2022 CSMFO Annual Conference Magazine by CSMFO Magazine

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2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Scott Catlett, President City of Newport Beach

Marcus Pimentel, Past-President Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency

Rich Lee, President Elect

Craig Boyer, Director County of Alameda

Grace Castaneda, Director

Dennis Kauffman, Director

Stephen Parker, Director

Stephanie Reimer, Director

Karla Romero, Director

City of Upland

City of San Mateo

City of Belmont

City of Roseville

Monte Vista Water District

City of Brawley

Jean Rousseau Executive Director

2021-2022

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE Will Fuentes, 2022 Chair

Lily Ng, Member

Kofi Antobam, Vice Chair

Marcus Pimentel, Member

Jennifer Becker, Vice Chair

Ernie Reyna, Member

David Cain, Senior Advisor

James Russell-Field, Member

Joan Michaels-Aguilar, Senior Advisor

Heidi Schoeppe, Member

Karla Romero, Board Liaison

Wing-See Fox, Member

Andre Aberdeen, Member

Susan Talwar, Member

Editorial Design - Derrick Bouchard

Creative Director - David Garrison

Photography by Tim Pryzbola, Eder Escamilla, David

Garrison, Radu Dragomir & Kory Adams

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

PRESIDENT ELECT MESSAGE

AWARDS FOR INNOVATION

CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE INTERVIEW

2021 VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

FIRST-TIME & STUDENT ATTENDEE RECAP

THURSDAY NIGHT EVENT

EXHIBIT HALL

CHAPTER CHAIR BREAKFAST AND CHAPTER ENGAGEMENT

2021 IN REVIEW

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PRESIDENT’S DINNER

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Welcome! President’s message 8

By Scott Catlett, 2022 CSMFO President

s we all left Disneyland in January 2020, none of us expected it to be two years before we were together again at a CSMFO conference. Due to the pandemic, CSMFO’s 2021 conference went virtual and was a great success. Soon after the virtual conference concluded, the Conference Host Committee met to begin planning CSMFO’s 2022 conference. The first question on the table was whether this would be a virtual or in person conference. With vaccine distribution on the horizon and a spirit of optimism, we pushed ahead with planning an in-person conference in San Diego. Those plans moved along well and were finalized ahead of schedule. As the conference dates approached, the Omicron variant emerged, and we found ourselves meeting in December to discuss whether there would be an in-person conference at all. We also wondered whether if we continued ahead with the in-person conference, would there be enough people who showed up to avoid a financial disaster? We pushed forward, and as luck would have it, the surge subsided and we had nearly 1,200 people in San Diego; far below the 2,000 in Anaheim in 2020, but a strong showing under the circumstances. It turned out to be one of our best conferences, and an emotional moment for a lot of people to return to fellowship with colleagues they had not seen in two years. Being selected to be CSMFO’s 2022 President will be a highlight of my career in government Finance, but I value the people I’ve met along the way so much more. This organization is about training, and it’s about building a professional network, but most of all it’s about friendships – many of which will last a lifetime. We got plenty of training in San Diego, with three days of breakout sessions, four amazing featured speakers, and three

preconference sessions on Tuesday. And let’s not forget the sold-out golf and pickleball tournaments that were a great success. But more importantly, the heartbeat of CSMFO was back with hugs, handshakes, and renewed friendships seen throughout the Town & Country Resort. I want to say thank you to the CSMFO staff, and most of all to our conference host - David Garrison and our conference planners – Janet Salvetti, Marisa Anticevich, and Teri Anticevich. They made the conference possible with their guidance and amazing ability to make almost anything we could think of a reality. I also want to say a big thank you to the 2022 Conference Host Committee, and in particular the commercial members of the Committee – Lily Ng from Bank of the West, Terry Shea from RAMS, and Sarah Meacham from PFM. Having their perspectives as vendors to help guide us through the conference planning process was invaluable. I also owe a special thank you to all of our conference sponsors and exhibitors, whose participation in the conference is critical to its success. Their commitment to CSMFO and to returning to exhibit at an in-person conference was very much appreciated.

If you’ve never been involved in CSMFO beyond attending our conferences, training sessions, and chapter meetings, I invite you to find out more about participating in CSMFO’s many volunteer opportunities. We have standing committees covering a wide variety of topics, from career development to membership to student engagement to planning the annual conference. There are also opportunities to join the leadership of your chapter, or to become a CSMFO appointee to one of the Cal Cities standing committees. Commercial members can become engaged through the Commercial Roundtable, or participate in a number of CSMFO’s standing committees as a member. Reach out to me directly or to the CSMFO office if you’d like to find out more about becoming a volunteer leader. By the time this edition of the CSMFO News is published, our virtual sessions will have concluded or be well under way, and I have no doubt that it will be a great success. We hope to have the virtual sessions become a regular part of CSMFO’s training calendar in future years, bringing the conference experience to a wider number of our members. For those of you with larger staffs, I encourage you to consider the virtual sessions next year as a valuable training opportunity for your staff members who are unable to attend the conference. As you read the rest of this conference edition of the CSMFO News, I hope that it furthers your interest in and excitement about attending our next annual conference in Sacramento. CSMFO was unable to hold a northern California conference in 2019 due to scheduling issues, and our 2021 conference was virtual, so this will be our first northern California conference since 2017. I am very much looking forward to returning to the awesome downtown Sacramento location on February 1, 2023. I will see you all there!

Scott Catlett is the Finance Director and City Treasurer for the City of Newport Beach. Prior to joining the staff in Newport Beach, he was a Principal Budget Analyst, Budget & Debt Manager, and most recently Finance Director and City Treasurer for the City of Yorba Linda. Earlier in his career, he worked for several firms providing financial consulting services to state governments, municipalities, and large commercial airports. Scott has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Tulane University and a Master of Public Administration degree from California State University, San Bernardino. Scott recently completed serving a three-year term as an elected Board Member of CSMFO, and currently serves as President. He is also a past Chair of the Career Development Committee, Professional Standards and Recognition Committee, Administration Committee, and Inland Empire Chapter.

President Elect Message By Rich Lee

his excitement for an in person annual conference began to crescendo in the day before the conference began with the arrival of attendees. Lots of handshakes, hugs, and even through a facemask, the joy of reconnecting with our friends and colleagues was palpable. As we prepared for the rush of attendees, the reality of what we had prepared for over the past year and were on the precipice of pulling off as an organization began to materialize. As a member of the Program Committee for the past three years, and having experienced and been a part of the collective and massive efforts of CSMFO volunteer leaders and staff to put on a conference in the difficult circumstances of a global pandemic, the outcome has been nothing short of inspiring and miraculous. My sincere thanks and appreciation to all that were a part of a very special conference – our members, speakers, volunteers, commercial sponsors, and staff, all of whom were all integral to success of the conference. Reconnecting with one another face to face, shaking hands, and embracing one another helped to heal the wounds from the past two years. As President Elect, one of my primary responsibilities is to lead the Host Committee in its preparation for the next annual conference, which began immediately following the end of the 2022 conference. We met remotely in March to begin ironing out the various roles and responsibilities for committee members and begin shaping the conference experience. Throughout 2022, we will keep you up to date with the development of the conference, the renovated conference center in Sacramento, featured speakers, and

in general, the outstanding conference experience that you have come to expect, and that we continually refine and improve each year. It is my honor to serve you as President Elect. I look forward to continued collaboration with the Executive Committee (President Scott Catlett and Past President Marcus Pimentel), the Board of Directors, our committees, and chapters. We are diverse in our collective experiences and perspectives, but we are united in our love of this organization and dedicated to its success. It is through that foundation that we will continue to move forward, learn, adapt, and ensure CSMFO’s role as the preeminent resource for promoting excellence in government finance.

Rich Lee has served local municipalities all throughout the San Francisco Peninsula over the past 17 years, including South San Francisco, Los Altos Hills, Millbrae, Foster City, and since January 2019, as the Finance Director for the City of San Mateo. Rich was elected as President Elect of CSMFO in October 2021. He has also served in other leadership roles, including Board Member, Chapter Chair, and Vice Chair of the Career Development Committee. In 2019, he was appointed to GFOA’s Ethics Committee. Rich is also an active freelance bass trombonist and has performed with several artists, including Barbra Streisand, Peter Cetera, Gladys Knight, Bernadette Peters, and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. He has also performed and recorded several albums with local jazz big bands During the pandemic, Rich developed audio and video engineering skills and received two awards from Music In Place, a non-profit organization providing support to San Francisco Bay Area musicians to continue creating music while sheltering in place. His various isolation music projects are available on YouTube.

Congratulati o ns! Awards for innovation T

he CSMFO Innovation Award recognizes innovation in public sector finance in the areas of accounting, budgeting, treasury, debt administration, procurement, risk management, and technology. An Innovation Award Review Panel composed of CSMFO board members and Recognition Committee leadership score the applications. The Innovation Award Review Panel can choose to present up to three awards per year. In evaluating the applications, the Review Panel looks for originality, purpose, effectiveness, practicality, and transferability. We are pleased to present this year’s Innovation Award to the City of Cupertino for their “Engage Residents with Interactive Dashboards” submission! In an effort to promote financial transparency and engage its residents, the City of Cupertino created not one, but two dashboards. The City created the Resident Tax Calculator and the Budget Forecast Tool. The Resident Tax Calculator gives residents personalized estimates of how much they pay in sales and property taxes. When a resident enters how much money they spend on goods and services and the assessed value of their home, the calculator shows the resident how much tax they pay and where the tax dollars go. By allowing residents to follow the money, the calculator aids residents in understanding how their tax dollars pay for City services.

The Budget Forecast Tool gives residents the opportunity to “build” their own version of the City’s budget forecast. With this tool, residents select from various revenue and spending options and can then immediately see how each choice impacts budget surpluses and deficits. To balance their budget, residents can select revenue generation or expense reduction strategies. By illustrating the tradeoffs of each option, the simulation promotes informed discussion on how the City can chart a fiscally sustainable course. The two dashboards created by the City of Cupertino provide innovative solutions for engaging residents on how tax dollars are received and spent. Congratulations to the City of Cupertino in promoting ways to effectively engage its residents and in promoting fiscal transparency. Additionally, the Recognition committee awarded over 100 Budget awards this year. You can see the winners rotating on the screens during lunch. Congratulations to all winners and thank you to the Recognition committee!

The csmf o CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE 14

Jean Rousseau, CSMFO’s new Executive Director Talks his Conference Experience Last month, CSMFO News highlighted Jean Rousseau becoming our new Executive Director. It also marked our first in-person conference in San Diego to “Discover CSMFO-Exploring our Financial Future. We asked Jean for some key takeaways: 1. This was the first CSMFO conference since 2020 due to the pandemic and your first CSMFO conference as Executive Director. Please share your thoughts on your observations/experience. Also, had you previously attended CSMFO conferences or chapter meetings in the past as a member. Jean: It was so nice to finally get together with people in person again after almost two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a great deal of excitement and positive energy from CSMFO staff, conference attendees and sponsors.

I am so honored to lead such an important educational and professional organization and extremely appreciative of the warm welcome that many participants expressed to me and my wife. I originally joined CSMFO approximately five years ago to participate in the Central Valley Chapter in order to attend a presentation from Michael Coleman who I consider to be one of the most respected experts on California finance. I wasn’t aware CSMFO held annual conferences so I never attended one in the past. 2. Both the Host Committee and Program Committee strive to offer attendees an excellent conference with educational sessions and networking options. With your extensive background with counties and cities, how would you say this was achieved? Jean: The Host and Program Committees did a phenomenal job in developing sessions with strong curriculum relevant to issues in municipal finance today. The speakers were all extremely qualified and did a fantastic job covering their topics. I have attended GFOA conferences since 2005 and found our CSMFO conference to be comparable in all aspects. As a CPA, I was impressed with the convenience of the scanning equipment utilized to keep track of CPE earned by our members and not having to stand in line to have my badge scanned. Ultimately, our conference included well organized general sessions with inspirational speakers and good food; excellent educational sessions with quality speakers; coffee and water breaks along with an extremely fun Thursday night event with quality entertainment, games and dancing.

3. How would you rate speakers/sessions? Jean: In addition to my comments above, based on my own experience and comments I heard from other attendees including the Executive Director and President of GFOA, our speakers and sessions were first class and identical with what GFOA offers in their conference. 4. We have used Guidebook app for several years that has some options that are perhaps underutilized. What features did you use for the event app? Jean: I downloaded the Guidebook app and used it to determine and set up the sessions I wanted to participate in. It was very handy with detailed information about each session including a bio on the session speakers. There were a few minor hiccups when I was setting up my own schedule but nothing that prevented me from using it. My only suggestion would be to add more information regarding the Thursday night event. 5. What did you enjoy most about the conference, and is there anything you observed for potential improvement? Jean: The thing I enjoyed the most about the conference was the familial feeling among CSMFO members and leadership. This organization is led by volunteers from all areas of municipal finance who enjoy each other’s friendship, love the mission of CSMFO and work long and hard to ensure we deliver top notch education programs to its members. The one suggestion I would add at this time is for us to consider selling CSMFO clothing such as polo shirts, t-shirts and jackets. I think it is a way to help our members memorialize their conference experience.

6. Did you receive any feedback from CSMFO members as to their satisfaction level with aspects of the conference, i.e. location and facilities, program content or networking? Jean: I received nothing but positive feedback from conference attendees. I did hear from one sponsor that they weren’t happy with their room. To that end, I thought the conference venue was very good. Town and Country’s amenities including the Arlo restaurant, Golden State Ballroom, exhibitors room, hotel rooms and the various games people could play on their grounds were top notch. Several in leadership that were not part of the hiring process had the chance to meet Jean in person at various events starting with the CSMFO Board meeting, walking the exhibit hall or some of the networking events. That gave many others a chance to chat with our new Executive Director and say directly Welcome Jean!

2021 volunteers of the year By Marcus Pimentel

n February 17, 2022, I was proud to introduce to our conference audience our two Volunteers of the Year for 2021. Since our Riverside conference in 2018, CSMFO has received nominations from across our volunteers leading to selection of the Volunteer of the Year awards. It is meant to spotlight those outstanding CSMFO volunteers who made a lasting or significant impact during the prior year. Those who went above and beyond the call of duty for the benefit of our members or in support of our mission to serve all government finance professionals through innovation, collaboration, continuing education and professional development. The two members who were honored for their service in 2021 were: Amber Johnson, Chief Financial Officer for County Connection (Central Contra Costa Transit Authority) and CSMFO Student Engagement Committee Chair. Mark Petrasso, Senior Vice President - Business Development at Zions Bank and co-founder of CSMFO Commercial Member Roundtable.

AMBER JOHNSON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Amber Johnson is being recognized for her extraordinary leadership of CSMFO’s Student Engagement Committee during the pandemic. Under her leadership, CSMFO’s student engagement efforts thrived, reaching college students at twelve colleges across California, building a partnership with schools around San Diego to leverage our 2022 Conference, and developing a resources rich communication plan to guide future school engagements efforts. From the words of her former City Manager Craig Middleton (City of Belvedere), “It was my privilege to be part of Amber’s ongoing professional journey. She is truly exceptional.” He continued with “Amber, I am so proud for how you always found ways to improve our processes. You came to the City with a fresh perspective, a willingness to learn and to challenge the status quo, with tremendous integrity, and an interest in engaging with colleagues. These qualities made you not only a wonderfully productive employee, but also a great collaborator and friend.” Amber brought these same qualities and passion for student engagement and her commitment to CSMFO was infectious. Her can-do attitude, natural passion to serve, ability to get things done well, and willingness to do whatever is asked is a great example for all of us and is an honor to our past award winners .

Amber Johnson and Mark Petrasso MARK PETRASSO, CO-FOUNDER COMMERCIAL MEMBER ROUNDTABLE

Mark Petrasso, our first Commercial awardee, also embodied the give back spirit that makes CSMFO so strong. He co-founded with Membership and Neil Murthy (Chandler Asset Management, Inc.) CSMFO’s Commercial Member Roundtable, creating a forum to engage with more commercial members. Mark helped develop the scope, recruited attendees, and served as a panelist and facilitator during these commercial member meetings. He gave our members the space to learn about the benefits CSMFO offers and how to align with our government membership needs. When in 2021 CSMFO’s Career Development Committee led the re-launch of our CSMFO Mentorship Program, Mark volunteered more of his time to help reimagine this program, actively participated in planning meetings, and helped market this new program to members and mentors alike. And, when help was needed in Student Engagement, Mark was there to offer any assistance he could provide. Since joining Zion’s Bank in 2012, Mark has been a regular supporter of CSMFO Chapters, attending chapter meetings in person across the State. “Mark’s dedication and contribution to the California municipal market has spanned decades. Many local governments have benefited from Mark’s exemplary service, and his commitment to these communities is to be commended,” said Twyla D. Lehto, SVP and Director at Zions Bank. “We are so proud of Mark and genuinely extend our thanks for his outstanding work these many years and for representing the gold standard for customer service in our organization.”

Mark’s journey to California and CSMFO started in Connecticut and after obtaining his Economics degree from Trinity College, he worked for Wells Fargo Bank in Phoenix and was active in Arizona’s state finance association, GFOAz. If you doubted Mark’s commitment to CSMFO, he met his wife Debbie Rosales (2020 Volunteer of the Year) at the 2014 CSMFO Conference in Palm Springs and in true CSMFO fashion, they married at the Disneyland Hotel in 2019.

“Mark’s dedication and contribution to the California municipal market has spanned decades” Our two awardees embodied our success at supporting current and future members who were most impacted by the loss of traditional in person events. We’ve all experienced how the loss of in-person meetings has impacted college students entering the job market, those who were just starting their government finance career, and our commercial members who relied on in-person meetings to help local governments thrive. It seems only fitting that for their contributions in 2021, Amber and Mark were both added to our list of former Volunteer of the Year awardees.

First-time & Student Attendee Recap By Kofi Antobam

he fear of the unknown can be daunting and challenging, especially when one is in an unfamiliar environment or doing something for the first time. It is with this backdrop that the hospitality room offered at the 2022 Conference to first-time and student attendees was created. The room was open and staffed with two CSMFO volunteers from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. First-time and student attendees were welcomed to the room to get advice on session selection, relationship building, general information about the conference, or simply to get away from the crowds and take a short break. Light refreshments and charging stations were also provided. On the first day of the conference, several first-time attendee scholarship recipients were greeted by a CSMFO volunteer promptly at 9:00 a.m. for an informal meeting. Attendees were encouraged to introduce themselves, ask any questions they had about the conference or CSMFO in general, and were given tips on how to navigate the conference and make the most out of networking opportunities.

For the remainder of the conference, first-time and student attendees came through the room one or two at a time. Attendees who came to the room varied in experience – both professional and years of experience with CSMFO – with the common thread of this being their first CSMFO conference. In all cases, attendees seemed to enjoy the quiet place to take a small break and get to know someone at the conference in a casual environment.

Several first-time attendees were excited about their overall experience at the 2022 Conference – the networking, professionalism, educational sessions and friendliness of everyone they met. The Thursday Night event received a very positive review from the attendees. Some commented that accountants and finance officers are perceived as people who keep to themselves. However, their experience at the conference revealed that these professionals are not boring, but fun to be around. Many attendees expressed an interest in getting more involved with CSMFO as a result of their experiences at the Conference.

Kofi Antobam is the Director of Administrative Services for the City of Rancho Mirage. Kofi serves CSMFO as Vice-Chair on the Communications Committee, Coachella Valley Chapter Chair, and a member of the Recognition Committee. Kofi has a combined 20+ years of experience in the public and private financial industry. He enjoys spending time with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Dannelle, singing, volunteering for church activities, and watching basketball.

“Attendees were encouraged to introduce themselves, ask any questions they had about the conference or CSMFO”

First-Time Attendee at 2022 CSMFO Conference By Fope Adesina – MPA candidate, CSU San Bernardino

ecause of the generosity of CSMFO, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the conference as a graduate student at no cost. I first heard of CSMFO, as members of the Student Engagement Committee came to discuss membership in my budgeting class in my Public Administration program at CSU San Bernardino in 2021. I was especially interested in the opportunity to attend the conference, as my full-time role is budget analyst in the California State University system. On Wednesday, I first attended the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are Action Words” session. I was very eager to hear more about this subject, as it is a personal and professional passion. This session gave me actionable steps in how to marry the seeming-divergent objectives of DEI and finance. Because I serve in a human resources capacity for my team too, I appreciated the challenging of default ideas in interviewing like a strong handshake or consistent eye contact - these are not culturally universal . There was also a robust Q & A time at the end. The main takeaway for me here was the need to build meaningful relationships in the workplace before seeking buy-in into much-overdue DEI work. The opening session, featuring Ben Nemtin, was not what I was expecting at all! I assumed all content in the conference would be technical in nature. I appreciated his prompting to unearth my ‘buried life’. He also aptly pointed out that as an individual pursuing my passion, this would inspire others - this was not selfishness. After lunch and a delicious sugar hit, I attended the “Priority Based Budgeting: Aligning Resources with

Strategic Results” session. This technical session challenged my budgeting methods - from presenting data to nonfinance team members, to considering if a balanced budget was a sustainable budget. In the end I questioned the notion not only looking from cycle to cycle but to make fiscal decisions based on programmatic objectives as a whole, so results and outcomes are connected. My final session for the day was “Building Sustainable Infrastructure: Promoting Positive Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts”. This session was enlightening, as I was unaware of the municipal bond market. I learned that 4% of all debt issued in California are green bonds. These are a semi-nebulous collective of bonds that are climate-, social-, environmental-, and sustainability-linked. I gained insight into the intricate bond classification and analysis process (i.e. second and third party bonds) and its issuance to the private sector, for a lower cost of capital to the city or municipality.

“I gained a new-found appreciation for the multiplicity of roles in public sector finance” I attended the vendor reception where I explored booths, finding software that could make my role more efficient. I received a short tutorial on OpenGov transparency tool that I currently underutilize.

On late Thursday morning, I listened to the address “The Human Side of Ethics: Making Great Choices – Not Because We Have to but Because We Want to” by Chuck Gallagher. Much like Nemtin’s opening address, I was pleasantly surprised by the content. Gallagher astutely called out risk factors of individuals that may leave them susceptible to making unethical decisions in the workplace, especially around money. Specifically, the cycle of a need leading to an opportunity, leading to rationalization, leading to validation. He said repeating this process multiple times makes it a strategy.

My Friday morning session “Clarifying CalPERS Rules on Hiring, Reporting and Working After Retirement” was very specifically useful, as in my role I struggled to navigate this complexity. In this session, I was made well aware of due process about retiree work. This was specifically around the temporary versus independent contractors, often a fuzzy line. It was also brought to my attention that all staff need to be run through the CalPERS system before hiring – even if via a temp agency – to find out their status. Ideally, for any retiree work, an MOU that does not reference any other internal documentation is needed.

Post-lunch, the “Organizing Equity in Budget Development – Charting New Routes to Delivering Responsive Governance” session was up next. Representatives of the City of Oakland defined their scope, stating that inequities seemed to be only determined by outcome, rather than race as, unfortunately, the most accurate indicator. The data team first highlighted equity principles that they wanted to undergird their work in their two-year cycle budget development. These were systems-focused, outcome- and data-driven shifting from being a gatekeeper of the institution to being a change agent from within, being antiracist, staying grounded in history and practicing accountability to the most impacted constituents. To this end, they involved more people like other city employees to guide in the budget development process. This served to foster trust and reduce the sense of secrecy and suspicion about the city’s budget. The data team saw that it was essential to break down many processes in order to integrate equity but at the same time balancing this with their workload demands. In essence, the Equity Tool developed puts at the forefront questions of who benefits and who is being harmed.

For the closing session, former NFL player Marcus Ogden encouraged attendees around “How To Conquer Leadership and Remove Self-Doubt”. He had many aphorisms that stayed with me like “the future will come to you, focus on the present” and “leadership is serving a cause greater than yourself”. Most of all, he opined that it was necessary to live by the rule of authenticity. On the networking/social side of the conference, I spent much of my time with my amazing guides Kofi Antobam of the Communications Committee and Veronica Bustillos and Stephanie Reimer of the Student Engagement Committee– my sincerest gratitude to you all! They made sure I felt included every day and had all that I needed to make my attendance a success. Thursday night was especially memorable, dancing the night away! They introduced me to their colleagues, and connected me with colleagues in my region. I gained a new-found appreciation for the multiplicity of roles in public sector finance. I look forward to attending next year and will definitely encourage my fellow students and co-workers to as well.

Super f u n! CSMFO Conference Thursday Night Event By Jennifer Becker

fter a two year hiatus from in person interaction with our colleagues from around the state, our membership was more than a little excited to descend upon San Diego for the CSMFO conference at the beautiful Town & Country resort. We all couldn’t wait to expand our knowledge at one of the many informative sessions, stroll the exhibit hall for products and services that would improve our workplaces, and be inspired by keynote speakers over lunch with our peers. But let’s be honest, we all know that the highlight of any CSMFO conference is the Thursday night event. Our coworkers back at the office never believe us when we tell them how much CSMFO loves to have a good time, but they don’t really need to know. We’re here on business, after all. The evening began with a cocktail hour on the Flamingo Lawn. Guests sipped beverages served from the hotel’s signature retro trailer and snacked on hors d’oevres while Dylan’s Steel Drum Band played in the background and the sun dropped low in the beautiful San Diego sky. Soon, the doors opened to the Golden State Ballroom and guests were lured into the space by the musical sounds of The Mighty Untouchables. Our host for the evening, stand-up comedian Chris Strait warmed up the room as our members were treated to a lovely sit down dinner. While the music alone would have been enough for most of us, it was obvious by the end

of dinner that the entertainment was just beginning, as magician and Instagram star, Rick Smith Jr. was introduced to the stage by our host. The audience was absolutely wowed by his incredible performance, and laughter filled the room as several CSMFO Members were brought on stage to serve as props in his magical tricks. One brave soul nearly lost his nose in a card throwing incident, but fortunately catastrophe was avoided. As dinner wound down, The Mighty Untouchables heated up with hit song after hit song, and in typical CSMFO fashion, a crowd of partygoers flocked to the dance floor to show off their best moves. Other guests filed into the Lapper Bar to order another round of beverages and enjoy some more stand-up comedy from Christ Strait. In between the two party locations, folks continued to enjoy the Flamingo Lawn, partaking in a game of glow bean bag toss, chatting by the fire pit, or striking their best pose in the mini trailer-turned photo booth. After two encores, the band retired for the evening, but that didn’t slow down this crowd. The dance party quickly took over Lapper, where a DJ played tunes until Thursday turned to Friday morning and the revelers were cast out of the bar and sent back to their rooms with the music still ringing in their ears. While those of us who shut the party down were a little bleary eyed when we got back to business the next morning, there’s no doubt that we’ll all be back doing it again next year. Special thanks to Tim Pryzbola for his fantastic photos of the event.

Jennifer Becker is a 21-year employee of the City of Burbank and was appointed Financial Services Director in March of 2021. She currently serves as Vice-Chair of both the San Gabriel Valley CSMFO Chapter and the Communications Committee. Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. She is an avid Trojan football fan, and on non-football weekends you can find her skiing in Mammoth or hiking around Southern California with her husband and daughter.

CSMFO Conference Thursday Night Event

Special thanks to Tim Pryzbola for his fantastic photos of the event.

CSMFO 2022 Exhibit Hall COMMERCIAL MEMBERS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS By Joan Michaels Aguilar, Principal HdL Companies & Wing-See Fox, Managing Director UFI

his year’s Exhibit Hall made for some great opportunities to see colleagues in person since the last So Cal conference in Anaheim. With the theme of Discover CSMFO – Exploring our Financial Future, the Exhibit Hall in the Town & Country Ballroom offered the option to network, check out the swag (including at the CSMFO booth), enjoy the Wednesday vendor reception, some breakfast on Thursday morning and dessert breaks. Seeing the smiling faces throughout the two days, whether connecting with friends/colleagues for the first time in a long time or chatting about potential services, it was a wonderful chance to see people other than in the virtual environment. Here are some thoughts regarding the conference shared by commercial members: “The conference was very rewarding personally and professionally. The ability to see people in person (Hugs and Handshakes) was energizing and I appreciated meeting some new finance staff and learning of some promotions that had occurred in the past two years. “ –Sara Oberlies Brown, Stifel

“It felt refreshing to have everyone back in person for the conference again. Connecting with people face to face is far more valuable now when so much of our time is spent online.” –Dave Davies, Willdan Financial Services

“CSMFO does a great job of adapting the conference to match the feedback and needs of attendees. San Diego was a prime example of that with relevant sessions and venue setup for our current ever changing environment. Very happy I attended and would do it all over again.”

“The PFM Asset Management team had a great time at the 2022 CSMFO conference! The conference brings together so many of the faces we love to see, and, after the last two years of mostly virtual learning, it was a thrill to reconnect with public agency staff and fellow vendors in the exhibit hall, sessions, and stellar social events.”

–Kirk Hamblin, LSL

–Sarah Meacham, PFM Asset Management

“This year’s CSMFO Conference provided the perfect environment to engage with clients, new and old friends and longtime commercial associates following a two-year in-person hiatus. The Forum lent itself perfectly to discuss the challenges that affect Public Agencies and Finance Officers following COVID-19 and navigating the economy for resiliency.”

“Educational, meeting and greeting, catching up with old and new friends, an amazing magician dinner show finale, all at a nice hotel in the warm San Diego sun – felt like a mini vacation!”

–Mia Corral Brown, Chandler Asset Management

–James Wawrzyniak, Jones Hall

“We didn’t know what to expect with an in-person conference this year, but we appreciated the opportunity to be a Diamond Sponsor, and the conference exceeded our expectations! Something familiar and yet exciting about setting tchotchkes out on the table in anticipation of seeing familiar faces and meeting new people. Feeling the energy in the Exhibit Hall and throughout the conference was restorative to the soul! –Wing-See Fox, UFI “After two years of only seeing folks virtually, it was great to see everyone in person.” –Dennis McGuire, Piper Sandler & Co. “The Thursday night dinner and show was great! Thank you for keeping us entertained CSMFO.” –Andy Nickerson, HdL Companies “We really enjoyed meeting face to face with the CSMFO members. Very refreshing and energizing to talk and share experiences at the conference. We appreciated that the desert and mixer were held in the exhibit hall itself. It brought more people by our booth and more opportunity to connect.” –Chris Thomas, Harris & Associates A great big thank you to all of the sponsors and exhibitors that attended at the 2022 CSMFO Annual Conference in San Diego.

CSMFO 2022 Exhibit Hall

Chapter Chair Breakfast and Chapter Engagement By Kofi Antobam

SMFO Chapters serve as the bedrock for the organization. Chapter Chairs and Vice Chairs are often closest to CSMFO members and coordinate local training events that drive ongoing engagement with CSMFO. At the 2022 Annual Conference, Chapter leaders met for breakfast to share ideas, network, and discuss engagement at the local level. The meeting opened with Marcus Pimentel (CSMFO’s immediate Past President) welcoming all attendees and thanking them for their service to CSMFO at the Chapter level and beyond. Chapter Chairs were asked to introduce themselves by addressing the following: who they are, what chapter they are representing, and what was the craziest or most memorable moment in their Chapter experience. Below are some highlights from the meeting!

“…the craziest Chapter experience is forgetting about the type of vendor that you’re soliciting from for commercial sponsorship and the vendor that is presenting; they may be competitors which can be awkward…” –Rich Lee, “Recovering Chapter Chair for Peninsula” “…took over during COVID and first virtual Chapter meeting was on Zoom. Everybody was on mute, and some guy got on who was not on mute and started saying some weird things…” “…one of the craziest moments that comes to mind was a scheduled Chapter meeting, got there and realized there was another meeting going on and had to scramble to find an alternative site…” –Craig Boyer, Former Chapter Vice Chair, East Bay. “…most memorable part about COVID and Chapter meetings is being able to sit at my patio and work the meetings…” –Barbara, Chapter Chair, East Bay. “…had an awesome experience of getting to drive Michael Coleman from our venue to the Burbank airport to pick up his rental car because his flight had been re-routed to Ontario…my boss saw him last week, he introduced him at a session and said his Uber driver said hello…” –Jennifer Becker, Vice Chair, San Gabriel Valley. “…took over when the previous Chapter Chair left…our first Chapter meeting had to be virtual, on Zoom, and that was quite an experience since I had never used Zoom before…” –Kim Scott, Chapter Chair, Desert Mountain.

“At the 2022 Annual Conference, Chapter leaders met for breakfast”

“…funny story from Inland Empire when I was the Chair was when we had an Economist sitting at the from of the room basically telling us that the sales tax from the mall is not gonna make a difference to your City and just then, literally, his wife walked up to the stage and asked him for his wallet because she was shopping at the mall…” –Debbie Rosales, Chapter Chair, Channel Counties. “…craziest moment was having my 7-year-old join me on the GAAP Update…” –Alberto Preciado, Chapter Chair, Sacramento Valley. At the end of the discussions, members learned something new about other Chapter leaders, what goes into planning meetings, and the willingness of members to make a difference through volunteerism. Chapter leaders are inspired by the support they receive from CSMFO Leadership and cannot wait to go back to in-person meetings! Chapter engagement continued Friday morning in the Golden State Ballroom where each Chapter was assigned a few tables. Members connected and shared ideas on programming, and how to further collaborate to enhance meeting attendance at the Chapter level. There were lots of laugh and excitement as members enjoyed a delicious breakfast. This was the first time some members met each other or Chapter leaders in-person for the first time. Chapter events (in-person and virtual) are ready to be rolled out, with many training opportunities in 2022. Do not miss out on your next local or joint Chapter meeting. Stay connected!

2021 in review

Optimism, Fun, Mentorship, Success & Classy By Marcus Pimentel

n 2021, we found our way to hooray. As I began marking the end of my presidential year on stage in San Diego on February 16, 2022, I realized so clearly it was you, our CSMFO members, who lifted me out of my COVID malaise early in 2021. It all seemed so clear in January 2020 at the Anaheim conference when I pointed north and sang (horribly) “Do you know the way to San Jose?” Well, you did, but we never got their physically. But where we did get to, might have been even better. I sit today so proud and absolutely humbled by what we achieved together in 2021. Our 2021 Together Toward Tomorrow conference theme in hindsight contained the life hack on how to thrive through 2021, despite the struggles we faced. We’d do it together, moving methodically day by day. We were guided by our 2021 conference keynote speaker Rebecca Ryan and her counseling that we’re now in the “Messy Middle.” In this period, we must shift our mindset from thinking of pivoting, because that’s behind us now. Instead, we needed to embrace the Ox spirit and move forward with steady strategic progress. Unfortunately, that approach and our 2021 strategic action plan was tested when we were unexpectedly faced with how to plan and ultimately say goodbye to our Executive Director Melissa Manchester by December 2021. Melissa’s legacy of success was marked by CSMFO’s success over her 13 years of service. She guided CSMFO and Past Presidents, including myself, with her CSMFO history,

passion, and strategic focus guided by serving all our members. And, she also used her own life experiences to give us an often missing perspective to our typical financial mindsets. Although we were sad to say goodbye, we were thankful for her time and assistance with preparing for this change. And I’m happy for her new career opportunity and know she’ll continue to excel and help members and clients alike. After absorbing all these realities, CSMFO did what CSMFO does, we paused, we learned, we adapted, we planned, and we focused on how to “Make it Happen” and turned 2021 into a “Mission: Possible”. OPTIMISM. Fortunately, CSMFO has a history of leaning into the optimism of “how we might” create success and overcome challenges. We succeeded in creating new valueadd resources for our organization and members while maintaining our vision to be the preeminent resource for promoting excellence in government finance. FUN. CSMFO has always had its own definition of fun, in our case, collaborative hard work with fellow volunteers created relationships that brought joy, smiles, and connections to our lives. We saw this in action when CSMFO expanded connections with commercial members and college students across the state. We launched a cohort program and immediately had to double the program to accommodate the interest we received. We celebrated our chapters who continued to connect with members across California, while introducing the value-add that CSMFO can bring to non-members. We celebrated the return to connecting in person with our volunteer leadership, meeting in October at Disneyland for our two-day strategic planning and board meeting. And our leadership gathered together on our own dime for a game for the ages, SF Giants vs LA Dodgers, showing how to work well together despite our differences.

“In 2021, we found our way to hooray” MENTORSHIP. On top of the excitement around the re-launch of our mentorship program, 2021 reminded me just how valuable formal and informal mentorship can be. I was a part of so many conversations with current and former CSMFO heroes who helped guide me through my own CSMFO work as well as helping me better support the community I serve. I’m thrilled to see how our 2022 mentees will guide CSMFO in the near future. SUCCESS. I’m proud what we achieved in 2021. We restarted our mentorship program, founded our commercial members roundtable, developed our first ever employment agreement to hire CSMFO’s first employee (welcome again Jean Rousseau, our Executive Director), and created new webinars to help guide members. And we helped form a national pilot on association collaboration with Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Washington, and Oregon. All while sustaining our commitment to deliver rich training through programs like Budgeting in California, Beginning & Intermediate Accounting, Investing, Fundamentals of Tax Revenue and other webinars that included topics like internal controls, CalPERS actuarial reports, GASB 87 lease implementation, pension obligation bonds, accounting for capital assets, and the fundamentals of fees, rates, changes & land-based financing. And we published over 80 CSMFO News articles while reviewing countless financial report and budgets resulting in recognizing over 100 agencies for their reporting excellence.

And we now stand on the verge of going live later in 2022 with our first ever CSMFO Learning Management System. This CSMFO investment will be another value-add benefit to our members to help them in their own career development. CLASSY. CSMFO has always stayed classy! We have a long tradition of honoring our individual strengths and creating the space for diversity of opinions and experiences. And, in the last decade we have prioritized the time to pause and really say “Thank You” to the volunteers who make our culture so addictive and an oftensafe place where we can find joy and feel appreciated. I want to begin with thanking each of you, our members across counties, cities, districts, commercial partners, in schools and retired but still supporting us. It was my honor to humbly serve you in 2021. Speaking of honor, I was proud to recognize our Volunteers of the Year, Amber Johnson, Chief Financial Officer for County Connection and CSMFO Student Engagement Committee Chair and Mark Petrasso, Senior Vice President - Business Development at Zions Bank and co-founder of CSMFO’s Commercial Member Roundtable. And I’m so proud for how the City of Cupertino was recognized with the Innovation of the Year award for providing their community the online resident tax collector and budget projection tool. Continued on next page

2021 in review CONTINUED

Optimism, Fun, Mentorship, Success & Classy By Marcus Pimentel

Thank you to all our CSMFO leadership who guided us together through 2021. Thank you to our committee volunteers and especially to our Committee Chairs, Vice Chairs and Senior Advisors. Thank you to the Chapter Chairs and Vice Chairs who helped our 20 chapters across California be a safe place to learn and connect locally. Thank you to our appointees who attended and represented CSMFO at the League of California Cities (Cal Cities). And thank you to our commercial partners whose sponsorships and advertisements helped CSMFO retain its recognition as the best value for incredible quality resources. I am incredibly grateful to our Board of Directors for their time, their vision, and leadership throughout 2021. I have a deeper respect for each of you and it was my honor to serve by your side. Thank you to Craig Boyer (County of Alameda), Grace Castaneda (City of Belmont), Will Fuentes (City of Campbell), Karla Romero (City of Brawley), Ernie Reyna (City of Perris), Stephen Parker (City of Upland), Steve Heide, who served as Past President (Chino Valley Fire District); and Scott Catlett, who served as President-Elect (City of Newport Beach). I want to extend a special thank you to our 2022 President Scott Catlett for bringing us back together in person in San Diego and raising our expectations for technical content and engagement.

It makes me eager to see how our 2023 President Rich Lee will meet this expectation while reintroducing our members to northern hospitality in Sacramento. Thank you to Past-President Steve Heide for guiding me and all of us through 2021 with wisdom and the right words at the right time with the right perspective. Thank you to my parents Tony & Belle whose immigration path still inspires me today. Thank you to my daughters Kaitlynn and Kirsten who offered their youthful wisdom and optimism, and especially to my life and my wife Laurie, who patiently supported me, even when I wasn’t paying our family the attention they deserved. I’m so glad this isn’t goodbye and look forward to living up to the standards of Past Presidents like Mary Bradley, Bill Statler, Janet Salvetti, Viki Copeland, Laura Nomura, Pamela Arends-King, Jesse Takahashi, John Adams, Margaret Moggia and Joan Michaels Aguilar who continue to passionately volunteer their time serving all CSMFO embers. “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”- Winnie the Pooh. TTFN.

Four! 2022 CSMFO Golf Tournament 36

at The Crossings at Carlsbad By Joan Michaels Aguilar & Terry Shea

fter missing a golf opportunity with last year’s virtual conference, an enthusiastic group of golfers descended on Tuesday, February 15th at a north San Diego County course – The Crossings at Carlsbad. Despite the rainy and windy conditions, golfers had a chance for networking, continental breakfast and the option to practice at the range prior to tee time. The Crossings course, designed by Greg Nash to preserve the existing natural habitat on 400 acres of Carlsbad’s coastal terrain, offered an 18-hole championship course with terrain a challenge to golfers at varying skill levels. Congratulations to the winning team who finished with a team score of 61, eleven under par. The team included Terry Shea, RAMS, Joann Gitmed, City of Imperial Beach, Gary Gitmed and Matt Schenk, March Joint Powers Authority.

The Closest to the Pin winners were Jim Murphy from CityBase and Jim McCourt from Meeder Investment Management. Brent Mason from Eide Bailley LLP won the putting contest. The men’s and women’s long drive champs were Jennifer Farr, Davis Farr LLP and Kirk Hamblin, Lance, Soll & Lunghard, CPAs LLP. Kirk noted “It was great getting on the course since 2020! Not only does CSMFO always come through with a beautiful venue, but everyone there is always non-stop smiling. This makes for a great environment to network and simply enjoy life for a day with fellow attendees. Of course, after the rounds were completed and scorecards were turned in, the group had a chance for more socializing and refreshments in the Club House. You know that there were tales of amazing shots and putts. Brent Sakaida from the City of Thousand Oaks shared, “Even though we weren’t part of the winning team, we didn’t let the rain, wind, cold weather or our lone “bogey” deter us from having a great time. And to Terry (and the volunteers), thanks again for putting on such a fun event. It was a fantastic way to “kickoff” the Annual 2022 CSMFO Conference.

Will Fuentes from the City of Campbell was happy the event wasn’t rained out. “This was my first time participating in the CSMFO golf tournament and I sincerely thank our sponsors and all those who braved the elements. I was originally scheduled to play the rained out 2017 tournament in Sacramento and I haven’t been able to play one since. Thus, neither rain, nor wind, nor COVID was going to prevent me from playing in 2022. It was great seeing everyone in person and having some good-natured competition. My team did not win, but we had a fantastic time. Thank you sincerely.” CSMFO thanks Terry Shea for organizing the event and continued dedication to making this mixer a wonderful conference experience. A big thanks to the corporate sponsors for their support for this wonderful preconference event. Thanks to all the participants who opted to join in the fun and to David Garrison at SMA for signs and scorecard design (especially since he is not a golfer.)

10th annual pickleball mixer By James Russell-Field & Lily Ng

fter a one-year delay, Bank of the West hosted/sponsored the 10th Annual Pickleball Mixer on February 15th at the 2022 CSMFO Annual Conference in San Diego! This was the first exclusively featured Pickleball Mixer, a pre-conference event, held at the Coronado Island Marriot public courts and led by Pro Lon Krantz. The event was organized by Lily Ng, Managing Director of Bank of the West. The Lunch Sponsor was Chandler Asset Management and the highly coveted trophies were sponsored by Oracle. The USA Pickleball February newsletter announced that pickleball was the fastest growing sport two years in a row at a 39.3% growth with 4.8 million players in the US as of January 2022. It is easier to pick up than tennis. This was an advantage for newer players (who play other racket sports) looking to pick up the sport at the mixer, and for returning players (like me) who would normally need the full mixer to get back into tennis. On February 15th, waking up to rain and wind on Tuesday morning in San Diego was a surprise! Despite some early morning concerns, the rain stopped by the time players arrived at the courts. The courts were still wet and drying off when all 26 players arrived, but with the help of a squeegee the Pro was able to push the standing water off the courts. By the time everyone finished lunch, the clouds and wind came but the courts were dried out and the Mixer was on! The warm up and games were all played in doubles. After helping players warm up and providing tips and strategies to play, the Pro explained how pickleball scoring works. It is played to 11 points, with a serving strategy and rotation best explained by a quick Google search! According to

the Pro, “If four people are playing Pickleball, at least one player will be able to figure out the score.” 2022 Flight 1 Champion Jason McBride, Finance Director for the California Join Powers Insurance Authority said “I had a great time. As a first-time conference attendee, the Pickleball event was the perfect opportunity to socialize and make connections with new people in a fun environment. Bank of the West as well as the lunch and trophy sponsors, Chandler Asset Management and Oracle, really came through to put on a great event!” 2022 Flight 2 Champion Dima Galkin, Project Manager of Harris & Associates said “I had a lot of fun playing against and getting to know the other Pickleball players before the conference started. I recommend to everyone who will attend next year’s conference to try a preconference Mixer, especially Pickleball!” FLIGHT 1 • Champion – Jason McBride, California JPA • Finalist – Rod Bettini, Public Trust Advisors • 3rd Play – Max Mojab, Piper Sandlers & Co. FLIGHT 2 • Champion – Dima Galkin, Harris & Associates • Finalist – Aneil Murthy, Chandler Asset Management • 3rd Place – Sara Taylor,City of Vista

PHOTO ALBUM

Click on the Google Photo album to relive and enjoy our special event on February 15, 2022 at the Coronado Pickleball.

CSMFO thanks Bank of the West for organizing and hosting the Mixer, Chandler Asset Management for sponsoring the lunch, and Oracle for sponsoring the trophies. A special Thank You and Recognition to Lily Ng for her dedication and management of this wonderful event and for reaching the 10th Year Anniversary of this event at the CSMFO Annual Conference! CSMFO Past President Laura Nomura said on LinkedIn “Lily, thank you so much for Bank of the West’s support over the years. Your Tennis & Pickleball events add a great flair to our conference. Your passion and excitement for the sport shines bright!”

PRESIDENT’S DINNER By Marcus Pimentel

here was extra excitement in the air at the February 15th President’s Dinner at the 2022 Annual Conference! CSMFO President Scott Catlett hosted the unofficial conference kickoff at the ARLO restaurant at the Town and Country in San Diego. The annual dinner recognizes and thanks all of CSMFO’s past presidents, as well as welcoming and connecting with those who came in person. President Scott Catlett started the formal part of the event with a welcome and then the event MC David Garrison, SMA’s Director of Marketing and Design Development, took over to acknowledge our Past Presidents who attended. You could feel the energy as many people experienced their first opportunity since 2020 to gather, network, and catchup in person with CSMFO peers and friends. And, for some attendees, it was also fun to see how the person they had only met virtually compared to the real person. After an abundance of virtual interactions since 2020, everyone was a grateful for the opportunity to interact in person. The night was off to a great start with lots of laughter and smiles.

After enjoying delicious appetizers and drinks, everyone headed inside for dinner. ARLO’s menu for the event was outstanding! Guests were able to choose between maple halibut, bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, and a salt crusted beetroot. These delicious options were bookended by a beet salad to start the meal and a crème brulee dessert to finish. The inside of the ARLO was bustling after dinner. Guests moved freely between tables, trying to catch up with as many people as possible. Everyone was able to move around the room and mingle despite full stomachs from a delicious meal! Guests also had the ability to take a little piece of the Town and Country resort back home with a pop-up gift that turned into their iconic lawn food camper . This wonderful event would not have been possible without the hours of planning and scouting by President Catlett, the Host Committee, SMA, MAMS, and our Diamond sponsors: Chandler Asset Management, Clientfirst Technology Consulting, HDL Companies, MGO, LSL, Public Trust Advisors, Tyler Technologies, UFI Financial Solutions

virtual conference By Karan Reid

ollowing the fabulous in-person conference, the Program Committee was excited to support a virtual event held March 15-16 and March 22-23 to broaden opportunities for those unable to attend the in-person event or for those attendees looking to attend additional sessions and earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. Keynote speakers and fundamental, technical sessions were selected to be recorded at the in-person event and replayed at the virtual event. The speakers whose sessions were recorded participated in the virtual event so that attendees could receive CPE credit. A big thanks to those speakers pulling double duty! The virtual event featured repeats of 4 featured speakers and 15 concurrent sessions from the inperson conference. An added bonus was the inclusion

of roundtable sessions each day. The topics covered in these discussion sessions included: Career Advancement, Operationalizing Equity in Budget Development, Best Practices, and ERP Projects. A total of 313 people registered for the virtual event and had the opportunity to earn up to 12 hours of CPE credit over four days. Karan Reid has served as the Director of Finance for the City of Concord since April 2013. Her journey in city government began as Senior Accountant with the City of Napa and progressed to Chief Financial Officer for the City of Emeryville and Finance Director for the City of Benicia before joining the City of Concord. Karan has been active in CSMFO and currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Program Committee. She previously served on the Membership Benefits Committee and on the CSMFO Board as a Director representing the North.

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2022 CSMFO Annual Conference Magazine

Articles inside

10TH ANNUAL PICKLEBALL MIXER

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

PRESIDENT’S DINNER

2022 CSMFO GOLF TOURNAMENT

2021 VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

PRESIDENT ELECT MESSAGE

2021 IN REVIEW

CHAPTER CHAIR BREAKFAST AND CHAPTER ENGAGEMENT

AWARDS FOR INNOVATION

CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE INTERVIEW

THURSDAY NIGHT EVENT

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE