Tom Harris, President

Mr. Harris is President of the NAFI Board and has been a member of the
Board of Directors since June, 1998. As a Certified Public Accountant,
Mr. Harris has over 30 years in financial management and over 15 years
in the building and real estate business.  He has held executive level positions with large, public companies and several small businesses in Arizona.   Mr. Harris is also a former mortgage broker who specialized in Arizona commercial real estate loans.  For the last 13 years, Mr. Harris has been a financial consultant to small businesses and non-profit organizations. Mr. Harris graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Accounting.

Lynn Bowers, Vice President

Ms. Bowers is Vice President of NAFI’s  Board of Directors and has been a member of NAFI’s Board since February 2004.   Ms. Bowers is a Sr. Vice President of Specialized Markets at Bank of Arizona During her 25 years in banking she has been involved in nonprofit banking, commercial business products, small business lending, commercial lending, branch management and commercial loan review. 

Ms. Bowers is active in professional and civic activities including the Arizona Town Hall; United Blood Services; Phoenix Arts Commission  and Alliance for Audience.  Ms. Bowers obtained her education at Butler University and St. Mary’s/Notre Dame.

Maria Spelleri, Secretary

Ms. Spelleri has been a member of NAFI’s Board of Directors since March 2004. She  is a partner in the Public Finance Group at Lewis and Roca LLP and concentrates primarily in the areas of municipal and project finance.

Ms. Spelleri has experience with a variety of tax-exempt revenue bond financing structures and the related areas of state and federal securities and tax law.  She serves as bond counsel, issuer’s counsel and borrower’s counsel in project financings for manufacturers, multifamily housing developers, hospitals, museums, private schools and a variety of other nonprofit organizations. Ms. Spelleri serves as counsel to The Industrial Development Authority of the City of Phoenix, Arizona, The Industrial Development Authority of the City of Chandler, Arizona and the Industrial Development Authority of the County of Gila, Arizona.

Ms. Spelleri also has experience in bankruptcy law and has represented secured and unsecured creditors and Chapter 11 debtors. Her experience includes loan workouts and Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcies in the hospital, airline, commercial and retail industries.   Ms. Spelleri is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association, the Hispanic Bar Association, Los Abogados and the National Association of Bond Lawyers.  Additionally, Ms. Spelleri served as an extern for the Honorable James R. Grube of the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.  Currently, Ms. Spelleri also serves as a member of the Phoenix Commission on Housing and Neighborhoods and as a director of Valle Del Sol, Inc.

Ms. Spelleri is admitted to practice in the State of Arizona and the United States District Court, District of Arizona.  Ms. Spelleri has received a law degree from Boston University’s School of Law in 1997, a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University’s School of Management also in 1997, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University at San Jose with Great Distinction in 1993.

Richard Darnall

Mr. Darnall has been a Board member since May 1990, serving as Board President prior to Mr. Harris.  Mr. Darnall has been a utilities consultant for over 30 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and is a registered Certified Public Accountant.  He has a diverse background in utility management, financing, feasibility, and the operation of electric, water, gas and sewer utilities.  He has appeared numerous times before state and federal regulatory agencies and before state courts as an expert witness in rate and valuation related matters. During his 25 years of utility work, he has managed and supervised numerous engineering, economic and feasibility analyses.
Mr. Darnall has worked with large private utility companies and held positions in management,  finance, corporate planning and acquisition analyses. As a consultant, he manages numerous utility projects.  His clients include large municipally-owned systems and small user districts.  Mr. Darnell has been located in the Southwest for 25 years and has successfully managed over 100 various consulting projects which include economic feasibility studies, rate studies, planning studies, management audits, acquisition studies and contract negotiations. He currently owns his own consulting firm, Utility Resource Services, Inc.

Charles L. Johnson

Mr. Johnson has been a member of NAFI’s Board of Directors since April 1995. He has previously served as Board President. His experience includes 28 years developing human resources programs and procedures for a Phoenix-based Fortune 50 aerospace corporation.  His Board experience also includes the Greater Phoenix Urban League; Hospice of the Valley, 100 Black Men of Phoenix and the Phoenix Union High School Partnership.

Mr. Johnson currently works as a licensed Real Estate Appraiser in Arizona. He holds a B.A. in Education and Political Science from Arizona State University and has completed a four year Executive Management Curriculum at ASU’s Business College.

Rodrigo Silva

Rodrigo Silva has been a member of NAFI’s Board of Directors since January 2007.  He is the director of Maricopa County Animal Care & Control (MCACC), a position that he has held since September 2004.  MCACC is one of the largest animal control programs in the nation, serving the residents of 24 of the fastest growing cities and towns in the country with 3.3 million residents. 

Dr. Silva has a degree in veterinary medicine from the Metropolitan University of Mexico and a master’s degree in public health administration and policy from the University of Arizona.  Dr. Silva has 25 years experience working in public health, animal care and control, and zoonoses-control programs, developing and administering government and non-profit organizations and programs at the local, national and international levels. 

Dr. Silva has been a professor of animal nutrition; a team veterinarian for 600 parade and sport horses, and oversaw the acquisition and conditioning of horses for the Mexican Olympic team. Nonetheless, some of Dr. Silva’s most cherished times are those spent in the Sierra of Mexico, as a young public health veterinarian working with the campesinos, treating and vaccinating their livestock and working animals, improving the sanitation infrastructure of the villages and providing education on the best use of food animals for some of the poorest families living in the most remote and underserved areas of that country.   

Prior to moving to Phoenix, Dr. Silva worked as the Manager at the Pima Animal Care Center in Tucson, Arizona.   As a result of his initiatives, the Pima Animal Care Center eliminated the euthanasia of adoptable pets in December 2002. Dr. Silva was inducted in the Alpha Nu Chapter of the Delta Omega National Public Health Honorary Society in 2004.