News | New Mexico State Treasurer's Office

SANTA FE – New Mexico State Treasurer James B. Lewis was elected vice president of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) Foundation on December 8, 2008, during NAST’s annual Treasury Management Conference, which was held in Addison, Texas.

Treasurer Lewis was elected to the NAST Foundation board as a member in August 2008. He began his 1-year term as a board member on December 1, 2008. As vice president of the foundation, Treasurer Lewis will assume a leadership role on the foundation’s governing body. Treasurer Lewis’s 1-year term as vice president of the foundation will begin January 1, 2009. North Dakota State Treasurer Kelly L. Schmidt will serve as president of the NAST Foundation.

“I am extremely ecstatic to be part of the executive body in a leadership role,” said Treasurer Lewis. “The educational initiatives of the NAST Foundation are very important such as financial literacy; joint training programs for state treasurers and NAST corporate affiliates; and the education of new state treasurers, from cash management to understanding their fiduciary responsibility. It can be overwhelming for a new state treasurer coming into office. It is important to lay the foundation in a curriculum presented by state treasurers who have years of experience.”

The NAST Foundation was established in 2000. The foundation is the National Association of State Treasurers not-for-profit partner dedicated to educational initiatives for public finance officials and the general public. The foundation’s educational activities and programs include the National Institute for Public Finance, the New Treasurer Symposium, and initiatives to promote financial literacy and education.

Founded in 1976, NAST is an organization of state financial leaders that encourages the highest ethical standards, promotes education and the exchange of ideas, develops standards of excellence, and influences public policy for the benefit of the citizens of the states.