EHLERS, INC - Key Persons
Aaron is a Municipal Advisor with our School Finance Team, bringing more than 16 years' school finance experience to his role with the firm. Prior to joining Ehlers in 2021, he worked for seven years as the Director of Finance for South St. Paul Public Schools and served as the Finance Director for South Washington County Schools previously. Our clients appreciate Aaron's keen understanding of the challenges Minnesota school districts face and how his analysis helps them drive projects toward successful completion.
Aaron lives in Hastings with his wife, three children and their dog Ozzie. When he's not working, Aaron enjoys running, camping, golfing and participating in his kids' activities.
Alicia is a Senior Financial Analyst with our Minnesota Municipal Finance Team. Prior to joining Ehlers in 2011, she served as a Municipal Finance Project Manager working with local governments in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin. She leverages extensive experience with financial analysis software to develop tailored models that exceed our clients' expectations. Alicia helps local and regional governmental clients construct and implement long-term debt management strategies. Her special areas of expertise include debt structure and documentation, refundings and cash defeasances, multi-issue and multi-purpose debt structures, and financial analysis using Munex and Excel.
In her free time, Alicia loves to read, take family adventures around the Twin Cities and revel in the live music scene. She lives and Blaine with her family and beloved dog.
Amy started at Ehlers in 2020 as an Administrative Assistant on our Operations Team. Prior to joining the firm, she amassed several years of administrative support and customer service experience working in both municipal and private sector environments. Amy's main duties consist of welcoming visitors, managing accounts payable/receivable, answering the phone and supporting a variety of requests to keep Ehlers' operations running smoothly.
Amy lives in Columbus, Minnesota with her husband and their Cavapoo. They have three grown children. She enjoys spending time with family, discovering new restaurants, traveling and gardening in her free time.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Communication, Augsburg University
Job Titles:
- Senior Public Finance Analyst
Annie serves as a Senior Public Finance Analyst on our Continuing Disclosure Team, serving all of Ehlers' client regions. She regularly assists our clients with their disclosure compliance needs, including verifying past filings, and compiling and submitting required filings. Annie also helps our Wisconsin clients prepare legal and financial documentation related to Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) districts.
Annie lives in New Berlin with her growing family.
April Weller is a Senior Fiscal Consultant with our Minnesota Municipal Finance Team where she regularly assists clients with long-term financial management planning, utility rate studies, and tax increment financing administration and reporting. Prior to joining Ehlers, April amassed more than seven years of direct local government experience, most recently servicing as the Finance Manager for the City of St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
April lives in Woodbury with her fiance and partner of 10 years. In her free time, she loves to travel, rollerblade, paddleboard, and ski. She also enjoys pickleball and hockey. On top of all that, April is currently pursuing a Master of Accounting degree at Minnesota State University - Mankato.
Job Titles:
- Financial Specialist With Our Wisconsin Municipal Finance Team
Ariana Schmidt is a Financial Specialist with our Wisconsin Municipal Finance Team where she supports our Municipal Advisors with debt planning and issuance, as well as tax incremental financing. Prior to joining Ehlers in 2023, she gained nearly eight years of progressive experience in healthcare administration, earning advanced responsibilities and promotions along the way. Ariana holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Concordia University and is currently pursuing the Series 50-Municipal Advisor Representative license.
Ariana lives in Hales Corners, Wisconsin with her husband and crazy, but cuddly Vizsla named Lucy. In her free time, she enjoys boating on Little Muskego Lake, golfing and vacationing (preferably in sunny and warm locales).
Areas of Expertise
Budget Management
Beth is a Senior Financial Analyst in our Minnesota office. She helps local and regional governmental clients develop and implement long-term debt management strategies. Her extensive background in arbitrage and consulting, along with specialized expertise in multi-issue and multi-purpose debt structures and analytical modeling with Munex and Excel, position her as an integral member of our Wisconsin and Minnesota Municipal Finance Teams.
Beth lives in Andover with her husband and three children. Outside of work, she is all about spending time with family and staying fit. She works out, runs obstacle course races and plays softball. Beth is also a committed community volunteer.
Betty serves as a Public Finance Analyst for all Ehlers' market areas, assisting our municipal advisor teams with competitive bond marketing and sale coordination, as well as paying agent services. After graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a bachelor's degree in finance and prior to joining Ehlers, she worked for a regional financial advisory firm as a Tax Associate.
Betty calls St. Paul home. When she's not working, Betty loves to travel, meet new people, and learn about different cultures around the world.
Brendan currently serves as a Public Finance Manager in our Wisconsin office. He leads our Offering Documents Team, working with both clients and Municipal Advisors to assemble official statements and other key documentation before and after the issuance of debt. He also works extensively with our development team to continually advance technologies that improve processes and enhance client value. Brendan takes pride in helping local governments and public agencies overcome challenges and making sure their projects are completed accurately and efficiently. Prior to joining Ehlers in 2011, Brendan was a newspaper editor, which ultimately sparked his interest in local government and finance.
Brendan lives in the Milwaukee area with his wife, Heather and their two children. He is a self-proclaimed petter of cats, maker of coffee, reader of books, shooter of baskets, catcher of fish, teller of dad jokes, griller of meats….and writer of run-on sentences. He's very active with his children, volunteering both at school and in extra-curricular activities.
Areas of Expertise
Debt Issuance & Management
Job Titles:
- Senior Municipal Advisor Managing Director
Brian is a Senior Municipal Advisor and works with local units of government, special districts and authorities, and public agencies in the areas of debt issuance, fiscal planning, special studies, economic development and tax increment. He advises clients with billions of dollars in debt issuance and also has experience with non-profit and municipally owned healthcare financing. He currently leads Ehlers' Minnesota Municipal Finance Team as one of the firm's Managing Directors and serves as the President of our Investment Management Team.
Brian is a proud native of St. Paul, spending his formative years on the City's east side. He now lives with his wife and two children in Stillwater, where they enjoy everything the historic river city and surrounding St. Croix Valley have to offer.
Brian is a Senior Municipal Advisor with our Wisconsin Municipal Finance Team where he helps clients with fiscal studies, debt planning and issuance, and financial management planning. Since he joined the firm as an intern, Brian has quickly risen through the ranks due to his commitment to accuracy, dedication to customer service, and ability to break down complex financial concepts in a way that all client constituents can understand.
Brian lives in Menomonee Falls with his wife and young children. When he's not working, he enjoys golf, running, water skiing and spending time with family and friends.
Areas of Expertise
Debt Issuance & Management
Brian is a Senior Finance Manager and oversees Ehlers' Financial Analyst Team. Having worked for Ehlers since 1998, Brian has extensive experience developing tailored analysis models using Munex and Microsoft Excel to meet the specific financial needs of municipal clients. He collaborates with our Municipal Advisors to analyze, structure, document and underwrite municipal securities. Brian also analyzes and structures cash defeasances, advance refundings and multi-issue debt programs.
Bruce brings 21 years of municipal and financial advisory experience to his clients in Minnesota, Colorado and Kansas. His practice focuses on financing public utility infrastructure and other capital improvements, as well as analyzing and negotiating many forms of public participation in private development projects. His knowledge of capital budgeting and infrastructure finance helps Ehlers' clients find creative, effective ways to fund essential improvements while also mitigating future fiscal risks for the community.
Bruce lives in St. Paul with his wife Meghan and their three children Gavin, Clare and Laura. Away from work, Bruce enjoys traveling, reading historical fiction and trying not to break his 130-year-old home.
Areas of Expertise
Debt Issuance & Management
Job Titles:
- Client Service Advisor With Ehlers' Investment Team
Cliff serves as a Client Service Advisor with Ehlers' Investment Team. Prior to joining the firm, he spent more than 20 years working as a para-planner, financial advisor, customer service representative and accountant with large national financial services companies. Throughout his career, Cliff has always enjoyed helping clients design and achieve their financial goals through thoughtful, straight-forward planning paired with exceptional client service.
Cliff has called Minnesota home most of his life, but has also lived and worked in Hawaii, California and Arizona. He currently resides along the riverfront in downtown Minneapolis. He has three grown children and three wonderful grandchildren. In his free time, Cliff enjoys skiing, bicycling and visiting brew pubs.
Areas of Expertise
Investments & Treasury Management
Dan is a Municipal Advisor with our Minnesota Municipal Finance Team. He regularly assists clients with municipal debt transactions, economic development and redevelopment initiatives, long-term financial planning, fiscal studies and utility rate analyses. Dan brings 10 years of direct local government experience to his role with the firm, most recently serving as the Director of Finance for the City of Fridley. He also worked in leadership and administrative roles for the City of Winsted and Dakota County. Dan has exceptional experience in developing and executing capital improvement plans, crafting and managing multi-million dollar budgets and managing public investment portfolios in excess of $40 million. Clients rely on his wide range of municipal project experience - everything from airports to dams and municipal liquor stores to wastewater treatment facilities - to help them achieve their communities' goals.
Dan lives in Woodbury with his partner Tim and their beloved dog, Charlie. When he's not working, Dan enjoys reading, golf (playing and watching), and traveling wherever and whenever he can.
Areas of Expertise
Financial Management Planning
David is a Senior Municipal Advisor who works with municipal clients across Wisconsin to create and execute longer-term financial plans that help advance their central missions and deliver generational benefits to their communities. He brings to his role more than 14 years of experience providing audit, compliance and consulting services to state and local governments. Prior to joining Ehlers, David spent 16 years as Finance Director with the Village of Waunakee. Our clients rely on David's first-hand expertise in local government accounting and finance.
David lives in Lake Mills with his wife Karen. David has a daughter Kayla, who graduated from Drake University in 2018 and a son Zach, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021 and is currently pursuing a master's degree. When he's not working, David enjoys playing golf, playing and watching hockey, listening to audio books and spending time at his in-law's lake house in Freedom, New Hampshire.
Areas of Expertise
Debt Issuance & Management
Job Titles:
- Senior Client Service Advisor
Dawn works closely with Ehlers' Advisory Teams and other investment professionals to provide analysis and monthly performance reporting for our clients. Prior to joining Ehlers, she spent over 20 years as a treasury management sales consultant for two super-regional banks. In that capacity, she advised clients in the public and corporate sectors on the design and implementation of efficient collection and disbursement systems. Dawn's greatest assets to her clients are her direct experience working with municipalities and school districts, and her extensive knowledge of treasury management and investment banking services.
Areas of Expertise
Investment & Treasury Management
Job Titles:
- Senior Public Finance Analyst
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- Economic Development Consultant
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- Associate Municipal Advisor
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- Director of Fiscal Consulting, Board Chair
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- Senior Arbitrage Consultant
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- Senior Financial Specialist
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- Director of Human Resources
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- Director of Marketing & Communications
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- Associate Municipal Advisor
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- Information Technology Administrator
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- Office Support Specialist
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- Accounting & Audit Specialist
Pam Ziermann - Chief Compliance Officer
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- Senior Public Finance Analyst
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- Senior Public Finance Analyst
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- Finance Associate
- Marketing Coordinator
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- Senior Investment Adviser
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- Chief Financial & Chief Operating Officer
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- Municipal Advisor
- Municipal Advisor / 651 - 597 - 8527
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- Senior Municipal Advisor & Managing Director
Job Titles:
- Senior Public Finance Analyst
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- Senior Arbitrage Consultant Managing Director
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- Senior Public Finance Analyst Marketing Coordinator
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- Senior Investment Advisor
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- Senior Municipal Advisor Managing Director
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- Office Support Specialist