Experience
Twenty years of finance, operations, and executive office leadership. The roles below trace the arc across four cities.
Different cities, different chapters of the work. The constant has been senior finance and operations responsibility in large, multi-stakeholder public organizations, with the executive office close at hand or directly in scope.
The roles below trace nearly 20 years of experience.
Nearly 20 years of executive scope.
Executive Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff to the City Manager in a complex municipal organization with 23 departments, 1,200 employees, a $458.9M budget, and enterprise transformation underway across finance, planning, and governance systems.
- Direct oversight of $458.9M operating budget and executive coordination across 23 departments
- Design and operationalize the City Manager’s executive operating system: intake triage, agenda standards, decision logs, pre-briefs, and action tracking through closure
- Portfolio governance for $32.4M in ARPA funding with full compliance and audit accountability
- Led citywide deployment of Workday Adaptive Planning and Strategic Sourcing/CLM across 23 departments (7,250+ contracts, 3,300+ suppliers)
- Oversee five enterprise functions: Management & Budget, Communications, Human Resources, Risk Management, and Procurement/Contracts
- Governance redesign across policy lifecycle, audit response, internal controls, and compliance processes
Special Advisor to the City Manager
Senior advisor to the City Manager on administrative, financial, operational, and organizational issues, leading cross-functional initiatives and translating complex problems into actionable recommendations.
- Led the City’s annual strategic planning refresh in partnership with the City Commission: facilitated workshops, synthesized input, and produced the updated plan with goals, measures, and accountable owners
- Built and launched governance for the City’s $32.4M ARPA program: intake, prioritization, controls, and documentation standards for federal compliance
- Served on the Workday ERP post-go-live stabilization committee: root-cause analysis, configuration corrections, and SIT/UAT retesting
- Owned executive performance reporting and KPI/OKR reviews, translating operational and financial results into trend narratives and action recommendations
- Helped establish a policy review committee and standardized the policy lifecycle from inventory through approval and publication
Finance Director
Led a 43-person team spanning accounting, treasury, payroll, budget, procurement, contract management, internal controls, pensions, investments, and risk management.
- Led finance operations for a $366.2M operating and capital budget, providing stewardship, controls, and decision support
- Stabilized and advanced audit remediation following extensive external findings: diagnosed capability gaps, partnered on workforce realignment, and implemented corrective action plans
- Strengthened forecasting, monthly reporting, and audit readiness, improving budget-to-actual visibility for leadership
- Managed treasury and controllership functions including payroll, banking, revenue collections, debt service, and financial controls
- Administered retirement plans and coordinated with investment advisors, pension committees, and the City Commission on pension governance
Director of Financial Services
Led a 42-person team across accounting, payroll, and treasury operations, providing financial stewardship and executive reporting for a $585.2M operating and capital multi-fund budget.
- Managed $585.2M in total financial activity including operating, capital, and debt portfolios
- Oversaw a $165M general obligation bond initiative supporting public safety, parks, infrastructure, and resiliency
- Owned finance and budget implementation readiness for Oracle Cloud ERP: requirements, fit-gap, configuration approvals, SIT/UAT oversight, and training
- Modernized legacy finance systems for accounting, payroll, and budgeting, improving transaction reliability and cross-functional efficiency
- Oversaw budget development, long-range financial planning, and capital program management
Director of Budget & Performance Improvement
Led a 20-person team across budget, capital planning, internal audit, grants operations, and performance management, with responsibility for a $605M operating budget and $1.7B capital program.
- Directed $605M operating budget and $1.7B capital improvement program
- Implemented citywide performance management process: defined KPIs, aligned priorities to outcomes, and established reporting cadence
- Oversaw strategic planning processes including annual Commission retreats and strategic plan updates
- Oversaw the internal audit function, strengthening internal controls, policy compliance, and integrity of performance measures
- Performance management, decision support, and executive reporting to City Manager and Commission
Deputy Commerce Director, Finance & Administration
Led a 15-person finance and administration division supporting departmental operations and program execution for a $97.3M economic development portfolio.
- Directed financial planning and oversight for the department’s operating budget across economic development programs
- Led administrative operations including procurement, payroll, contracts and vendor management, and IT
- Advised the Commerce Director on budget strategy, financial controls, and compliance with City policies
Deputy Budget Director
Led financial planning and budget policy development within the Office of Budget and Program Evaluation.
- Developed the City’s Annual Five-Year Financial and Strategic Plan and supporting decision materials for executive leadership
- Led FP&A work supporting long-range planning: financial models, scenario analyses, and resource allocation recommendations
- Led implementation of CGI budgeting system to enable program-based budgeting and strengthen decision-ready analysis
- Oversaw citywide performance monitoring and reporting, informing leadership decisions and course corrections
Assistant Budget Director
Led planning and execution of the City’s operating and capital budget cycles, directing a team of budget analysts and shaping citywide budget policy and funding recommendations.
- Shaped citywide budget policy by evaluating agency requests, revenue assumptions, and service impacts, translating analysis into decision-ready options for senior leadership
- Managed the budget hearing cycle and supporting materials for Council and public hearings
- Conducted fiscal and operational studies to identify efficiencies, recommend reallocations, and inform policy decisions
Capital Budget & Program Analyst
Managed capital budgets and financial transactions for 12 departments, supporting an approximately $1.5B capital program.
- Reviewed departmental capital requests for compliance, funding availability, and strategic alignment
- Monitored active capital projects for adherence to budget, debt limits, and grant requirements
- Improved capital budget procedures to strengthen internal controls and consistency across departments
Financial Services & Client Management
Client relationship management in retirement and employee benefits consulting (Benefits Plus Consulting Group) and a finance, sales, and operations leadership rotational program (GMAC/Ally Financial).
Three patterns that matter more than job titles.
Every role has involved enterprise-level scope: large budgets, complex portfolios, multiple departments, and high-stakes operating environments where execution failures are visible and consequential.
Political complexity, regulatory scrutiny, tight timelines, competing stakeholders. The work has consistently required disciplined judgment and follow-through under real institutional pressure.
Every role has left the organization stronger than I found it: audits remediated, ERP stabilized post-go-live, governance and internal controls redesigned, and executive operating systems built to outlast a single tenure.
The labels change. The work doesn’t.
Municipal finance, federal compliance, ERP transformation, audit response, and executive coordination aren’t sector-specific — the architecture moves to foundations, hospitals, higher ed, and large nonprofits with the same playbook.
The right opportunity is one with meaningful scope and a real mandate to perform.
Full-time roles, advisory engagements, and conversations about what's next. Most actively pursuing work in municipal, public-authority, higher-ed, healthcare, and large-nonprofit environments. Adjacent opportunities welcome. Gainesville, FL or remote. Available now.