Lead Faculty

Michael D. Belsky

Executive Director, Harris Public Policy Center for Municipal Finance

In addition to his role as Executive Director of the Harris Public Policy Center for Municipal Finance, Michael Belsky is also the Managing Director for Fixed Income at Greenwich Investment Management, a firm specializing in High Yield Municipal Bonds. Prior to joining the firm he worked in the municipal finance industry for over 30 years.

Lourdes Germán 

Special Advisor to the President, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Lourdes Germán serves as a full-time member of the Faculty at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and serves as a special advisor to the President of the Lincoln Institute, providing strategic and consultative expertise.  

Program Faculty

Christopher Berry

Harris Public Policy Professor and Academic Director, Center for Municipal Finance

Christopher R. Berry is the William J. and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, academic director of the Center for Municipal Finance, and faculty director of the Master of Science Program in Computational Analysis and Public Policy. His research interests include metropolitan governance, the politics of public finance, and intergovernmental fiscal relations.

Paula Worthington

Harris Public Policy Senior Lecturer

Paula R. Worthington is a Senior Lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where she also serves as academic director of the School’s Policy Labs program and faculty lead on its MPP program. At Harris, Worthington teaches courses in state and local government and cost-benefit analysis and advises students completing applied projects for public and nonprofit sector clients. 

John E. Anderson

Baird Family Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska

John Anderson is an academic economist and an adviser to public policy makers in the fields of public finance, fiscal reform, and tax policy. Dr. Anderson has served as a Senior Economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in Washington, DC.

Stephen B. Friedman

President, SB Friedman

Stephen B. Friedman, FAICP, CRE has more than 40 years of experience in real estate and development advisory services. He leads SB Friedman Development Advisors, a consulting firm with core expertise in real estate markets, development economics and finance.

Ivan Samstein

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, University of Chicago

Ivan Samstein became Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the University of Chicago in June, 2017. He is responsible for overseeing the University’s financial operations, working with the President, Provost, Board of Trustees, Deans, and Officers to ensure that the University's financial services, fiscal strategy, and operational analyses best support the academic mission and priorities of the University.

Julie Kim

Senior Fellow, Stanford Global Projects Center

Julie Kim is Senior Fellow at the Stanford Global Projects Center (GPC) and Urban Infrastructure Finance Fellow at New Cities Foundation (NCF). She has co-led GPC’s initiative in public-private partnerships (P3s) to help develop innovative and sustainable P3 business models in the U.S. market, drawing upon P3 global best practices over the last three decades. For NCF, Julie has also led Financing Urban Infrastructure Initiative addressing critical infrastructure needs in emerging economies in the face of rapid urbanization. 

Gerald Korngold

New York Law School Professor and Director, Center for Real Estate Studies

Gerald Korngold teaches Property, Real Estate Transactions, International Real Estate, Conservation Law and Policy Clinic, and Real Estate: Transactional Skills. Professor Korngold is the Program Chair of the Center for Real Estate Studies at the New York Law School.

David Narefsky

Partner, Mayer Brown

David Narefsky has had an active role in high-profile PPP transactions, with particular responsibility for governmental and regulatory aspects. He advised the Puerto Rico Public Private Partnerships Authority on the proposed long-term concession and lease of Luis Muñoz Marín Airport in San Juan and the City of Chicago on the proposed long-term concession and lease of Midway Airport. 

Walter Knorr

Former University of Illinois Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller

Mr. Walter K. Knorr, also known as Walt, is the former University of Illinois Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller and retired in 2017. Mr. Knorr has 17 years of experience as Chief Fiscal Officer for the City of Chicago and for Cook County. His private-sector experience includes banking and auditing.