Carol Samuels
K-14 (Community College Districts)
Carol Samuels is a managing director in public finance at °µÍø³Ô¹Ï and has worked with Oregon municipalities for over 35 years on financings of every type and description, traditional and non-traditional alike. She has emphasized work with school districts, cities, counties and special districts.
Samuels has developed particular expertise in the Oregon pension (PERS) system and is often called upon to provide advice and education on the financial impact of the pension plan. She is active on local commissions and boards and has participated in panels charged with Oregon tax reform and the financing of education. Among such activities, she currently serves as the chair of the emerging issues committee of the Oregon Government Finance Officers’ Association, and is a member of the League of Oregon Cities’ Finance and Tax Committee and the Oregon Association of School Business Officials Legislative Committee. She was presented with the OGFOA Honorary Life Member Award in 2016 and the OGFOA Outstanding Contribution to Public Finance award in 2002. Samuels is also a member of the Piper sandler public finance advisory committee and serves on the firm’s employee engagement committee.
During the 1997 Oregon legislative session, Samuels served as the tax and finance lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities, during which time she represented cities in the drafting of the property tax limitation Measure 50. As such, she has a strong understanding of the Oregon property tax system and other financing options for local governments.
Formerly, Samuels worked in the public finance departments of U.S. Bank in Portland and Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette in New York. She also worked as a financial analyst for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York and as a lobbyist for the Governor of New Jersey in Washington, D.C.
Samuels received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Yale School of Management and a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Tufts University. She holds Series 7, 50 and 52 securities licenses.