July WAKE UP! Newport – State of the Orange County Treasury with Shari L. Freidenrich, CPA

Shari Freidenrich, an active licensed CPA, was elected as Orange County Treasurer in 2010, was re-elected in June 2014 and June 2018, and ran unopposed in 2014, 2018 and 2022.  Shari is the first women ever to be elected as the Orange County Treasurer and only the fourth woman elected in a Countywide race.  Shari held the highest vote total of 451,081 in the ballots certified by the OC Registrar of voters in June 2018.

In her eleven years in office, Shari has saved almost $1 billion for Orange County taxpayers.  As Orange County Treasurer, Shari is responsible for investing $12 Billion of public funds, is an ex-officio member of the 9-member Orange County Employees Retirement System managing $21 Billion, a member of the County’s Audit Oversight Committee, the Deferred Compensation Committee, the Public Financing Advisory Committee and the OCERS Audit Committee.  Shari is a national leader in the field of municipal treasury professionals.  Shari is a past President of the California Municipal Treasurer’s Association and a Past President for the Association of Public Treasurer’s of the United States and Canada in addition to currently serving as the President-Elect for the CACTTC.

Shari is also a local leader in the financial field.  Some of her recent honors are receiving the Leadership Award for Public Service from the Orange County Business Council for her work in cutting red tape and providing red carpet service, selected twice by the Orange County Business Journal in their OC 500 list, including in their inaugural OC 500 that honors the most influential individuals in Orange County.   Shari received the 2018 Trailblazer award and was selected as one of three “Experienced Women To Watch” by the California Society of CPAs.

She graduated summa cum laude from Washington State University with a Degree in Business and an emphasis in Accounting.  She previously worked for Deloitte & Touche as an Audit manager, at Boeing Corporation as a Division Controller and at the City of Huntington Beach where she was the elected Treasurer for over 15 years where she was the first woman and CPA in this position.

Shari has been active in a number of community organizations for over 25 years including being the President for the Huntington Beach Rotary Club of HB, the Soroptimist Club of HB and the Alumni Association for Washington State University.  She is also a past Board of Directors and Audit Committee Chair for the Washington State University (WSU) Foundation Board, where she and her husband Clive were recently awarded their “Biff” Brotherton Award for volunteering and support for WSU.  Shari and her husband Clive have lived in Orange County over 30 years.