Angele Davis has earned a unique reputation as a respected public servant and business executive, with sixteen years of leadership applying strategic planning models in both public- and private-sector environments. She is currently the commissioner of administration for the state of Louisiana, serving as chief financial adviser to Governor Bobby Jindal and chief administrative officer for the state. A strong proponent of reinventing government, she has implemented a results-based budgeting process for all state departments to ensure that taxpayer dollars are invested in programs that result in improved outcomes for citizens. In addition, as an advocate for more accountability and transparency in government spending, she has launched Louisiana’s first online expenditure and accountability portal, LaTrac. She is a strong advocate for e-government and the promise of technology to streamline governmental services, drawing on her prior experience as a management consultant with a national technology corporation. As an advocate for public-private partnerships, she worked with the Select Council on Revenues and Expenditures in Louisiana’s Future and cabinet-level officials to implement practices designed to streamline state government operations.
T. Eloise Foster was the first African-American woman to serve as the chief budget officer of a state, having been appointed in 2000 as the secretary of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management. Although she left the position in early 2003 to pursue an administrative position in higher education, in January 2007 she was nominated by Governor Martin O’Malley to return to state government and serve once again as secretary of the department. As secretary, she serves as the chief fiscal adviser to the governor and the chief executive of the department. As such, she is responsible for overall development and management of Maryland’s $31 billion operating and $1.5 billion capital budget, a personnel system for a workforce of 50,000 employees, and a comprehensive employee benefits program for state employees and retirees, covering more than 200,000 lives. Previously, Ms. Foster served as the deputy secretary and assistant secretary of the department, as well as assistant dean for business affairs and program development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Earlier in her career, she held positions in which she was responsible for legislative matters for the governor’s office and the analysis of legislation for the Maryland General Assembly. Upon her retirement from state service in 2005, she established T. Eloise Foster & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in fiscal management and public policy issues. Among Ms. Foster’s professional affiliations is an honorary lifetime membership in the National Association of State Budget Officers. She has held memberships in the National Forum for Black Administrators and the National Black MBA Association. Active in community service, she has served on the Howard University Cancer Center advisory board and the Seton Keough school board. She recently served on the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and she is a member of the Washington Women’s Investment Club. Named one of Maryland’s “Top 100 Women” in 2002 and 2007, she has also received awards for leadership and service to the state of Maryland. Ms. Foster holds a B.A. in business administration from Howard University and an M.B.A. from American University, and she has completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University.
Natwar M. Gandhi is the chief financial officer for the District of Columbia and is responsible for the city’s finances, including approximately $7 billion in annual operating and capital funds. He manages the District’s financial operations, which include more than 1,000 staff members in tax and revenue administration; the treasury, comptroller, and budget offices; economic/fiscal analysis and revenue estimation functions; agency financial operations; and the D.C. lottery. He works closely with congressional committees and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget staff that oversee the District’s affairs. He also regularly interacts with the Wall Street financial community, including rating agencies, regarding the District’s financial matters. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Gandhi served as deputy chief financial officer for tax and revenue, leading an organization that administers the District of Columbia’s tax laws. Prior to this, he served as associate director of tax policy and administration for the U.S. General Accounting Office, where he managed major research projects involving tax policy relating to large financial institutions. In 1991, he served as a special assistant to New Jersey Governor Jim Florio, where he studied the state’s pension system and advised on changes in its funding. From 1973 to 1976, Mr. Gandhi was assistant professor of accounting and then coordinator of the Department of Accounting in the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Business. From 1976 until 1998, he was an adjunct professor for the M.B.A. programs of American University, Georgetown University, and the University of Maryland. In 2007, Mr. Gandhi was named one of Governing magazine’s 2007 “Public Officials of the Year” and one of Washingtonian magazine’s 150 “Most Powerful Public Officials.” He was also named one of Washingtonian magazine’s 2006 “Washingtonians of the Year” and was a recipient of the Association of Government Accountants’ 2007 Distinguished Local Government Leadership Award. His other honors include the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Meritorious Leadership Award and the D.C. Chamber of Commerce Impact Award in 2005, as well as Achievement of the Year Awards from the Association of Government Accountants. He also received the President’s Award from the Greater Washington Society of CPAs in 2000, and Distinguished Service and Meritorious Service Awards from the General Accounting Office. In 2005, the National Academy of Public Administration elected him as a fellow. He is also a member of the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C. He holds a doctorate in accounting from Louisiana State University, a master’s degree in business administration from Atlanta University, and an L.L.B. and B.Com. in accounting from the University of Bombay.
Whit Kling is a thirty-six-year veteran of state government and has served as director/secretary of the State Bond Commission for the past four years. Prior to this position, he served in a variety of positions, including assistant commissioner of the Division of Administration for fifteen years, director of the Office of Risk Management, director of the Division of Support Services, and director of the Office of Statewide Fiscal Reporting and Accounting Policy. Mr. Kling is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a B.S. in business administration, and he holds CPA and CGFM certification. He is a member of the board of directors of the Louisiana Deferred Compensation Commission.
Jonathan Miller was appointed by Governor Steve Beshear in December 2007 to serve as Kentucky’s secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet. As the state’s chief financial officer, he oversees the agency that operates as the hub of state government, and serves on dozens of state boards, covering policy matters that range from higher education to environmental protection, from affordable housing to the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Prior to his appointment to the Beshear cabinet, he served for eight years as Kentucky’s state treasurer, having been elected statewide in 1999 and reelected in 2003. In May 2001, Mr. Miller was appointed to the Executive Monitoring Committee of state and local financial officers, which monitors the return of assets seized during the Holocaust to their rightful owners. In March 2002, he was one of 200 distinguished delegates appointed by President Bush and congressional leaders to the 2002 National Summit on Retirement Savings charged with developing strategies to ensure a secure and dignified retirement for all Americans. Mr. Miller has been active in the political arena, serving on the Democratic National Committee Rules Committee in 2008, as chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party in 2007, and having a featured speaking role at the Democratic National Convention in 2000. He also has played several leadership roles in his community, including service on the board of the Lexington Urban League. He is an avid speaker and author. Prior to his service in state government, Mr. Miller was an aide to former Vice President Al Gore, deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Energy, legislative director for Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper, and an attorney in private practice for Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C., and Miller, Griffin & Marks in Lexington. He graduated with high honors from both Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
Christopher Morrill currently serves as the assistant city manager for the city of Savannah, Georgia, where he leads the management and financial services bureau. From 1999 through 2001, he served as senior municipal finance adviser to the South African National Treasury under a U.S. Agency for International Development project. In this position, he assisted the South African government with developing local government finance legislation, municipal budget reforms, and capacity-building programs. From 1990 through 1992 and 1994 through 1999, he served as research and budget director for the city of Savannah. Mr. Morrill completed a three-year fellowship in the Kellogg National Leadership Program, exploring conflict resolution and community building in Peru, China, Northern Ireland, and South Africa. He served from 1992 through 1994 as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the former Soviet Union, where he advised the city of Lviv, Ukraine, on finance and management issues. He co-authored “The Savannah Story: The Road to Equity and Sustainable Community Development” in Economic Development in American Cities: the Pursuit of an Equity Agenda. Mr. Morrill is an International City/County Management Association credentialed manager and serves on the executive board of the Government Finance Officers Association. He served on the association’s standing committee on governmental budgeting and management and the standing committee on economic development and capital planning. He now serves as president of Leadership Savannah and as a board member on the United Way of the Coastal Empire, Charles Ellis Montessori Academy, and the Historic Savannah Foundation. He received a B.A. in political science from the College of the Holy Cross, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Jeffrey A. Yates currently serves as the chief financial officer/director of finance and has been with Kansas City since September 2008. Before going to Kansas City, he served as the chief financial officer for the city of Lubbock, Texas, the budget officer for the city of Portsmouth, Virginia, and as a management and budget analyst with the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Before serving in government, he taught high school social studies in Kennesaw, Georgia. Mr. Yates holds a master’s of public administration degree from Regent University and a bachelor’s degree in social science and education from Liberty University.
