AQUACENA LOPEZ
Senior Vice President
Ms. Lopez brings over 20 years of public finance experience to BRV. She was founder of A. Lopez & Associates LLC, Principal of Vogel Lopez & Associates, Inc. and Vice President of KNN Public Finance. Ms. Lopez received an MBA degree from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and a B.A. degree from San Francisco State University, Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
A. CHRISTOPHER (CHRIS) ST. JAMES
Senior Vice President
Mr. St. James has over 20 years of investment banking, financial advisory and account relationship management experience. Previously, he was with Rice Financial Products, Jackson Securities, Ramirez & Co., Charles A. Bell Securities, Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch and E.F. Hutton. Mr. St. James earned a B.A. degree from the University of California at Davis.
JOSEPH BARNES
Senior Vice President
Mr. Barnes has over 20 years’ experience in the municipal bond industry. Initially, with Shearman & Sterling, one Wall Street’s largest law firms, he subsequently was lead bond counsel in his own firm. Most recently, he was an investment banker with Grigsby & Associates. Mr. Barnes has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a BA in Economics and Political Science from Antioch College.
ADRIENNE ARCHIA
Senior Vice President
Ms. Archia has over 25 years of experience in public finance and joins Blaylock Robert Van from Rice Financial Products Company, where she was head of that firm’s Midwest Region. Ms. Archia is a former CFO for the Chicago Housing Authority and worked for the City of Chicago for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. She is a graduate of Spelman College where she received her B.A. in Economics.
ALEX PALMIERI
Senior Vice President – Lead Municipal Underwriter
Mr. Palmieri has over 25 years experience with sales and trading of municipal bonds. Prior to joining BRV, he was with Webster Bank in institutional sales servicing mutual funds, money managers and trust departments. Mr. Palmieri graduated from Bernard M. Baruch College, City University of New York, where he earned a BBA in Finance and Investments.
JONATHAN LY
Senior Vice President
Mr. Ly is the lead analyst at Blaylock Robert Van. Previously, he was an investment banker with CastleOak Securities L.P., the head of training at Ferrand Consulting Group, Inc., the parent company of Munex, an investment banker for KeyBanc Capital Markets and a Senior Financial Analyst at Chapman and Cutler. Mr. Ly is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago with dual BA degrees in Economics and Finance.
YORDANOS DIRAR
Analyst
Ms. Dirar is an analyst within the Fixed Income group focusing on Municipal Bonds. She is a licensed Registered Representative with over two years experience within the financial field where she has worked as both an options trader and a municipal analyst. Ms. Dirar received a B.S. in Financial Mathematics and Statistics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

