Special Briefing: The Year Ahead for Cities

Eighty percent of Americans live in urban areas, and for them, 2026 is likely to be a year of immense change as the federal government quickens the pace of trillions of dollars in funding cuts to cities, counties, and states expected over the next decade. Our expert panel from government and Wall Street will dissect how urban America and its leaders will cope with this new brand of fiscal federalism. Confirmed speakers include Janet Cowell, Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina, Fitzroy Lee, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Economist, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, District of Columbia and Nicholas Samuels, Senior Vice President, US Public Finance at Moody's Ratings with additional speakers pending.

Moderated by William Glasgall, Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser and Penn IUR Fellow, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research and Wharton Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance, this briefing is the sixty-fifth in a series of sixty-minute online conversations featuring experts from the national research networks of the Volcker Alliance and Penn IUR, along with other leading academics, economists, and federal, state, and local leaders. 

Special Briefings are made possible by funding from The Travelers Institute, the Volcker Alliance, and members of the Penn IUR Advisory Board. Recordings of the entire Special Briefings series are available on the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR websites.

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Janet Cowell was elected Mayor of Raleigh in 2024.

Janet’s most recent path to city hall was shaped by a prior fifteen years of elected public service, including as Raleigh city councilor, NC State Senator and State Treasurer. She was the first and only woman to serve as State Treasurer and oversaw $100 billion in pension assets and health benefits for nearly a million public sector workers and retirees.

Throughout her career, Janet has brought people together: across neighborhoods, across sectors, and across the aisle. Prior to being elected Mayor, Janet led the Dix Park Conservancy as President & CEO and raised $40 million in private funds for the creation of Gipson Play Plaza as well as restoration of the historic chapel and stone houses.

Janet earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. More than title or credentials, Janet is guided by her commitment to Raleigh and her belief that people flourish when they are connected with their neighbors and meaningfully engaged in their community.

Fitzroy Lee serves as deputy chief financial officer and chief economist for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO). He was appointed to this position in October 2009. He served as chief financial officer of the District of Columbia from March 2021 to July 2022, when he was appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Council to serve out the rest of the term of the previous CFO. In this role, he managed the District government’s finances, including its approximately $18.4 billion gross funds operating budget, of which $10.7 billion is generated from local and dedicated revenue sources. He also managed the city’s $9.0 billion capital improvements plan budget. Lee began his career with the OCFO in 2001 as the director of Revenue Estimation.

Previously, Lee was an assistant professor of economics at Tulane University in New Orleans. Prior to that he worked for the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), where he co-authored a paper on the efficacy of user-fees for funding the meat inspection program.

Lee has published papers on revenue forecasting and tax policy in nationally recognized academic journals. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the National Tax Association and the National Economist Club.

He earned his doctorate in economics at The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University and holds a bachelor's degree in applied physics and computer science from the University of the West Indies (Jamaica).

Nicholas Samuels is the Senior Vice President at Moody’s Ratings, a role he has held since 2006. He is an experienced municipal credit analyst, with a deep background in ESG credit integration. He is also the host of the company’s podcast, “Moody’s Talks.” Samuels received a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Skidmore College and a Master of Public Administration degree from The George Washington University.