Government Treasurers' Organization of Texas

President - Louise Richman, City of Baytown
Louise has over 25 years professional experience serving not for profit and governmental entities. She has worked for the City of Bellaire and the Metropolitan Authority of Harris County and most recently has taken the Director of Finance position with the City of Baytown. As a volunteer, Louise has served as mayor for the City of Spring Valley Village and on various local boards including trustee for St. Francis Episcopal Day School, The Gilbert and Sullivan Society Foundation and the Metro pension committees. She currently serves on the Planning and Zoning Commission for Spring Valley Village. Louise received her BA degree from the University of Texas at Austin and her MBA degree from Houston Baptist University. Louise is a Certified Public Accountant.

President Elect - Holly Broussard, Lower Colorado River Authority
Holly has worked for the Lower Colorado River Authority since 2003.  She was the Investment Analyst for 3 years and now serves as the Debt Administrator with back-up responsibilities in cash management.  Previously, Holly was the Cash/Investment Analyst for Travis County from 1992 to 1995.  Prior to Travis County, she worked for what is now Bank of America as a Credit Analyst and then as a Banking Officer from 1989 to1992.  Holly has her BA in Plan II and MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.  In addition, she is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP).

Vice President- Rene Barajas, Garland ISD
Rene Barajas is the Chief Financial Officer for the Garland Independent School District. Prior to Garland, Rene served as the Assistant Superintendent for Business and Support Services for the San Marcos CISD for seven years. At Garland, his responsibilities include overseeing operations in finance, maintenance, purchasing, payroll, a special events center and the tax office. Rene has also served as Director of Business for the Ft. Sam Houston ISD in San Antonio, Business Manager for the Crosby ISD in Houston, and Internal Auditor for the Judson ISD, also in San Antonio. Besides a member of GTOT, Rene is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association and the Texas Association of School Business Officials. Since 2003, Rene has served on the board of the Texas Association of School Board's Risk Management Fund. Rene received a BBA in accounting, an MBA in Management of Technology, both from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas.

Treasurer- Deborah Laudermilk, Travis County
Debbie has been the Investment Officer for Travis County since 2009. She previously held various financial and investment positions for both public and corporate entities and was responsible for investor relations at Active Power, Golfsmith, SigmaTel and Silicon Labs. From 1998 to 2000 Debbie worked in Temple Inland's Treasury department and managed cash and investments as well as managing financings. She began her investment career at Teacher Retirement System of Texas initially as equity analyst and then portfolio manager/investment officer for a total of 18 years. Debbie holds a BBA in International Business and Finance from the University of Texas and an MBA in Management from St. Edwards University.

Secretary - Donna Todd, City of Spring Valley Village
Donna is the City Treasurer for the City of Spring Valley and is responsible for the accounting, cash and investment management, payroll, accounts payable, budgeting, utility billing, and municipal court operations. She began her career in municipal government at Texas Municipal Power Agency serving as Finance Manager and later as Treasurer. She most recently served as Chief Financial Officer for the City of Bellaire and previously served as Treasurer for the City of Bryan. Donna has been a member of GTOT since 1989 and is also a member of GFOAT and the Gulf Coast Chapter of GFOA. Donna graduated from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Accounting and later received an MBA in Finance from the University of St. Thomas. Donna has earned the Certified Cash Manager designation.

Past President - David Balsamo, City of Arlington
David Balsamo is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) and works in Treasury for the City of Arlington. He has been in Arlington since April of 2004. He worked on the financing for the City's portion for the new Dallas Cowboys stadium that opened in Arlington in 2009. He previously worked in cash management with Central and South West and with the City of Dallas.

Director - Pati Buchenau, Amarillo ISD
Pati received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree, Summa Cum Laude, from West Texas A & M University in Canyon, TX in December 1984. She has been employed with Amarillo ISD since March 1990, and is currently serving as their Executive Director, Finance & Budget. Prior to that time she was an Audit Manager for KPMG Peat Marwick and Arthur Young. She is very active in her community where she has served as president, treasurer, and other offices of the United Way Canyon & Amarillo. Pati served on the advisory board for the TexPool local government investment pool for several years and previously served in the same capacity for the Texas Association of School Boards’ Lone Star Investment Pool for six years.

Director - Myra Conklin, City of Plano
Myra Conklin is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and works in Treasury for the City of Plano. She has been at the City of Plano since January of 2009. She is responsible for cash management and the related investment portfolio, debt management, administering the City’s Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax Program and other activities. She began her career with KMPG in auditing and worked several years for various banks. In December 1994, she worked for Plano ISD where she performed demographic and boundary functions along with being the Budget Director. Myra earned her Bachelor’s of Accountancy from New Mexico State University in 1986.

Director - Georgia Sanchez, City of Austin
Georgia Sanchez is the Assistant City Treasurer for the City of Austin where she manages the $4.5 billion debt management program, which includes investor relations, and co-manages the City’s $1.8 billion investment portfolio and comprehensive cash management program. Georgia has over 17 years of public service with the City of Austin, with 11 of those years concentrated in the City’s Treasury. Prior to assuming Treasury duties, Georgia served as Capital Budget Manager in charge of implementing and monitoring the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Plan for the City of Austin. Georgia holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from The University of Texas at Austin.

Director - Josette Shaughnessy, El Paso County Community College District
Josette has been the Associate Vice President for Budget and Financial Services at El Paso County Community College District since 1995. She previously served as the Comptroller and the Assistant Comptroller for Financial Operations at the College. In her current position of Associate Vice President, she has administrative oversight of the budget development process leading to the college budget, all financial and accounting operations, Purchasing, and Auxiliary Services. As one of the two investment officers at the college, she also oversees the college's investments portfolio. She has been preparing the annual CAFR since 1996 for El Paso Community College, one of only 13 Texas community colleges submitting the CAFR to the Government Finance Officers Association. In addition to GTOT, she is a member of the Texas Association of Community College Business Officers, the national organization of the Community College Business Officers, and the Government Finance Officers Association. She holds a BBA in Accounting and a Masters of Accountancy from the University of Texas at El Paso. In addition, she is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Texas.

Director (Non-Voting) - Patrick Shinkle, Center for Public Management - University of North Texas
Patrick is the Associate Director for the Center for Public Management at the University of North Texas. Prior to joining CPM, he was a Vice President at Southwest Securities, responsible for providing municipal bond underwriting and financial advisory services to public entities in Texas. Patrick has over 20 years experience in public funds management in Texas, including 12 years as Administrator of LOGIC and 5 years as part of the TexPool management team. Patrick has frequently spoken on investment management, disaster recovery planning, computer security awareness, and technology related issues for such organizations as the Dallas Association for Financial Professionals, the Government Treasurers' Organization of Texas, the Texas Association of Counties, and the Texas Association of School Business Officials. He received his undergraduate degree in finance from Texas State University in San Marcos. He received his Master of Business Administration degree and his Master of Science in Information Assurance degree from the University of Dallas, designated as a Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) by the National Security Agency (NSA) of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security for the Information Assurance (IA) program. He was selected as one of the Dallas Business Journal's "Business School All-Stars for 2006".