Utility Service Partners

Carmichael is a resourceful business leader who knows how to deliver innovative ideas, improve business processes, and manage organizational change to serve municipal clients. Leading a team of seven Regional Account Managers, Brad enjoys reaching out to large and small cities alike to understand their unique challenges and provide flexible solutions that solve their specific needs.

Throughout Brad's career, collaboration has been a consistent theme, bringing people and ideas together to create value for the organization.

Away from work, Brad enjoys playing golf and being outdoors. He and his wife love to travel and spend time with their three grown children. As a native West Virginian, he appreciates the state's natural beauty and its simple way of life. Brad graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Conduff has more than thirty-five years experience in municipal leadership, management and governance. In recognition of his career long commitment to excellence, Mike was recently inducted as a Fellow into the prestigious National Academy of Public Administration. Mike served as the city manager of four university communities including Denton, Texas, Bryan, Texas and Manhattan, Kansas.

Mike's firsthand experience from dealing with real issues faced by every city in today's challenging economic environment has enabled him to create solution based training programs for cities striving to improve their organizational performance. He is a widely acclaimed leadership and motivational speaker, having presented hundreds of programs, both in the USA and Canada, to local, state and national organizations. Mike is also a noted author, having written and published many articles in national journals. He is the co-author of The OnTarget Board Member – 8 Indisputable Behaviors and The Policy Governance Fieldbook.

It was through his widely acclaimed leadership that Mike came to the attention of USP. His vast experience and hands on experience garnered instant credibility with the USP management team and it did not take long to realize there was a partnership in the making. Mike graciously agreed to serve as USP's National Account Manager. When Mike is not on the road speaking or conducting training seminars, he and his wife Kathy enjoy taking their extended family to their ranch where they enjoy fishing and motorcycle riding.

Previously, she worked with USP to develop the NLC Service Line Warranty Program while employed by NLC. Cathy instantly grasped the value of the program to cities and especially to their residents after she and her husband experienced a sewer line break at their home in Columbia, Maryland. Their first-hand experience of trying to find a reputable plumber and paying a big repair bill helps her convey the importance of a warranty program to cities.

Cathy has worked with state and local governments for more than thirty-five years as a researcher, policy analyst, lobbyist, and risk management program executive director for nonprofit organizations. More recently she served as a senior program director at NLC. She currently has her own consulting firm, The Spain Group, specializing in association management and public finance.

Cathy has frequently been recognized for her efforts on behalf of state and local governments. In 1986, she received an award from the National Association of Bond Lawyers for her leadership in lobbying for the preservations to tax-exempt bonds. The 1992 Washington Almanac named her one of the "most influential players in Washington who shape the course of American government and federal policy affecting states and cities." The National Federation of Municipal Analysts cited her efforts to develop a new regulatory framework for municipal bonds in 1994 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2000, Business Insurance included her on its list of 100 Leading Women in the business of commercial insurance, risk management, employee benefits, and related fields.

A graduate of the University at Albany in New York, Cathy holds a Master of Arts degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts teaching degree. Away from work, Cathy enjoys needlework, walking and cooking.

He has a broad background in local and state government with a specialty in community revitalization, sustainability and inclusiveness. He is the co-author of Bottom Line Green-How America's Cities are Saving the Planet (and money too!).

Jim has served in a variety of leadership roles in both the Public and Private sector. He was elected to public office in 1985 as a councilmember in Clarksburg, West Virginia and served as Mayor of Clarksburg in 1991-93 during the relocation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Fingerprint Division to Clarksburg, one of the largest economic development projects in the history of West Virginia. He served as President of the West Virginia Municipal League in 1995 and served on the Board of Directors for over twenty years. In 1997, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities and was elected to the office of President in 2006. He was selected as the "Municipal Official of the Year" by American City & County Magazine in 2006 for his work on racial reconciliation and inclusiveness. Jim has also been active internationally as a member of the World Council and Executive Committee of the United Cities & Local Governments, a global organization representing cities before the United Nations.

Jim has embraced life-long community service and has been active both locally and internationally with Habitat for Humanity. He has built housing for needy families in Poland, Hungary, New Orleans and his home state of West Virginia.

A lifelong resident of Clarksburg, Jim completed his undergraduate studies at West Virginia University. He did post-graduate studies in Learning Disabilities at West Virginia University and completed a RUPRI Fellowship to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium. His service has earned him honors including Citizen of the Year by the Harrison County Chamber of Commerce, Distinguished Mountaineer by Governor Joe Manchin, Civil Rights Award by the West Virginia Human Rights Commission and the Key to the City of Selma, Alabama for his work with Mayor James Perkins on racial reconciliation. Jim was inducted into the West Virginia Municipal League Hall of Fame in 2012.

Jim and his wife Pam enjoy spending time with their two children and two grandchildren at their lake house at Crystal Lake in Doddridge County in rural West Virginia.

and having personally been inside over two thousand city halls across the nation, Brian has a keen understanding of the inner workings of local government and an appreciation for the challenges they face. This background has proven invaluable in his role as Southwestern Regional Account Manager for USP.

An established speaker for many state and regional conferences, Brian has been the keynote speaker at the City Manager Association of Oklahoma annual conferences and the Texas and West Virginia Municipal League's Conferences, among many others. He has also served as the director of the Texas and Midwest ICMA Alliance of Innovation. Another notable accomplishment is that Brian founded Accountability International, Inc., a web-based internet productivity tool that has saved the public and private sectors millions of dollars.

In his free time, Brian enjoys spending time with his lovely wife and two adoring children. He also enjoys the occasional game of golf in which he has the noteworthy distinction of being a scratch player. Brian completed his undergrad at Abilene University and post-graduate work in Sociology at St. Hughes College, Oxford, England as well as DePaul University in Chicago.

and in his words "has never met a stranger". With over twenty-five years of Solution Selling experience, Oscar has played a key role in the success and profitability of many Medical Diagnostic and Technology companies.

Oscar's diverse background includes sales, R&D, market development, and sales management amongst many other skills. Oscar's outstanding performance has not gone unnoticed as he was awarded with the Strategic Selling and Sales Performance award from Learning International as well as the Group Leader and Recognition Award from the Dale Carnegie training program.

Oscar graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.S. in Business and Economics. Aside from work, Oscar loves spending time with his family, playing softball on his local neighborhood team, and having an active role in his local church.

for helping his cities implement the National League of Cities Service Line Warranty Program. Before joining USP, Mike worked as a Branch Manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car for seven years. Even at an early age, Mike was dedicated to providing exceptional service. While at Enterprise, Mike participated in a two year training program. But due to his exceptional performance, Mike was promoted to Branch Manager after only one year. Mike's branch at Enterprise always ranked in the top ten for outstanding customer service and it is this level of consideration that immediately captured the attention of USP and continues to impress everyone he encounters.

Mike enjoys his work more than the average person. He loves the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and learn more about municipal governments. Outside of work, Mike enjoys spending time outdoors with his family and reading as much as he can about U.S. history. Having graduated from California University of Pennsylvania in 2002 with a B.A. in Communications, it is clear that his skills contribute to his ongoing success.

for the southeastern region of the U.S. Prior to joining USP, Mike played an important leadership role within the Florida League of Cities (FLC) spearheading one of the largest and most successful specialty insurance programs in the U.S. During his tenure with the FLC, Mike orchestrated the turnaround of the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust and grew fund equity by six-hundred percent in just under 9 years.

Having spent many years in the insurance industry, Mike heard many complaints from people with utility line breaks, leaks, etc., unfortunately, at the time, no service such as that offered by USP existed. Because Mike saw the necessity for service line warranties, and liked USP's management style and approach to warranties, he decided to embark on a new career with USP. Most of Mike's professional experience is in the insurance field, and he holds several insurance licenses and designations, including the Charted Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

When Mike isn't busy obtaining new licenses, he enjoys golfing, running, and sailing in his free time. Mike is also a single parent and a devoted father. He is extremely proud of his son, Patrick, a Captain in the U.S. Marines, who was just recently awarded the bronze star for valor while serving in Afghanistan.

as the Northwest and Canadian Regional Account Manager. He brings with him a 20 year career working with municipal water and wastewater utilities. As the Executive Vice President and Partner of Metron-Farnier, LLC he helped to pioneer European metering techniques in the U.S., and acquired an ability to work with municipalities to incorporate the increased performance of these products and techniques into their own water systems. Jeff was published by the American Water Works Association and featured as a speaker at the annual AWWA conference.

Jeff has also received training from Mastering Business Development Incorporated (MBDi) which was established in 1978 as a professional services company focusing on business development and revenue generation within the Government Services, Energy and Engineering Industries.

Jeff is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He is also a certified flight instructor and greatly enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife and two daughters. Jeff is an avid skier, mountain biker and fly fisherman and enjoys everything the mountains in Colorado have to offer.