Butler Snow is pleased to announce that attorney Charity W. Karanja will serve as moderator for the panel discussion, “Building the Right Team: The People Behind Every Successful Development,” at the City of Jackson, Mississippi’s 2026 Real Estate Developer Academy on Aug. 25, 2026.
The Real Estate Developer Academy is an 18-month program designed to equip emerging real estate developers with the knowledge, resources and professional networks needed to lead housing, commercial and neighborhood revitalization projects throughout the community. The Academy’s intensive training week will be held Aug. 24-28, 2026, at Union Station in downtown Jackson.
Charity W. Karanja
Charity is a member of Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets Group and is a Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) through the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA). Charity has the distinction of being one of six women in the nation named to the 2024 Class of the Caren S. Franzini Fellowship, a merit-based program by the CDFA Foundation, recognizing outstanding women in development finance for their leadership and dedication to the advancement of the industry.
Charity focuses her practice on public finance, economic development incentives, and government relations and has served in multiple roles on public, private, and public-private finance transactions and economic development matters, including Special Tax Counsel, Bond Counsel, Underwriter’s Counsel, Issuer’s Counsel, Lender’s Counsel, Disclosure Counsel, Trustee’s Counsel, and Developer’s Counsel. She has represented both governmental and private organizations in a variety of financing structures, including New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) transactions.
Charity has earned numerous professional honors recognizing her leadership and contributions to the legal profession, including: Bloomberg Law: They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 List, American Bar Association: On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers, The Mississippi Business Journal: Top 40 Under 40, Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation Guide, ALM’s The Daily Report and Law.com’s Southeastern Legal Awards: On the Rise in Mississippi, The Bond Buyer: Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®: Mid-South Rising Stars, and The National Black Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40. She has been selected for several distinguished leadership programs, including the Women in Public Finance Emerging Leaders Council, the Mississippi Bar Leadership Program, and the National Association of Women Lawyers Leadership Program.
Charity earned her bachelor’s degree from the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law.
