Attendee Bios
2017 Bios
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J. Anthony "Jim" Beard
Chief Financial Officer
City of Atlanta
J. Anthony "Jim" Beard joined the City of Atlanta in 2010 and began serving as Chief Financial Officer in October 2011. As CFO and Senior Management, he advises the Mayor and City Council on a variety of policies, issues and financial activities. Previously he served as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer with the Department of Watershed Management. Beard received dual bachelor's degrees, with high honors (magna cum laude) in Finance and International Business from Florida International University and also attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. He earned his Masters of Business Administration degree from the J. L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
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Michael Belsky
Executive Director
Center for Municipal Finance
Michael D. Belsky is the Executive Director of the Center for Municipal Finance at Harris and teaches a course on the fundamentals of municipal bonds as part of the Municipal Finance Certificate Program. Mr. Belsky is also the Managing Director for Fixed Income at Greenwich Investment Management a firm specializing in High Yield Municipal Bonds. Prior to joining the firm he worked in the municipal finance industry for over 30 years. From 2009 to 2011 he developed a credit review process for Chicago-based C.W. Henderson and Associates, a $3 billion municipal bond investment advisory firm.
Mr. Belsky spent most of his career as Group Managing Director of the Public Finance Group at Fitch Ratings. He worked at the rating agency from 1993 to 2008 and was named top rating agency executive in public finance by institutional investors three years in a row (Smith’s Research and Ratings Review Municipal All Star Team, 2005–07).
Mr. Belsky began his career in 1984 as a municipal bond analyst at the Northern Trust Company. He subsequently worked as a municipal bond underwriter and as a public finance investment banker. In 1989 he established and began managing a public finance department for Mesirow Financial, a regional investment bank in Chicago.
Mr. Belsky also served two terms as a member of the City Council in Highland Park, Illinois (1995–2003), and two terms as mayor (2003–11). Under his leadership the city received national recognition in the areas of environmental sustainability, budgeting, financial reporting, affordable housing and local health initiatives. The city maintained a triple-A rating by Moody’s Investors Service throughout his tenure.From 2008 to 2011 Mr. Belsky was a member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, a national body that sets accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local governments.
Mr. Belsky is a recognized expert in municipal finance and has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars, including at Bloomberg and the Greenwich Round Table. He was recently asked by the SEC to testify as an expert in hearings on secondary market disclosure in the municipal bond market. He has lectured on public finance at Northwestern University, the LBJ School at the University of Texas, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, the Graduate Program in City Management at Northern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois. Mr. Belsky received a BA in urban studies from Lake Forest College and an MA in public policy from the University of Chicago.
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Aaron J. Bovos
Chief Financial Officer and Director of Financial Management Services
City of Fort Worth
Aaron J. Bovos was appointed the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Financial Management Services for the City of Fort Worth in January of 2014. Most recently, Bovos served as the Deputy County Administrator and Chief Financial Officer for Gwinnett County, Georgia (Atlanta metropolitan area), having been appointed to that position in 2009. Bovos’ professional career has spanned over 18 years, where he has held various positions in several local governments, including serving as the deputy city manager of the City of Roswell, the finance director for the City of Alpharetta, and the deputy city manager of the City of Sandy Springs.
Bovos is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and the Association of Governmental Accountants. Bovos holds distinctions as a Certified Government Finance Manager (CGFM) and as a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP). He has earned a bachelor's degree in bachelor’s degree in business management and is currently pursuing his Masters in Governmental Accounting at Rutgers University.
In his current role as the CFO of the City of Fort Worth, Bovos oversees the day to day operations of the department of Financial Management Services. The City has an annual operating budget of approximately $1.6 billion and over 6,300 employees. Fort Worth has received national recognition for multiple programs.
On a personal level, Bovos enjoys running and is a horseman competing at events on a national level.
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Carole Brown
CFO
City of Chicago
Carole L. Brown was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the City of Chicago in May of 2015. Prior to joining the City, Ms. Brown had a 25+-year career as one of the leading municipal finance investment bankers in the Country. Most recently, Brown served as a Managing Director at Barclays Capital, heading the firm’s Midwest and Southeast municipal practices. She served as the Senior Investment Banker for local and national municipal clients including the City of Chicago, the District of Columbia, the City of Atlanta the States of Illinois, Florida, Michigan and Indiana. Prior to joining Barclays, Brown was employed with Siebert Brandford Shank & Co., LLC and Mesirow Financial. She joined Mesirow after a 10-year career as Managing Director at Lehman Brothers.
Brown is a native of Baltimore and a graduate of Harvard College. She came to Chicago in 1986 to attend Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where she received a Master’s degree in Management in 1989.
For six and half years, Brown served as Chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority Board, a position she held through September 2009. As CTA Chair, Brown oversaw policy for the nation’s second largest transportation agency. She was a member of the Transition Team for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, served as Chairman of his TIF Reform Panel, and was one of his appointees to the Board of the Regional Transportation Authority.
From July, 2011 until her appointment as CFO, Brown also served as a Commissioner on the State of Illinois Budget for Results Commission, having been appointed to that position by former Governor Pat Quinn. She currently serves on several boards, including Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Rush University Medical Center, Metropolitan Planning Council, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Chicago High School for the Arts, The Auto Club Group/the Auto Club Insurance Association and One Fund Chicago. Brown is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Executives’ Club of Chicago, and The National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP). She is a 2002 Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago and was named that organization’s 2007 Distinguished Fellow.
Brown is the recipient of many professional awards and recognitions, and has been profiled by many publications.
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Chris Brown
City Controller
City of Houston
Chris B. Brown is a proud Houstonian who was sworn into office as City Controller in January 2016. Chris is a proven professional with the private and public sector experience to be a responsible financial steward, and the commitment to serve his community.
Chris began his career two decades ago, as a trader for Coastal Securities, an investment bank. After several years, Chris co-founded an equity trading firm. Chris, as head of operations for the trading firm, gained first-hand experience with risk management, compliance, reporting, building operations and negotiating complex agreements.
Prior to being elected Controller in December 2015, Chris served as Chief Deputy City Controller, where he managed the day-to-day operations and oversaw the Executive Division of the Controller’s Office. Prior to being appointed Chief Deputy City Controller in 2009, Chris served as City Council Chief of Staff, overseeing community development initiatives and serving as a liaison to the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee.
In addition to his professional experience, Chris is an active participant in his community. He currently serves on the board of the William A. Lawson Institute for Peace & Prosperity (WALIPP), Asia Society of Texas Advisory Board, Texan-French Alliance for the Arts, and Prevent Blindness of Texas. He is a past board member of the TCU National Alumni and SEARCH Homeless Services.
Chris, as a fourth generation Houstonian, has deep roots in the Houston community. Chris attended Texas Christian University and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and later a Master in Business Administration from the University of Houston. Chris, his wife, Divya, an attorney, and their daughter, Milana, reside in southwest Houston.
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Brian Collins
Director of Finance and Administration
City of Memphis
Brian Collins is currently the Director of Finance and Administration for the City of Memphis. He is also an adjunct professor and member of the graduate faculty at the University of Memphis, Department of Finance, Insurance & Real Estate. Before joining the City of Memphis, Collins lived in Dallas, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, and spent over twenty years in banking (First Horizon National, Citigroup, JP Morgan). Prior to his career in finance, Collins had a decade long legal career in Chicago that included commercial litigation practice at Vedder Price. Collins received his BA in Political Science and Economics from DePaul University, an MBA in Finance and Accounting from The Ohio State University and a JD from Loyola University of Chicago.
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Glen Lee
Finance Director
City of Seattle
Glen Lee serves as the City of Seattle’s Finance Director where he is responsible for the City’s enterprise accounting, treasury, debt management, and risk management functions. Glen also oversees the City’s tax administration system as well as the economic and revenue forecasting processes. Glen currently leads a coalition of cities to implement a multi-jurisdiction business license and tax filing system. As Finance Director, Glen serves as a member of each of the City’s three retirement boards. Glen was appointed as the City’s Finance Director in 2010.
Prior to his appointment as Finance Director, Glen managed the forecasting and budget development functions in the City’s Budget Office. He has been with the City since 1994.
Glen has served on several advisory groups including the Association of Washington Cities’ Legislative Fiscal Subcommittee, the Streamlined Tax Mitigation Advisory Committee of the Washington Department of Revenue, and Seattle Public School’s Advisory Committee for Investing in Educational Excellence. In addition, Glen served as a consultant to the Republic of Poland’s efforts to implement a property tax system to support local government.
Glen is an instructor for the Government Finance Officers Association and served on the Economics Department Advisory Board for Seattle University.
Before joining the City, Glen was a Fiscal and Policy Analyst with the State of California’s Legislative Analyst's Office in Sacramento, California. His assignments with the Office included tax policy, revenue forecasting, and tax administration.
Glen has an undergraduate degree in resource economics from the University of California, Berkeley and completed graduate studies in economics at California State University, Sacramento. Glen and his wife Barbara live in Bellevue, Washington and have two children.
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Talia Lomax-O'dneal
Finance Director
Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee
Talia Lomax-O'dneal was appointed Director of Finance in October 2015. She joined the Finance Department in September 2000 from the State of Tennessee's Department of Finance and Administration. Most recently, she served as Deputy Finance Director where her primary responsibilities included preparation and monitoring of Metro's operating and capital budgets. She has worked extensively in the field of public finance for more than 25 years. She has received numerous leadership and professional awards for her work. She is a Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) and a Certified Municipal Finance Officer (CMFO). She is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association and the Association of Government Accountants. She is also a member of the Society for Human Resources Management and is certified as a SHRM-SCP.
Talia received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She is also an alumna of the Tennessee Government Executive Institute.
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Martin Matson
Comptroller
City of Milwaukee
Martin Matson was elected City of Milwaukee Comptroller April 3, 2012. Prior to his election, Matson served as the Deputy Director at Milwaukee’s Employees’ Retirement System from April 2000 to 2012. He was the chief operating officer for a $4 Billion, 27,000 member, public defined benefit retirement system. Responsible for $24 million budget giving him extensive experience with government accounting, operations, pension law, and contract negotiations in a government setting. From 1993 to 1999, he was the Business Operations Manager for the Department of Public Works – Building and Fleet Division, responsible for a $30+ million budget. He served as an accounting associate for First Bank System of Milwaukee for 6 years from 1987 to 1993.
Matson attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee - School of Business Administration.
Matson serves on the City’s Deferred Compensation Board and a member of the City Annuity and Pension Board. He serves on the boards of the Wisconsin Center District (convention center), Summerfest, the Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation and is secretary of the Public Debt Commission. In addition, he is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association.
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Denise Olson
Chief Financial Officer
City of Phoenix
Ms. Olson was appointed Chief Financial Officer in November 2015. She began her career with the City in 1994 in the Finance Department, working as an economist in the Utilities Accounting Division and the Financial Accounting and Reporting Division. She became Deputy Finance Director in 2006, and was promoted to Assistant Finance Director in 2012.
Throughout her career she has managed financial planning, financial systems applications and support, procurement, city controller functions, financial accounting and reporting and has been involved in the planning and issuances of debt to fund capital expenditures. Ms. Olson has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with majors in Human Resources and Economics from New Mexico State University, and a Master of Public Administration from Arizona State University.
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Lucas Palmisano |
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Fady Qaddoura |
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Elizabeth Reich
Chief Financial Officer
City of Dallas
Elizabeth Reich began her service as the City of Dallas’ Chief Financial Officer in September 2016. In this role, Elizabeth is accountable for the financial policy and operations of the Nation’s 9th largest city, with a budget of over $3 billion. Currently, Elizabeth is working to save the Dallas Police and Fire Pension, which after years of mismanagement, risky investments, and expansions of already generous features, faces a massive funding shortfall. See SaveThePension.com for a video and more information. Prior to joining the City, Elizabeth enjoyed a 16-year career with the Social Security Administration, including serving as its Chief Financial Officer in 2015.
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Paula Worthington
Senior Lecturer
University of Chicago Harris Public Policy
Paula R. Worthington is a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, where she teaches classes in state and local public finance and cost-benefit analysis. She received her PhD in economics from Northwestern University in 1988. She has served as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and as a research officer, economic advisor, and senior research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and has published articles in academic journals and Federal Reserve publications. Immediately prior to joining the Harris School, Worthington taught as a lecturer in the economics department at Northwestern University. Her recent service activities include membership on the Metropolitan Planning Council’s Regional Planning and Investments Committee (2010-present); the Illinois Tax Foundation’s Research Advisory Council (2009-present); the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning's Financial Plan Resource Group (2008-2009); and Evanston/Skokie School District 65's Citizens' Budget Committee (2003-2004). Worthington is a seven-time recipient of the Chicago Harris Public Policy Student Association's Best Teacher in a Non-Core Class Award.
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