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2021 volunteers of the year By Marcus Pimentel
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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 .
