Senior Advisors

Dan Connelly

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Dan Connelly has over 20 years of financial consulting experience at the federal, state, and local government levels. Mr. Connelly’s public finance experience includes multi-year financial planning, capital improvement planning, budgeting, cash flow analysis, debt structuring, workforce and labor cost analysis, pension review, strategic planning, financial feasibility evaluation, tax policy analysis, privatization analysis, management review and audit, and credit rating evaluation, among other areas. He is a Series 50 Municipal Advisor Representative and has advised on over 40 debt financings, hedging, and bond proceed/escrow investment transactions totaling over $2.5 billion in par/notional amount. He has provided expert testimony in labor arbitration hearings and various court proceedings and developed written expert testimony for municipal asset sales. Mr. Connelly has extensive experience developing multi-year financial plans for Pennsylvania municipalities participating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Act 47 Program for Distressed Municipalities and the Strategic Management Planning Program.

In addition to his role at ESI, Mr. Connelly is also a Senior Advisor with Marathon Capital Strategies, an independent municipal advisory firm headquartered in Glassboro, New Jersey. Since joining Marathon in 2018, Mr. Connelly has advised on over $800 million in par amount consisting of a mix of fixed and variable rate and public and private issuance. ​ Mr. Connelly provides transaction management, credit analysis, financial planning, refunding analysis, credit enhancement strategy, arbitrage rebate, and escrow verification services to governmental and non-profit entities. He is familiar with traditional and synthetic fixed and variable rate debt structures and has helped clients meet their capital planning needs through the public and private debt markets.

Prior to joining Marathon, Mr. Connelly worked at Fairmount Capital Advisors, Inc., an Independent Registered Municipal Advisor registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. At Fairmount, Mr. Connelly headed the firm’s government consulting practice and led engagements such as five-year financial planning and budgeting, financial feasibility studies, and strategic planning, among others.

Before joining Fairmount, he worked for the management consulting firm American Management Systems (now CACI). At AMS, he was responsible for managing strategic planning and certification programs for organizations within the U.S. Navy.

Corinne Packard Beasley

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Corinne Packard Beasley is a senior advisor to Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI) and President of Packard Beasley Consulting. She previously served as a director at ESI, in addition to serving a former vice president of development at the Hudson Yards Development Corporation (HYDC), which is the New York City entity charged with spearheading the implementation of the Hudson Yards development program, which included the extension of the No.7 Subway Line, the redevelopment of the MTA Railyards, as well as other development sites between roughly 30th Street and 42nd Street, west of 8th Avenue. Prior to working at HYDC, Ms. Packard Beasley was a vice president of the Financial Services division of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), where she structured city incentives and discretionary capital investments in real estate and economic development projects throughout the five boroughs, including Atlantic Yards and Coney Island. Prior to joining NYCEDC, she worked in real estate finance at Capital Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust in New York focusing on high-yield debt investments in real estate assets and operating companies; and in real estate acquisitions at Heitman, a real estate investment management company.

Cori is also a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and brings experience in both government and private development to her teaching, which is focused on public-private development and post-catastrophe revitalization. Ms. Packard Beasley is also a member of the ULI National Public-Private Partnership Council, a member of the local Philadelphia ULI Community & Economic Development Council and has served as the co-chair of ULI’s Post-Sandy Task Force.

David Paul

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Dr. David Paul is President of the Fiscal Strategies Group, a financial advisory firm specializing in municipal and project finance. He is also a lecturer in finance and economics at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Prior to founding the Fiscal Strategies Group, Dr. Paul was a Managing Director and member of the Board of Directors of Public Financial Management, Inc., a national finance advisory firm. He also served as Senior Vice President for Research and Vice Provost of Drexel University.

In the municipal finance area, Dr. Paul’s clients have included the states of Florida, California, Colorado, Virginia and New Mexico; the cities of San Francisco, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Denver; counties and school districts across the country; and the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands. His areas of expertise range from general obligation bond financing to complex revenue bond structures, and funding strategies, as well as economic development and pension system funding. He has worked with bond rating agencies and bond insurers in the domestic and international markets, on the full range of tax-supported and revenue structured credits.

Dr. Paul has worked in international finance dating back to 1990, when he developed an international finance practice under the auspices of Hong Kong-Shanghai Bank. His international clients have included the Department of the National Treasury of the Government of South Africa, the French toll road operating company Transroute, the Mexican Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes, the Mexican development bank Nafinsa, N.A., and the Mexican national water company, Confederacion National del Aqua. Dr. Paul is a registered service contractor for the United Nations Development Programme, and volunteered with the International Organization for Migration after the 2004 tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia to create a sharia compliant micro lending program.

Dr. Paul works with legislative bodies on an ongoing basis on behalf of his clients with respect to budget and financial matters.  He has also worked as a speechwriter and campaign manager on a number of political campaigns.

Dr. Paul is a published author and a frequent writer of essays on politics, finance and economics. He is the author of When the Pot Boils: The decline and turnaround of Drexel University, and publishes regular commentaries on politics and economics. Dr. Paul serves as a volunteer member of the Boulder County Medical Reserve Corps.

Eric L. Stern

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Over a career of 41 years, Eric Stern has counseled real estate investors, owners and end-users in the acquisition, financing, recapitalization, leasing and disposition of office and industrial buildings, retail centers, hotels, development parcels, residential subdivisions, student housing projects, and other mixed-use properties. Eric represented the nation’s largest developer, owner, and manager of high-quality student housing in transactions, including public-private partnerships with state college and university systems throughout the United States from 2014-2022. In 2014 and 2020, Eric was recognized in a total of four transactions listed among Philadelphia Business Journal’s Deals of the Year. Eric was a partner with Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP from 1998-2022, retiring from the firm in 2022. Eric led the firm’s real estate practice for 17 years during his tenure.

A frequent speaker and writer, Eric has lectured on real estate issues to regional and national organizations, including the American Bar Association (ABA), the International Council of Shopping Centers, CLE International, Law Seminars International, the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Eric has also been a frequent lecturer at The University of Pennsylvania Law School. He writes on commercial leasing and subleasing topics, including exclusivity of use, operating covenants, structuring sublease relationships, and obtaining landlord consents.

Eric is a 1978 graduate of Brandeis University and a 1981 graduate of Boston College Law School. Eric was elected a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) in 2000 and has held regional and national positions with various real estate organizations over his career.  Eric has been recognized by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and by The Best Lawyers in America since 2003. In 2014, The Philadelphia Business Journal honored Eric as one Philadelphia’s most influential real estate lawyers. In 2016, Eric was named “Lawyer of the Year” for Philadelphia Real Estate Law by The Best Lawyers in America and in 2022, Eric was awarded Lexology’s Client Choice Award for Real Estate – USA.

Renee Cardwell Hughes

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Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes (Ret.) is a highly experienced senior executive, attorney, retired judge, Independent Board member, and Qualified Financial Expert. She has a demonstrated history of leading large organizations with complex management structures and marketplace challenges. Judge Cardwell Hughes is particularly skilled in Strategic Leadership, Nonprofit Organizations, Coaching, Government Relations, Fund Development, Conflict Resolution, effective P&L Management, Board Development, Public Relations, and Crisis Management. She has deep experience with Media Relations across all formats. She is a strong business development professional, with a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School.

Judge Hughes completed an engagement as President and CEO of Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. (Philadelphia OIC), a workforce development non-profit that impacts the lives of more than 1,500 individuals annually in 2021. Previously, Judge Hughes was the CEO of The Hughes Group, whose mission was to help management teams refine, internalize and execute their corporate mission. Her clients included Independence Blue Cross, and Aqua America. Her other leadership roles include CEO of the fourth largest market in the $3 billion American Red Cross system.

Judge Hughes’s legal background includes more than fifteen years as a Trial Judge handling both civil and criminal cases. She received her legal degree from Georgetown University Law Center, after completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia.

She has received numerous awards for her leadership, courage, and community involvement. In 2022 Judge received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Thomas Jefferson University. She was inducted into the International Women in Homeland Security and Emergency Management 2013 Hall of Fame. She was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a Minority Business Leader. In 2014 Philadelphia Style Magazine named her one of the City’s Power Women, and in 2016 Renée was recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a Woman of Distinction. Renée was selected as the Pearl S. Buck International 2018 Woman of Influence. In 2020 Renée was selected as an African American Leader of Influence by the Philadelphia Tribune and in 2021, Philadelphia Business Journal recognized her as one of the Philadelphia POWER 100.

Geoffrey M. Roche

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Geoffrey Roche, MPA, is the son of a nurse, future of work and education expert, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging advocate, champion for transforming health equity, and the host of the Ed Up Health Up podcast. Roche currently serves as the Senior Vice President, National Health Care Practice & Workforce Partnerships for Core Education PBC. He has been asked to regularly present on healthcare workforce topics at various national healthcare events including Becker’s Annual Meeting, HIMSS, ViVE, Becker’s HR Conference, among others. Roche was nominated in 2022 to the Forbes Business Council for his national level work.

His professional career includes over nine years in hospital administration as a strategic advisor to the President and CEO and department director of various departments, including Business Development and Planning, Government Affairs, Community Health, and Public Relations, for Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono. At Lebanon Valley College and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology he held senior leadership roles focused on strategic partnerships, organizational strategy, and business development. As Senior Vice President, Business & Workforce Development at Dignity Health Global Education, he led a diverse team focused on developing institutional relationships with leading health systems while simultaneously championing national conversations and initiatives to develop innovative diversity, equity, and inclusion solutions for the healthcare workforce.

Roche is an Adjunct Instructor of Health Administration in the MBA/MHA Program at Moravian University and Corporate Faculty member in the Population Health program at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, serves on the United Way of Lebanon County and United Way of Pennsylvania Board of Directors, IU 13 Board of Directors, Leadership Council for Moravian College, Patient Safety Committee for WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital, and as an elected School Director of Annville-Cleona School District.

Roche earned his master’s degree in Management and Leadership: Public Administration at East Stroudsburg University and his bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Moravian University. He also holds a Mini-MBA in Healthcare from the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management, Certificate in Innovation in Healthcare Management from Arizona State University, Thunderbird School of Global Management, the Certificate in Healthcare Leadership from Duke Corporate Education, and the Certificate in Heroic Leadership from Santa Clara University.