Municipal CFO Forum, March 30 - 31

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Speaker & Panelist Bios

2017 Bios

Please sumbit your headshots and bios by Friday, March 17 to Michael Spinosi at spinosi@uchicago.edu.

	Kerwin Charles Interim Dean University of Chicago Harris Public Policy Kerwin Charles is the Interim Dean and Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. His research focuses on a range of questions in labor and applied microeconomics. The topics he has studied include racial and gender discrimination in the labor market; the propagation of wealth and earnings across different generations within a family; the effects of sectoral shocks in the economy on college attainment, occupational choice, and labor market participation; how adverse health shocks affect family stability and labor supply; and differences in visible consumption across different racial and ethnic groups. He holds a master’s degree and a doctorate from Cornell University, and joined the University of Chicago in 2005 after teaching economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. In addition to his appointment at the University of Chicago, he is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and serves on the Board of Trustees for NORC.
	Alder Maurice Cheeks City of Madison Council, District 10 Maurice Cheeks (or as many people call him "Mo") is a dad, a technology executive and a passionate community leader currently serving in his 2nd term on the Madison City Council. Maurice first moved to Madison in 2007 when he was recruited to work for Apple. In this capacity, he led K-12 education sales for Apple throughout Wisconsin, and successfully worked with many school leaders who were committed to building modern learning environments Today, Maurice is the Vice President of Business Development at MIOsoft Corporation, where he helps innovative organizations that seek to make better informed decisions based on significantly improved insights into their data. MIOsoft is an industry leading big-data quality & analytics software company with headquarters in downtown Madison and customers across the world. In 2015, Maurice was named among the 25 Most Influential People in Greater Madison by In Business magazine and later that same year was named among the 28 Most Influential African Americans in Wisconsin by Madison365. Maurice earned a bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University, and in 2016 was presented with the university's Outstanding Young Alumnus award. He has continued his education through executive coursework at the UW-Madison School of Business. He and his wife have a one year old daughter.
	Joshua New Policy Analyst Center for Data Innovation Joshua New is a policy analyst at the Center for Data Innovation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy think tank affiliated with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, ranked for the last three years as the most influential science and technology think tank in the United States. He has a background in government affairs, policy, and communication. Prior to joining the Center for Data Innovation, Joshua graduated from American University with degrees in C.L.E.G. (Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government) and Public Communication. His research focuses on methods of promoting innovative and emerging technologies as a means of improving the economy and quality of life. Follow Joshua on Twitter @Josh_A_New.
	Michael O'Neil Airbnb Public Policy Team
	Brooks Rainwater Senior Executive & Director, Center for City Solutions National League of Cities Brooks Rainwater is the Senior Executive and Director of the National League of Cities’ Center for City Solutions. He oversees NLC’s research, research partnerships, leadership education and community engagement efforts to strengthen the capacity of municipal leaders to create strong local economies, safe and vibrant neighborhoods, world-class infrastructure, and a sustainable environment. Brooks’ areas of expertise include economic development, urban innovation, and sustainability. As a strong advocate for vibrant and successful cities, Brooks often speaks and writes on the subject, and has published numerous research reports and articles on the creation of innovative, sustainable, and livable communities. His recent research publications and interest have surrounded the sharing economy, open data, and the state of our nation’s cities. Brooks has appeared in a range of media outlets, including CNN, NPR, Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. Brooks also frequently contributes writing to publications such as Fast Company, The Guardian, Business Insider, and Tech Crunch.
	Lisa Schrader Director of Public Affairs Uber
	Annette Steinacker Associate Professor, Masters of Urban Affairs and Public Policy Program Loyola University Annette Steinacker, PhD is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Urban Affairs and Public Policy Program at Loyola University Chicago. She is also co-editor of Urban Affairs Review, a journal affiliated with the Urban Politics section of the American Political Science Association. Her scholarly research has focused on issues of urban economic development and metropolitan governance. She has done work on change in the number and types of jobs available in central cities, factors that influence the location decisions of businesses, and the role of tax abatements versus amenities as part of a local economic development strategy. Dr. Steinacker has also studied the impacts of local government organization on public policy outcomes and the political feasibility of changing these structures, particularly metropolitan cooperative agreements and special districts. She has conducted evaluations of the economic impact of an urban university, the need for specific higher education degree programs to match growing job sectors in a metropolitan area, and the impact of affordable housing policies on housing supply. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, several private foundations, and local government agencies. Dr. Steinacker received her PhD in political science from the University of Rochester, a Masters of Public Administration from Texas A & M University, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She previous taught at Columbia University, Texas A & M University, Georgetown University, University of Miami, and Claremont Graduate University. She was Director of the Public Policy program at Claremont for ten years prior to joining Loyola University Chicago and served as Associate Provost for Faculty Development at Claremont Graduate University.
	Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman Denver City Council, District 5 Mary Beth Susman, Denver District 5 councilwoman, is serving her second term on the Denver City Council. She served as Council President for two terms from 2012-2014 and oversaw the council’s regulatory framework for the newly-legalized marijuana industry. Her focus is on smart economic development, efficient transit for underserved city areas and the growing “sharing economy” involving transportation network companies, home-sharing and other collaborative consumption initiatives. She was successful in implementing Denver’s first short-term rental ordinance. She received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Denver and spent her earlier career in higher education, retiring as vice-president of the Colorado Community College System. She is the founding president of three statewide online colleges in Colorado, Kentucky, and Louisiana. She is a Smithsonian Laureate for her pioneering work in online learning, and her work is archived in the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History.