With over a century of combined public finance experience, our team focuses exclusively on providing independent financial advisory services to select governmental entities. Our partners view this role as an advocacy of the client’s interests which should utilize all available resources and market information.

Steven Adams, CFA, Managing Director

Specialized Public Finance Inc.
4925 Greenville Avenue, Suite 465
Dallas, TX 75206
214.373.3911 Office
214.608.2293 Mobile

Professional Experience: Mr. Adams has worked as a financial advisor since 1989. He has assisted numerous clients finance infrastructure projects for electric utilities, water and wastewater utilities, transportation and education. He has put together some of the most complex revenue based structures with innovative revenue sources. He was the financial advisor on the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority’s Pass-Through Toll Revenue Bonds issue, which is a current Bond Buyer Deal-of-the-Year finalist.

Prior to joining and helping create Specialized Public Finance Inc., Mr. Adams was a Senior Vice President with First Southwest Company for 19 years. Before joining First Southwest Company, Mr. Adams worked for the Texas Water Development Board and the City of Austin, Texas.
 
Education / Licenses: Mr. Adams has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration degree from Texas A&M University. Mr. Adams is also a Chartered Financial Analyst. He is a registered Investment Advisor Representative with the Texas State Securities Board.

Jennifer Ritter Douglas, Managing Director

Specialized Public Finance Inc.
7000 North MoPac Expressway Suite 410
Austin, TX 78731
512.275.7304 Office
512.820.6088 Mobile

Professional Experience: Ms. Douglas has served as a financial advisor to local governments, including hospitals and universities, since 2001.  In 2008, she was one of the founding partners of Specialized Public Finance.  Prior to that, she was with First Southwest Company. She has worked with a variety of government entities on tax-backed projects, water/sewer revenue projects, economic development initiatives and public/private partnerships, including Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ), 380/381 Economic Grants and Public Improvement Districts (PIDs).  She also assists local governments in planning for bond elections.

Prior to her work as a financial advisor, she was a Policy Analyst for Debt and Financial Planning for the Government Finance Officers Association ("GFOA") in Chicago.  At GFOA, Ms. Douglas conducted debt trainings for government officials and authored "Conducting a Debt Affordability Study" and "An Elected Officials Guide to Rating Agency Presentations."  She served as a liaison for the association with other municipal bond industry groups and regulatory authorities and still is a frequent speaker for GFOA's national training courses. In 2012, she joined the GFOA's Committee on Governmental Debt Management for a three-year term as an advisor. Ms. Douglas worked at the White House from 1995 to 1996.

Education / Licenses: She earned a Master of Public Affairs from Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Southern Methodist University.  Ms. Douglas is a registered Investment Advisor Representative with the Texas State Securities Board.

Jeffrey D. Garland, Director

Specialized Public Finance Inc.
7000 North MoPac Expressway Suite 410
Austin, TX 78731
512.275.7303 Office
512.820.6087 Mobile

Professional Experience: Mr. Garland is the senior quantitative professional at Specialized Public Finance Inc. In this role, he is responsible for developing comprehensive financial models to analyze, structure and price transactions for the firm’s clients. Mr. Garland has extensive experience modeling multiyear capital improvement programs, preparing refunding/restructuring analyses and analyzing debt capacity for financings secured by almost every type of revenue stream. His clients include cities, counties, school districts, special districts and toll road authorities. Since joining the public finance industry in 1996, Mr. Garland has structured over 1,000 transactions with a total par amount in excess of $17 billion.

Prior to joining Specialized Public Finance Inc., Mr. Garland was a Vice President with First Southwest Company in Austin and Dallas, Texas. Mr. Garland spent twelve years with First Southwest Company where he served as the firm’s senior quantitative banker on financial advisory and underwriting engagements in Central and South Texas.

Education / Licenses: Mr. Garland graduated with Highest Honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance. He is a registered Investment Advisor Representative with the Texas State Securities Board.

Paul N. Jasin, Director

Specialized Public Finance Inc.
4925 Greenville Avenue, Suite 465
Dallas, TX 75206
214.373.3911 Office
214.288.7898 Mobile

Professional Experience: Mr. Jasin has over 10 years of industry related experience in public finance and secondary market transactions. He was employed by Standard and Poor’s Corporation from 2001-2009, most recently as a Director.  Mr. Jasin has assessed the credit quality of Southwestern United States credits of State Agencies, local governments, public power issuers, special districts and charter schools. He brings extensive knowledge of Texas issuers and their credit profiles and has authored numerous articles on industry related topics. In addition, Mr. Jasin served as sector leader on General Obligation (GO) debt, charter schools and special tax transactions while at Standard and Poor’s and was involved in over 1,000 bond transactions as lead analyst.

Prior to joining  Standard and Poor’s, Mr. Jasin was an employed by Fidelity Investments in the Investments group that focused on fixed income transaction in the secondary market where he held a Series 7 and 63 licenses.

Education / Licenses: Mr. Jasin has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the Texas Tech University and a Master of Business Administration degree from University of Dallas. He is a registered Investment Advisor Representative with the Texas State Securities Board.

Garry Kimball, Managing Director

Specialized Public Finance Inc.
7000 North MoPac Expressway Suite 410
Austin, TX 78731
512.275.7301 Office
512.820.6083 Mobile

Professional Experience: Mr. Kimball has served as a financial advisor since 1993. He has represented city, county, school, special district and utility authority clients on a vast array of public infrastructure projects involving both tax-exempt and taxable bond issuance. Mr. Kimball also has experience with public/private project finance, tender option bond repurchase and multi-party conduit financing for regional projects. Mr. Kimball has served as lead banker on over 400 separate bond transactions with a total principal value in excess of $4 billion.

Prior to joining the founding partners of Specialized Public Finance Inc., Mr. Kimball was a Senior Vice President with First Southwest Company. During his 15 years with this firm, he was a regulatory supervisor for the Austin office, a member of the firm’s Operating Committee and a member of the firm’s Special District Underwriting Committee. In 2008, Mr. Kimball was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Municipal Advisory Council of Texas. Mr. Kimball also worked for Dresdner Bank AG in New York and Chicago and the Royal Bank of Canada in Chicago and Dallas between 1988 and early 1993.
 
Education / Licenses: Mr. Kimball graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. He also received his Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a registered Investment Advisor Representative with the Texas State Securities Board.

Kristin Merz, Associate

Specialized Public Finance Inc.
7000 North MoPac Expressway Suite 410
Austin, TX 78731
512.275.7308 Office

Professional Experience: Mrs. Merz joined Specialized Public Finance Inc. in 2009 as an Analyst. Prior to joining SPFI , Mrs. Merz worked as an Analyst for the Municipal Advisory Council of Texas (the "MAC") from 2007-2009. At the MAC , Ms. Merz was exposed to working with a variety of issuers including, cities, schools, MUDS and college districts in the state of Texas. Mrs. Merz, also spent four years working in the mortgage industry as an underwriter.

Education/Licenses: Mrs. Merz graduated with high honors from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Services.

Vince Viaille, Managing Director

Specialized Public Finance Inc.
1001 Main Street, Suite 703
Lubbock, TX 79401
806.749.7734 Office
806.773.4546 Mobile

Professional Experience: Mr. Viaille has served as a financial advisor in the public finance arena since 1985.  During his 24 years of experience, he has been involved in over 900 financings.  Mr. Viaille has represented several State of Texas agencies as their financial advisor, including the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the Texas National Guard Armory Board.
 
Currently, Mr. Viaille devotes his expertise to governmental entities located in West Texas.  Mr. Viaille has represented numerous cities, counties, school districts, hospital districts, water districts and river authorities.  When an issue requires an election, Mr. Viaille has extensive experience assisting in the coordination of the election process.  Mr. Viaille has an in depth knowledge of the various marketing options available to issuers.  He has conducted numerous public sales of bonds and certificates, as well as negotiated offerings, private placements and is very experienced with the funding process of the Texas Water Development Board.

Education / Licenses: Mr. Viaille earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from West Texas A&M University. He is a registered Investment Advisor Representative with the Texas State Securities Board.

Dan Wegmiller, Managing Director

Specialized Public Finance Inc.
7000 North MoPac Expressway Suite 410
Austin, TX 78731
512.275.7302 Office
512.820.6086 Mobile

Professional Experience: Mr. Wegmiller has served as a financial advisor since 1992. He has represented city, county, school district and transportation clients. Mr. Wegmiller has experience with taxable and tax-exempt financings including debt restructurings, short-term financings, utility systems, general obligations, project finance, economic development and transportation projects. Mr. Wegmiller has served as lead banker on more than 300 transactions totaling over $4.0 billion in par amount of bonds, including the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority transaction that was recognized by The Bond Buyer as the 2005 "Deal of the Year" in the Southwest Region for its innovative structure. He has also been involved in numerous legislative efforts to provide additional financing tools and options for municipalities.

Mr. Wegmiller is one of the founding partners of Specialized Public Finance Inc.  Prior to the founding of SPFI; Mr. Wegmiller was a Senior Vice President with First Southwest Company in Austin, Texas for over sixteen years.  During this time, Mr. Wegmiller also served as the Regulatory Supervisor for the Austin office.  He was a financial analyst for the Municipal Advisory Council of Texas prior to joining First Southwest Company.  His duties at the Council included municipal bond credit analysis for all types of political subdivisions.

Education / Licenses: Mr. Wegmiller earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.  He is a registered Investment Advisor Representative with the Texas State Securities Board.