Craig Hill
Managing Principal
Direct: 415.785.2025 x 2001
Craig@NHAadvisors.com
Craig Hill
Mr. Hill has been a public finance professional since 1989 and is a founding partner of NHA Advisors, LLC. His clients include California cities, special districts, former redevelopment agencies, and counties throughout the State. In addition to providing traditional financial advisory expertise on public finance, Mr. Hill’s expertise includes advising public agencies on policies, financial planning and capital project funding strategies. His understanding of local government and the operational components (public safety, water, sewer, marinas, airports, golf courses and other enterprise funds) provides a professional basis to assist public agencies in developing sound financial planning practices.
Mr. Hill’s technical experience includes managing the issuance of water, sewer, solid waste and other revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, certificates of participation, lease revenue bonds, tax and revenue anticipation notes, land-secured special tax and assessment bonds, bond anticipation notes and tax allocation bond. Mr. Hill has extensive experience in financing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects including power purchase agreements, solar arrays, storage and distribution.
Mr. Hill is a regular speaker on public finance, fiscal sustainability, renewable and energy efficiency project finance and public policy matters to professional associations including the League of California Cities, the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers, California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, Municipal Management Association of Northern California (MMANC), the Milken Institute and Carbon War Room.
Prior to founding NHA Advisors, Mr. Hill began his public finance career as a financial analyst for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to evaluate the financial and economic feasibility of the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant Plan. In addition to working for the SMUD, Mr. Hill worked for the State of California (Office of Energy Assessments) to develop financing programs for statewide facility upgrades mandated by the governor. Since moving over to the private sector in 1989, Mr. Hill has worked for one of the premier bond counsel firms in the State as well as beginning his financial advisory career with a northern California firm before forming Project Finance Associates with Mark Northcross in 1996.
In addition to working as a municipal advisor, Mr. Hill has served as a member of the Novato Park & Recreation Commission, Novato Investment Committee, and Novato Budget Committee. He has also served on the board of directors for the Novato Youth Soccer Association and as President of the Novato Lacrosse Club. Currently, Mr. Hill serves on the HdL Companies Board of Directors, is the Treasurer of the NorCal Lacrosse Foundation and also serves as the Treasurer for the West Point Inn Association. Mr. Hill has four grown kids and is enjoying post-parenting with his wife and their Airstream trailer.
Mark Northcross
Principal
Direct: 415.785.2025 x 2002
Mark@NHAadvisors.com
Mark Northcross
During a California public finance career that spans back to 1981, Mark Northcross has structured debt for many issuer types using various legally available revenue sources.
Mr. Northcross is experienced in utility revenue financings, particularly for water and sewer utilities. He has structured about 80 sewer and water revenue bond issues for over 30 water districts, sewer districts and cities since 1983, including private placements with commercial banks. Most recently he secured funding for severely drought impacted water utility on the central coast for a desalination plant and for the City of Napa’s water utility in the immediate aftermath of the South Napa Earthquake. He has also arranged financing for two major public utilities in the midst of major litigation regarding Proposition 218 and the legality of their water rates. Projects financed include the acquisition of new water supply, water treatment plants and upgrades to newly acquired service area infrastructure. Mr. Northcross is active in water policy issues for the State, serving on the Water Committee of the Bay Area Council and the SRF committee of the California Association of Sanitation Agencies.
Mr. Northcross leads the firm’s Climate Change Infrastructure Group and has provided financial advisory services to groups such as Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge, a collaboration to strengthen the Bay Area’s resilience to climate change, as well as on the Bay Conservation and Development Commissions Financing the Future committee.
Mr. Northcross’s career has also been focused on the interface between public finance and land development. His experience includes negotiating public-private partnerships for development including the use of land-secured financing structures. He has negotiated public-private partnerships for the successful development of major mixed use projects throughout the State. Since the early-1990s, Mr. Northcross has negotiated the restructuring and workout of nearly $200 million in either defaulted or highly stressed municipal bond issues. He also has experience in negotiating joint ventures between different public agencies – with notable success in putting together bond funded risk sharing programs for cities, counties, and school districts in California.
When not working on solutions to tough problems for his clients, Mr. Northcross serves on a variety of non-profit corporation boards. He is also a proud recipient of the Norman Bright trophy in the annual Dipsea Race, the oldest cross country foot race in the nation. Mr. Northcross is also the Treasurer of the West Point Inn Association, a non-profit that runs a 115 year old hike-in lodging in the parklands of Mt. Tamalpais. He graduated from the University of California at Irvine in 1973.
Eric Scriven
Financial Consultant & Funding Strategist
Direct: 415.785.2025 x 2003
Eric@NHAadvisors.com
Eric Scriven
Since 1990, Mr. Scriven has developed a generalist background and common-sense approach to solving problems and “going the extra mile” to serve his municipal and special district clients. He provides a high level of due diligence, always developing the widest array of strategic options, using his skills (and his fiduciary ethos towards his clients) to be their agent and energetic advocate during negotiations with other parties, and an efficient and effective project manager when called upon to act in a municipal advisory or investment banking (at prior firms) role. Additionally, Mr. Scriven used his years of experience to efficiently manage the bond sale process to the benefit of his clients.
Mr. Scriven has experience in lease, utility revenue, land-secured and pension obligation restructuring financing structures. His assignments have ranged from large, AAA metropolitan city credits to non-rated, “story bond” financings in remote locations. As banker and advisor, he has successfully structured and closed, variable rate notes, interest rate swaps and caps, forward closing bonds, anticipation notes, transactions with extraordinary redemption flexibility, as well as many long-term fixed rate bonds. Mr. Scriven draws upon his years as an investment banker to advise his clients on how they may best match their goals and objectives with feasible solutions that will be accepted by underwriters and investors. Additionally, he uses this years of experience to assist his clients during the bond sale process to be an active participant to help secure optimal results.
Between virtual visits to city halls and time spent in the office, Eric actively seeks out outdoor adventures. Kings Canyon, Colorado’s Crested Buttes, Half Dome, Glacier NP, the Mt. Shasta summit and the Grand Canyon—and always the Pacific Ocean—are recent and very memorable destinations!
Mr. Scriven earned his MBA from the Haas School of Busines and his B.S. in Finance and Urban Land Economics from UC Berkeley. He holds Series 50 (Registered Municipal Advisor) and Series 54 (Municipal Principal) licenses.
Rob Schmidt
Vice President
Direct: 415.785.2025 x 2006
Rob@NHAadvisors.com
Rob Schmidt
Rob Schmidt is a founding member of NHA Advisors, LLC. He has served as a municipal advisor and consultant to cities, special districts, school districts, and counties on hundreds of financial transactions and consulting assignments. His clients have come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from small rural farming communities to the largest cities and counties in the California.
Mr. Schmidt’s experience spans a variety of financing structures, including general fund lease obligations, utility revenue bonds (water, wastewater, etc.), general obligation bonds, short-term notes (TRANs, BANs, etc.), special tax and assessment bonds, tax allocation bonds, sales tax revenue bonds, and pensions obligations bonds. His experience also includes state and federal loan and tax credit programs.
Mr. Schmidt manages the firm’s Continuing Disclosure Compliance Group and consults with many public agencies on the complexity of the SEC and CDIAC compliance reporting requirements.
While Mr. Schmidt’s financial and analytical acumen serves as a key benefit to his clients, he believes the most important attribute of any advisor is integrity, which drives Mr. Schmidt to serve his clients to the utmost of his ability. His willingness to listen and learn allows him to gain a full understanding of a client’s objectives and needs, creating an opportunity to develop a wide spectrum of funding options and deliver a successful solution.
Mr. Schmidt strives to provide impartial, financially sound, and creative solutions to meet their long-term objectives and ensure integrity and accountability throughout the financial process.
Prior to beginning his career as a municipal advisor, Mr. Schmidt served as a Senior Associate and Northern California manager for a public finance consulting firm, for which he formed and administered dozens of public financing districts throughout California.
Mr. Schmidt earned a B.A. in Economics and a Specialization in Computing from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Mike Meyer
Vice President
Direct: 415.785.2025 x 2004
Mike@NHAadvisors.com
Mike Meyer
Since 2003, Mr. Meyer has been providing a high level of support to California municipalities as an advisor, consultant, and an investment banker. He manages NHA’s San Diego office and the firm’s Pension and Fiscal Sustainability Group.
Mr. Meyer has executed all types of financings available to California municipalities, including pension obligation bonds, utility revenue (water/wastewater/storm drain), general fund backed leases, tax increment, general obligation, transportation, land secured, housing and sales tax transactions. Mike’s clients range from medium/large cities like Oxnard, Riverside, Chula Vista and Berkeley to smaller cities like Corcoran, Riverbank and Ukiah, to special district’s such the Novato Sanitary District and North County Fire Protection District.
Mr. Meyer also manages NHA’s Pension and Fiscal Sustainability Group, which has advised over 45 California local agencies on topics ranging from basic CalPERS education, to UAL cost management strategies (Section 115 Trusts, Additional Discretionary Payments, etc.), to UAL restructuring projects. In 2015, he led the firm’s efforts to pioneer some of the first UAL “smoothing” transactions, which were executed as privately placed lease revenue bonds given that POBs were not feasible at that time. As the POB market re-emerged in 2018 and 2019, Mike has recently worked on over $1.5 billion of pension bond transactions for cities, utilities districts and fire districts. This experience includes all types of UAL financing structures: both privately placed debt as well as publicly offered, validated and non-validated POBs, as well as alternative structured like lease revenue bonds and utility revenue bonds. Notable transactions include the $450 million City of Riverside POB (closed 2020), $120M El Monte Tax Override Secured POB, $350 million City of Torrance Lease (closed 2020) and the $350 million Chula Vista POB (January 2021 expected pricing).
Mike and the Pension Group pride itself on delivering an agnostic, comprehensive process to evaluate cost management strategies, including (1) comprehensive staff and stakeholder education, (2) agnostic evaluation of all options available and the pros/cons, and (3) stress testing to assess the downside risks (reinvestment and market timing) of pension bonds. Mike has spoken on this topic in several public forums, including CSMFO chapter meetings.
Prior to NHA Advisors, Mike served as a Principal with Eric Scriven (NHA partner) at p2 Capital Advisors (2012 to 2014), providing independent consulting and advisory work to numerous California public agencies. Prior to that, he served as a Vice President at De La Rosa Investment Bankers. Mike has also worked on several unique financing programs in his career including the 2004 Vehicle License Fee (VLF) pooled financing (>100 different city participants), 2009 Beverly Hills OPEB Buyout, 2016 Berkeley Parking Revenue Bonds for a new downtown garage, transportation revenue secured financings (gas tax and local sales tax return) for Oxnard and Lancaster, and lease bonds to fund CalPERS UAL in the cities of Torrance, Ukiah, West Covina, Lakeport and Arcata.
From 2013 to 2017, Mike also helped coach the Division I UC Davis Men’s Tennis team and obtain the program’s first national ranking and NCAA tournament berth. Mike enjoys being active and in nature, spending his free time backpacking, hiking, surfing, playing sports and is a dedicated practitioner of yoga and meditation.
Leslie Bloom
Vice President
Direct: 415.785.2025 x 2009
Leslie@NHAadvisors.com
Leslie Bloom
Leslie began her career in Public Finance in 2007, where she has worked in the capacity of both an advisor and investment banker. Her work in Public Finance spans agencies of all sizes throughout the State with financing expertise in general fund leases, water/wastewater, tax-increment and special tax. Throughout her career, Leslie has participated in the structuring and sale of over 250 senior managed financings with total principal of more than $3.5 billion.
Leslie’s work as an advisor includes guiding public agencies in the development and execution of optimal financing plans. Her financing work focuses on feasibility, credit implications, deal structuring, pricing support/execution and stakeholder education. In addition, Leslie advises clients on a wide-range of non- transaction financial issues, developing relevant analysis and financial policies.
Leslie is active with CSMFO, CSMA and is Board Member of the San Diego Chapter of Women in Public Financing. Leslie holds a B.S. degree in both Accounting and Finance from the University of Arizona and is a Series 50 municipal advisor representative.
When not managing projects for NHA Advisors, Leslie is spending time with her family and enjoying her son and daughter’s sporting events. Her family also enjoys exploring all that California has to offer, from beaches to mountains and everything in between.
Christian Sprunger
Vice President
Direct: 415.785.2025 x 2007
Christian@NHAadvisors.com
Christian Sprunger
As a municipal financial advisor with NHA Advisors, Christian provides consulting and financing services to cities, special districts, and other municipal entities across California. NHA’s bond and consulting groups are currently working with over 100 public agencies statewide to develop project funding solutions, financial policies and practices, pension liability strategies, and reporting compliance. Christian provides a variety of services to NHA’s clients, including infrastructure funding and financing plans, equipment lease/purchase financing, cashflow modeling, market analysis, credit ratings management, policy development, and continuing disclosure bond reporting services. Additionally, he prepares holistic funding plans for large scale capital projects that include alternative funding sources (WIFIA, SRF, USDA), grants, and traditional financing sources.
Christian has worked on $790M in WIFIA loans ($1.6 billion in projects) for water and wastewater system improvements for the cities of Oxnard, Ventura, Hayward, Palmdale Water District, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, and Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency, and Stockton East Water District.
In addition to utility financing expertise, Christian has experience with a variety of financing types including competitive general fund and general obligation bond financings for the cities of Hermosa Beach, Carmel, Gilroy, Berkeley, Campbell and San Francisco; negotiated utility financings for the cities of Willits, Santa Paula, Morgan Hill, and Martinez; tax and revenue anticipation notes for the Cities of Berkeley and El Cerrito; pension obligation bonds for the City of Grass Valley and the North County Fire Protection District.
Prior to joining NHA in 2016, Christian was an R&D microbiologist at a veterinary pharmaceutical company and taught microbiology laboratory techniques as adjunct faculty at Biola University for several years. He is also an alumnus of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Christian loves being outdoors, especially swimming and camping with his wife and two (young) kids.