Marian Zucker, President of the Office of Finance & Development at New York State Homes and Community Renewal, and Suzanne Shank, founder and CEO of Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co., have won the 2016 Freda Johnson Award for Trailblazing Women in Public Finance.
The Northeast Women in Public Finance will formally present the awards at The Bond Buyer's Deal of the Year ceremony in New York City on Dec. 1.
The award is named for Freda Johnson, who was a founding board member of the organization. She was executive vice president and public finance division head at Moody's Investors Service from 1979 through 1990.
This is the sixth year the award has been presented and the third year in which the organization honors two public finance professionals, one each from the public and private sectors.
Both of 2016's recipients were praised for their professional contributions to the field, volunteer work and mentorship.
In the public sector, Zucker has overseen multifamily and single family housing programs and debt issuance for the agency since 2007. For most of that time period, it has been the most active housing bond issuers in the United States.
Zucker has spent her career in the area of affordable housing. At HCR, she launched new finance programs and created the SONYMA and Multifamily Advisory Councils. Before joining HCR in 2007, she served as the first Director of Affordable Housing for Suffolk County.
She was also an investment banker specializing in affordable housing finance for over 16 years and served in several capacities at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
"I am thrilled and honored on receiving this award from Northeast Women in Public Finance," Zucker said. "To have my name associated with Freda Johnson's is a true honor."
She added that "I am very lucky that I have a position at HCR that allows me to use the power of the capital markets to help meet the affordable housing needs of New Yorkers."
Zucker has been previously recognized by the Habitat for Humanity with its 2010 Innovator of the Year Award, The Bond Buyer's 2010 Northeast Deal of the Year Award and the New York State Association for Affordable Housing's 2013 Excellence Advocate of the Year Award.
But Zucker said the Freda Johnson award was very personal to her.
"I am fortunate to be able to do what I love, and humbled to be recognized for work that I enjoy."
In the private sector, Shank is chairwoman, CEO and co-founder of SCSCO, the largest African-American, Latino and woman-owned investment bank in the United States. She is majority owner of the firm and a 26-year veteran of the securities industry.
She has been a municipal industry advocate, having formerly served as a board member of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. She is also on the Executive Council on Infrastructure formed by the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
Since its founding in 1996, the firm has conducted over $1.2 trillion of municipal bond transactions and every year since 1998 it has been ranked as the number one minority- and woman-owned municipal finance firm. In 2010, the company became the first minority-owned firm to rank among all top 10 senior managers of municipal bonds.
"I find this award has been a rare showcase for women in our industry who have had to overcome huge obstacles and work long hours to get ahead," Shank said. "I am so appreciative to win this award from such a dynamic group of respected individuals." She added that the recognition meant a lot to her.
"Winning this award in Freda Johnson's name has been a real highlight in my career to date," Shank said
Last year's award winners were Carol Kostik, New York City Deputy Comptroller for Public Finance, and Meghan Burke, Boston-based public finance section head at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo. Prior recipients include Chicago chief financial officer Lois Scott and veteran New York banker Kym Arnone, Connecticut Treasurer Denise Nappier, former Rhode Island Treasurer and current Gov. Gina Raimondo, and Philadelphia city Treasurer Nancy Winkler.
In 2013, the organization also gave a posthumous award to Muriel Siebert, the co-founder of SCSCO and the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, which was accepted by Shank in her name.
