Valerie Lancaster Beal

VALERIE LANCASTER BEAL, B.A., M.B.A., was appointed by Governor George Pataki in June 2002 as a trustee of the Board of The City University of New York. She was recently reappointed to the Board for a seven-year term by Governor David Paterson. Ms. Lancaster Beal possesses in excess of 25 years of experience as an investment banker. Ms Lancaster Beal was an executive in the founding team of M. R. Beal and Company n 1988. For the past decade, M. R. Beal & Company has been ranked as one of the top twenty underwriters of municipal securities nationwide. In addition, the firm has consistently been a member of the Black Enterprise 100 List and was named BE's Finance Company of the Year in June of 2001. Ms Lancaster Beal initially served as Financial Officer of M. R. Beal and subsequently became the Senior Manager in the firm's Financial Advisory Group. The firm has served as financial advisor on a wide range of transactions, including: infrastructure financings; leaseback securitizations; privatization initiatives; stadium/ arena development and educational institutions financings. She has restructured capital budgets for various municipalities and developed alternative financing vehicles to meet their capital needs. Ms Lancaster Beal appeared before numerous governmental bodies including: state and local legislative councils; authorities; the U.S. Congress; and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. In addition, Valerie has developed strategic and business plans for various businesses and non-profit organizations. Ms. Lancaster Beal is currently an executive on leave to the Abyssinian Development Corporation and is responsible for developing an infrastructure to facilitate the usage of interim assessments and data to inform instruction at Thurgood Marshall Academy (TMA) in Harlem. In addition, she manages the College Readiness program at TMA. In that capacity she designs and implements college awareness programs for grades 7-10 and college planning programs for grades 11-12. Ms. Lancaster Beal holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Georgetown University, and an MBA in Finance and Financial Accounting from the Wharton Graduate School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Lancaster Beal served on the Board of Regents for Georgetown University. Ms. Lancaster Beal chairs the Board's Standing Committee on Faculty, Staff, and Administration, and is a member of the Standing Committee on Fiscal Affairs.