Institute for Modern Government
Modernizing Government Debt Collection Conference
November 1, 2013
Speaker Biographies
Vicki Berger
Representative, State of Oregon
Representative Berger served during the 2009 legislature as Vice-Chair of
the Rules Committee and a member of the Revenue and Transportation
Committees. She was chosen to serve on the Interim Legislative
Emergency Board, which addresses important policy issues between
regular sessions. Representative Berger currently serves as the Co-Chair
of Revenue, Co-Vice Chair of Rules, Co-Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Tax
Credits, as well as the Interim Legislative Emergency Board and the Emergency Board
Subcommittee on Education. Representative Berger is a strong supporter of public
education, beginning with her election in 1988 to the Salem-Keizer school board. Her
commitment to local community organizations include becoming the first woman to be
named president of the board of directors of the Salem Family YMCA, and in 2001, the
Salem Area Chamber of Commerce honored Vicki and her husband Jerry as Salem’s
First Citizens. Representative Berger is a life-long resident of Oregon’s House District
20, and she has worked, owned a business, and raised a family in Salem.
Jim Bucholz
Director, Oregon Department of Revenue
Jim Bucholz was appointed Director of the Oregon Department of
Revenue by Governor John Kitzhaber in May 2012. Mr. Bucholz received
a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Portland State
University in 1980. He joined the Department of Revenue as a tax auditor
in 1982, and over 30 years has worked in numerous agency roles,
including fieldwork, operations, policy, and legislation for both income and property tax
programs. Most recently, as the Administrator of the Property Tax Division, Mr. Bucholz
gained a comprehensive understanding of the funding challenges Oregon faces at both
the state and local levels.
Paul DeMuniz
Former Chief Justice, State of Oregon
The Honorable Paul J. De Muniz was elected to the Oregon Supreme Court
in 2000 and served as the court's Chief Justice and administrative head of
the Oregon Judicial Department from January 2006 to May 2012. Between
1990 and 2000, he sat on the Oregon Court of Appeals and served as
presiding judge on one of the three panels that comprise that body. In
November 2011, Justice De Muniz was inducted into the National Center for State
Courts' Warren E. Burger Society in recognition of his commitment to improving the
administration of justice within the states. He is on the Board of Trustees for the
National Judicial College and recently completed a three-year term as a member of the
Harvard Kennedy School's Executive Session for State Court Leaders in the 21st
Institute for Modern Government
Century. Justice De Muniz speaks frequently to both national and international
audiences on the importance of maintaining independent state judiciaries, improving
state court administration and the need for adequate state court funding. Later that year,
Justice De Muniz gave the 17th annual Justice William Brennan Lecture on State
Courts and Social Justice at New York University Law School, discussing the need for
reengineering state court operations.
Jon DuFrene
Director, Institute for Modern Government
Jon DuFrene is a former Chief Financial Officer for Oregon’s Public Employee
Retirement System (PERS) and has experience working in the Office of the State
Controller in the areas of Accounts Receivable Management, eCommerce, Internal
Controls, Program Consulting, Project Management and Business Continuity Planning.
Claudia Groberg
Attorney-in-Charge, Civil Recovery Section, Oregon Department of Justice
Joe Hawes
President and CEO, Hawes Financial Group
As President and CEO of Hawes Financial Group, Joe oversees all
finance, business development, marketing, production, and administrative
affairs of Professional Credit Service (PCS). Joe directs the executive and
management teams, promoting an environment of open communication
and innovation. Beginning in 1989, Joe has maintained positive
relationships with PCS clients and regulatory entities at every level. He understands
how to handle recovery for all account types and prioritizes implementation of systems
that provide maximum service to clients and consumers alike. With more than 20 years’
experience in the credit and collections industry, Joe is an active member in a number
of credit and finance organizations. He is recognized for leadership, focus on education,
and community involvement. Joe earned his MBA from the University of Oregon,
Charles Lunquist College of Business Administration.
Chuck Hibner
Administrator, Office of Payment Accuracy and Recovery, Oregon DHS
A native Oregonian, Chuck Hibner, CPA, CITP, graduated from the University of
Oregon in 1980, has been with the Secretary of State's Audits Division for 10 years as a
performance auditor, and has been Deputy State Auditor since 2001.
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Institute for Modern Government
Jay Jackson
Procurement Policy Analyst, DAS Chief Financial OfficeJay Jackson is currently a
Procurement Policy Analyst with the Oregon Department of Administrative
Services, Chief Financial Office. The mission of the Department of
Administrative Services is to serve state government to benefit the people
of Oregon. In support of that, the complementary mission of the Chief
Financial Office (CFO) is to give state leaders and the public objective and
accurate information for the wise use of state resources.
Tim Johnson
Professor, Atkinson Graduate School of Management
Tim Johnson joined the Atkinson faculty as a Visiting Assistant Professor
of Public Management and Public Policy in 2011. Tim teaches students
about the non-market interactions between businesses, not-for-profit
organizations, and governments. As well, Tim offers courses that teach
students how to analyze public policies using contemporary social science
research tools. Professor Johnson's research activities, moreover, have afforded him
the opportunity to work with scientists from across the globe. Upon completing his
Bachelor's degree at the University of Oregon in 2004, Tim worked as a Predoctoral
Research Fellow at the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck
Institute in Berlin, Germany. Following his time at the Max Planck Institute, Tim returned
to the United States to enroll in graduate studies at Stanford University, where he
completed a PhD, in Political Science, in the summer of 2011.
Steve Maser
Professor, Atkinson Graduate School of Management
Steven Maser is a Professor of Public Management and Public Policy at
Atkinson Graduate School of Management. He teaches courses in
negotiation and organizational conflict management. Professor Maser is a
past director of the Atkinson School Executive Development Center and
has served on numerous boards and commissions locally and regionally,
including a citizens’ task force assigned to study bringing professional soccer to the city
of Portland. Professor Maser has been a visiting professor of Political Economy at the
Olin School of Business at Washington University, a visiting Professor at Tokyo
International University and a visiting scholar at Yale Law School. His research has
appeared in the Journal of Public Affairs Education, International Public Management
Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Harvard Journal of Law
and Public Policy and the Journal of Business and Management.
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Institute for Modern Government
Buz Mattson
President and General Counsel, Professional Credit Service
Buz Mattson began representing PCS in 2005, and now serves as
President & General Counsel. He oversees corporate, licensing and
litigation matters, as well as operational activities. Mr. Mattson specializes
in complaints and answers in civil litigation. He supervises a staff of 30
legal professionals, who handle judgments in all 36 Oregon counties. He
also supervises Oregon Small Claims cases, and Washington litigation staff. Mr.
Mattson received his law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1994.
While working towards his degree he served as Associate Editor for the Journal of
Environmental Law and Litigation, and as the Class Representative to the Student Bar
Association.
John Radford
Chair, Institute for Modern Government
Former Controller for the State of Oregon, and past president of the National
Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers, Mr. Radford is a member of
the Government Finance Officers Association, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners,
the Institute of Internal Auditors, and the Association of Government Accountants. He
also served as a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation from 2007 to 2012. Mr.
Radford brings a wealth of experience, personal knowledge, and contacts to bear from
his decades of experience managing finances and public policy at a state and national
level.
Debra Ringold
Dean, Atkinson Graduate School of Management, Willamette University
Debra Ringold is Dean and JELD-WEN Professor of Free Enterprise at the
Atkinson Graduate School of Management. Dr. Ringold has served on the
editorial board of the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing since 1991
including a three year term as its Associate Editor. She was elected to the
Board of Directors of the 38,000 member American Marketing Association
in 2000, and completed her term as Chair of the Board in 2007. Dr. Ringold recently
served on the Advisory Council to the U.S. Census Bureau helping advise the Bureau
on ways to encourage Census participation, improve its data collection methodology
and help the general public utilize and understand Census data. In 2010, she was
elected to the Executive Council for the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and
Administration (also known as NASPAA: The Global Standard in Public Service
Education) for a three year term. Dr. Ringold teaches courses in private, public and
nonprofit sector marketing, marketing research, marketing communications, and
marketing and public policy, for which she has received honors including the United
Methodist Award for Exemplary Teaching and Community Service in 2002 and the Jerry
E. Hudson Distinguished Teaching Award in 1997.
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Jeffrey Schramek
Assistant Commissioner for Debt Management Services, US Treasury
Jeffrey Schramek is the Assistant Commissioner of Debt Management
Services, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, U. S. Department of the Treasury.
As Assistant Commissioner, Mr. Schramek provides leadership, policy
direction and guidance for the bureau's centralized federal delinquent debt
collection programs - Treasury Offset and Cross-Servicing, as well as the
new Centralized Receivables Service and the Do Not Pay Business
Center.
Wendy Sifford
VP and Relationship Manager, US Bank
Doug Whitsett
Senator, State of Oregon
Senator Whitsett represents district 38 in southern Oregon out of Klamath
Falls. He serves on the Ways and Means committee, the State Budget
Process committee, and the General Government committee.
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