Selecting the 2020 CSMFO Leaders

Voting for the 2020 Board of Directors Election is now open! Please cast your vote for one candidate each for President-Elect (North); Board Member – North; and Board Member – South. Voting closes Thursday, October 31, 2019 at 11:59 PM.

Ballots for the 2020 Board of Directors Elections will be sent to municipal voting members in good standing on 9/30/19 via an email from Probolsky Research. If you do not receive this email please contact melissa@staff.csmfo.org

Nominee for President-Elect
(Northern California)

Marcus Pimentel

Statement of Ideas and Goals for CSMFO

I would be honored to serve humbly as CSMFO’s President in 2021. I’m excited about CSMFO’s opportunity to serve all our various members, to provide proactive fiscal leadership through a likely slowdown, and, more importantly, to continue our tradition of growing community leaders and being an example of leadership equity.

I’m also intrigued about how we might feature San Jose and the Bay Area for our 64th Annual Conference and continue our conference theme of CSMFO gives back.

What I am is someone who believes in first focusing on our core, that includes ensuring we have a balance of diverse volunteer leaders along with selecting partners whose passion aligns with our CSFMO mission and who bleed CSMFO blue (if you know what I mean ;-). Next, focus on continuous improvement within our long-term strategies and action plans to ensure alignment with our Mission and Guiding Values and that we’re not doing too many things.

I believe in open, timely, and engaging communication that brings our CSMFO family closer. I get excited in how we might implement ideas from our members and leadership to enhance CSMFO. I’m passionate about making sure CSMFO’s resources are accessible to all our members.

Following are some of my interests and what we might pursue, following validation by our members and leadership: Grow our collective employment pool by building on successful models like our student engagement work, support a California specific certification program to better prepare our community leaders to deal with the complexity of local government, consider how we might be a vehicle to create more equity in our community leadership, and consider how we might pro-actively support agencies with less resources to implement best fiscal practices.

Our joy is powerfully contagious. Our work is noble. Our staff are amazing. Our lives are fortunate.

Education

  • Santa Clara University, Bachelor’s of Science, Accounting
  • Cabrillo Community College

Professional Experience

Assistant Director of Health Services Agency, County of Santa Cruz (2019-current)

Finance &/or Administrative Services Director (13 years)
City of Santa Cruz Director of Finance (2012-2019)
City of Watsonville Administrative Services Director (2006-2012)

Other professional experience
Finance Manager, City of Monterey (2002-2005)
Supervising Accountant & Accountant, City of Capitola (1995-2002)

Board Chair, Salud Para La Gente (2010-2019)
Alex’s Video Store (1986)

CSMFO Involvement

  • Chair, Communication Committee (2018-2019)
  • Board of Director (2014-2017)
  • Member, Membership Committee (2016-2019)
  • Member, Technology Committee (2014-2016)
  • Chapter Chair, Monterey Bay (2003-2012)
  • Host Committee (2015 Conference, 2019 Conference, 2020 Conference)
  • CSFMO Coach/Mentor (current)

Other Professional Affiliations

  • League of California Cities, CSMFO Appointee for Revenue & Taxation Committee (2017-2019)
  • Public Agency Risk Sharing Authority of California (PARSAC), Exec Committee, Finance Committee, Board Member (2006-2012)
  • Santa Cruz Animal Shelter, Board Member (2006-2012)
Stephen Parker

Nominee for Board
(Southern California)

Stephen M. Parker

Statement of Ideas and Goals for CSMFO

CSMFO is the preeminent professional organization for governmental finance, and I am proud to be a volunteer to further their cause. I have had the pleasure of serving as the Orange County Chapter Chair since 2013. I also currently serve as the Senior Advisor of the Membership Committee and am a member of the Administration Committee. My experience on four standing committees along with ad hoc committees and plenty of other CSMFO involvement provides me with insight to serve you well as a South Board Member.

CSMFO’s focus has always been on integrity, professional development and public service. I want to maintain those core values, but work towards providing them in more useful and relevant ways. As a Board Member, my goal will be to provide increasingly valuable professional support through training classes, webinars and a top tier annual conference to promote growth for our members in their profession as they help lead their governments toward a better future.

Education

  • Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, Accounting Emphasis; Biblical Studies Minor
  • State of California Certified Public Accountant – License #107059

Professional Experience

  • 1999-2010: Staff – Senior Manager, Conrad & Associates, LLP/Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C./CBIZ
  • 2010-2013: Finance Director/Manager, Yorba Linda Water District
  • 2013 – 2013: Principal Consultant (Filled Fiscal Officer position at City of San Bernardino), Urban Futures, Inc.
  • 2013-2019: Administrative Services Director – Assistant City Manager – City of Stanton

CSMFO Involvement

Standing Committee/Chapter Chair Involvement

  • 2013-Current: Orange County Chapter Chair
  • 2011-2012: Professional Standards and Recognition Committee Vice Chair
  • 2013: Career Development Committee Member
  • 2014-2017: Administration Committee Vice Chair
  • 2018: Membership Committee Vice-Chair
  • 2019: Membership Committee Senior Advisor

Other CSMFO Involvement

  • 2010-Current: CAFR Reviewer
  • 2010-2011: Budget Reviewer
  • 2011, 2013, 2015-2019: Strategic Planning Session Attendee
  • 2015-2016: Communications Task Force Ad Hoc Committee Member
  • 2016: Host Committee Member (headed up the Scholarship Program)
  • 2016: Nominating Committee Member
  • 2020: Host Committee Member

Other Professional Affiliations

  • Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Member
  • California Municipal Treasurer’s Association Member (previous)
  • Orange County – City Manager Association Member

Nominees for Board
(Northern California)

Craig Boyer

Statement of Ideas and Goals for CSMFO
I appreciate the opportunity to be a candidate for this year’s Board of Directors. My goals are to support programs that provide professional development and networking opportunities for members. I want to continue to broaden the membership base and facilitate strong working relationships among existing members.

CSMFO can broaden its membership base by reaching out to groups who have not regularly participated in CSMFO. I was able to increase student participation in CSMFO this year by helping to organize events at Golden Gate University and San Francisco State University. These events have led to more regular student participation at East Bay Chapter meetings.

I can draw on my experience as Recognition Committee Chair to help broaden membership and facilitate networking. I automated the award programs by introducing new award management software. If elected, I will continue to seek opportunities to use technology to increase member participation.

Thanks for considering me as your board candidate for 2020. Please vote so CSMFO can continue to have Board members who help to achieve its mission to be the preeminent resource for promoting excellence in government finance!

Education

  • B.A. Economics and Political Science, UCLA
  • M.A. Political Science, UCSB
  • Certified Public Accountant since 2004

Professional Experience

  • County of Alameda – General Accounting Assistant Controller and Internal Audit Division Chief – 4 years
  • Transbay Joint Powers Authority – Finance Manager – 3 years
  • City of Oakland – Deputy City Auditor – 1 year
  • Over 11 years in public accounting with MGO and BPM serving primarily local governments

CSMFO Involvement

  • Joined CSMFO as a commercial member in 2011
  • Converted from a commercial member to a municipal member in 2012
  • Joined the Professional Standards and Recognition Committee in 2013
  • Became Vice Chair of the Professional Standards and Recognition Committee in 2014
  • Became Chair of the Professional Standards and Recognition Committee in 2016
  • Presented CSMFO award winners and Innovation Award plaques at the Annual Conference from 2015 to 2018
  • Became Vice Chair of the East Bay Chapter in 2018

Other Professional Affiliations

  • GFOA member
  • AICPA member

Nominees for Board
(Northern California)

Grace Castaneda

Statement of Ideas and Goals for CSMFO
Being active in CSMFO has been life changing for me. I’ve benefited from CSMFO’s top-notch educational offerings through in-person trainings, webinars, local chapter meetings, and the premier annual conferences. Being actively involved has allowed me to make meaningful connections with colleagues throughout the state to exchange ideas, advice, and sometimes just a laugh. In my time chairing the Membership Committee, we’ve brought forth membership enhancements in eliminating CPE fees for webinars, offering new benefits for new members, and increasing student outreach efforts. My Scholarships group and I are expanding the conference scholarships to include first-time attendees and students. I’m immensely proud of the work we’ve done to increase value for the whole membership. In recognition of my contributions and efforts, I was awarded the 2018 Volunteer of the Year. It is an honor to serve alongside fellow leaders who give much of their time and hard work to bring the best value for our members.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve and give back. I am motivated to continually search for innovative ways to increase value for our members and to engage our next generation of leaders. I would be honored to serve on the CSMFO Board of Directors.

Education

  • UCLA – BA in Business Economics
  • Santa Clara University – Executive MBA (in progress)

Professional Experience
2007 – Present
City of San Mateo
Budget Manager / Budget Analyst / Finance Specialist / Accounting Assistant

2006 – 2007
Mervyn’s Corporate Headquarters
Business Analyst

2004 – 2006
Church of the Highlands
Preschool Teacher

2002 – 2004
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Public Auditor

CSMFO Involvement

  • 2018 Volunteer of the Year
  • Membership Committee: Member (2016), Vice Chair (2017), Chair (2018-Present)
  • Career Development Committee: Member (2017)
  • Professional Standards and Recognition Committee: Member (2017-2018)
  • Chapter Engagement Ad Hoc Group: Member (2018)
  • Student Engagement Ad Hoc Group: Member (2018-Present)
  • CSMFO App Ad Hoc Group: Member (2018-Present)
  • Annual Conference Host Committee – Scholarships and CSMFO Booth: Lead (2019)

Other Professional Affiliations

  • GFOA Member
  • CMTA Member

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