The Municipal Forum of New York will present awards to four industry leaders at its 30th Annual Awards and Urban Leadership Fellows Dinner on May 16.
This year’s honorees are Robert F. Mujica, director of the New York State Division of the Budget, who will receive the Public Service Award; John J. Cross III, associate tax legislative counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award; Doreen M. Frasca, president and principal of Frasca & Associates, who also will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award; and Robin L. Prunty, managing director at S&P Global Ratings, who will receive the Austin Koenen Career Achievement Award.
“The Municipal Forum is thrilled to honor four professionals who have made outstanding contributions to our industry and their respective organizations,” said Marian Zucker, the Forum's president and housing sector lead at S&P. “We are grateful to the New York municipal industry for its support of the Annual Awards dinner, which funds the Urban Leadership Fellows program. To date, the ULF program has mentored 730 high school graduates and we are excited to be expanding this year’s class to 45 interns.”
The event, which will be held at the New York Marriott Marquis, raises funds to support the Urban Leadership Fellows program.
“I certainly didn’t see this coming! I am so grateful to the Forum for this recognition and hope that by honoring the four of us, LOTS of tables will be filled for a great cause," Frasca said. "Educating the next generation about the industry and getting them enthusiastic about the important things we all do is how we leave our mark on the future.”
The ULF program, managed by Futures and Options, was created by the Forum in 1992 to introduce high school students to the municipal securities industry. It provides a paid, mentored summer internship for graduating New York City high school seniors who are interested in careers in finance.
“I am deeply honored to be recognized by the Municipal Forum as this year’s recipient of the Public Service Award and am proud of the Forum’s ongoing support for its Urban Leadership Fellows Program,” Mujica said. “By creating opportunities for New York City high school graduates, these public finance internships strengthen and diversify the sector with the best talent to support New York’s future. All of our achievements are the product of the help and guidance we receive throughout our careers, and I am thankful for all of those who have stood by me and continue to do so today.”
The program places the students at banks, law firms, rating agencies, and public authorities across the city. This year the program will place 45 student interns with 43 hosts. Once again, the program will include a one day trip to Washington, D.C., which includes visits to the MSRB and Capitol Hill.
“It is a humble and special honor to be recognized by the Municipal Forum of New York with a Lifetime Achievement Award,” Cross said. “I have had the rare privilege of working with many members of the Municipal Forum in various capacities in public service and private practice over the years and I have been a beneficiary of their leadership, perspective, and collegiality in public finance.”
Since the program began, over 90% of the fellows have come from families with household incomes under $75,000 a year. The program also provides college scholarships for three years to ULF alumni who meet certain GPA requirements. Each Fellow also receives a book grant.
“It is so impressive to see the ongoing support from our industry for the ULF program,” said Prunty. “It’s an honor to be part of the 30th awards dinner and it has been inspirational to see the dedication and innovation of board and committee volunteers to grow the program over the years.”
Also at this year’s dinner, the late
And the Forum will continue to honor the memory Carey Gabay through the Carey Gabay Education Fund.
Gabay grew up in NYCHA housing in the Bronx and went on to study government at Harvard University and then went to Harvard Law School. He was appointed as an assistant counsel for Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2011 and served as first deputy counsel for the Empire State Development Corp. until he was tragically slain in 2015 at age 43. The Forum established the scholarship fund in his memory and this year the third Carey Gabay Excellence Award will be presented.
The dinner's Platinum sponsors are: Assured Guaranty; Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Barclays Capital; Citigroup; Frasca & Associates; Goldman Sachs; Hawkins Delafield & Wood; JP Morgan Securities; Moody's Investors Service; Morgan Stanley; Nixon Peabody; RBC Capital Markets; S&P Global Ratings; Siebert Cisneros Shank; Stifel; and Wells Fargo Securities.
The dinner's Gold Sponsors are: Jefferies; Frasca & Associates; Build America Mutual; Kroll Bond Rating Agency; Fitch Group; Public Financial Management; and PNC Capital Markets.
