Julie Behrens
Julie Behrens serves as the Director of Finance for the City of Kerrville, where she leads the finance team in overseeing all aspects of financial management, procurement, contracts, and utility billing. A graduate of Texas Tech University, Julie began her career in local government in 2018 after working in the non-profit sector. Prior to that, she worked for 13 years for HEB, ending as a department director. Dedicated to serving her community, she has contributed her time and expertise to several local boards, including the Kerr County Federal Credit Union Supervisory Committee, Kerr County Livestock Show Association, Center Point Little League, and many others over the years. Outside of work, Julie enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, especially her two spoiled grandchildren.
Mike Bell
Mike has over 25 years of experience in IT leadership roles, currently serving as Senior Cybersecurity Advisor for the Pool. He has multiple active industry certifications and blends both enterprise architecture expertise and information security best practices to help organizations meet operational goals while minimizing cybersecurity risks.
Dr. Robert Bland
Robert L. (Bob) Bland is the Endowed Professor of Local Government in the Department of Public Administration and Faculty Director of the Center for Public Management in the College of Health and Public Service. He teaches courses in public economics, governmental accounting, and budgeting. He has been on the faculty at UNT since 1982 and served for 22 years as the department’s first chair. In 2019-20, he served as interim chair of the Department of Criminal Justice. He is the author of several books, all published by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) including, with Michael Overton, A Budgeting Guide for Local Government (4th edition). He studies and writes about the municipal bond market, property taxation, tax increment financing, local government investment pools, municipal budgeting, and city management. He is the recipient of the first Terrell Blodgett Academician Award given by the Texas City Management Association and the Stephen B. Sweeney Academic Award from ICMA. Since 2012, he has been an elected fellow in the Congressionally chartered National Academy of Public Administration. In 2017, he was elected an Honorary Member of ICMA. On four occasions he has been the recipient of the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award given by the MPA Student Association. He was elected vice chair of the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management and in 2022 served as the association’s chair. In 2023, he received the UNT Foundation’s Eminent Faculty Award, one of the university’s highest faculty honors. The annual award recognizes a faculty member who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to scholarly-creative activity, teaching, and service and has served as an inspiration to the University of North Texas community.
Emily Brock
As Director of GFOA’s Federal Liaison Center, Emily leads coalition and advocacy efforts of the Public Finance Network in Washington DC. Her advocacy includes anticipating and responding to federal legislative and regulatory activities that impact the finance functions of state and local governments and public sector entities including tax reform, municipal securities disclosure and public pension and benefit issues. Emily also serves as staff on GFOA’s Debt Committee, working with committee members to develop best practices that promote sound financial practices for local, state and provincial governments. Prior to joining GFOA, Emily was a commercial bank relationship manager at a large national bank, serving as the sole bank liaison for government and university clients.
David Bullock
As the head of the state and local government practice, I offer financial services to some of the largest governmental organizations across the country. I stay at the forefront of our field by being an active thought leader, regularly speaking and conducting training on specialized government accounting topics, and working closely with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) on various projects.
Ryan Burns
Ryan has over 19 years of experience working with or for public entities in Texas. He joined the TML Risk Pool in 2015 and previously worked in municipal law enforcement and in the software/hardware/IT space with local governments. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University.
Michael Cannata
Bio coming soon!
Marlon Castillo
Bio coming soon!
Suzanne Castle
Suzanne is an award-winning keynote speaker, dynamic business strategist, and transformational coach known for helping ambitious women break through barriers to build extraordinary lives and businesses. Recently honored with a Bronze Stevie Award as Women’s Business Coach of the Year, Suzanne has been recognized among the top 10 most inspirational women in Tarrant County and received an influencer award from the International Association of Women. Her impactful work and inspiring presence have earned her features on AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Zondra TV and her work has been featured in major media outlets from radio to television
Keith Dagan
Keith Dagen spent twenty-six years in municipal finance with the cities of Garland and Richardson, Texas. He worked in multiple roles, starting as a business systems analyst and progressing through supervisory roles such as chief accountant, treasurer and revenue manager, assistant director of finance and director of finance. Now retired from full-time employment, Keith enjoys teaching fundamentals of government finance to others, traveling across the United States with his wife, reading a variety of books and having a good glass of wine with friends. He is an active member of the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas and currently serves on the GFOAT Scholarship and Fellowship Foundation board, having served previously as GFOAT’s Texas Municipal Retirement System Representative, Secretary and Board President. Since 2010, Keith has been a featured speaker at GFOAT conferences and GFOAT’s Governmental Accounting Academy.
Chris Ekrut
Chris Ekrut has served as a trusted advisor in the utility and municipal sector since 2004, specializing in financial and management consulting. He helps clients design sustainable rates and implement solutions to ensure long-term financial stability. As an expert witness, Chris frequently testifies before regulatory agencies nationwide with specific emphasis on cost of service, cost allocation, and rate design. He is also a faculty member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Rate School, training the next generation industry professionals. A founding partner of NewGen Strategies and Solutions, Chris currently serves as the firm’s Chief Financial Officer.
Michael Gomez
Mike advises government agencies on assessment, procurement and implementation of software systems with a goal of helping them be more efficient, accurate and connected. When you work with Mike, you can expect him to leverage his experience working with governmental agencies from both the customer and vendor perspective, coupled with a vast ERP market knowledge to help you find the best solution and implement that solution. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, exercising and golfing.
Mary Beth Gunderson
I’m an Enterprise Sales professional and Customer Success advocate with 12 years of experience helping public sector organizations solve complex challenges. I thrive at the intersection of strategy, relationships, and results, taking a consultative approach to understand what drives an organization’s success—and delivering solutions that create real impact and measurable ROI. I specialize in navigating complex sales cycles while ensuring clients feel supported, understood, and empowered. By combining strategic insight with empathy, I help organizations achieve their goals while fostering long-term partnerships built on trust and collaboration. Passionate about driving both growth and meaningful outcomes, I’m energized by opportunities to create value for clients, innovate solutions, and make a difference in the public sector.
Sam Hamilton
Bio coming soon!
Brian Helming
Brian is a Managing Director of the Arbitrage Compliance Services Group and has over 30 years of arbitrage compliance experience. He was most recently the Group Manager of the BNY Mellon Arbitrage Compliance Group and has also previously worked at Pinnacle Arbitrage Compliance LLC and at Ernst & Young LLP as a member of their Arbitrage Rebate division. Brian works closely with issuers, their bond counsel and trustees to determine their arbitrage rebate liabilities, compliance with yield restriction requirements and strategies to maximize the amount of interest earning his clients can keep. He has prepared hundreds of arbitrage rebate, spending exception and yield restriction reports for clients. He helps supervise the Arbitrage Compliance Services Group personnel, coordinates completion of report, and performs the detailed review on arbitrage rebate engagements. Brian currently serves as Managing Director for Hilltop Securities Asset Management. As such, he supervises all aspects of the calculation work, is available to answer technical questions as they arise, attends meetings as requested, and would be involved in any examinations by the IRS should they occur. Brian worked at Ernst & Young LLP from 1994 to 2006, Pinnacle Arbitrage Compliance from 2006 to 2009 and BNY Mellon Trust Company NA from 2009 to 2021. He also has previous experience with Prudential and Dean Witter. Brian received degrees in Accounting and Finance from the University of Arizona.
Tyler Hoffman
Bio coming soon!
Scott Houston
Scott Houston serves the TML Risk Pool as Intergovernmental Relations Manager and host of the award-winning “Local Officials: Stronger, Together” Podcast Series. Prior to joining the Pool, he served as general counsel for the Texas Municipal League, as an adjunct professor of political science at Texas State University’s M.P.A. program, and on the faculty of the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. His work on open meetings law and municipal annexation has been published in the Texas Tech Administrative Law Journal. Scott is a recipient of the Texas Bar Government Lawyers Section “Outstanding Government Lawyer of the Year Award.” He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and St. Mary’s University School of Law.
Meg Jakubik
Meg Jakubik, CGFO, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from Texas Tech University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Texas. She has over 15 years of experience working in government, having served in various departments through her career, including the Police Department, City’s Secretary’s Office, City Manager’s Office, and Finance. As the Director of Budget Services, she is responsible for coordinating the budget process and supervising Grants, Facilities, and Fleet operations for the Town of Flower Mound. Meg has been a member of GFOAT since 2012 and earned her Certified Government Finance Officer (CGFO) designation in 2014. She is the GFOA Representative for GFOAT, member of the Program Committee and instructor for the GFOAT Budget Academy. She previously served as the chair of the Communications Committee for GFOAT.
Leigh Johnson, CGCIO
Bio coming soon!
Eric Kelly
Bio coming soon!
Michael Kerner
Michael is Managing Director, Treasury Sales Group Manager – Corporate at Texas Capital. He leads the Treasury Solutions efforts for the Corporate segment delivering working capital solutions to companies across a variety of industries. Michael joined Texas Capital in 2023. With over 30 years in banking, he has worked across a variety of areas including syndicated finance, project & structured finance, credit underwriting & structuring, and treasury services sales and product management. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science at Texas Christian University and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. He is active with Scouting America and at his church in various committees and groups including finance and youth.
Blu Kostelich
Blu received his Bachelor’s Degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. Blu brings over 15 years of service and experience in both finance and operations roles, with 6 of those years in public sector finance for Bridgeport, Texas and Lubbock, Texas. In Lubbock, Blu also serves as a Board Member for the Lubbock Fire Pension Fund and as the Co-Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee for GFOAT. Prior to transitioning to the public sector, Blu held roles in the private sector as a Manufacturing Plant Operations Manager for TAMKO Building Products and a Senior Financial Analyst for Lennox International. Blu spent the first five years of his post-graduate career as an Armor and Calvary Officer in the United States Army, including a thirteen month deployment to Baghdad from 2008-2009. Throughout his service, Blu was awarded the Bronze Star and two Army Commendation Medals. Blu also received his Air Assault Badge and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. Outside of work, Blu enjoys spending time with his wife, Callie, and his daughter Juliana.
Cayce Lay Lamas
Cayce Lay Lamas is the Director of Finance for the Town of Westlake. She is responsible for a wonderful team providing finance, accounting, budget, and utility billing services. Cayce has 15 years of local government experience in the DFW area, having previously worked for the cities of Fort Worth and Coppell. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Austin College and her master’s in accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington. Cayce is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Texas. Outside of work, Cayce and her husband, Chris, enjoy bringing their two rescue pit bulls, Pippa and Dottie, anywhere dogs are allowed, attending World Champion Texas Rangers games, and listening to live music.
Bill Longley
Bill Longley graduated from the University of Richmond in 2004 with a degree in political science and sociology. In 2007, he received his Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law. While in law school, Bill worked as a legal clerk for TML and clerked at an insurance litigation firm in Austin. Prior to joining TML as legal counsel, Bill served as an assistant attorney general in the Open Records Division of the Office of Attorney General.
Dennis Maher
Dennis Maher has been in the professional workforce since 2011. Theircareer began at Atlas REO, where they served as an Asset Manager. In this role, they were a top performer and subject matter expert in managing a national portfolio of bank owned properties on behalf of the Client, Freddie Mac. In 2015, they transitioned to Buxton, where they served as Vice President of Sales. At Buxton, they helped businesses understand who their customers were, where their customers were located, and the value each customer brought to the organization. In 2019, Dennis moved to Retail Strategies, where they served as Regional Sales Manager. Most recently, in 2021, Dennis began working at ClearGov as an Account Executive. Dennis Maher attended Singapore American School from 2002 to 2005 and American College – Singapore from 2005 to 2007.
Nathan Manlove
The AMMO Group is a full-service marketing, design and advertising agency that gets it. The AMMO Group started out as AMMO advertising back in 2001 when President Nathan Manlove found himself laid off from his job the day before his wedding. Determined that he could bring his passion for service, wit and creativity to his own stable of clients, Nathan purchased an old fruit-colored iMac and got to work. Over 10 years later, AMMO has grown to be a full-service marketing, web design and advertising agency which services clients throughout Texas, the United States, and the rest of the universe. Nathan leads a team of vibrant and capable professionals who embrace his vision for creative resolution to the client’s individual needs. In 2013, the company changed its name to The AMMO Group, in recognition of their capabilities extending well beyond just “advertising”. Today, the company can provide not only stunningly effective advertising, but strategic marketing, public relations, web design, media and illustrative solutions. What they can’t do in-house is entrusted to an elite corps of hand-picked printing, photo or videographic vendors.
Dr. Arturo Menefee
Dr. Arturo Menefee is the founder of Leadership Empowerment Strategies, a leadership, community and economic development firm. Dr. Menefee is the former Interim Executive Director for the University of Alabama Center for Economic Development. He has more than fifteen years of professional and academic experience in leadership, business, community, planning, workforce and economic development. Dr. Menefee is the former President of the Greater Peace Community Development Corporation (GPCDC). While serving as President of GPCDC, he was instrumental in the development of the Youth Leadership Academy, the establishment of an entrepreneurship-training program to assist non¬custodial fathers and led an initiative to construct 48 single-family homes in an economically distressed community. Arturo received his Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Auburn University. He is an award-winning author
Anthony Mills
Anthony Mills joined TMRS in November 2004 as a member of the Travel Team. In September 2020, he was named the first Director of City Services, where he oversees the division that serves TMRS participating cities. Among the division’s functions are outreach to city administrators, stakeholders and elected officials and the processing of city contributions. Prior to his role as Director, Anthony traveled the state extensively, educating Members and participating cities’ administrators about TMRS. Before joining TMRS, Anthony worked for the Texas County and District Retirement System and the Employees Retirement System of Texas. Anthony was also a press aide to the late Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock. Anthony holds a BA in History from the University of Texas at Austin.
Glenn Mizell
Glenn Mizell is a graduate of Auburn University with a BSBA in Accounting and MBA from Belmont University. After 5 years in the private sector as an Accountant, he transitioned to the local government industry in 1993. He has almost 30 years of experience in governmental accounting, 6 of those years with the City of North Richland Hills as Assistant Director where Finance covers Accounting, Purchasing, and Utility Billing. He is now the Purchasing Manager for the City of Grand Prairie. In addition, Glenn is a co-chair of the CGFO Committee for GFOAT. Over the past three years, he has led several initiatives which resulted in updated exams and study materials, newly implemented online exam review sessions for candidates, and updated policies and procedures for committee organization.
Sam Naik
Sam Naik joined GFOA’s Research and Consulting Center in September 2022. He supports GFOA’s consulting practice by assisting governments in business process improvement, policy analysis, and procurement of enterprise resource planning systems. He also supports GFOA’s education work and serves as one of the staff liaisons for GFOA’s LGBTQIA+ caucus. Prior to GFOA, Sam worked for the City of Austin Office of the City Auditor and the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General as a performance auditor. He remains an active member of the Association of Local Government Auditors (ALGA). He received a B.A. in Government and Latin American Studies and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.
Chad Nobles
With over 25 years of industry experience, Chad Nobles currently serves as a business development executive focused on turn-key design build projects in the energy conservation & environmental solutions industry for the public sector. Since 2005, Chad has developed, sold, and managed over $500 million in performance contracts (energy & operational savings/ conservation projects) mainly in the public sector. Conservation and infrastructure improvement projects included lighting, HVAC, water conservation, water and wastewater treatment plants, automatic meter reading, water meter replacements, solar, alternative energy, and a variety of other conservation measures.
Rachel Ormsby
Rachel has 15 years of experience providing accounting and audit services to governmental and not-for-profit organizations, including extensive experience in Single Audits. As a member of Forvis Mazars National Public Sector and Not-For-Profit groups she currently serves as the Audit Partner for numerous clients across Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas. As an audit partner, she oversees the client engagement process, including the supervision and training of the audit team, review of audit workpapers and communication with the client. In addition, Rachel has conducted presentations, providing continuing professional education for local roundtables and regional chapters of the Texas Government Finance Officers Association. She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and Government Finance Officers Association of Arizona and Texas. She serves on GFOA’s Special Review Committee and GFOAT’s Scholarship and Fellowship Committee. She was named a 2018 Rising Star by the Texas Society of CPAs. Rachel is a 2010 graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, with B.B.A. and M.P.A degrees.
Bahkti Patel
Bhakti is the practice leader for state and local government in Texas. She specializes in providing governmental auditing and accounting services and has more than 23 years’ experience in accounting, auditing and compliance services.
Emily Paul
Emily Paul is a supervising project manager with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Emily was part of the project teams that developed accounting and financial reporting standards related to postemployment benefits (including Statements 67, 68, 73,74, 75, 78, and 82) and related implementation guidance. She has also led projects related to capitalization of interest cost (Statement 89), Section 457 deferred compensation plans (Statement 97), and accounting changes and error corrections (Statement 100). Her current project assignments include annual implementation guidance updates, subsequent events research, and the post-implementation review of Statement 87 related to leases. Before joining the GASB staff in 2013, Emily was a senior associate in Ernst & Young’s Financial Accounting Advisory Services practice in New York City. Emily received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and Master in Professional Accounting degree from The University of Texas at Austin.
Shane Sangalli
Shane Sangalli is the manager of the Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas regional offices for Water Company of America He is responsible for the day-to-day operations, workflow, production and client communication required for specific projects. Mr. Sangalli has 20+ years of experience within the Water, Wastewater and Stormwater metering and monitoring industry. As a result of his experience and training, he brings a unique understanding in the areas of account data analysis, metering system examination, wastewater flow evaluation and utility customer relations.
Bob Scott
Bob Scott is Deputy Town Manager for the Town of Prosper, Texas, a rapidly growing suburb in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Mr. Scott, a CPA began his career with a large CPA firm, auditing and consulting for a variety of clients including State and Local Governments. For the past 30 years, he has worked in various financial and management capacities. He is a GFOAT Past President and former member of the GFOA Executive Board as well as former Chair of GFOA’s ACFR Committee. He has also been active with the AICPA Expert Panel which writes the State and Local Government Audit Guide. Over the years he has developed an expertise in pensions and OPEB and is currently a Trustee with Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS).
Martie Simpson
Martie Simpson is the Executive Director for the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas. She started her municipal finance career with the City of Killeen in 1997 and finished her career with the city in 2014 as the executive director of finance. Martie served as the finance director for the City of New Braunfels from 2014 to 2018. Martie is a Certified Public Accountant with a degree from Baylor University and is a past president for GFOAT.
JP Walton
Bio coming soon!
Monty Wynn
Bio coming soon!
John Zagurski
Mr. Zagurski has over fifteen years of government experience. For the past nine years, he has focused on local government finance, long-term planning, transparency, and municipal management. Mr. Zagurski became a member of the Government Finance Officers Association of Texas (GFOAT) in 2013 and earned his designation as a Certified Government Finance Officer (CGFO) the following year. He has served as the Chair of the GFOAT Legislative Committee, North Area Representative, Board Treasurer, and now as the President-Elect. John holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Texas and an undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Central Arkansas.