PHOENIX — Stockton, Calif., chief financial officer Vanessa Burke, who weathered the storm of the city's bankruptcy, has joined Urban Futures, Inc.'s public management team.
Urban Futures, a registered municipal advisory firm based in Orange, Calif., announced that Burke would continue to live in Northern California and work with clients throughout the Golden State. Burke took the reigns as Stockton's CFO in fall 2012, shortly after the city had filed for Chapter 9. Stockton emerged from bankruptcy earlier this year.
Burke played a key role in the bankruptcy proceedings, testifying in court for the city as its creditors sought to block Stockton's access to Chapter 9. She also conducted numerous audits of the city's finances and some bond refundings that Urban Futures (UFI) said saved the city $13 million.
"As UFI restructures into five divisions, Ms. Burke has the expertise we need to lead the public management group," said Urban Futures chief financial officer Mike Busc. "We are finding more and more that our clients need financial advisory services beyond capital financing in the areas of professional financial management and audit services. Ms. Burke meets these needs head on with her experience and expertise."
Urban Futures said that Burke would be involved in working on the San Bernardino bankruptcy project.
Prior to becoming CFO, Burke had worked for Stockton as assistant director of administrative services. She had a lengthy private sector career prior to becoming a Stockton official, auditing large public companies at the firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers and Moss Adams. That experience is "exceptional and a significant value addition to the UFI portfolio of services," the company said in a release.
