NMFA Bond Team

Ms. Russel joined NMFA in September 2000 and was appointed as NMFA's Chief Executive Officer in November 2019. Prior to this, she served as NMFA's Chief of Programs since 2003. Before joining NMFA, Ms. Russel spent 10 years at the Illinois Development Finance Authority, where she held the positions of Marketing Director and Senior Program Administrator. Ms. Russel earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee.

Mr. Pierce is NMFA's former financial advisor who joined NMFA in October 2022 as  Chief Financial Strategist. Mr. Pierce acted as financial advisor to municipal entities from 1986 to 2019, at which point he retired for approximately 3.5 years. During his career, he served as financial advisor to five state bond banks. As advisor to NMFA since its creation in 1992, Mr. Pierce oversaw the issuance of more than $2.5 billion of NMFA debt. He was instrumental in the development of NMFA's flagship Public Project Revolving Fund program in 1994-1995 and advised NMFA in its relationships with the rating agencies. Mr. Pierce earned a Bachelor's degree from Colorado College and a Master's degree from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Lovato joined NMFA in August 2003. Prior to that, he worked for the State of New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association. Mr. Lovato has over 18 years of experience in investments and finance, the majority of which was in the public sector. Mr. Lovato has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration/Finance from the University of New Mexico, and a Master's degree in Business Administration/Finance from the New York Institute of Technology.

Mr. Rodriguez joined NMFA in October 2016. Before that, he served as the Finance Director for the City of Santa Fe. Mr. Rodriguez has more than 25 years of experience managing local government financing in New Mexico, District of Columbia, Texas, Maryland, and abroad. He received a Masters of City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1980.

Mr. Fluetsch joined NMFA in 2022, from the City of Santa Fe, NM where he was the Financial Planning and Invesment Officer where he managed the Treasury and Risk Management divisions. While at the City, the City issued New Mexico’s first, certified Green Bond. Prior to the City, Mr. Fluetsch owned and operated Fortress Investment Management, LLC, an Alaska based Registered Investment Advisor servicing ANCSA Corporations, Tribal Governments and high net worth individuals for 17 years. While in
Alaska, Mr. Fluetsch was an active Tribal member, serving as Tribal Administrator, Council Member and Treasurer at various times.

Mr. Fluetsch earned a Bachelors Degree from Washington State University with a minor in Economics. In 1996, Mr. Fluetsch earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. In 2004, Mr. Fluetsch became a licensed Securities dealer passing FINRA’s Series 7 and 65 exams.

Mr. Schoenfeld works with municipal entities on long-term capital planning, policy development, and credit strategy development. His areas of focus include pooled bond programs, credit and debt capacity analysis, cash flow modeling, and the structuring, sizing, and pricing of new money and refunding municipal bonds. He provides financial advisory project management for a variety of clients including the New Mexico Finance Authority, Alaska Municipal Bond Bank Authority, Idaho Bond Bank Authority, and the State of Washington, as well as higher education institutions, cities, and counties throughout the west. Prior to joining PFM, Mr. Schoenfeld managed the State of Washington’s pooled Certificates of Participation program, where during his tenure he led the issuance of over $524 million on behalf of State agencies and local governments. Mr. Schoenfeld earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Washington.