James E. Glassman
Managing Director & Head Economist, Commercial Banking
As managing director and head economist for Commercial Banking, James Glassman provides market insights to help clients better understand the changing economy and its impact on their business.

A publisher of independent research on the principal forces shaping the economy and financial markets, Mr. Glassman is regularly cited in the financial media, where he is also a frequent commentator on economic policy issues. Additionally, he is a long-standing participant in the widely followed Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Survey of Professional Forecasters and the National Association of Business Economists’ panel of macro-economic forecasters.

From 1979 through 1988, Mr. Glassman served as a senior economist in the Research & Statistics and Monetary Affairs departments at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. His responsibilities ranged from analysis and forecasting of inflation and labor market developments, to analysis of the Federal Reserve’s operating strategies and interest rate markets, to the development of monetary and reserves projections. He joined Morgan Guaranty in 1988 and then Chemical Bank in 1993, which, through a combination of mergers, became JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Mr. Glassman earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Illinois, Chicago. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University.

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Tom Dworetsky, AICP
Director, Camoin Associates
Tom’s role at Camoin Associates focuses on harnessing the power of data to uncover economic development opportunities and measure the results of strategic implementation. As leader of Camoin’s Data Team, he is well-versed in a broad array of economic data sources and methodologies that get to the core of critical research questions and produce insights that lead to action.

Having analyzed dozens of distinct industries across the economy, Tom is adept at leveraging industry research to inform economic development strategic planning initiatives. He has led and completed a variety of supply chain studies, economic and fiscal impact analyses, and real estate analyses. His work has included quantifying the impacts of complex policies and plans, building pro forma financial models for large development projects, and conducting regional and site-specific market analyses for a range of communities and use types.

As an AICP-certified planner with experience in both real estate and land use planning, Tom brings expertise for tackling economic development challenges in communities with unique market conditions. He has a special interest in strategies for downtown revitalization and the positive economic impacts that reinvigorating historic town centers can have on communities. Taking a data-driven approach, Tom has advanced innovative, community-specific initiatives to spur revitalization through redevelopment, business attraction, adaptive reuse, and other creative methods.

Tom holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University.

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Victoria Storrs
President and CEO, Storrs Associates LLC
Victoria Storrs is the President of Storrs Associates, LLC, an economic development and development finance consulting firm she founded in 2021 to advise public and private entities seeking to encourage economic growth and private investment. She works as an advisor and partner with municipalities and economic development organizations to fulfill their goals for economic vitality, supporting their planning and decisions with qualitative and quantitative research and analysis. She assists departments and organizations tasked with supporting projects by providing advisory services for special district formation and legislation, financial incentives, project evaluation practices and benchmarking, and mission and governance, and has been invited to speak at state and regional conferences and conduct workshops on economic development trends, Opportunity Zones, and tax abatement tools.

She has assisted municipalities and their public and private partners for more than 20 years, beginning as an investment banker at First Albany Corporation, and then managing debt financings for the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation. She taught money and capital markets at the State University of New York at Albany School of Business. Her economic development work began as an independent consultant, and she later joined Camoin Associates of Saratoga Springs, where she conducted market and industry sector analyses, strategic plans, regulatory and policy reviews, and guided implementation of financial assistance tools such as PILOTs and tax increment financing, becoming the firm’s first Development Finance Practice Leader. During her tenure at Camoin Associates, she wrote the DIF Guide and other materials for MassDevelopment, and has implemented multiple special districts for municipalities in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Victoria holds an MBA in Finance from the State University of New York at Albany School of Business and a BA from Williams College in Williamstown, MA and is the Chair of the Town of Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency.

Please visit Storrs Associates, LLC at www.storrsassociates.com.

Andrew Kleine
Senior Director, Government & Public Sector, Ernst & Young, LLP
Andrew Kleine is Senior Director – Government & Public Sector at EY-Parthenon, a global advisory firm.

Andrew is a nationally recognized leader in budgeting for outcomes, performance management, long-term financial planning, and business process improvement. He is the author of City on the Line: How Baltimore Transformed Its Budget to Beat the Great Recession and Deliver Outcomes (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).

Andrew’s 25-year career has included leadership roles in both federal and local government, including as Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County, Maryland; Budget Director for the City of Baltimore; and CFO for AmeriCorps.

For his leadership in guiding Baltimore through the Great Recession, Andrew received the 2016 National Public Service Award from the American Society for Public Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration.

Andrew lives in Silver Spring, Maryland

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Chris Morrill
Executive Director and CEO, GFOA
Chris Morrill is the Executive Director/CEO of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the US & Canada, a 21,000 member professional association that advances excellence in government finance to build thriving communities. He has decades of experience in local government, serving as city manager of the City of Roanoke, VA, the only seven-time All-America City, Assistant City Manager and Budget Director for the City of Savannah, GA, a budget analyst for Catawba County, NC, and downtown project manager for Lynn, MA.

Chris also served as Senior Municipal Finance Advisor to the South African National Treasury under a United States 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. He was in the first group of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers in the former Soviet Union, where he advised the City of L’viv, Ukraine on finance and management issues.

Morrill 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. He 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.

Chris is a recipient of the Southern Christian Leadership Council (Roanoke Chapter) Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award. He is an ICMA Credentialed Manager, a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and a leadership fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of the Holy Cross and a Masters of Public Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Shayne Kavanagh
Senior Manager of Research
Shayne is the Senior Manager of Research for GFOA and has been a leader in developing the practice and technique of long-term financial planning and policies for local government. He started GFOA's long-term financial planning and policy consulting offering in 2002 and has been working with governments on financial planning and policies ever since. Shayne has worked with many governments of different sizes and types on financial planning and policies across the United States and Canada.

Shayne's financial planning experience also drives his research at GFOA. He is the author of a number of influential publications on financial planning, including:

• The leading and highly regarded book about long-term financial planning in local government, Financing the Future.

• Financial Policies: Design and Implementation, GFOA's flagship publication on the topic.

• Informed Decision-Making through Forecasting: A Practitioner’s Guide to Revenue Analysis.

• Financial Foundations for Thriving Communities, GFOA’s latest and most complete guidance for how to achieve and maintain the financial health of local governments.

• A number of articles on long-term financial planning, financial policies, budget reform, using technology to improve efficiency, and other related topics for magazines including Government Finance Review, Public Management, School Business Affairs, and Public CIO.

Prior to joining GFOA, Shayne was the Assistant Village Manager for the Village of Palos Park, Illinois, where he was responsible for managing all aspects of financial management operations, including budgeting, utility billing, payroll, and accounting. He received his MPA degree from Northern Illinois University.

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Lisa Parker, CPA, CGMA
Senior Project Manager, GASB
Lisa Parker is a senior project manager with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Prior to joining the GASB in 2008, Lisa worked for Runyon Kersteen Ouellette CPAs for 10 years, the town of Old Orchard Beach, Maine as finance director and interim town manager for 2 years, and the city of Saco, Maine as finance director for 8 years.

Lisa is a certified public accountant and a chartered global management accountant. She also is a member of the Association of Governmental Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Maine Society of Certified Public Accountants, where she served as president. Previously, Lisa was president of the Maine Governmental Finance Officers Association, an executive board member of the New England Governmental Finance Officers Association, and a member of a national GFOA standing committee.

Lisa attended Boston College and the University of Southern Maine graduating with magna cum laude honors and a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

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Nora Wittsruck
Director - ESG Lead, S&P Ratings
Nora joined S&P Global Ratings in January 2016 and is currently a Director – ESG Lead serving as the subject matter expert for ESG in Credit Ratings initiatives. She also is the analytical lead for New York City and on the analytical team for the State of Texas. Prior to joining S&P Global, Nora worked for the State of Florida in the Division of Bond Finance as a Bond Development Specialist. The Division of Bond Finance is responsible for managing the long term debt issuance process for state agencies including the Department of Transportation and the State Colleges and Universities.

Previous work history includes Moody’s Investors Service as an Assistant Vice President/Analyst covering local government credits in the West, Midwest and Southwest states. Additionally, Nora spent a short time at FirstSouthwest Company (a division of Hilltop Securities) managing the Continuing Disclosure department.

Nora received her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.

Regina Ryan, Esq.
Founder and President, Discrimination and Harassment Solutions
Discrimination and Harassment Solutions, LLC (DHS) was created in response to the need of employers to be in compliance with the law by creating a workplace free of harassment and discrimination. In order to accomplish this goal, it is critical for employers to implement strong policies and procedures, conduct effective investigations when allegations of wrongdoing are made and provide proper training for employees. DHS provides an efficient way to satisfy these goals in a cost effective manner. Specifically, specialized and interactive training services to educate employees on issues involving discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation and other employment related issues are provided. Also independent investigative services to resolve internal employee disputes are available with a comprehensive report outlining findings of fact and conclusions.

Ms. Ryan practiced law at Louison, Costello, Condon & Pfaff for 26 years specializing in employment litigation. In addition to her litigation experience, Ms. Ryan completed multiple MCAD certified training courses for conducting investigations and trainings related to discrimination and/or harassment in the workplace. She also holds the ATIXA Civil Rights Investigator Level Two Certification for Title IX investigations.

Ms. Ryan has been a featured speaker at many conferences focusing on topics including sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace and Title IX investigations.

www.dhsworks.com

Alexandria Zhang
Research Officer, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Alexandria Zhang is a research officer at The Pew Charitable Trusts and researches state fiscal policies and best practices, including those related to revenue volatility, marijuana taxation, local fiscal distress, and economic development. Prior to Pew, she worked at the U.S. Census Bureau and Yale Law School. She has a Ph.D. in Economics from The Johns Hopkins University.