Team

Erin M. White, CPA, Director, Division of Finance, was appointed to her position in June 2021.  She also previously served as Acting Director, Division of Finance for the County from October 2012 to October 2014.  Before becoming director of the Division of Finance, Ms. White served as the deputy director of the Finance Division for four years, the director of the Accounting Department for eight years, and five years as an accounting supervisor for the capital projects fund, various special revenue funds, the pension fund, and payroll department.  Prior to her employment with the County, Ms. White was a supervisor with the public accounting firm of Linton, Shafer and Company, P.A. Frederick, Maryland.  Her career in public accounting totaled six years.  In addition, she served as the bookstore manager for ten years at Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, New York.  Ms. White received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, New York.  She is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants, the Government Finance Officers Association, and the Maryland Government Finance Officers Association. She currently serves as a public member of the Maryland National Park and Planning Audit Committee.

Susan A. Keller, CPA, Financial Services Manager, Division of Finance, began her career with Frederick County Government in October 2000.  She has held various positions within the Division of Finance with responsibilities including payroll, Citizens Nursing Home, Montevue Assisted Living Facility, agricultural preservation funds, capital projects fund, cash management, investment and debt accounting.  Ms. Keller was appointed to her current position in Nov 2011, where her responsibilities include oversight of the benefit trust funds (Pension, OPEB and Length of Service Awards Program), debt service fund, debt management, and investment accounting.  She also serves on the Capital Improvement Program committee.  Prior to her employment with the County, Ms. Keller was with the public accounting firm of Young, Hyde & Barbour, PC in Leesburg, Virginia for two years and participated in auditing of local governments and other organizations, as well as tax preparations for individuals and estates.  For thirteen years prior she worked in the Finance Department with the Town of Leesburg, Virginia in various positions.  Ms. Keller received an Associates of Arts Degree from Frederick Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Frostburg State University.  She is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants, the Government Finance Officers Association, and the Maryland Government Finance Officers Association.

Daniel J. Lewis, CPFO, Chief Financial Officer, was appointed to his position in May 2023.  As Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr. Lewis is responsible for the divisions of Finance, and Economic Opportunity, the offices of Budget, Risk Management, and Procurement & Contracting, as well as three of the County’s enterprise funds; the Division of Solid Waste & Recycling, the Division of Water & Sewer Utilities, and the Comprehensive Care Facilities.  Mr. Lewis started his career with Frederick County as a high school intern for the County’s Accounting Department in June 2001.  Since he arrived in 2001, Mr. Lewis has held progressively higher positions within the Division of Finance including Accountant (2006-2011), Treasury Manager (2011-2021), and Deputy Finance Director (2021-2023).  Prior to his appointment as CFO, Mr. Lewis served as the primary lead on Frederick County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) efforts.  Mr. Lewis earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the University of Maryland University College (now known as the University of Maryland Global Campus) and his Associate of Science degree in Business Management from Frederick Community College.  He is a Certified Public Finance Officer (2019), and a member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).  He is also a member of the Maryland Government Finance Officers Association (MDGFOA) and serves as the co-chair for the state-wide MDGFOA Tax Affinity Group.  Mr. Lewis is also actively involved in various Frederick County committees including the Employees Retirement Plans, the Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) Trust Fund, the Deferred Compensation Plan, and the Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE).

Kiersten O’Donnell, Accountant II, Division of Finance, began her career with Frederick County Government in July 2024. Her responsibilities include accounting for the Benefit trust funds, debt service fund, debt, and investments. Ms. O’Donnell previously worked at Allegany County Government in Cumberland, Maryland as Chief Accountant in the Finance Department for three and a half years, where she performed various accounting tasks related to grants, financial reporting, capital projects, and accounts receivable. For three years prior to her employment at Allegany County Government, she worked in public accounting at Turnbull, Hoover & Kahl P.A. in Cumberland, Maryland, where her responsibilities included auditing of local government, tax preparation for individuals and organizations, and financial reporting and payroll for organizations. Ms. O’Donnell received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration from Frostburg State University.

Anna focuses her practice on public finance with an emphasis on infrastructure financings. She is a recognized emerging leader for her considerable experience advising clients on infrastructure projects from conception to financing. In addition to her financing practice, Anna counsels clients on tax credits and other governmental incentives.

Anna partners with issuers, underwriters, developers and borrowers on a variety of financing structures with a particular focus on public bond offerings. Anna’s bond practice includes land-secured transactions, incremental tax revenue pledges and general revenue pledges, and she has counseled clients on financings for mixed-use developments, transportation facilities, continuing care retirement communities, renewable energy facilities, exempt facilities, multifamily housing and hospitals.

Outside of her law practice, Anna is a member of the board of directors of Women in Public Finance, a national organization dedicated to the advancement of women the public finance profession. In addition to her involvement in the national organization, Anna co-founded the Maryland Women in Public Finance chapter and serves as its past president and as a founding director. Anna currently serves as the co-chair of its Judicial Nominating Committee and is the immediate past president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Maryland and Anna is also on the board of trustees of Baltimore Center Stage, the State theatre of Maryland.

Before joining McGuireWoods, Anna clerked for Judge Alexander Wright Jr. of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. While earning her law degree from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, Anna was a leadership scholar, an intern/Asper fellow to Judge Lawrence Fletcher-Hill of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, and an articles editor on the Journal of Health Care Law & Policy.

Ms. Diercksen has 18 years of experience in the public finance sector, including serving as financial advisor to state and local governments in Maryland since 2016. Ms. Diercksen focuses her practice on assisting clients with debt planning and budget management, as well as other services including policy studies, peer group comparisons, and strategic financial plans. Ms. Diercksen also has extensive experience in providing transactional services to support financings with different methods of sale and varying security types. During her six-year career at Moody’s, Ms. Diercksen’s focus was on local governments in the eastern region of the United States, including Maryland, where she was responsible for rating various debt securities including general obligation, lease/appropriation, revenue, tax increment/special assessment, and state enhanced bonds. Due to her rating agency experience, Ms. Diercksen acts as a resource to Davenport’s Public Finance team on credit strategy and development of rating agency presentations for clients. She is also an Associate Member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Government Finance Officers, and a founding member and former Vice President of the Maryland Chapter of Women in Public Finance.

Mr. Mason, a shareholder in the firm and a member of its Board of Directors, has a diverse public finance background, having served for the past 26 years as a state-level debt manager, a senior credit executive for Fitch Ratings, and a financial advisor to state and local governments throughout the mid-Atlantic region.  Mr. Mason is intimately familiar with all aspects of Mid-Atlantic public finance, having provided advisory services to dozens of counties, municipalities, and state agencies.  Prior to joining Davenport, Mr. Mason was a Senior Director and head of Fitch Ratings’ Public Finance - Eastern Region, where he was responsible for all local government tax-supported, lease, and revenue bond ratings from Maine to Florida. He was a member of the Public Finance Criteria Committee, which set criteria standards for all types of credits rated by the department.  Mr. Mason has spoken throughout the nation on rating matters and has authored numerous articles on municipal credit, public pensions, and OPEB.  Mr. Mason’s work has been cited in several widely circulated publications, including The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Bond Buyer. Mr. Mason began his public finance career in the Governor’s executive budget office in Illinois.  While there, he oversaw all aspects of debt administration, running the state’s general obligation, Build Illinois sales tax revenue bond, college savings bond (CABs), and certificates of participation programs. Mr. Mason is a member and frequent speaker at the Virginia and Maryland Government Finance Officers Associations and is a past member of the Municipal Analysts Group of New York and the National Federation of Municipal Analysts.

Mr. Kooch, a stockholder in the firm and member of the Board of Directors, has worked in the municipal finance industry since 1993 and has served as Municipal Advisor to public sector clients for over 30 years.  Mr. Kooch has provided primary technical and quantitative analysis on credits in Virginia and across the Mid-Atlantic / Southeast region.  Since joining the public finance industry in 1993, Mr. Kooch has specialized in designing and constructing financial pro formas, debt capacity and budget projection and cash flow models for complex tax-supported and revenue-based credits.  Mr. Kooch has also been responsible for the creation of specialized analytical models designed for database management, investment cash flow analysis, investment and debt portfolio management. Mr. Kooch’s formal educational background is in accounting and as such he has also provided in depth financial statement reviews and assisted with budgetary analysis for many of his Municipal Advisory clients.  In addition, Mr. Kooch has provided a wide range of technical plan of finance development and transaction implementation services in all aspects of local government finance including rating agency strategy, general infrastructure financing, economic development, schools, water and sewer utilities, local and regional jails, transit and solid waste.