Derek Kreifels is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), the only nonprofit in the U.S. that combines ground-breaking free-market research with a strong network of states’ treasurers, auditors, and other financial officers, to actively sustain the health of each state’s economic outlook.
Before co-founding SFOF in 2012, Kreifels spent five years as Assistant State Treasurer of Kansas, where he oversaw the state’s college savings plan, ABLE plan, debt and bond management, and pension investments. During his tenure, his office processed over $21B annually, and he managed 42 employees with an annual budget of over $3.5M.
Kreifels attended Kansas State University, received his undergraduate degree from Wichita State University, and his Master’s degree from Friends University in Wichita. He lends his leadership to several boards and nonprofits. He and his wife Melanie are diehard Kansas City Chiefs fans, enjoy excellent Kansas City BBQ, and love spending time with family.- Melanie KreifelsDirector of Operations
Melanie Kreifels serves as SFOF's operations manager.
She works behind the scenes to make sure that our national meetings are executed well dealing with all of the behind-the-scenes details. From hotel reservations to catering and venue management, Melanie is the person that makes all the magic happen!
Melanie also helps with SFOF's day-to-day clerical, book keeping and invoicing duties.
Melanie and Derek live in the Kansas City area. She enjoys spending time with family and touring the countryside to gaze at old barns. Melanie is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri and received her Master's degree from Mid America Nazarene University. She is also a licensed therapist.
- Jonathan WilliamsSenior Policy Advisor
Biography
Jonathan Williams is the Senior Policy Advisor to SFOF and the Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Policy at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), where he works with state policymakers, congressional leaders, and members of the private sector to develop fiscal policy solutions for the states. Williams founded the ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform in 2011 and co-authors Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer Economic State Competitiveness Index with Reagan economist Dr. Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore. Prior to joining ALEC, Williams served as staff economist at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, authoring numerous tax policy studies.
Williams’ work has appeared in many publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Financial Times, Toronto Star and Investor’s Business Daily. He is a contributor for The Hill and a columnist at Tax Analysts, the leading provider of tax news and analysis for the global community. Williams also serves on the Advisory Board of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) and as an adjunct fellow at the Kansas Policy Institute. He has written for the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. In addition, Williams was a contributing author of In Defense of Capitalism (Northwood University Press).
Williams has spoken to audiences across all 50 states and provided testimony for the U.S. Congress, as well as numerous state legislative bodies. His work has been featured at the federal level by The White House, the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. He is a frequent guest on talk radio shows and has appeared on numerous television outlets, including the PBS NewsHour, Fox Business News and Bloomberg News. Williams was also the recipient of the prestigious Ludwig von Mises Award in Economics.
- Jon DaugharthyOutside General Counsel
Jon earned his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School with a Business Law Certificate in conjunction with Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Business. He completed his undergraduate studies at Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in finance.
After law school, Jon clerked at the trial court level in Nashville, Tennessee, then associated with the commercial litigation firm of Kay, Griffin, Enkema, & Brothers, PLLC. In 2007, he returned to his home state of Kansas where he opened his own practice. He enjoys solving problems for individuals and small organizations across several practice areas, with a high level of client care. Jon is admitted into the Kansas and Missouri Bars.