Dear the ABFM Community,
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed a happy and fun-filled holiday season.
As we begin the new year, I am transitioning from Chair-Elect to Chair of this great association. I look forward to your continued engagement, scholarship, and service to the Association. I hope ABFM remains a vibrant intellectual home for you, as it is for me.
Looking back, under the leadership of Justin Ross, the past year was a strong one for the Association. Our annual conference once again demonstrated the depth and breadth of work being done across our field. We also built and strengthened partnerships with peer organizations, and we began strategic discussions about the activities that define who we are and how ABFM can best serve members and the broader public financial management community.
As we look ahead, the coming year presents important opportunities to build on this momentum. We are focused on several priorities:
- Strengthening mentorship across career stages, with particular attention to supporting junior scholars and fostering meaningful professional connections.
- Launching a refreshed website that better serves members, improves communication, and highlights ABFM’s activities and resources.
- Deepening the connection between theory and practice through partnership, reinforcing ABFM’s longstanding commitment to research that informs and improves public financial management. Expanding strategic partnerships to create synergy across organizations will remain a key priority.
- Enhancing cash management and financial stewardship so ABFM remains fiscally healthy, resilient, and well positioned to support its mission in the years ahead. Enhanced cash management will begin to be implemented this year.
These efforts are guided by a shared goal: to sustain ABFM as a rigorous, inclusive, and financially sound association that continues to advance the field of public budgeting and finance.
People are at the heart of an engaging organization. I appreciate the service of Christine Martell, Justin Ross, and our three departing elected council members—Can Chen, David Matkin, and Kelly Shi—whose terms conclude in 2025. I also warmly welcome our new members: Whitney Afonso (Vice Chair, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and our new Executive Council members for the 2026–2028 term—Eugenia Gorina (University of Texas at Dallas), Suzanne Leland (University of North Carolina at Charlotte), and Craig Maher (University of Nebraska at Omaha). I look forward to working closely with the Executive Council, Justin Ross (immediate Past Chair), Peter Bluestone (the Secretary) and Sarah Larson (the Treasurer) as we move this agenda forward.
Finally, a brief call to action: ABFM is strengthened by member participation, and we welcome volunteers to serve on committees and support the Association’s work throughout the year—whether your interests are mentorship, conference planning, communications, membership engagement, or other areas of service. If you are interested in volunteering, please indicate your interest via this link.
Thank you for your continued support of ABFM. I wish you a productive and fulfilling new year.
Elected Chair of the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management
Director of the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Public Administration