Melinda M. Gildart, CPA, MBA

Melinda M. Gildart is the Deputy Division Director for the Financial Management Division at the Texas Department of Transportation. In this role, Melinda oversees the Budget and Forecasting, Accounting and Reporting, Federal Funds and Project Accounting, Accounts Payable, Employee Payments, and the Accounts Receivable functions, as well as the Annual Financial Audit and Federal Single Audit. TxDOT is one of the largest state agencies ($15+ billion total annual budget), issuing a stand-alone Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and 3 additional sets of audited stand-alone financial reports for related entities. Melinda is a past chair of GFOA's Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting Committee and previously, Melinda served as the Controller for Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s third largest school district. Melinda led her staff in developing and implementing district wide financial policies and internal controls, as well as managed its accounting, finance, grants and disbursements departments. CPS has an annual budget of over $7 billion and its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and Popular Annual Financial Reports, include reporting for over 600 public and charter schools. With greater than 20 years of governmental finance experience, Melinda has also served in other senior finance roles at the federal, state and local levels, namely with the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District and Illinois Finance Authority. Melinda holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: Accounting, a Master of Business Administration from Roosevelt University and is a licensed certified public accountant in Texas and Illinois.