Leadership Team

John M. Schroder, Sr. was elected Louisiana State Treasurer in November of 2017.  As Treasurer, he oversees the state’s $6.6 billion investment portfolios and $40.7 billion in cash flow.  He also chairs the Louisiana State Bond Commission and returns millions of dollars in unclaimed property to Louisiana citizens.

John is a businessman and entrepreneur who has advocated for fiscal responsibility his entire career.  He firmly believes Louisiana state government should live within its means and as Treasurer has pushed for transparency and accountability at all levels of government. 

In his first year in office, John utilized his business background to improve state government operations.  He implemented new technologies in the Unclaimed Property Program, resulting in faster and easier claims for taxpayers.  John negotiated contracts throughout the agency resulting in savings to taxpayers.  He also successfully prevented banks from participating in a Louisiana bond deal due to their restrictive participation policies that, in his opinion, violated the rights of the citizens of Louisiana.

Prior to his position as State Treasurer, John served for 10 years in the Louisiana House of Representatives.  He was first elected in 2007 by a predominantly conservative constituency and served on both the Appropriations and Joint Budget committees.  During his time in the Legislature, John sponsored and passed comprehensive earmark reforms and emerged as a vocal spokesman for the average taxpayer, demanding governmental accountability.

John is a graduate of East Jefferson High School, Southeastern Louisiana University, and a Veteran of the United States Army. He is a small businessman, co-owner of a real estate company, and a residential developer. John has been married to Ellie Daigle Schroder for 33 years.

Scott Fitzpatrick was sworn in as Missouri’s 47th Treasurer on January 14, 2019. He was elected to a full-term on November 3, 2020.

Scott’s record as Treasurer reflects his commitment to fiscally conservative values as well as his support for small businesses and Missouri families. In his first two years in office, he doubled the size of MO ABLE, Missouri’s savings and investment program for individuals with disabilities and their families. Scott also worked to make MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan, more cost-effective for account owners by negotiating lower fees. The plan is now one of the highest-rated in the country.

Since becoming Treasurer, Scott has returned record amounts of Unclaimed Property to Missourians. He became the fastest Treasurer in state history to return $1 million, doing so in just his first nine days in office. In addition, he launched innovative partnerships with the Department of Social Services and the Department of Labor and Industrials Relations Division of Employment Security to help reunite Missourians with their Unclaimed Property. These partnerships represent good government in action.

As Treasurer, he is also committed to promoting government transparency and efficiency at all levels of government. This commitment has resulted in the expansion of the Show-Me Checkbook, one of the most comprehensive state financial data portals in the country, to include local governments.

Scott was first elected State Representative in 2012, at the age of 25, to represent Barry and portions of Stone and Lawrence counties. Serving as Chairman of the House Budget Committee in 2017 and 2018, he was responsible for the drafting and passage of Missouri’s $28 billion annual operating budget. Under Scott’s conservative leadership, the State’s budget surplus nearly tripled to almost $500 million, while Missouri schools were fully funded for the first time in nearly a decade.

Scott understands the needs of Missouri’s business owners. When he was 17 years old, Scott started his own company, MariCorp U.S., a Shell Knob-based marine manufacturing and construction company that does business coast-to-coast. His experience growing his company inspired him to run for office to fight unnecessary red tape and burdensome regulations.

He is a member of the Cassville and Shell Knob Chambers of Commerce and has been recognized in Springfield Business Journal’s “40 under 40” and was a 2020 Man of the Year.

A lifelong Missourian, Scott graduated from Cassville High School and the University of Missouri. He and his wife Mallory have two sons, Luke and Carson.

John Murante was born February 6, 1982 in Omaha, Nebraska. He is a proud graduate of Skutt Catholic High School and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He married his wife, Melissa, on December 22, 2007, and they have one daughter, Talia. He is the former President of the iconic Big Fred’s Pizza in Omaha.

In 2012, Murante was elected to represent the Gretna-based 49th Legislative District in the Nebraska Unicameral. During his time in the Nebraska Legislature, he served as Chairman of the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee as well as Chairman of the Special Committee on Election Technology in 2016. He also sat on the Unicameral’s Transportation Committee.

As a State Senator, he served as the Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures Elections and Redistricting Standing Committee, and on the advisory committee to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Treasurer Murante is a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, Gretna Optimists, and serves on the board of Partnership 4 Kids.

Mike Harmon was elected in November 2015 as the 47^th Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mike previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives for 13 years representing the people of Boyle and Casey County, and previously Washington County, in the 54^th District.

During his time in public service, Auditor Harmon has always sought for common-sense solutions to make life better for the people of Kentucky by supporting good public policy to protect and preserve taxpayer dollars. Mike brings those same values, along with his desire to make government more transparent, to his role as Auditor.

In addition to his background in public service, Mike learned the value of hard work and responsibility through his experience in business, particularly insurance and banking. He also previously served as Vice Chairman of the House Standing Committee on Tourism and Energy, and also was a member of the committees for Banking and Insurance; Elections, Constitutional Amendments, and Intergovernmental Affairs; Health and Welfare; and Tourism Development and Energy during the regular and interim sessions of the Kentucky General Assembly.

Mike is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with degrees in math, statistics, and theater, and was valedictorian of his Boyle County High School class. Mike also serves as a deacon and church moderator at Junction City First Baptist Church.

Despite all these accomplishments, Mike is most proud of being married to his wife, Lynn for more than 25 years, and raising their two daughters, Tori and Lizzie. Mike is also a proud grandfather to his grandson, Aiden.

During Mike’s life he has tried to live by the philosophy he adopted after his first successful election to public office, values he will bring to his new job as Auditor:

“I have no desire to leave a legacy, Except that I served my Lord,
I served my Family,
And I served my Country,
Well.”

Treasurer Marlo Oaks spent 17 years overseeing multi-billion-dollar portfolios, first at Farmers Insurance Group in Los Angeles (15 years, $24 billion) and then at Intermountain Healthcare (2+ years, $7.5 billion) in Salt Lake City. He oversaw the Treasury function at Intermountain, along with all the community portfolios, including Primary Children’s Hospital Foundation. He has experience managing foundation, endowment, healthcare/hospital system, insurance, defined benefit (pension), defined contribution (401K), taxable, and tax-exempt portfolios, including manager searches, due diligence, risk management, asset allocation, investment strategy, investment policies and guidelines, and reporting to senior executives and boards of investment committees.

During the 2008 – 2009 Financial Crisis, his portfolios’ performance was among the best in the country, outperforming the median corporate pension plan by 11.5% (funded status basis), representing $200 million in added portfolio value. The insurance pools were top performers among their peers, allowing the company to purchase AIG’s Direct Automobile Business, adding $4 billion to the portfolios, at the bottom of the market (March 2009). Treasurer Oaks began his career in Hong Kong on the derivatives desk at Standard Chartered Bank, a large British Bank with offices primarily in emerging markets.

As a volunteer, Treasurer Oaks served on the foundation investment committee at Utah Valley University for nine years. He also co-founded two non-profit organizations, the Stella H. Oaks Foundation that provides hope to single mothers through scholarships, and FIRST Utah Robotics a series of four programs that inspire children K-12 to pursue STEM careers. He is a member of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of Salt Lake City, the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association of San Francisco, and holds both designations in addition to a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Brigham Young University. He completed a Masters of Business Administration at UCLA Anderson School of Business. He and his wife are the parents of six children.

Julie Ellsworth was elected Idaho’s 24th State Treasurer in 2018.  Treasurer Ellsworth has a long history of public service which includes serving in the Idaho House of Representatives for twelve years.

Some of Julie’s legislative endeavors included drafting model legislation to allow individuals and businesses to purchase health insurance across state borders and passing legislation cracking down on Medicaid fraud, which resulted in the state recouping millions of dollars.  She also worked to maintain the state’s high bond rating by meeting with Wall Street rating firms to answer questions about Idaho’s financial status and public policies.

In addition to her legislative service she has functioned as a Civil Mediator/Facilitator and Business Consultant.  She was a Foundation Grant Evaluator and Judge as well as a teacher in Idaho’s public schools.

Julie Ellsworth grew up in Idaho and has worked to promote a pro-family environment for the state.  She and her husband have three children and two grandchildren.