Craig Lesner

Craig Lesner currently serves as a Senior Manager at the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) since August 2017, providing consulting services to state and local governments and authoring articles for Government Finance Review. Previously, Craig was the Interim Chief Financial Officer at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and taught a course on government accounting. Craig held the position of Budget and Tax Research Director at Illinois Policy, focusing on fiscal solutions for the state. Craig's earlier roles include serving as Chief Financial Officer for the Village of Oak Park and Deputy Budget Director for the City of Chicago, where Craig contributed to the management of significant budgetary processes. Craig holds a Master of Public Policy degree in Public Finance from the University of Chicago and Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Economics from the University of Illinois Chicago.