Donald C. Kendig, CPA
donald . kendig @ gmail.com
(PDF Resume V. July 2023)

Dynamic Leader * Experienced Manager * Strategic Planner * Analytical Thinker

I am an accomplished executive and resourceful financial professional with over 27 years of government experience in retirement plan investment & administration, fiscal & financial management, actuarial studies, process improvement, and financial reporting.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

  • Legislative, Policy, and Procedure Analysis and Drafting
  • Organizational Restructuring
  • High-Stakes Negotiations
  • Board/Council Support and Executive Leadership
  • Project Management: Information Systems and Commercial Construction
  • Team Leadership and Collaboration Training and Team Building
  • Consultant/Investment Manager/Service Provider Relationship Management
  • Peer Collaboration and Cocreation
  • Public & Media Relations
  • Covey Seven Habits, Outward Mindset, and Crucial Conversations Competency
  • Software Proficiency: Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, Teams, Visio, Access, SQL Server, SharePoint, Movie Maker, Office 365 Administration), Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator), LastPass, Zoom, WebEx, and various accounting and pension administration systems.

WORK HISTORY

Executive Director (Retirement Administrator)
Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association (FCERA)

November 2014 – Present

  • Lead the investment unit as well as operational, financial, accounting, and technology activities to ensure benefit and service delivery to over 20,000 members and their beneficiaries.
  • Enhance organizational morale, productivity, and collaboration through team activities.
  • Provide a clear vision by creating a comprehensive strategic plan, Board reporting model, and performance measures to monitor cost effectiveness.
  • Groom my 36 staff members for leadership advancement by providing leadership training (Covey 7 Habits, Outward Mindset, Emotional Intelligence, Crucial Conversations, CALAPRS, IFEBP, GFOA, and NCPERS).
  • Conduct consultant, legal counsel, and other vendor searches and negotiate agreements.
  • Ensure that FCERA stays in compliance with Federal, State, Local and internal regulations.
  • Negotiated direct real estate investment transactions, provided construction project management, and conducted an office relocation.

Executive Director (Retirement Administrator)
Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association (VCERA)

March 2012 – February 2014

  • Directed the investments (non-compensated CIO), operations, finances, technology, and benefit delivery for over 16,000 members and their beneficiaries.
  • Optimized costs and services through the effective use of technology, greatly enhancing the agency’s effectiveness (a $6 billion public retirement system with an $8 million annual budget), and enhanced the morale, productivity, and collaboration of its 23 staff and 30 plus external money managers and consultants that included actuaries, auditors, attorneys, and banks.

Chief Financial Officer (Business Manager / Safety Officer / Risk Manager)
Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (SBCAPCD)

August 2004 – March 2012

  • Responsible for facility and financial activities including purchasing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, collections, payroll, internal & external financial reporting, budgeting, fixed asset depreciation & reserves, grant administration, and contracting.
  • Served as Safety Officer and Risk Manager.
  • Balanced a declining budget for this shrinking government agency and negotiated several memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with employee bargaining units.
  • Established a 457(b) Deferred Compensation (DC) Committee and administered the DC plan.
  • Ensured compliance with Federal and State grant provisions receiving clean audit opinions from the Department of Justice, California State Auditor, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

Financial Systems Analyst
Santa Barbara County Auditor-Controller’s Office

April 2001 – August 2004

  • Saved substantial external contractor fees by providing internal database design and testing expertise for several County budgetary and financial reporting applications (salary modeling, grants management, performance measurement, and payroll systems).

Administrative Analyst
Santa Barbara County Superior Court

September 2000 – April 2001

  • Developed, negotiated, and administered the Superior Court’s $15 million annual budget consisting of over 12 Court programs in over 5 locations.
  • Ensured the diligent collection of over $13 million in fee, fine and forfeiture revenues and distributed those revenues to the appropriate State, County, and local jurisdictions.

Administrative Analyst
Santa Barbara County Executive Office

March 1999 – September 2000

  • Surveyed, studied, and analyzed County government operations.
  • Justified, prepared, and presented a significant portion of the County’s $750 million operating and capital budgets, specializing in public safety and law & justice departments.
  • Validated the numbers for the Trial Court Unification Proposition and Trial Court Funding.
  • Debunked the numbers for the City of Santa Barbara Annexation proposal given to the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO), among other studies, utilizing unique data sources.

Accountant-Auditor
Santa Barbara County Auditor-Controller

May 1996 – March 1999

  • Audited various County departments, special districts, & government agencies.
  • Produced annual financial reports.
  • Evaluated and improved agency processes utilizing the Deming process improvement philosophy.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

  • California Certified Public Accountant – License Number 78000  (1998 – Present)

EDUCATION

Associate of Arts: Liberal Arts and Sciences, 06/1992

Palomar Community College – San Marcos, CA

  • Member of Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society

Bachelor of Arts: Business Economics with Accounting, 06/1995

University of California, Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara, CA

  • Member of Golden Key National Honor Society
  • Dean’s List during Entire Attendance
  • Graduated Cum Laude
  • Member of the Accounting Club
  • Teaching Assistant
  • Micro Computer Lab Assistant

Certificate: Principles of Pension Plan Management Program, 2003

Stanford Law School Fiduciary Concepts , Stanford, CA

  • Fiduciary Concepts and Prudent Person Rule
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Benefit Delivery

Certificate: Fundamentals of Money Management, 2003

University of Pennsylvania Wharton Business School – Philadelphia, PA

  • Asset Allocation Types
  • Style Boxes
  • Passive vs. Active Management
  • Indexes and Benchmarking
  • Risk and Return Measures

Certificate: Public Pension Investments, 2007

University of California, Haas School of Business – Berkeley, CA

  • Sharpe Ratio
  • Dividend Discount Model
  • IRR and Time-weighted Returns
  • Arithmetic and Geometric Returns

Certificate: Advanced Investments Management & Core Investments, 2007

University of Pennsylvania Wharton Business School, Philadelphia, PA

  • Bond Duration
  • Mean Variance Optimization
  • Correlation Analysis
  • Portfolio Construction
  • Efficient Frontiers

NOTABLES

  • Proficient in Spanish
  • Toastmaster: ACG and ALS (2015 – Present)
  • Fresno County Deferred Compensation Management Council Director (2014 – Present)
  • Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Member (1996 intermittent – Present)