CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE INTERVIEW

CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE 14 The csmfo

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. Whatdidyouenjoymostabouttheconference,andis thereanythingyouobservedforpotentialimprovement?

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.locationandfacilities,programcontentor 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!