As Assistant Town Manager Chris is responsible for Finance, Human Resources, Municipal Court, Economic Development and the Town’s incubator, the Don Ryan Center for Innovation. Chris is also instrumental to maintaining intergovernmental agreements and town wide contracts, strategic planning, and policy development.

Prior to his current role, Chris was the Controller for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system, responsible for system wide financial policy and financial reporting of the system’s 17 public colleges and universities. Before taking on the role as CSCU Controller Chris was Director of Agency Business Services (ABS) of the State of Oklahoma. He was responsible for the development of Oklahoma’s shared financial services group and the expansion of shared services to agencies, boards and commissions statewide. While working for the state, Chris also served as Fiscal Director to Oklahoma’s Chief Information Officer (CIO). In this role he helped implement a statewide consolidation of IT services and infrastructure. Chris started his career at the City of Tulsa where he worked on budget and capital planning.

Chris received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science, a Master of Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Public Financial Management from the University of Connecticut. He holds the Certified Public Finance Officer (CPFO) designation from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and the Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) designation from the Association of Government Accountants (AGA). Chris completed the GFOA’s Advanced Government Finance Institute in 2013 and is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. He currently serves on the GFOA’s national Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning.

Chris lives in Bluffton, South Carolina. He serves as Treasurer on the Board of BlacQuity, a local non-profit that works to promote, elevate and empower black-owned businesses in pursuit of equity in the local economy. He is also an active member of the Bluffton Rotary. His wife, Dr. Jessica Forster, owns a mobile veterinary practice called Fetch A Vet. They have three children; Delilah, Amelia and Luke.