shanghai. She is an MSRB Municipal Advisor Series 50 Representative.