Spring 2025 Quarterly Conference

MD GFOA invites you to attend our second quarterly conference of 2025! Don't miss great sessions covering Federal Updates, ongoing activities from the State of Maryland, and more.

The Spring Conference will take place on Friday, April 25, 2025 at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport in Linthicum, MD. Check-in begins at 8:00 AM and the meeting adjourns at 4:30 PM. See below for more details and tentative agenda.

Standard registration closes on Friday, April 18 2025. There will be a late registration fee of $50 added to registration after that date. No refunds for cancellations after April 18.

Click here for details on becoming an Exhibitor at this event!

Agenda (tentative)

9:00 am – 9:10 am: Introduction and Welcome

• Speaker: Diane Fox, President, MD GFOA
• Sponsor Remarks: Wells Fargo

9:10 am – 10:00 am: Cybersecurity Issues for County & Local Governments

This session covers -

• Speaker: Justin Ellerman - Executive Director, Head of Advisory Services, Cyber Client Office Group at Wells Fargo

10:00 am – 10:10 am: Break

10:10 am – 11:00 am: Investing in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Revolution

This session will examine -

• Panel Participants:
  Mediator – James K. Meek, The J.K. Meek Group at Graystone Consulting, Institutional Consulting Director and Managing Director – Wealth Management
  Samantha McLemore, CFA, Patient Capital, Founder and CIO
  Bruce Kennedy II, CFA, D.F. Dent and Company, Portfolio Manager & Analyst
  Daniel Shear, T. Rowe Price, Vice President & Co-Portfolio Manager Communications and Technology Strategy in the Global Equity Division

11:00 am – 11:10 pm: Break

11:10 am – 12:00 pm: Rating Agencies Panel

This session will discuss the current issues & factors impacting the ratings for MD Counties and Cities.

• Panelists:
  Evette Caze – Senior Director and Regional Manager for the Mid-Atlantic at Fitch Ratings
  Melissa Stoloff – Associate Director at S&P Global Ratings
  Susanne Murray – Local Governments and Municipal Utilities at Moody’s

12:00 pm –1:00 pm: Lunch

1:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Networking Event

1:25 pm – 1:30 pm: Sponsor Raffles

1:30 pm – 1:35 pm: Sponsor Remarks: SB & Company, LLC

1:35 pm – 2:25 pm: SDAT Update Initiatives

This session will cover updates from the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) - an agency focusing on issues in the accurate property assessment-

• Speakers: Bob Yeager - Deputy Director of the MD Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT).
  Christine Duma – Area Supervisor (Eastern Shore and Anne Arundel County) MD Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT)

2:25 pm – 2:40 pm: Break

2:40 pm – 3:30 pm: MACo State Legislative Update

This session will provide a recap of the 2025 State of Maryland General Assembly session, legislation passed (& deferred), and the impact on Maryland counties.

• Speaker: Michael Sanderson

3:30 pm – 4:20 pm: NACo Federal Legislative Update

This session will provide insights as to the ongoing Federal administration changes, Legislative 2025 changes, & the associated impacts upon Maryland Counties & County Finance officials.

• Speaker: Paige Mellerio, Legislative Director – Finance, Pensions, & Intergovernmental Affairs

Adjourn