A distant view shows a mountainous landscape with sloping peaks, green trees in the foreground, and a cloudy sky above.

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Retiree Candidate</h3>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Retired as Colorado State Auditor from the Office of the State Auditor</h3>



Education/Special Courses/Certifications



B.S.B.A., Loyola University of Chicago



M.B.A., University of Colorado



Certified Public Accountant for over 40 years



Chartered Financial Analyst designation for over 25 years



Chartered Global Management Accountant designation



Employment History



Denver Auditor, 2015–Present



Independent Consultant, 2003–2015



American Humane Association, 1999–2003



<ul>
<li>CEO</li>
</ul>



Mercer Investment Consulting, 1995–1999



<ul>
<li>Principal</li>
</ul>



Office of the State Auditor, 1984–1995



<ul>
<li>Colorado State Auditor</li>
</ul>



Colorado Bureau of Investigation, 1980–1981



Department of Institutions, 1977–1980



Public accounting, 1972–1977



Organizational Affiliations/Achievements



PERA Board of Trustees, 2011–Present and 1984–1995



<ul>
<li>PERA Board Chairman, 2016–2020</li>



<li>PERA Audit Committee Chairman, 2021–Present</li>
</ul>



Board of Directors, Vantagepoint Mutual Funds, 2005–2016



<ul>
<li>Vantagepoint Board Chairman, 2012–2016</li>
</ul>



Past Board Member, Past President, Colorado Society of CPAs



Past Member, Governing Council, American Institute of CPAs



Chartered Financial Analyst Institute



Chartered Financial Analyst Society of Colorado



National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers



Association of Local Government Auditors



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Responses to Key Questions</h3>



Candidate responses were limited to 100-150 words; responses have not been edited by PERA.



Interest in Serving as a PERA Trustee



Please briefly describe why you are interested in being elected to the PERA Board of Trustees.



All people deserve to retire with security and dignity. Across the country, pension funds are under attack by politicians and others who make a living saying the “sky is falling” because of public pensions. Some states moved towards defined contribution plans that do not offer the same level of retirement security to workers. That is neither in the best interest of the participant nor our society. We cannot have teachers, nurses and other public employees retire into poverty. I will always advocate for a well-funded defined benefit pension plan that will be there when we retire.



Challenges/Opportunities Facing PERA



Please describe what you consider as areas of challenge/opportunity facing PERA and the Board’s role in addressing these issues.



PERA’s funded status was affected by recently adopted new mortality tables and a lower rate of return assumption. This created an opportunity for legislation that enacted reforms to get the pension fund fully funded in 30 years. It is both a challenge and an opportunity to find creative and equitable solutions to funded status. I believe the Board needs to “stay the course”. There will be future attempts to change the funding solution enacted in 2018. I believe there are opportunities to better communicate and increase transparency using technology. This will enable our stakeholders to provide input and feedback. We should continue provide our stakeholders the technical means to weigh-in on challenges that we will be faced with in the future.



The Role of a Trustee



What do you see as the role of a Trustee on the PERA Board?



It is the obligation of each PERA Trustee to conduct himself or herself solely in the interest of PERA Participants. This requires that Trustees behave in accordance with the highest standards of fiduciary conduct, professionalism, and ethics. We must act with the utmost good faith, scrupulous honesty, and loyalty to the participants and beneficiaries.