Butler Snow attorneys Caitlyn S. Burchfield, Charity W. Karanja and Ashley N. Wicks will be speaking at the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) Summer Institute held on August 4-8, 2025. The 2025 CDFA Summer Institute includes five separate courses: Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance, Intro Bond Finance, Intro Revolving Loan Fund, Intro Tax Increment Finance and Intro Tax Credit Finance.
On August 4, Wicks will be speaking at an Investment Tools session at the Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance Course, where she joins fellow industry leaders in explaining how investment tools and federal tax credit programs can support local development opportunities.
Burchfield and Karanja will be speaking at the Intro Bond Finance Course webinar on August 5. Burchfield will lead “The Basics of Bond Finance,” a session that explores various types of bonds, important terms and the general process for bond issuance. Karanja will be leading a session titled “The Partners Involved,” where attendees will learn more about the roles of different parties involved in transactions.
Click here to learn more and register for the webinar.
The Council of Development Finance Agencies is a national association dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. CDFA is comprised of the nation’s leading and most knowledgeable members of the development finance community, representing hundreds of public, private and non-profit development entities.
Caitlyn S. Burchfield
Burchfield is a member of Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives & Credit Markets group. She is an experienced public finance and economic development attorney and provides counsel on taxable and tax-exempt public offerings, limited offerings, direct placements, and bank loans relating to multi-family housing, senior living facilities, universities and stadiums, educational facilities, healthcare facilities, and recreational and hotel developments. Her work has been recognized by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America®, and the Birmingham Business Journal. Burchfield’s representative projects span the country. She regularly serves as bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, and lender’s counsel.
Charity W. Karanja
Karanja is a member of Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets Group and is a Development Finance Certified Professional through the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA). She also 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. She has been recognized by The National Black Lawyers as one of its Top 40 Under 40, by Marquis Who’s Who in America as an Honored Listee, and by the Women in Public Finance (WPF) as a member of its Emerging Leaders Council. She has also been featured in a Spotlight by the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL), highlighting her career and accomplishments in public finance.
Ashley N. Wicks
Wicks focuses her practice on economic and community development, tax incentives and financings. In addition to her work in economic and community development, tax incentives and financings, she is also President of the Butler Snow Foundation. She has been honored by BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America® and Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers® for her work in Tax Law. Wicks was named a Rising Star in the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits in 2024 and was voted Best Tax Attorney in the Jackson Free Press’s Best of Jackson from 2018-2021. Her work and civic involvement have also been honored by the American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Mississippi Business Journal and Visit Jackson, among others.
