Resources
At Civic Pointe Group, we offer the best of both worlds —small firm responsiveness with large firm depth.
As a small firm, we build solid relationships with a manageable number of clients, with seasoned consultants who know their clients’ programs, and how to meet their needs. With our large firm experience, we offer proven methodologies and a wealth of programmatic experts to meet the needs of large entities and complex projects—truly the best of both worlds.
At Civic Pointe Group, we offer our clients proven professionals with the right expertise for each project. Our network comprises skilled consultants with extensive experience–with large public sector agencies, large national consulting firms and a wide variety of professional disciplines.
Our consultants possess the requisite expertise to meet most client needs. They offer hands-on management experience with states, cities, counties, school districts and special districts. They offer leadership experience with national management consulting firms, such as Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, Price Waterhouse Coopers and DMG Maximus. They also offer significant experience managing or serving large public and nonprofit agencies.
Affiliated Consultants
Each consultant's relevant experience is summarized in the professional profiles below
Bob Melville (Asheville, North Carolina)
Mr. Melville has 38 years of public sector experience, primarily as a management consultant for state and local government clients. He served as a Director of Management Studies for DMG-MAXIMUS for five years and managed Price Waterhouse's government practice in St. Louis and Denver for eight years. Bob offers substantial large project management experience, having managed several large-scale efficiency analysis, restructuring and change management projects. In that capacity, he has served a wide variety of public sector agencies, including Amtrak, the States of Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, City of Los Angeles, City of St. Louis, City of San Antonio, City and County of Denver, Orange County (CA), Hillsborough County (FL), Chicago Public Schools, Denver Regional Transportation District and South Broward Hospital District (Florida). He holds a Master of Public Administration from Cleveland State University and a Juris Doctorate with a concentration in public sector law. He has served on or led numerous governing boards, including an urban renewal authority and community college in Colorado, a public pension board in Missouri and a home health care agency in Ohio.
Bruce Anderson (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Mr. Anderson possesses over 35 years of experience in the public and private sectors, including several years with Price Waterhouse. He has extensive public sector management experience, including his service as Chief Information Officer for the Cleveland Public Schools. Recently, he has led a technology transformation program for a large energy company (as part of a comprehensive grid modernization program). For several years, he served as the head of Technology Architecture for TIAA-CREF, a technology executive with Duke Energy and Progress Energy, and as an adjunct faculty member in the MBA program at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Bruce has had international experience, not only as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru, but also through his positions with the Department of the Navy and Price Waterhouse. Bruce has served as the President or Treasurer of the Charlotte Area Peace Corps Association since its inception in 1997. He also has served as an NPCA Board member and on numerous Advisory Boards for Professional Organizations such as the Society for Information Management (SIM) and the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP). He holds a BS degree from Bowling Green University in Economics and an MBA from Cleveland State.
Dempsey Benton (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Mr. Benton brings over 40 years of senior level public management experience to management consulting, including 11 years of state government and 32 years of local government executive-level experience. For the State of North Carolina, he served as Chief Deputy Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary of Employment Security and Director of the Office of Economic Recovery and Reinvestment. He also led the City of Raleigh for 17 years, first as Assistant City Manager for Operations and then as City Manager. In these positions, he managed large public agencies, led the revamping of key programs (e.g., regulatory, permitting and waste management), created inter-governmental ventures and oversaw numerous projects, including a downtown performing arts theatre complex, a mental health hospital, water/wastewater treatment facilities, roads, parks and redevelopment projects. His leadership and innovation in promoting best practices, public accountability and efficient processes are well-recognized. Mr. Benton earned a BA and Masters of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Government Executives Institute at UNC’s School of Business.
Courtney Crowder (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Courtney Crowder has nearly 15 years of experience in public affairs, government relations and political strategy. Most recently, he served four years as Legislative Director and senior advisor to North Carolina’s first woman Governor, Beverly Perdue. While at Capstrat, a highly-regarded North Carolina strategic communications firm, he counseled corporate, nonprofit and governmental organizations. He served as the Legislative Liaison for the North Carolina Department of Insurance, Special Assistant to the Insurance Commissioner and as a congressional staff person. Courtney has been played an active role in campaigns at every level - presidential, statewide, congressional and local. Courtney holds BA degrees in English literature and French from North Carolina Central University and an MA in liberal studies from Duke University. He also studied at Oxford University in Oxford, England where he completed the Program of History, Politics and Society at Exeter College.
Louisa Cocci Gantley (Washington, DC)
Louisa Cocci Gantley has 20 years of experience in marketing, financial management and management consulting in the public and private sectors. As the Director of Business Development and Marketing for Watkins Government Services (WGS), she leads and carries out business development, marketing and public relations plans initiatives for its government practice. As the Director of Research and Development for a large homebuilding business, she designed a more efficient development cycle, led new business opportunity assessments and helped launch two new businesses. As a government consultant with several national firms, she led or participated in strategic planning, business process engineering, balanced scorecard and other improvement projects for several clients, such as the Department of Justice, Marine Corps (Miramar Air Station), State of Texas, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, City of Detroit and District of Columbia. Louisa began her career as a financial analyst with Amtrak, where she worked on cost-cutting initiatives. Louisa holds a Masters of Public Administration from American University.
Allen Krause (New York City)
Allen Kraus – Allen Kraus has 30 years of experience helping public and private organizations improve and thrive. Allen has directed performance improvement, implementation, organizational strategy and culture change initiatives for a wide range of government and not-for-profit organizations in housing, human services, health care and other sectors. He has worked with state and local governments, foundations, not-for-profit groups and 30 health care systems, including Columbia University Health System, Henry Ford Health System, Mount Sinai Medical Center and Ascension Health. Mr. Kraus has held executive positions, including Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Human Resources Administration and Chief Operating Officer for a healthcare system in New York. He also served as management analyst for the Congressional Budget Office and New York City Department of Sanitation. He founded a human services consulting firm and was a principal with a national healthcare consulting firm. Allen possesses a diverse set of problem-solving skills in economics, finance, statistics, survey research, process redesign, project management, organizational development and other disciplines. He holds a master’s in City and Regional Planning from Harvard, an AB in government from Dartmouth, certificates from Harvard’s Program on Negotiation and the Barrett Values Centre’s Cultural Transformation Tools and training in 360 assessments.
Michael Ley (Chicago, Illinois)
Mike is a former Partner at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, a CPA and consulting firm with offices in Chicago, New York, Minneapolis, Detroit, Virginia and Wisconsin. His career spanned twenty years in state and local government and over twenty years as a consultant to local governments and not-for-profit organizations in ten states and two territories (over 300 clients). Prior to Baker Tilly, he was a Vice-President of David M. Griffith and Associates, a consulting firm serving over 1,300 public sector clients throughout the US. Mr. Ley offers hands-on experience as an elected and appointed government official. For the City of Madison, he served as an Alderman for three terms and Council President for one term. For the State of Wisconsin, he served as Secretary of Revenue, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, CFO of the Department of Natural Resources and Budget Officer in the Governor’s Budget Office. And he held political appointments under Governors of both parties. Mike also has served on many civic boards, including Wisconsin Eye (a statewide public affairs television network) and Downtown Madison, Inc., and now serves as Chairman of the City of Lake Forest Illinois Plan Commission. He earned his BA degree in political science at the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Michigan. He also did post-graduate work at the Harvard Business School and Kennedy School of Government.
Jeff Melville (Seattle, Washington)
Mr. Melville is a financial management specialist with over 30 years of private and public sector experience in financial management, business analysis and business development. He has worked for several prestigious companies, including Boeing Corporation, Weyerhaeuser Company, Arthur Andersen and Price Waterhouse. He offers extensive experience in developing financial models, analyzing business opportunities and helping clients solve tough strategic and operational issues. In recent years, he has led several strategy development and implementation teams. Mr. Melville is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He received his Master in Business Administration and BA in Economics from the University of Colorado.
Mike Mount (Los Angeles, California)
Mr. Mount has 40 years of experience in the public sector. Mr. Mount served as director of national consulting for DMG-MAXIMUS and national director of State and Local Government Consulting for Arthur Young & Company (now Ernst & Young). He also headed planning for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Mr. Mount is best known as an innovative problem-solver. He has conducted over 250 performance studies. His clients have included the states of Arizona, California, Nebraska, Nevada and Washington; large counties like Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, Riverside, Sacramento and Alameda; and large cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, Houston, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Antonio, San Jose, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and Washington DC. Early in his career, he was an instructor in court automation at the Institute for Court Management. He has served on the governing boards of several non-profits and government agencies, including Southern California Methodist Hospitals, the Santa Cruz SPCA and Humane Society, the Santa Cruz Chapter of the American Diabetes Association, the North East Los Angeles County Regional Library and the Los Angeles County Sanitation District.
Bill Phillips (Orlando, Florida)
Mr. Phillips, the founder of Defero Advisory Services, helps clients create and execute effective communications and development strategies. Bill began his professional career in the financial services sector, working for Fortune 500 corporations such as Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Citigroup. In 2005, Bill helped Citigroup launch a nation-wide niche-lending program that closed $380 million in loans. In 2006, Bill played a key role in integrating Smith Barney’s acquisition of a regional brokerage firm. Since 2007, Bill Phillips has assisted civic action entities in Florida. He helped create Florida Watch Action and Project New Florida. While Communications Director for the Florida Education Association (FEA), he helped create (with Visuality, a media firm) a nationally-recognized multi-media campaign: Make Our Schools A Priority. This campaign revitalized the FEA brand and set the stage for better education policies. In 2010, Bill helped lead Fair Districts, a victorious ballot initiative campaign to promote new redistricting guidelines for legislative districts. Bill holds a BA from the University of North Florida, serves on the Senior Advisory Board of Progress Florida and served as Board Chairman of Florida Together/Florida Together Federation in 2011.
Betsy Reveal (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Ms. Reveal is a nationally-recognized expert in public finance and proven leader in improving public sector performance. She has over 35 years of executive experience with large public and nonprofit entities, including the City of Seattle, City of Philadelphia, District of Columbia, Amtrak, Harvard University (Kennedy School of Government) and United Nations Foundation. Ms. Reveal has led several complex public sector restructuring initiatives, including change management projects for Amtrak, the City of Philadelphia and the District of Columbia. In recent years, Ms. Reveal has primarily served large institutions and public agencies, such as the University of Michigan, Columbia University, State of Louisiana and American Institutes for Research (AIR). She has specialized in operational performance and cost analyses and using trend analyses as the foundation for strategic financial forecasting and modeling. Ms. Reveal offers expertise in public finance, capital financing, facility management, financial modeling, large database analysis, budgeting and accounting, as well as child welfare, transportation, health care and urban policy. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard, a Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in government from Cornell University. In addition, she participated in the first Executive Program for State and Local Managers at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Dennis Roche (Cleveland, Ohio)
Mr. Roche has over 35 years of experience in public and nonprofit sector management, with an MS in Urban Studies, MA in Accounting and Financial Information Systems) and a license as a Certified Public Accountant. From 2003 through 2010, Mr. Roche served as President of Greater Cleveland’s destination marketing organization (DMO), “Positively Cleveland,” which garnered several honors, including the National Association of Travel Journalists called Positively Cleveland “the best convention bureau in America”. He also served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, Assistant General Manager for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and Budget Director for Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He led several civic campaigns, including the Gateway sports complex (Indians and Cavaliers), new Cleveland Browns Stadium and restructuring of Cuyahoga County’s $5 billion Secured Asset Fund Earnings bond portfolio. He has extensive governing board experience with several civic institutions, including Lakewood Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Western Regional Hospitals, Medical Mutual of Ohio, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and Cleveland State University.
Dennis Royer (Denver, Colorado)
Mr. Royer has over 30 years of transportation engineering and management experience, including executive-level experience with the City of Boston and the City and County of Denver. As Boston’s Commissioner of Public Works, he served as the City’s Chief Engineer, managed street/bridge maintenance, wastewater, fleet and snow removal operations, reorganized two departments and secured federal funding for critical capital projects. As Denver’s Deputy Manager of Public Works, he reorganized the department, modernized the traffic signal system, upgraded the street cleaning and snow removal programs, eliminated repetitive processes and attained other operational efficiencies. As a consultant, Mr. Royer has been involved with several projects, including highways and interstate interchanges in Connecticut, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Canada, as well as rail systems in Washington, DC, the Northeast Corridor and Ontario. He worked with the Colorado Department of Transportation on the Interstate 70 Mountain Corridor and numerous federal- and state-funded projects. He offers extensive experience in formulating strategic plans, using performance measures, streamlining government programs, improving safety and managing large, complex capital programs. He enjoys a reputation for challenging the status quo and devising innovative solutions. Mr. Royer earned of Master of Science in Civil Engineering and a BS in Civil Engineering from Ohio State University and holds a Professional Engineering License from the State of Colorado.
Mike Sudsina (Cleveland, Ohio)
Mr. Sudsina provides financial advisory and debt structuring services, helps prepare official statements and facilitates credit rating presentations. As financial advisor for nearly 50 cities, counties, schools and special districts, he ensures on-market pricing with flexible terms and has participated in over 300 financings (over $3 billion in par value). Before founding Sudsina & Associates, Mr. Sudsina spent 10 years with AG Edwards’ public finance group and led Fifth Third Securities’ public finance practice in Cleveland. Prior to his investment banking career, he was with Price Waterhouse, Deloitte & Touche and the City of Cleveland. He holds a CPA certificate, MBA from Cleveland State University and BS in Business Administration from Ohio State University. Mr. Sudsina also is a Certified Independent Public Financial Advisor, a certification bestowed upon qualified professionals by the National Association of Independent Public Financial Advisors (NAIPFA). He has served on the Debt Policy Committee of the Association of Public Treasurers of the US and Canada, and is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association.
Tom Tveidt (Asheville, North Carolina)
Mr. Tveidt has over 20 years analyzing local economies for public and private sector clients. Through SYNEVA Economics, Tom has conducted economic impact analyses of numerous projects, including the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, the University of North Carolina Asheville, Louisiana’s Houma Navigational Canal and the Boys Scouts of America’s National Scouting Center. SYNEVA Economics has conducted industry target and cluster evaluations for dozens of economic development agencies and municipalities. He also has performed workforce assessments across Georgia and Florida, site selection evaluations for food manufacturers and distribution centers and community economic assessments for cities and towns across the US. Mr. Tveidt is the Past Chair of the Council for Community and Economic Research in Arlington, Virginia and has served as an economic research instructor for the National Association of State Development Agencies and International Economic Development Council. Tom has an MBA in Finance from California Lutheran University and a BA in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Brian Wahby (St. Louis, Missouri)
Mr. Wahby is a management consultant specializing in public finance, civic management, governmental affairs and real estate development. He has served numerous clients including the City of St. Louis, Bank of America, Fox Associates, Grand Center and Cortex. While with Historic Restoration Inc. of New Orleans, he helped plan and finance the $300 Million Renaissance Grand and Suites Convention Center Hotel complex in St. Louis, and led two other residential developments in downtown St. Louis. While with the City of St. Louis, he participated in the development of the Kiel Center Arena Parking Facility, led the creation of a city-wide off-street parking system and managed all aspects of several City development projects, including bond issuance, contract negotiations, design, engineering and construction. He also served on the St. Louis Downtown NOW team which produced over $4 billion of downtown investments. Mr. Wahby earned an MBA from Washington University’s Olin School of Business and a BS in Public Administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has led or served numerous civic initiatives, including St. Louis’ Mardi Gras Foundation and that city’s efforts to attract a national nominating convention.
Affiliated Consulting Firms
Responsive client service requires a blend of confidence and humility. No one firm can anticipate every client need or maintain specialized expertise in every program. We have relationships with several professional service firms with complementary public sector and nonprofit experience, including those below.
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Consulting Firm Network
McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy LLP | Houston, Texas [Sharon Murphy, Partner]
Largest African-American owned consulting & accounting firm in south with proven track record delivering strategic planning, business process improvement & performance audit services to government clients (e.g., State of Texas, City of Houston, Harris County, City of San Antonio & Houston Independent School District)
Columbia Capital Management, LLC | Overland Park, Kansas [Dennis Lloyd, President]
Independent financial advisory firm providing investment management, debt management, economic development & capital planning advisory services to state & local entities (e.g., Cities of Chicago, Kansas City & St. Louis, St. Louis County, Bi-State Development, State of Missouri, Kansas Turnpike Authority, Kansas Development Finance Authority & Illinois State Highway Toll Authority)
MatrixPointe | Omaha, Nebraska [Steve Curtiss, President & Co-Founder]
Midwestern consulting firm specializing in designing reimbursement plans, implementing ACA strategies & maximizing federal funding for health care & social services for states (e.g., Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska & South Dakota) & federal agencies (e.g., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
The Management Action Center | Washington, DC [Jerry Hauser, CEO]
Leading training and coaching organization helping nonprofit leaders learn how to build and run effective organizations. Offers "management 101" and customized trainings, as well as one-on-one management coaching for executives.
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While we have not been involved with most of these firms' projects, we enjoy good working relationships with key principals of these firms. We share their integrity, commitment to excellence and passion for serving the public and nonprofit sectors. Most importantly, we know that we can call on these firms to supplement our resources as the need arises.
Other Resources
To ensure that we will meet our clients’ needs quickly and effectively, we may propose other resources. To demonstrate our commitment to meeting the objectives of our clients on time and on budget, we also are willing to partner with other suitable firms. We have found that such collaborations have become increasingly common, especially for large or complex initiatives.
We always tailor our team to the special requirements of each client and project. Once a project begins, we promptly advise our clients of any changes in those needs. As appropriate, we will propose other resources from our network of affiliated consultants and firms.