[email protected]
70 W Madison Street, Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312.454.3987

Dr. Lindsey Piegza is the Chief Economist for Stifel Fixed Income. She specializes in research and analysis of economic trends and activity, world economies, financial markets and fiscal policies.

Piegza joined Stifel in 2015 amid the merger with Sterne Agee where she was Chief Economist. Prior to her roles with Stifel and Sterne Agee, she was the Senior Economist for an investment bank for eight years in New York City.

In addition to more than 13 years of professional experience, Piegza has published academic papers in prestigious journals such as the Harvard Business Review and in textbooks from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Often quoted in the business press, Piegza is a regular guest on CNBC, Fox News, CNN and Bloomberg, as well as national radio and other business news outlets. She is also a highly sought after speaker across national and international forums.

Piegza is a member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and American Economic Association (AEA). She holds a B.A. from Northwestern University in political science and a B.A. in economics with honors and distinction. She earned her Ph.D. in economics from the City University of New York. She is a native of Chicago and is based in Stifel’s downtown Chicago office.

[email protected]
4016 Allston Street
Suite 4
Cincinnati, OH 45209
Phone: (513) 758-8494

Ryan has over 25 years of experience in the investment industry with extensive knowledge concerning fixed income markets. For the last 18 years, he has specialized in assisting public entities and other agencies with their fixed income needs. Ryan leads business development at RedTree and oversees the firm’s investment process. His dedication to delivering unmatched service is evident by the many long-standing client relationships he maintains. 

Prior Experience
•  Baird Public Investment Advisors, Director and Portfolio Manager
•  Seasongood Asset Management, LLC, Chief Investment Officer 
•  Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc., Fixed Income Portfolio Manager 

Speaking Engagements
Ryan speaks regularly at professional development and continuing education training events, including those offered by the Ohio Treasury’s Center for Public Investment Management (CPIM). He is a sought-after speaker on financial topics and frequently presents to industry groups across the midwestern U.S.  Ryan’s speaking topics include:  Economic outlook, Interest rates, Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Chapter 135 Allowable Investments, and The Federal Reserve.

Education

Master of Business Administration, Xavier University

Bachelor of Science in Accounting, University of Kentucky

Certifications

Chartered Finance Analyst (CFA)

Series 7, 24, 65 (inactive)

[email protected]
348 South Cassingham Road
Bexley, OH 43209
Phone: (614) 231-7611

Kyle F. Smith became the Treasurer/CFO of Bexley City Schools in January 2017. Since 2007 Kyle has served as Assistant Treasurer (2009) and Treasurer (2012) of Portsmouth City Schools and Assistant Treasurer at Upper Arlington City Schools (2016). He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration (finance) from Ohio University’s Athens campus. He serves as a trustee on the Government Finance Officers Association of Ohio and on two committees (Legislative & Finance) of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. 

[email protected]
5572 Princeton Rd
Liberty Twp, OH 45011
Phone: (937) 763-0746

Adam Zink has spent the last year and a half as the Assistant Treasurer of the Lakota Local School District. Mr. Zink also served for two and a half years as Treasurer/CFO of the Hillsboro City School District.  He is the past-president of the Ohio Valley OASBO chapter. 

[email protected]
5640 Briarcliff Drive
Garfield Heights, OH 44125
Phone: (216) 701-0495

Allen (Al) Sluka has spent the past 13 years as the Treasurer/CFO of the Garfield Heights City Schools.  Prior to that he was Treasurer /CFO for Independence Local Schools for nine years.  An active member of OASBO, he is an OASBO Leadership Academy graduate (Class of 2003), Past president of the NE Chapter of OASBO, served on OASBO’s Board of Directors as the Northeast Regional Director to the OASBO Board (2013-2015).  Mr. Sluka also served as the Treasurer Rep on the LNOCA ITC Board.
Prior to assuming these positions, Mr. Sluka spent 15 years with the Auditor of State’s Office.  He is a graduate of Bowling Green State University.  His wife Martha works for Cuyahoga Valley Career Center. Their son Doug is a graduate of Miami of Ohio.

[email protected]
PO Box 230
Vermillion, OH 44089
Phone: (216) 215-7753

Mr. Sudsina, CEO of Sudsina & Associates, LLC, provides financial advisory and deal structuring services, plays an active role in the preparation of official statements for clients and regularly prepares issuers for credit rating presentations. His most critical role, however, is providing pricing and structuring oversight to ensure on-market pricing with the most flexible terms for clients' financings. He has served as financial advisor or lead banker to nearly 50 cities, counties, schools and special districts in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Overall, he has participated in more than 300 financings amounting to over $3 billion in par value.

Mike is one of only two Certified Independent Public Financial Advisors in the State of Ohio, a certification bestowed upon only highly qualified professionals by the National Association of Independent Public Financial Advisors (NAIPFA). He has published articles on the topic of municipal finance and lectured to numerous academic and professional organizations. He has served on the Debt Policy Committee of the Association of Public Treasurers of the U.S. and Canada, is a member of that organization of of the Government Finance  Officers Association, the Cleveland Chapter of the Municipal Finance Officers Association, the Association of School Business Officials and Sudsina & Associates is a firm member of NAIPFA. Mike has served on NAIPFA's Board of Directors and currently serves as the organizations Treasurer.

Mr. Sudsina formed Sudsina & Associates in 2002, after 10 years with A.G. Edwards' Cleveland Public Finance group and as head of Fifth Third Securities Cleveland Public Finance practice. Prior to his investment banking career, he held positions with Price Waterhouse, the City of Cleveland's Finance and Economic Development Departments and the firm of Deloitte & Touche. He received his B.S. in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and MBA, with a concentration in finance, from Cleveland State University, holds a CPA certificate and has passed a variety of securities exams.

[email protected]
6100 Oak Tree Boulevard
Suite 200
Independence, OH 44131
Phone: (440) 617-5720

Michael Prcela has provided expertise to school systems, municipalities, and not for profits for over 15 years in Northeast Ohio. Michael has successfully completed over $1 billion of transactions in his career. Mr. Prcela focuses on transaction structure and marketability. His experience is in the placement of low-grade credits, variable rate structures, derivative swaps, higher education and public school finance. Mr. Prcela’s services are normally dual in nature for his clients, assisting with both structuring as well as credit analysis. Prior to joining Piper Jaffray in March 2012, Mr. Prcela served as Vice President at Fifth Third Securities for 12 years.

Mr. Prcela’s practice has been concentrated on general obligation and revenue debt for school district, municipal, and higher education issuers. As lead investment banker on hundreds of transactions Mr. Prcela has developed unique insight into market driven structures and concepts. Mr. Prcela underwrote Ohio’s largest qualified school construction bond issue in 2010. Mr. Prcela is an honors graduate from Miami University of Ohio and a FINRA registered general securities representative (Series 7 and 63).

[email protected]
PO Box 230
Vermilion, OH 44089
Phone: (216) 288-3983

Michael Prcela has moved to Sudsina & Associates from previous biography.

[email protected]
PO Box 230
Vermillion, OH 44089
Phone: (440) 320-7656

Mr. Van Wagnen provides analytical support for all clients including debt service structuring, actively assisting in the preparation of official statements and credit rating presentation and market research in advance of pricing and post-pricing. 

Prior to joining Sudsina & Associates Greg worked in various roles at JP Morgan Chase.  There he ran the technology aspect of their Wealth Management trading desk. He has also served as a risk management analyst for the JP Morgan Institutional Bond department where corporate client accounts ranged from $100 million to $12 billion.  He has spent time in multiple equity research roles in Columbus and Chicago and in a more analytical role he researched trading slippage costs of different brokers.  Between undergraduate and graduate school Greg worked as an accountant for JP Morgan Chase’s mortgage department.

Greg received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance, and Economics from The Ohio State University and went on to attain a Master of Finance degree, also at OSU.  He is continuing his education in the Chartered Financial Analyst program and is planning to sit for the MSRB’s Series 50 exam.  Before attending college Greg worked at his family’s Cleveland based school bus and coach bus company running their payroll department and filling their general accounting needs.  Greg has also has passed the new Series 50 Pilot Exam for Municipal Advisors.

[email protected]
694 East Washington Street
Medina, OH 44258
Phone: (330) 722-8222

Chad Gorfido is in charge of and manages governmental and not-for-profit audits. He is also responsible for day-to-day audit, client communications and ensuring the timely completion of every audit we take on.  Chad’s topics/areas of expertise include internal control effectiveness and efficiencies, A-133 audits, governmental GAAP accounting, charter school operations and accounting, and audit methodology.  He earned his bachelors’ degrees from Kent State University in accounting and finance and obtained his advanced single audit certification in 2016.

[email protected]
500 West State Street
Fremont, OH 43420
Phone: (419) 334-5442

Amy (Amelia) Gioffredo is the Treasurer/CFO of Fremont City Schools. Amy received her B.S. in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University, as well as B.A. in Fashion Merchandising.  She holds an Ohio School Treasurer license. A member of Ohio Association of School Business Officials, she serves on a variety of committees, has served as Chair of the Volunteer Committee for the Annual Workshop, and is President-Elect for the NW chapter of OASBO.  Amy’s married to Joe, and has two sons, Joey and Ben. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family in the RV or on the boat, or on the Harley with her husband.

[email protected]
21 East State Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 744-5410

Ms. Clark joined the Public Finance group at Fifth Third Securities in 1999.  She began her career with Fifth Third Bank one year earlier in the Public Funds department.  Currently she provides both technical and analytical assistance in the preparation of both long-term and short-term municipal debt.  She has worked on many different types of bond issuance throughout the state such as Ohio school district and municipal issuance of voted general obligation issues, un-voted general obligations, collaborative financings, private placements and certificates of participation.

She has worked with entities to prepare for the rating process as well as analyze the value of additional credit enhancement in the form of bond insurance or the State of Ohio Credit Enhancement Program.  Overall, Ms. Clark has worked with issuers on over $750 million of bond and note issues.

Ms. Clark earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in 1997.  She also earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from Ohio Dominican University in 2008.  She is licensed as a FINRA Registered Representative (Series 7 license) as well as a FINRA Uniform Securities for State Law Agent (Series 63 license).

[email protected]
38 Fountain Square Plaza
Cincinnati, OH 45263
Phone: (513) 579-4300

Brian Seedhouse re-joined Fifth Third Securities in 2016 following a four year period serving as Managing Director for The Huntington Investment Company.  Prior to that, Mr. Seedhouse spent twenty three years with Fifth Third, first in the Institutional Sales group and then starting the Southwest Ohio Underwriting office.  Mr. Seedhouse specializes in Ohio school districts, municipalities, counties, townships, special authorities and higher education.  He has been involved in various types of financings including general obligation, revenue, certificates of participation (COPs), un-voted debt, bond anticipation notes (BANs), rolling note programs, and permanent improvement borrowings.  Mr. Seedhouse is a  Registered General Securities Representative (Series 7), Registered Municipal Securities Representative (Series 52), and Registered Uniform Securities Agent (Series 63). He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Dayton and an MBA from Xavier University.

[email protected]
155 E Broad St
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 463-7335

Jennifer is a treasury management sales officer in the Public Finance Division of PNC in Columbus, Ohio. Jennifer’s 19 years at the bank have been spent in Operations, Finance, and Treasury Management. She services School Districts, Governments, Not-for-Profits, Higher Education entities, providing a variety of account and treasury management solutions. Jennifer earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Economics from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, Master’s Degree in Finance from Franklin University.

[email protected]
155 E Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 463-7553

Laura DiFilippo joined the Ohio Public Finance Group in February 2014 after completing PNC’s Corporate and Institutional Banking Development Program.  During her time in the program, Laura managed a portfolio in PNC’s Energy Group in Pittsburgh. In her current role, Laura evaluates and executes direct purchase agreements and other debt financing solutions across multiple industries including higher education, local and state municipalities and not-for-profit organizations.

[email protected]
4401 Heffron St
Stevens Point, WI 54481
Phone: (715) 340-4479

Scott Gralla, Senior Analytics Advisor

Scott has provided long range planning services to PMA Financial Network, Inc., and Forecast5 Analytics, Inc. clients for the last twelve years.  During that time, he also taught at University of Wisconsin in the School Business Management Program.  Prior to that, Scott served as Finance Manager with the Stevens Point, WI school district.  Scott remains a licensed school business official in Wisconsin.

[email protected]
1609 N. Summit, Treasurer Office
Treasurer Office
Toledo, OH 43604
Phone: 419-671-0530

Ryan Stechschulte has been the Treasurer/Chief Fiscal Officer of the Toledo City School District since July 2015. Mr. Stechschulte has more than 20 years of experience in the fiscal management of Ohio public schools. Mr. Stechschulte has held the position of Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer for Lima City Schools in Allen County, Ottawa Hills Local School District in Lucas County, Patrick Henry Local School District in Henry County, and the Ada Exempted Village Local School District in Hardin County. Mr. Stechschulte is a past president of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials and has held numerous leadership positions within the Northwest Region of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. Mr. Stechschulte previously served as an auditor for the State of Ohio.

[email protected]
1609 North Summit Street
Toledo, OH 43604
Phone: (419) 671-0370

W. Paul Overman is the Director of Treasury Management for the Toledo City School District, where he has worked since 1988. Mr. Overman oversees the District’s investment portfolio management and bond retirement fund management, as well as the District’s cash accounting and cash flow management.  Mr. Overman is also actively involved in the District’s debt issuance processing and debt and investment policy development.

[email protected]
175 S Third St, Suite 1250
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 264-3022

Mr. Founds joined H. J. Umbaugh & Associates in 2016 following twenty‐five years of combined experience in government finance and investment banking. His experience includes seventeen years as treasurer/CFO for various Ohio school districts and over nine years in public finance and municipal bond underwriting.

Mr. Founds has worked with school districts, municipalities, special taxing districts, and other municipal debt issuers. He has been involved in various types of financings including general obligation, certificates of participation (COPs), unvoted debt, bond anticipation notes (BANs), rolling note programs, and permanent improvement borrowing.  

Mr. Founds has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University.  He also completed a Master of Business Administration and Master of Education from Ashland University.  Mr. Founds is a Registered General Securities Principal (Series 24) Registered General Securities Representative (Series 7), Registered Municipal Securities Principal (Series 53), and Registered Uniform Securities Agent (Series 63).

[email protected]
5175 Emerald Parkway
4th Floor
Dublin, OH 43017
Phone: 6147645913

Brian returned to Dublin City Schools in the fall of 2016 from the Olentangy Local School District where he served as the Treasurer/CFO from 2013-2016. Prior to becoming the Olentangy Treasurer/CFO, he worked for the Dublin City Schools Finance Department for 10 years. He served as an accountant from 2003-2007, and as assistant treasurer from 2007 to 2013.

Brian's depth of experience, proven track record of taxpayer dollars stewardship, private sector experience, and knowledge of the District puts Dublin City Schools in a great position to move forward.

Brian worked for the Auditor of State of Ohio from 1996-2001, serving as Assistant Auditor and Auditor in Charge. He has private sector experience as a Senior Auditor with Haran, Watson & Company Inc. He served as an Ohio Association of School Business Officials officer from 2009-2013. He holds a B.S. in Accounting and Public Administration from Heidelberg College.

Brian is leading a Dublin City Schools finance staff that has led the way in helping our District earn the highest possible credit rating from Standard and Poor’s, implement several successful cost cutting initiatives, create an innovative staff wellness program, and repeatedly earn the Auditor of State Award of Distinction for clean and accurate financial reporting.

Brian is uniquely positioned to continue to build on the Dublin City Schools foundation and move the District forward into an exciting future.

[email protected]
2140 Atlas Street
Columbus, OH 43228
Phone: (614) 921-7029

Brian Wilson has spent the last twelve years as the Treasurer/CFO of the Hilliard City School District. While serving in this position he has been involved in the successful passage of bond, permanent improvement and operating levies.  Mr. Wilson also served for six years as Treasurer/CFO of the Newark City School District.  He has been involved in the issuance of more than $250 million in general obligation debt to either construct facilities or save money.
Prior to assuming these positions, Mr. Wilson spent ten years as a Director of Finance in two cities in Ohio.  In addition to a BSBA in Finance, Mr. Wilson holds the degree of MBA/Management, both from the University of Akron.  He is a Past President of the Ohio GFOA and has served on various OASBO committees.

[email protected]
927-A South Street
Pataskala, OH 43062
Phone: (740) 927-3941

Mr. Jones has served as Treasurer of the Southwest Licking Local School District since 1999.  Prior to coming to Southwest Licking, he worked for the State of Ohio Auditors Office for six years.  Mr. Jones received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Heidelberg University and his Masters Degree from Ashland University.  He is a member of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, and the Government Finance Officers Association.

[email protected]
33 Whitehall Street
New York, NY 10004
Phone: (646) 582-4924

Monica Guerra is a public finance professional with ten years of experience conducting financial analysis and developing high profile economic reports and legislative initiatives.  Currently, she serves as a municipal bond analyst in Fitch Ratings' U.S. Public Finance Group.  In this role, she performs in-depth quantitative and qualitative credit analysis of local governments in the Midwest region, including the State of Ohio, and U.S. not-for-profit healthcare institutions.

Prior to working at Fitch Ratings, Monica became an economic development and financial policy expert working for the City of New York and the U.S. House of Representatives. These roles tasked her with identifying opportunities for high impact capital investment and creating meaningful financial policy. Her hands-on government experience is further bolstered by an extensive roster of political campaigns, including work on presidential, congressional, and state office bids.

Monica received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Illinois University and her Masters of Public Administration in Finance from New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.

[email protected]
33 Whitehall Street
New York, NY 10004
Phone: 212.908.0230

Matthew Wong is a Director in Fitch Rating's U.S. Public Finance Department in the Tax-Supported Group.  Matthew's area of focus consists of credit ratings for tax-supported credits in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions, including Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, and New York.

Prior to joining Fitch, Matthew worked at the City of New York for three years for the Independent Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget before a combined six years at Moody's Investors Service, Assured Guaranty, and Kroll Bond Rating Agency.

Matthew received a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College (CT) and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Connecticut.

[email protected]
255 East 5th Street
Suite 1000
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 826-0551

Mr. Cashell is a Managing Director in the Cincinnati, Ohio Municipal Finance office of RBC Capital Markets and manages Public Finance for Ohio.

Mr. Cashell joined RBC Capital Markets in 2002 after serving as Chief Operating Officer/Chief Information Officer for Cincinnati Public Schools. As COO/CIO, Mr. Cashell oversaw all non-instructional areas for the district. Prior to coming to Cincinnati, Mr. Cashell served for nine years in finance, policy and administrative positions in Delaware state government. His last position there was Associate Secretary of Education for Finance, Policy and Administrative Services. In the latter role, Mr. Cashell acted as the Chief Financial Officer for the State Department of Education.

Mr. Cashell specializes in education and local government transactions including tax increment financing (TIF). Mr. Cashell also administers several large structured pooled financing programs in the State of Ohio.

Mr. Cashell currently holds Series 7, Series 63, Series 53, Series 24 and Series 50 licenses. Mr. Cashell holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Economics from the University of Delaware, specializing in mathematical economics and econometrics.

[email protected]
255 East Fifth Street
Suite 1000
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 826-0547

Katie Kleinfelder has worked with municipal clientele since she began her career with Seasongood & Mayer 14 years ago. She was the first woman hired by the firm as a municipal investment banker while she completed her law degree. As a Director with RBC Capital Markets, she works with a broad array of general obligation and revenue credits in Ohio including school districts, universities and colleges, cities, villages, counties and townships.  Her career has allowed her to gain expertise in all sectors of Ohio public finance, and she is the company’s expert on Ohio municipalities, specifically.

Katie personally analyzed and structured over $6 billion of short- and long-term financings.  She has extensive experience financing and refinancing various revenue based funding programs, including various taxable and tax-exempt, fixed and variable rate structures.  Over the past five years, Katie has served a diverse list of municipal clients as senior managing underwriter including the following selected clients: City of Cleveland, Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the City of Kettering, the City of Lima, Denison University, Lakewood City School District, Middletown City School District, The Ohio State University, Northwest Local School District (Hamilton County), and Youngstown State University.

Katie works to tailor the ideal plan of issuance considering the timing of the transaction with the current market environment, the plan of repayment, and to limit the risk of the issuer. Katie is an organized leader; her legal background has served clients well. She offers a critical eye to the bond documentation, compliance, disclosure and overall financing structure.

Katie’s prior experience includes a clerkship with Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton of the State of Ohio Supreme Court. She is an active member of the G.F.O.A. locally, and at the state and national levels. Along with her legal and securities licenses, Katie has a B.A. in Economics, Cum Laude, and is a graduate of the Honor’s Program of Denison University, Granville, Ohio. She obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati, College of Law.  She is the proud mother of four children and resides in Montgomery, Ohio with her family.

[email protected]
212 East Fifth Street
Suite 1000
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 826-0582

Mr. Laskey is a Director in the Cincinnati, Ohio Municipal Finance office of RBC Capital Markets and has worked at RBC Capital Markets since July of 2006.  Andrew has worked with hundreds of local governmental entities throughout Ohio on debt offerings including school districts, cities, counties, townships as well as the State of Ohio.  Additionally, Andrew has presented at numerous conferences on a variety of topics related to municipal bond issues and the bond underwriting process.

Andrew currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Municipal Advisory Council, a repository of statistical information relating to Ohio municipal issuers and their securities.  Mr. Laskey formerly served on the Board of Trustees for Clovernook Center for the Blind in Cincinnati but remains actively involved in the organization. 

Andrew attended the University of Cincinnati and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Honors-PLUS business program. He is a Registered Securities Representative, registered with the NASD and SEC.

[email protected]
255 East Fifth Street Ste 1000
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 621-2000

Corey Marty provides quantitative support to senior and junior bankers, as well as transaction execution and preparation of specialized presentation materials, including rating presentations and market updates. He has five years of experience providing transaction support and quantitative analysis for issuers throughout Ohio, including many school districts. Corey joined RBCCM in 2012 after a role as a Portfolio Manager Assistant at Johnson Investment Counsel in Cincinnati. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance and International Business from the University of Cincinnati, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, and is a CFA Charterholder.

[email protected]
694 East Washington Street
PO Box 485
Medina, OH 44258
Phone: (330) 722-8222

I’m a person who is passionate in everything I do, whether it is with my family or my career. I work hard at work; however, I make sure I dedicate time to myself and family to ensure a strong work/life balance.

Day-to-day activities at Rea:
At Rea, Chad specializes in school and local government auditing, GAAP conversions, agreed upon procedures and consulting.

Topics or areas of expertise that Chad can talk about (even in his sleep):
Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
Statement on auditing standards (SAS)
Generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS)
Internal controls
Fraud risk assessment

How he’s helped clients meet their business needs:
A new treasurer of an entity was not comfortable with the internal controls procedures in place in terms of their efficiency and design to reduce risk. We performed an internal control study to identify potential weaknesses in internal controls and provided recommendations to strengthen internal controls to reduce the risk of errors and/or fraudulent activity.
An entity’s general ledger included several miscoded and/or unrecorded transactions that prevented them from properly preparing financial statements that could be audited. We evaluated the general ledger account coding to provide recommendations to the financial records which would properly report and classify transactions in order to prepare financial statements that can be audited.
An entity was unable to properly reconcile their bank accounts to the general ledgers, primarily caused by inaccurate general ledgers. We assisted in performing bank reconciliations in order to accurate state account balances.

How we know he knows what he’s doing:
Chad earned his bachelor of science in accounting from the University of Akron
He has nearly 20 years of accounting industry experience, with nearly 15 years spent focusing on government entities

Furthering his professional development, Chad is involved with:
American Institute of CPAs
The Ohio Society of CPAs
Government Finance Officers Association (special review executive committee member)
Ohio Government Finance Officers Association (Education committee member)

When he’s not in the office, you can find him:
Golfing
Traveling
Spending time with his wife and children

[email protected]
5775 Perimeter Dr
Dublin, OH 43017
Phone: (614) 923-6586

Chris Liebtag is the president of the Rea Consulting Group, a subsidiary of Rea & Associates, Inc.  He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB) and a certified Lean Gold Practitioner (LGP).  Chris applies his knowledge of Lean Six Sigma along with his facilitation skills to help organizations identify, address and correct the root cause of their inefficiencies.  Chris has been a featured speaker at multiple industry conferences, for the AICPA, and for the Ohio Society of CPAs. He also recently had an article published in Global Business and Organizational Excellence published by Wiley.  Chris has been with Rea & Associates, Inc since 2009 and makes his home with his family in Columbus, Ohio.

[email protected]
270 E. State St
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 365-6405

Stan Bahorek was appointed Treasurer/CFO for Columbus City Schools August 1, 2014.  Immediately prior to that, he was Senior Public Funds Adviser at Meeder Investment Management in Dublin, Ohio.

Stan has over 20 years of experience as a school treasurer/CFO having served the districts of Norton City, South-Western City, Groveport Madison Local, and Worthington City Schools.  His 17 years of private sector experience include working with a variety of Ohio’s public entities advising them on both debt issuance and the investment of public funds in his roles as underwriter and registered investment adviser during his time with Huntington National Bank, Ehrlich Bober, Productive Portfolios, Productive Capital Management and Meeder Investment Management.

Stan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and an MBA degree, both from The Ohio State University with additional post-graduate work at Temple University in Philadelphia and the State University of New York at Buffalo.

[email protected]
160 S. Hamilton Road
Gahanna, OH 43230
Phone: 614-478-5530

Scott is the Treasurer/CFO for Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools.

Scott has been in the school finance business for 25 years. He has previously served as Treasurer/CFO at Fairbanks Local Schools, Fairfield City Schools and Westerville City Schools. He also served as the Director of Fiscal Services at the ESC of Central Ohio and the Executive Director of Finance/Budget at Columbus City Schools. Scott belongs to several professional organizations, served on numerous statewide committees, presented at state and national conferences, and was a member of the Government Finance Officers Association Alliance for Excellence in School Budgeting.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Otterbein University and a Masters of Education from Ashland University.

[email protected]
1609 N. Summit, Treasurer Office
Treasurer Office
Toledo, OH 43604
Phone: 419-671-0530

Ryan Stechschulte has been the Treasurer/Chief Fiscal Officer of the Toledo City School District since July 2015. Mr. Stechschulte has more than 20 years of experience in the fiscal management of Ohio public schools. Mr. Stechschulte has held the position of Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer for Lima City Schools in Allen County, Ottawa Hills Local School District in Lucas County, Patrick Henry Local School District in Henry County, and the Ada Exempted Village Local School District in Hardin County. Mr. Stechschulte is a past president of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials and has held numerous leadership positions within the Northwest Region of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. Mr. Stechschulte previously served as an auditor for the State of Ohio.

[email protected]
203 N. LaSalle Street
Suite 2700
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 977-9700

Matt Bubness works for the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) Research and Consulting Center. Matt serves as the lead contact for GFOA's new best practices for budgeting for school districts and community colleges. In addition, Matt staffs GFOA's Budget Committee and works on consulting engagements centered on improving financial processes. Prior to GFOA, Matt worked for Chicago Public Schools and City Colleges of Chicago. Matt served most recently as the operations and finance director for all special education programming at CPS and also held various roles in budgeting. Prior to this local government experience, Matt worked in the municipal bond field. Matt holds a B.S. in Public Affairs and Masters in Public Administration, but from Indiana University Bloomington. 

[email protected]
5572 Princeton Road
Liberty Township, OH 45011
Phone: (513) 644-1180 Ex. 22009

Jenni Logan is the Treasurer/CFO of the Lakota Local School District in Butler County.  She has held this position since January of 2011.  Prior to that she was a Director in the Public Finance Department of Robert W. Baird & Co.  Ms. Logan has over 20 years of experience serving school districts in Ohio, which include an ESC, JVSD, CSD, LSD and an EVSD.  She has been involved with several state committees for OASBO and served the organization as its state president in 2005-06. Lakota Local School District is a member of the Alliance for Excellence in School Budgeting.

[email protected]
191 West Nationwide Blvd
Suite 300
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 233-5400

Ed Cavezza is a partner with the law firm of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.  He focuses on municipal finance law and serves as bond counsel to many Ohio cities, counties and school districts.  Ed has represented more than one out of every four of Ohio's school districts.

Much of Mr. Cavezza's contact with Ohio school districts involves preparation of tax levy proceedings, energy conservation borrowings, lease purchase financings and voted bond issues.  Ed assists with dozens of Ohio school pre election proceedings each year.

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175 S Third St, Suite 1250
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 264-3022

Mr. Founds joined H. J. Umbaugh & Associates in 2016 following twenty‐five years of combined experience in government finance and investment banking. His experience includes seventeen years as treasurer/CFO for various Ohio school districts and over nine years in public finance and municipal bond underwriting.

Mr. Founds has worked with school districts, municipalities, special taxing districts, and other municipal debt issuers. He has been involved in various types of financings including general obligation, certificates of participation (COPs), unvoted debt, bond anticipation notes (BANs), rolling note programs, and permanent improvement borrowing.  

Mr. Founds has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University.  He also completed a Master of Business Administration and Master of Education from Ashland University.  Mr. Founds is a Registered General Securities Principal (Series 24) Registered General Securities Representative (Series 7), Registered Municipal Securities Principal (Series 53), and Registered Uniform Securities Agent (Series 63).

[email protected]
270 E. State St
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 365-6405

Stan Bahorek was appointed Treasurer/CFO for Columbus City Schools August 1, 2014.  Immediately prior to that, he was Senior Public Funds Adviser at Meeder Investment Management in Dublin, Ohio.

Stan has over 20 years of experience as a school treasurer/CFO having served the districts of Norton City, South-Western City, Groveport Madison Local, and Worthington City Schools.  His 17 years of private sector experience include working with a variety of Ohio’s public entities advising them on both debt issuance and the investment of public funds in his roles as underwriter and registered investment adviser during his time with Huntington National Bank, Ehrlich Bober, Productive Portfolios, Productive Capital Management and Meeder Investment Management.

Stan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and an MBA degree, both from The Ohio State University with additional post-graduate work at Temple University in Philadelphia and the State University of New York at Buffalo.

[email protected]
6125 Memorial Drive
Dublin, OH 43017
Phone: (614) 760-2111

Jason Headings holds a B.S. in Marketing and a B.S. in Finance from Miami University, Richard T. Farmer School of Business and is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT). He has over 12 years of investment experience. As Portfolio Manager of the Meeder Money Market Fund, he has been recognized with the Money Fund Intelligence Award by Crane Data in 2012 and 2013 and the “Top Manager Award” from iMoneyNet in 2011 and 2014. Each of those years the Fund ranked highest in the United States amongst all prime retail money market funds. He is an instructor at various educational seminars.

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88 E Broad St, 7th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-460-3416

Sam Adams joined KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. in 2016. He was previously at PNC Capital Markets and Lancaster Pollard (a boutique mortgage and investment bank). He has been working with public finance clients for 6 years.  Mr. Adams has experience structuring debt solutions for clients in public finance, including Municipalities, School Districts and project developments ranging from affordable housing to healthcare. Mr. Adams specializes in assisting school districts with structured debt solutions and credit rating analysis and optimization. He has been the lead banker on both publically offered issues, rated and unrated, as well as privately placed issues.  His clients include school districts, state agencies, cities, counties, various not-for-profit entities and private developers. 

Mr. Adams graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Economics, from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law with a J.D. and from the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business with an M.B.A. He holds the FINRA Series 7, 63 and 79 licenses. Prior to his career in finance, he worked in management consulting. He is a former Board Member of the Ohio Municipal Advisory Council.

[email protected]
88 E Broad St, 7th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614.460.3479

Charles Wise is a Vice President in the Public Sector Group. In his role with Key, he oversees relationships and works on traditional bank type products, as well as lease and direct placement financings with state, county and municipal entities, k-12 school districts and higher education institutions. Charles began his career in the field of government by serving in the Ohio House of Representatives as a policy advisor to two former Ohio House Speakers working on a variety of issues dealing with commerce and labor, financial institutions, insurance, pensions, public utilities, transportation and public safety, and workers’ compensation. Charles was a member of the Ohio Homeland Security Advisory Council and was elected to the Gahanna Jefferson School Board.  Mr. Wise holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Ohio Dominican University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Franklin University. He also holds his Series 52 and Series 63 license.

[email protected]
171 Montclair Avenue
Circleville, OH 43113
Phone: (740) 497-4555

John Payne is a Partner with Bradley Payne Advisors.  He began his career as a budget analyst and assistant debt manager for the State of Ohio and followed that as an investment banker for more than two decades for two of Ohio’s premier banking groups.  Mr. Payne’s experience includes senior managing or lead advising on several hundred Ohio school bond issues amounting to over $7 billion in offering value.  He created Bradley Payne Advisors in 2009, an independent municipal advisory and consulting firm, where he has been lead advisor for over 100 school bond issues for approximately $1.6 billion in value.    Mr. Payne graduated from Ohio Northern University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business and from Ohio University with a Masters of Political Science.  Mr. Payne is a Registered Municipal Advisor with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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3680 Selma Rd
Springfield, OH 45502
Phone: (937) 328-5378

bio information to follow

[email protected]
25 South Front St
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614.752.1465

For the past 4 years Brian has served as the Executive Director of the Office of School Finance at the Ohio Department of Education.  Prior to becoming Executive Director, he served as the Director of the Office of Federal and State Grants Management for 12 years. With Brian’s expanded role he not only oversees Office of Grants Management, but now manages additional offices which include; Field Services, Fiscal Oversight and Accountability, External Monitoring, Transportation and Medicaid.

In addition, Brian served on the steering committee to develop and implement a new Statewide E-grant system.  The new system rolled out in 2017 with several agencies in implementation mode.

Prior to joining the ODE, Brian served with the Auditor of State and the Ohio Department of Development as Audit Supervisor.  During his time with the Auditor of State’s Office Brian was in charge of the Department Human Services at both the state and county levels.   While with the Department of Development he completed financial/programmatic compliance audits and technical assistance to Cities, Counties and Non-Profits.

[email protected]
6125 Memorial Drive
Dublin, OH 43017
Phone: (614) 760-2111

Jason Headings holds a B.S. in Marketing and a B.S. in Finance from Miami University, Richard T. Farmer School of Business and is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT). He has over 12 years of investment experience. As Portfolio Manager of the Meeder Money Market Fund, he has been recognized with the Money Fund Intelligence Award by Crane Data in 2012 and 2013 and the “Top Manager Award” from iMoneyNet in 2011 and 2014. Each of those years the Fund ranked highest in the United States amongst all prime retail money market funds. He is an instructor at various educational seminars.