The GFOA's new president-elect and executive board.

• Position: Government Finance Officers Association elects Suzanne Fillion, Heather A. Johnston and Stephen B. Williams

The Government Finance Officers Association is governed by an 18-member Executive Board, which consists of 15 members-at-large serving staggered three-year terms, the current president, the previous year's president, and the president-elect. At the associations annual meeting in May 2014, GFOA members voted for a slate of nominees for president-elect and five new members-at-large, each of whom is profiled below.

PRESIDENT-ELECT HEATHER A. JOHNSTON

City Manager

City of Burnsville, Minnesota

Heather Johnston, an Executive Board member since 2011, is also a member of the Women's Public Finance Network. In recent years she has been an ex officio member of the GFOA's Committee on Retirement and Benefits Administration, a member of the GFOA's Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Fiscal Policy--she was Chair in 2009--and part of the GFOA's Generational Change Task Force. Johnston has conducted GFOA Internet training and spoken at the GFOA's annual conference, and she reviewed the 2013 edition of the GFOA's Building a Better Budget Document. The governments she's been with--Burnsville and, before that, Minneapolis--received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.

Johnston helped improve the long-term financial stability of the cities she's worked for by improving the quality of written documents, pushing for long-term financial policies, and pursuing pension legislation. She has testified a dozen times in as many years before the local government and education finance committees of the state Legislature, providing information about a pensions merger, a library merger, K-12 education programs, and state tax-base sharing programs.

Johnston is a member of the Minnesota GFOA, and she co-chaired the Local Conference Committee for the GFOA's 108th annual conference in Minneapolis. In addition, she is an ICMA member; an Audit Committee member of the Metropolitan Council; and a member of the League of Minnesota Cities Committee. Previously, she was a public employee member of the Investment Advisory Council to the State Board of Investment, a board member of the Minneapolis Employees Retirement Association, and a former associate member of the National Association of State Budget Officers.

Goals for GFOA

One goal for the GFOA is to reach young professionals who are interested in government and encourage their interest in public finance. The GFOA will also work to bridge the gap between the generations by merging the depth of experience with tech savvy communications. Another of the GFOA's objectives is to provide members with practical ways to communicate financial information, in a manner that is easily understood outside the financial field.

SUZANNE FILLION

Manager

Financial Services City of Surrey, British Columbia

Suzanne Fillion, a 15-year GFOA member, was on the GFOA's Committee on Canadian Issues. Her government has received the Canadian Award for...