Boston's financial oversight got a boost this week as State Auditor DiZoglio tapped Renee Harper for the Federal Funds Equity and Accountability Review Panel. Harper, who brings years of fiscal experience to the table, will join the 25-member board for a four-year hitch. This key group has its eye on the equitable slice of the federal fund's pie, particularly funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Harper, sporting a resume that features a stint as the Assistant Vice President and Controller at Liberty Mutual Insurance from 1994 to 2017, has most recently been the Partner and Chief Financial Officer at Education Resource Strategies since 2019. The non-profit organization aims to rejig how schools handle their cash. The job at hand for Harper and the panel involves making sure the ARPA dollars make it to communities who took a harder hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The panel operates with a degree of independence, albeit beneath the umbrella of the Executive Office of Administration and Finance’s COVID-19 Federal Funds Office. The creation of this panel underscores a commitment to tracking public resources—a commitment embedded in Chapter 102 of the Acts of 2021.
"I am incredibly grateful for Renee Harper’s willingness to step up and serve in this role. The passion she has for giving back to our communities and professional expertise will be integral to the panel’s work to ensure an equitable distribution of ARPA funds," DiZoglio expounded in a statement in Mass.gov.
