John Gross is the interim Director of Financial Management for Long Beach, California. He has held a number of executive financial management positions over an extensive career in state and local government. John has a long-standing interest in the local government budget process and served as special staff to the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting (the NACSLB). The Council developed nationally recommended budget practices for state and local governments. He has also served on the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Management and is a past chair of the Committee. John has a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering and a masters degree in urban and public affairs, both from Carnegie-Mellon University.