CHAIRPERSON & PRESIDENT

Since March 2023, Sameera serves as the board chair of the Women’s Infrastructure Network organization’s New York chapter (“WIN-NY”). Sameera joined WIN-NY as a junior board member in January 2021 and has focused her time at the organization on mentoring young professionals in infrastructure.

Sameera is an Associate Director at Igneo Infrastructure Partners (“Igneo”) in their New York office. At Igneo, Sameera is responsible for transaction origination, execution and related asset management activities. Prior to joining Igneo in 2022, Sameera worked at JLC Infrastructure (“JLC”), where she focused on infrastructure investments, particularly within the transportation and energy sectors. During this time, Sameera worked on the John F. Kennedy Airport New Terminal One project as well as other infrastructure projects. Prior to JLC, Sameera worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs (“GS”), where she focused on M&A and project finance transactions in the transportation, public-private partnerships, and industrials sectors.

Sameera holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

VICE PRESIDENT AND PROGRAMS DIRECTOR

Missa Sangimino-Ludwig is an Investment Director with the NextGen fund at Antin Infrastructure Partners, focused on investing in companies that will redefine the energy, environment, telecom, and social infrastructure sectors over the coming decade. Previously, Missa was an investor at JLC Infrastructure, and in the Infrastructure group at Stifel Financial.

Missa received a Bachelor’s degree from Boston College and was a fellow with the Clean Energy Leadership Institute.

VICE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERSHIP & SOCIAL DIRECTOR

Hilary Cody is an investor at Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a leading global independent infrastructure fund manager based in New York. She focuses on equity investments in the energy space. 

Prior to joining GIP, Hilary was an investor at Fiera Infrastructure. Hilary also was in operations at BP and held quantitative trading positions at Gelber Group and Akuna Capital, where she traded commodities in the energy sector.

Hilary holds a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Mathematics & Statistics from The Johns Hopkins University and an MBA in Finance and BEES (Business, Energy, Environment, and Sustainability) from The Wharton School.

PROGRAMS DIRECTOR

MEMBERSHIP & SOCIAL DIRECTOR

Stephanie Zou is an Investment Director at Antin Infrastructure Partners’s New York office, responsible for all aspects of Antin’s North American investment activities from deal sourcing, execution to portfolio management.

Prior to joining Antin, Stephanie spent two years as an Investment Associate at Blackstone’s Private Equity team in New York, dedicated to energy and power investments.  She started her career at Credit Suisse’s Houston Energy Investment Banking Division.

MEMBERSHIP & SOCIAL DIRECTOR

SPONSORSHIP & CONFERENCE DIRECTOR

Amelie Pedersen is a Vice President with Blackstone Credit. She is involved with private and public investments in the energy transition, renewable energy, and sustainability sectors.

Before joining Blackstone Credit, Amelie worked at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners where she worked on sourcing and executing investment opportunities in the renewable and infrastructure sectors.

Before Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Amelie worked for Goldman Sachs in their Public Sector Infrastructure group in New York and Real Estate Investment Banking group in London.

Amelie received a Master in Management from HEC Paris and a Master in International Management from Fundação Getulio Vargas.

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Cathy Basquel is a Vice President at Tiger Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm focused on providing transformational growth capital to middle market infrastructure companies across the Digital Infrastructure, Energy Transition and Transportation sectors in North America and Europe. Cathy is an investment professional based in Tiger’s New York office, working on investments in both North America and Europe, and additionally assists with the firm’s ESG strategy. Previously,  Cathy was Associate at The Blackstone Group (European Real Estate Group) in London, UK and a member of the Debt Restructuring Group at Deloitte Corporate Finance in Dublin, Ireland. Cathy sits on the Board of the Women’s Infrastructure Board of New York. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Dublin in Ireland and an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CPA).

TREASURER

CORPORATE SECRETARY

Claire Watson is a senior associate in the Energy, Infrastructure, Project and Asset Finance practice at the New York office of White & Case. Claire’s practice focuses on the development and financing of infrastructure assets. She represents sponsors, funds, lenders and public authorities on a range of large-scale infrastructure projects. Claire joined White & Case from Allen & Overy’s Projects department where she advised on public private partnerships in the transportation, water and airport sectors and on the sale and acquisition of various types of infrastructure assets. Prior to moving to New York in 2011, Claire spent 4 years in London with Norton Rose Fulbright in their Project Finance team advising sponsors and lenders on infrastructure transactions across Europe and Africa, including toll roads, airports, power plants and wind farms. Claire’s financing experience includes commercial bank debt, private placements and private activity bonds. Claire is a member of the New York State Bar, the Law Society of Scotland and the Law Society of England and Wales.

BOARD MEMBER

Ms. Fitts is a corporate partner, and a member of the Corporate and Transactional, M&A and Energy Groups at ArentFox Schiff LLP. She has extensive experience representing a broad range of clients in the U.S. and globally. Her practice focuses on M&A transactions, projects and restructurings, as well as navigating the unique issues presented by joint ventures and other multi-party governance arrangements. She describes herself as an M&A lawyer who likes electrons, and has led many energy and infrastructure project legal teams over her career, including the development of the Salem Harbor Power Station and investments by Japanese utilities in US IPP and renewable energy projects.

Ms. Fitts earned a BA and MA from the University of Pennsylvania and earned her JD at Harvard Law School. Ms. Fitts reads and speaks Japanese. In addition to WIN-NY, Ms. Fitts serves on the boards of the Regional Plan Association and Our Energy Policy Foundations. Pro Bono efforts have included work for a variety of organizations, including the Global LPG Partnership, an organization dedicated to solving one of the most intractable human health, climate and energy challenges in the developing world through clean cooking alternatives (www.glgp.org), Black Owners of Solar Services (www.blacksolar.org) and Cash for Refugees (www.cashforrefugees.org).

BOARD MEMBER

As Senior Vice President, Development of ASTM NA, Ms. Speir focuses on the strategic delivery and execution of large scale transportation P3 projects. Ms. Speir brings over 20 years of experience in the construction services and infrastructure sector having working with major global infrastructure developers and construction companies focusing on transportation, including; highways, bridges, airports and rail. She has successfully led and executed numerous deals in both the US and Canada, collectively valuing over $20 billion.

Ms. Speir has a Honors BA from University of Toronto, as well as Negotiations and Project Management credentials from Harvard Business School, and University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, respectively. Kate is passionate about the professional empowerment of women and has served as Program Committee Chair for the Vancouver YWCA Women of Distinction Awards (3-year term) as well as contributed to numerous mentoring programs. Kate is also a Board Member of the Insurgo Foundation, an organization focusing on bringing food justice to disadvantaged youth.

PROGRAMS

Zoe Koch is an equity investor at Morrison, a leading global infrastructure manager based in New York, having transferred from the Sydney office in 2023. Prior to joining Morrison, Zoe worked for EY in the Infrastructure Advisory team advising governments on infrastructure investments in Sydney, Australia.

Zoe received a Bachelor of Economics and Finance from the University of Sydney.

PROGRAMS AND TREASURER

Pilar Lorena Scheurer is a Senior Associate in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs in New York. Her main areas of focus lie within Power, Utilities, Infrastructure and Renewables. She started her career as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs in the London office, covering the same sectors.

Pilar received a Master in Finance from HEC Paris and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of St. Gallen. She is currently also on the Steering Committee of the Goldman Sachs Americas Investment Banking Women’s Network.

PROGRAMS

May Kurobe is an infrastructure finance professional with eight years of experience in both the public and private sectors. While pursuing her Master’s degree at Columbia University with a focus on sustainable infrastructure development, May interned at Global Infrastructure Facility and Global Infrastructure Hub, where she supported project preparation and research on infrastructure investment trends.

Prior to pursuing her Master’s degree, May worked at Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development (JOIN), a public-private infrastructure investment fund based in Tokyo. During her time at JOIN, May supported equity investments in a variety of infrastructure projects including airports, urban development and logistics.

May received a Master of Public Administration in Development Practice from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and was a member of the Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship Program.

PROGRAMS

Zoe Seward is an Associate at Igneo Infrastructure Partner's New York office. She is responsible for North American investment activities across multiple sectors including transportation & logistics, transition energy, and digital. 

Prior to joining Igneo, Zoe spent two years as an Associate with HSBC's Real Assets & Structured Finance team, primarily focused on renewable energy debt solutions.

MEMBERSHIP & SOCIAL

MEMBERSHIP & SOCIAL

Vivian Qiang is an investor with the New York office of IFM Investors, a global fund manager with more than $70b of infrastructure equity under management. Her responsibilities include sourcing and assessing opportunities as well as asset managing investments across renewable energy, district energy, and other core infrastructure. Prior to joining IFM, Vivian spent three years with D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), one of the largest American IPPs, where she was responsible for securing financing for over 500 MW of utility scale solar. Vivian holds a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Harvard College.

MEMBERSHIP & SOCIAL

MEMBERSHIP & SOCIAL

Dara Ades is an investor at Stonepeak, a leading international alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets. She is based in New York and is focused on equity investments in the transportation and logistics space.

Prior to joining Stonepeak, Dara was an investor at Macquarie infrastructure, where she also focused on the transportation sector. Dara holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

SPONSORSHIP & CONFERENCE

Natalie Chaplin is a Senior Associate at Campbell Lutyens, where she focuses on private infrastructure capital advisory. Natalie began her career in London, and transitioned to the Campbell Lutyens New York team in early 2023. She has worked on 10+ fundraises and product launches, speaking to c.$40bn of private capital. She has also co-authored Campbell Lutyens’ annual infrastructure market report for the last 3 years, and produced sustainability white papers.

Natalie holds a first class BA (Hons) degree in Geography from Durham University, and was later awarded a Newton College Scholarship to the University of Cambridge to complete a post-graduate masters degree in Development Studies (Economics and Politics), where she graduated with a Distinction.

SPONSORSHIP & CONFERENCE

Laura Wood is a Senior Associate at Vantage Infrastructure in their New York office, focusing on the execution and asset management of debt investments for all North American transactions.

Prior to joining Vantage, Laura worked for the Global Infrastructure and Project Finance team at Fitch Ratings and the Public Sector and Infrastructure group at Goldman Sachs covering US-based public infrastructure transactions, including transportation and utilities. In her most recent position, Laura worked as an Associate at ING Capital focusing on energy project finance. Laura holds an MBA from Yale School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from Vassar College.

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Natalia Murach is an Associate on the Infrastructure Finance team at ING, supporting the origination, structuring, and execution of debt financing for infrastructure assets in the Americas. Specific experience includes transactions within the transport, port, environmental services and fund financing sub-sectors.

Prior to joining ING, Natalia worked on the Project Finance team at S&P Global Ratings, covering US-based public infrastructure transactions including transport and P3 financings. Most recently, Natalia worked as a Research Analyst at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington D.C., conducting research on household wealth. Natalia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Data Science from Smith College.

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Jillian is as an Analyst at IFM Investors where she works on the investment team focused on Infrastructure Debt. Prior to IFM, she was an analyst at GIP and a management consultant at KPMG. She is currently pursuing her MBA part time at NYU Stern. She previously graduated from NYU’s School of Engineering in 2019 where she led Society of Women Engineers as President of the NYU chapter.

Yuri Estrada is a Vice President in the Infrastructure Fund at The Carlyle Group, which makes investments across multiple infrastructure sectors in OECD markets. She is based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining Carlyle, Yuri was an Investment Director at Siemens Financial Services where she focused on energy and transportation investments and was responsible for due diligence, deal structuring and leading competitive processes. Prior to that, she was a Director at AECOM Capital, focusing on deal origination, development and execution of greenfield and brownfield transactions across transportation, social, digital, environmental and renewables sectors. Her deal/project experience extends across the US, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, UK, Qatar, UAE, and Kenya.

Yuri is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) and received her MBA from and her BE from The City University of New York. Yuri has been a member of the Golden Seeds Angel Investment group, which pursues above market returns through the empowerment of women entrepreneurs. She also belongs to the Women's Association of Venture and Equity (WAVE) and held a board member position on the ACE Mentor Program of America.

Anne Rehfuss is a Vice President at Citigroup where she works in the Office of the CFO. She previously worked in Citigroup’s P3 and Project Finance investment banking group. She previously served as Co-President of Young Professionals in Infrastructure. She graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in Political Economy and Art History.

Melissa Richards is a Senior Vice President and Head of Infrastructure Project Management within the Private Funds Group. Ms. Richards is responsible for the development, structuring and launch of new private funds through the management of fundraising campaigns from concept to close. Prior to joining Brookfield in 2016, Ms. Richards was an Executive Director in Morgan Stanley’s Infrastructure funds, responsible for investor activities globally. As an early member of the infrastructure platform, Melissa played a significant role in fundraising and marketing platform development. She joined Morgan Stanley in 2004 as a senior risk advisor in foreign exchange derivatives, following eight years at BNP Paribas and five years at Credit Suisse in FX Sales and Trading.

Ms. Richards received her BS in Finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Melissa serves on the Board of Directors for Urban Pathways, a New York City nonprofit serving homeless men and women.

Cate Singer is a Director in KPMG’s Infrastructure Advisory Practice, a leading advisory firm providing financial, strategic and commercial consulting services to clients in both the public and private sectors. At KPMG, Cate’s experience in infrastructure has focused on strategic, financial, and commercial work in the transportation and social sectors. Her work is focused on engagement delivery and client service on key issues related to major capital programs including project/program strategy, funding and financing, project screening, feasibility, procurement, and commercial structuring and negotiation. Cate joined KPMG in 2010 from the State of New Jersey’s Department of the Treasury, Office of Public Finance where she provided transaction services and portfolio management in governmental municipal finance.

Cate is a graduate of Rutgers University. Cate enjoys volunteering and participating in industry mentoring.

Mariana Torres is a Senior Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where she leads pre-investment activities in the transportation sector. Prior to IFC, Ms. Torres was responsible for deal origination, execution, and related asset management activities on large-scale public private partnerships (P3s) across a wide range of infrastructure sectors at Shikun & Binui USA Concessions (S&B) and John Laing (a KKR company). She also served as Director of Infrastructure Economics advisory practice at Louis Berger (now WSP) and held roles at the World Economic Forum and the World Bank.

Ms. Torres holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Torres is passionate about promoting gender diversity in the industry and mentoring the future generation of infrastructure professionals: she’s a former Co-President for Young Professionals in Infrastructure, is on the Advisory Board for the Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy (CPIP) and holds the Co-chair position for the Transportation Research Board’s P3 Subcommittee, in addition to her position as Board Member of the WIN NYC Chapter.