Martha E. Stark
Clinical Professor of Public Service; Director of Management Specialization
Martha Stark joined the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service as a Clinical Professor in Fall 2017.
Ms. Stark served as a Distinguished Lecturer at Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. In addition to teaching, Stark is a tax policy expert and serves as the policy director of a coalition of groups that has sued New York State and City claiming that the property tax structure violates the Constitution and various tax laws. She also recently helped craft an alternative to a proposed pied-a-terre tax and has a law firm that challenges property taxes on behalf of owners in court. She has served as a strategist, coach, facilitator, and management and leadership consultant for several nonprofit organizations including the Park Avenue Synagogue, Asphalt Green, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders, the Ali Forney Center, and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. Before rejoining government she was one of the first Portfolio Managers at the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation when it changed its strategy to focus on helping organizations serving young people to grow through innovative and long-term funding, business plan development, and performance management systems.
Previously Stark served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, the 2,400-person tax agency responsible for collecting more than $22 billion in revenue to fund and support local services including education, police, fire, sanitation and libraries. Her many accomplishments include: administering a tax amnesty program responsible for collecting $80 million in additional revenue and removing bad debt from the city’s books and records; implementing an innovative parking program for companies making deliveries in New York City that saved the companies and the city money and reduced the need for expensive parking hearings; improving transparency by providing more access to Finance records about properties; and overseeing the management of the City’s cash flow without the need to borrow money against tax receipts. In her role as Commissioner, Stark served as a trustee on the boards of the New York City pension funds with assets of more than $100 billion, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the organization responsible for rebuilding the World Trade Center site, the Twin Towers Fund, and the Prospect Park Alliance.
Ms. Stark, a lawyer, served as a White House Fellow at the United States Department of State during President Bill Clinton’s Administration. She worked for both the Under Secretary for Global Affairs and the Under Secretary for Management.
Stark has served on several boards including Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, GMHC, the North Fork Women for Women Fund, and Tarragon Corporation. She currently serves on the board of The Black Institute and as a life trustee on the board of the New York University Law School Foundation.
Ms. Stark returns home to NYU where she earned her Juris Doctor and Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.
Management and Leadership is designed to empower you with the skills you will need to make meaningful change in the world—whether you care about bike lanes, criminal justice, prenatal care, community development, urban planning, social investment, or something else. Whatever your passion, you can have an impact by leading and managing. In this course, you will enhance the technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and political skills needed to run effective and efficient organizations embedded in diverse communities, policy arenas, sectors, and industries. In class, we will engage in a collective analysis of specific problems that leaders and managers face—first, diagnosing them and then, identifying solutions—to explore how organizations can meet and exceed their performance objectives. As part of that process, you will encounter a variety of practical and essential topics and tools, including mission, strategy, goals, structure, teams, diversity and inclusion, motivation, and negotiation.
In this core course in financial management, students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public, health, and nonprofit organizations. Through readings, lectures, real-world case studies, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organizational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis. In addition, students will have the chance to develop their spreadsheet skills by using Excel to perform financial calculations and create financial documents.
The first half of the course focuses on managerial accounting, a set of tools used by managers for planning, implementation, and control. Topics in this portion of the course include operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, indirect cost allocation, variance analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting, and long-term financing.
The second half of the course focuses on financial accounting, a set of tools used by managers and outside observers for reporting on and analyzing an organization’s financial health. Topics in this portion of the course include the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statement), ethics in financial management, and government accounting and financial condition analysis.
In this core course in financial management, students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public, health, and nonprofit organizations. Through readings, lectures, real-world case studies, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organizational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis. In addition, students will have the chance to develop their spreadsheet skills by using Excel to perform financial calculations and create financial documents.
The first half of the course focuses on managerial accounting, a set of tools used by managers for planning, implementation, and control. Topics in this portion of the course include operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, indirect cost allocation, variance analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting, and long-term financing.
The second half of the course focuses on financial accounting, a set of tools used by managers and outside observers for reporting on and analyzing an organization’s financial health. Topics in this portion of the course include the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statement), ethics in financial management, and government accounting and financial condition analysis.
Open only to students in the MSPP program. Students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public, health, and nonprofit organizations. Through readings, lectures, real-world case studies, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organizational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis. In addition, students will have the chance to develop their spreadsheet skills by using Excel to perform financial calculations and create financial documents.
The course focuses on managerial accounting, a set of tools used by managers for planning, implementation, and control. Topics include operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, indirect cost allocation, variance analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting, and long-term financing.
This course introduces students to the main areas of corporate finance and how they relate to policy issues and discussions. The course covers topics in the three main areas of corporate finance: 1) capital structure (financing choices), 2) valuation (project and firm valuation) and 3) corporate governance (optimal governance structures). We will analyze how public policy, through taxes, public expenditures and regulation, affect these aspects of corporate finance. The course will additionally explore how key economic events have shaped public policy and influenced corporate financial practices. Case analysis will be used to enable students to understand practical application of the corporate finance theory introduced in the course and will also incorporate discussion of corporate finance in the context of social enterprises.
Management and Leadership is designed to empower you with the skills you will need to make meaningful change in the world—whether you care about bike lanes, criminal justice, prenatal care, community development, urban planning, social investment, or something else. Whatever your passion, you can have an impact by leading and managing. In this course, you will enhance the technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and political skills needed to run effective and efficient organizations embedded in diverse communities, policy arenas, sectors, and industries. In class, we will engage in a collective analysis of specific problems that leaders and managers face—first, diagnosing them and then, identifying solutions—to explore how organizations can meet and exceed their performance objectives. As part of that process, you will encounter a variety of practical and essential topics and tools, including mission, strategy, goals, structure, teams, diversity and inclusion, motivation, and negotiation.
In this core course in financial management, students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public, health, and nonprofit organizations. Through readings, lectures, real-world case studies, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organizational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis. In addition, students will have the chance to develop their spreadsheet skills by using Excel to perform financial calculations and create financial documents.
The first half of the course focuses on managerial accounting, a set of tools used by managers for planning, implementation, and control. Topics in this portion of the course include operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, indirect cost allocation, variance analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting, and long-term financing.
The second half of the course focuses on financial accounting, a set of tools used by managers and outside observers for reporting on and analyzing an organization’s financial health. Topics in this portion of the course include the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statement), ethics in financial management, and government accounting and financial condition analysis.
In this core course in financial management, students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public, health, and nonprofit organizations. Through readings, lectures, real-world case studies, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organizational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis. In addition, students will have the chance to develop their spreadsheet skills by using Excel to perform financial calculations and create financial documents.
The first half of the course focuses on managerial accounting, a set of tools used by managers for planning, implementation, and control. Topics in this portion of the course include operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, indirect cost allocation, variance analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting, and long-term financing.
The second half of the course focuses on financial accounting, a set of tools used by managers and outside observers for reporting on and analyzing an organization’s financial health. Topics in this portion of the course include the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statement), ethics in financial management, and government accounting and financial condition analysis.
In this core course in financial management, students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public, health, and nonprofit organizations. Through readings, lectures, real-world case studies, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organizational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis. In addition, students will have the chance to develop their spreadsheet skills by using Excel to perform financial calculations and create financial documents.
The first half of the course focuses on managerial accounting, a set of tools used by managers for planning, implementation, and control. Topics in this portion of the course include operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, indirect cost allocation, variance analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting, and long-term financing.
The second half of the course focuses on financial accounting, a set of tools used by managers and outside observers for reporting on and analyzing an organization’s financial health. Topics in this portion of the course include the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statement), ethics in financial management, and government accounting and financial condition analysis.
All public and nonprofit organizations must assemble and report information on their performance. The need for performance measures goes beyond legal and regulatory requirements. To provide services effectively and efficiently, managers need information to make decisions. This course focuses on what performance measures are needed, how they should be created and what forms of communication are most effective.
Management and Leadership is designed to empower you with the skills you will need to make meaningful change in the world—whether you care about bike lanes, criminal justice, prenatal care, community development, urban planning, social investment, or something else. Whatever your passion, you can have an impact by leading and managing. In this course, you will enhance the technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and political skills needed to run effective and efficient organizations embedded in diverse communities, policy arenas, sectors, and industries. In class, we will engage in a collective analysis of specific problems that leaders and managers face—first, diagnosing them and then, identifying solutions—to explore how organizations can meet and exceed their performance objectives. As part of that process, you will encounter a variety of practical and essential topics and tools, including mission, strategy, goals, structure, teams, diversity and inclusion, motivation, and negotiation.
In this core course in financial management, students will learn the fundamentals of budgeting and accounting for public, health, and nonprofit organizations. Through readings, lectures, real-world case studies, and assignments, students will gain an understanding of how to use financial information in organizational planning, implementation, control, reporting, and analysis. In addition, students will have the chance to develop their spreadsheet skills by using Excel to perform financial calculations and create financial documents.
The first half of the course focuses on managerial accounting, a set of tools used by managers for planning, implementation, and control. Topics in this portion of the course include operating budgets, cash budgets, break-even analysis, indirect cost allocation, variance analysis, the time value of money, capital budgeting, and long-term financing.
The second half of the course focuses on financial accounting, a set of tools used by managers and outside observers for reporting on and analyzing an organization’s financial health. Topics in this portion of the course include the preparation and analysis of financial statements (balance sheet, activity statement, and cash flow statement), ethics in financial management, and government accounting and financial condition analysis.
All public and nonprofit organizations must assemble and report information on their performance. The need for performance measures goes beyond legal and regulatory requirements. To provide services effectively and efficiently, managers need information to make decisions. This course focuses on what performance measures are needed, how they should be created and what forms of communication are most effective.
Management and Leadership is designed to empower you with the skills you will need to make meaningful change in the world—whether you care about bike lanes, criminal justice, prenatal care, community development, urban planning, social investment, or something else. Whatever your passion, you can have an impact by leading and managing. In this course, you will enhance the technical, interpersonal, conceptual, and political skills needed to run effective and efficient organizations embedded in diverse communities, policy arenas, sectors, and industries. In class, we will engage in a collective analysis of specific problems that leaders and managers face—first, diagnosing them and then, identifying solutions—to explore how organizations can meet and exceed their performance objectives. As part of that process, you will encounter a variety of practical and essential topics and tools, including mission, strategy, goals, structure, teams, diversity and inclusion, motivation, and negotiation.
2018
Op-Ed in Crain's New York Business