Speaker Bios
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Robyn Benincasa is a world champion Eco-Challenge Adventure Racer, New York Times bestselling author, founder of the 501c3 Project Athena Foundation (Survivors to Athletes!), 3x Guinness World Record Distance Paddler, proud owner of two metal ‘Bionic Hips’ and full-time San Diego Firefighter.
Adapt, Overcome, and Win as One! | Monday, October 9 at 9:00 am
View the agenda to learn more about Robyn’s keynote.
SESSION SPEAKERS & MODERATORS:
Gay Lynn Bath, Director of Retirement
Oregon Public Universities Retirement Plans
Gay Lynn Bath is the Director for the Oregon Public Universities Retirement Plans. She is responsible for the administration of 401(a) and 403(b) retirement plans for seven Oregon universities with assets over $2 billion and 18,000 participants.
Prior to joining the University, Bath was the Plan Administrator for the Oregon Savings Growth Plan (OSGP) a 457(b) plan offered by the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). Before that, Bath was the 401(k) Plan Manager at the Public Employees Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI), Bath received her Bachelor’s degree in Business from Regis University, and her Masters of Business Administration degree from Northwest Nazarene University.
She is currently serves on the TIAA Diversity & Inclusion Council and she previously served as an executive board member and past-president at NAGDCA. She has also served on the advisory boards for Pensions & Investments and Institutional Investors. She has been a moderator and panelist at several conferences over the years.
Chris Biddle, Executive Director
Kentucky Deferred Compensation
Chris is an attorney with over twenty years of administrative, regulatory, and civil litigation experience. Chris has been with Kentucky Deferred Comp for 16 years and has served as the chief legal officer and Executive Director during his tenure. In his current role as Executive Director, Chris oversees the daily business operation and compliance for the accounts of over 80,000 individuals with combined assets of $3.5 billion.
Sandy Blair, Administrator, Savings Plus Plans Program
California Department of Human Resources
Sandy Blair is Administrator for the California Savings Plus Program. Previously she served as the Director of Retirement Readiness for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). She rose through the ranks in CalSTRS after arriving in 2009 to a management position in CalSTRS’ office of Client Outreach and Guidance. She was instrumental in establishing the model of CalSTRS first Member Service Center in West Sacramento. Sandy administers the CalSTRS Pension2® personal wealth plan, which consists of 403(b), 457 and Roth 403(b) plans. Pension2 serves as a supplemental savings plan for all California school and community college employees.
Under her leadership, the CalSTRS defined contribution plan, Pension2®, experienced tremendous growth. It currently administers more than $600 million in assets on behalf of more than 10,000 plan participants. Sandy has extensive private sector experience in consumer banking, finance and tax preparation.
She earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration finance from California State University, Sacramento.
Kathy Bostjancic, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist
Nationwide
Kathy Bostjancic is Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for Nationwide Mutual. Kathy leads a team of economic analysts delivering economic forecasts and analyses that are used to inform and strengthen the organization’s business strategies and operating plans.
Prior to joining Nationwide, Kathy served as chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics where she was responsible for assessing and forecasting the U.S. macroeconomic environment, including the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, and its impact on industries and financial markets. Kathy served in similar roles at The Conference Board, Merrill Lynch, Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), and Citicorp Investment Bank where she provided analyses on both U.S. and global macroeconomic topics, including international capital and foreign exchange markets, housing markets, U.S. consumer research, and global inflation and labor markets.
Kathy is a noted economic expert who holds a master’s degree in economics from New York University and a bachelor’s in economics from Rutgers University. She is a is a frequent speaker to media and industry groups on the economic outlook, monetary policy, macroeconomics and financial markets.
Judy Boyette, Partner
Hanson Bridgett
Judy is a partner in the California law firm, Hanson Bridgett LLP. She has advised employers and employee benefit plans on all aspects of employee benefits including tax, regulatory, fiduciary responsibility, financing, and organizational integrity issues for more than 25 years. Currently the majority of her practice is focused on governmental plans and entities.
Judy has unique experience as both a lawyer and an administrator with experience running large, complex employee benefit programs. Formerly, she was directly responsible for all human resources issues for the University of California system, including managing a $40 billion pension system covering 100,000 members and three large defined contribution plans.
Most recently, Judy was appointed by the Secretary of Treasury for a 3-year term on the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) as a representative in the employee plans area, advising IRS leadership on operational policy and procedural improvements.
Allison Brodine, Total Rewards Manager
Public Utility District #1 of Chelan County
Allison has over 25 years of public service experience in city and public utility fiscal management, data driven decision support, and human resources leadership. Currently she serves as the Total Rewards Manager for the Public Utility District of Chelan County #1, a hydropower generator, located in central WA state. She manages compensation and benefits and is a fiduciary for the District’s $200M 457b and 401(a) plans.
Kim Burch-Garcia, Principal Analyst
County of Los Angeles
Kimberly Burch-Garcia is a Principal Analyst with the County of Los Angeles, Chief Executive Office Employee Relations and Benefits Division. She administers a multifaceted recordkeeper Contract encompassing Plan design, Plan Documents, County policy, communications and the administrative budget for the County’s three Defined Contribution Plans. Ms. Burch-Garcia has 33 years’ experience in the retirement plan industry and almost ten years with the County of Los Angeles.
Prior to joining the County of Los Angeles, Ms. Burch-Garcia was an Assistant Vice President for Washington Mutual Bank where she oversaw operations of the Retirement Plan Department and managed all aspects of the retirement products offered by the bank including recordkeeping of Deferred Compensation Plans. She has developed the foundation of her career on sound plan administration, participant education, the importance of retirement benefits, and how those benefits prepare participants for a secure and comfortable retirement.
Kelly Bush, Head of Strategic Relations
Empower
Kelly Bush is Head of Strategic Relations for Government and Taft-Hartley Markets for Empower. In his role, he is a member of the leadership team and is responsible for developing and executing the engagement strategy in collaborating with key consultants, advisors, lobbyists, union and associate representatives, and clients. Kelly is tasked with driving growth by building a consistent engagement strategy, communication approach, and marketing strategy with key constituents. Kelly joined the organization in 2012 and has 25 years of government experience in the retirement plan services industry. He has held several leadership positions throughout his career and brings a perspective to the industry that is well-balanced and insightful. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Miami (Florida) as well as an MBA in finance and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He currently maintains the FINRA Series 7, 26, 65, and 63 securities licenses. Kelly resides in Orange County California with his wife and son and is a combat veteran who served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC).
Mary Campbell, Senior Retirement Specialist
Nationwide
Mary Campbell is a Senior Retirement Specialist for Nationwide Retirement Solutions. She started her career at Nationwide in 1994. However, for the last 20 years, she has been dedicated to the MSRP State of Maryland Plan. She holds a customer-facing role and works incredibly close with Correctional Officers, Maryland State Police, and other public safety employees who protect the great state of Maryland. She is also the Marketing Liaison for marketing-related MSRP efforts. Mary Campbell maintains the FINRA Series 6 and 65 Securities licenses. In addition, she holds The State of Maryland Life and Health licenses and her CRC® designation. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and currently studying for her Master of Science in Management from The American College of Financial Services. Mary lives in Gettysburg, Pa, and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Michael Consorte, Director of Benefits
State University of New York
Michael Consorte is the Director of University-wide Benefits for the State University of New York (SUNY). He leads the SUNY retirement plan sponsor team in overseeing SUNY’s Optional Retirement (401a) Program, SUNY’s Voluntary Savings (403b) Plan, and the New York State Voluntary Defined Contribution (VDC) Program. In total, SUNY’s retirement program serves 115,000 employees and retirees and has $26 billion in assets under management. In addition, Michael manages the team responsible for sponsoring SUNY’s Long-Term Disability and Paid Family Leave benefits as well as administering all other employee benefits across 64 campuses. Prior to joining SUNY in 2019, Michael spent 17 years in the financial services industry, most recently as an institutional retirement relationship manager at The Capital Group responsible for governmental/public sector retirement plans. Michael also enjoyed a career in graphic design, with published and exhibited work in various media. Michael earned a B.S. in Communications from Cornell University and an M.S. in Communications Design from Pratt Institute. Michael is committed to empowering his colleagues in the plan sponsor and financial services communities to partner on furthering the mission of securing a dignified retirement for all of the nation’s workers.
Michael Conrath, CFP, CPRC, Chief Retirement Strategist & Head of Retirement Insights Strategy Team,
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Michael Conrath, CFP, CPRC, is the Chief Retirement Strategist and Head of the Retirement Insights Strategy Team for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. In this role, Michael is responsible for researching and delivering timely retirement-related insights to clients and financial professionals. Michael has over 25 years of investment and wealth management experience and focuses on identifying themes to improve retirement savings and deliver better retirement income outcomes for individuals across the wealth spectrum.
Michael formerly was the Head of Education Savings for J.P. Morgan Asset Management and was responsible for the firm’s 529 plan strategy, product solutions and distribution efforts across client relationships.
Michael earned an M.B.A. with a dual concentration in Finance and Taxation from Fordham University and a B.A. in English Literature and Rhetoric from Binghamton University. He is a Certified Financial Planner®, Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and holds the Series 7, 6 and 63 licenses.
Makeba D’Abreu, DEI Program Manager/Senior Corporate Trainer
MissionSquare Retirement
Bio coming soon!
Brian Deloriea, Investment Officer
State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS)
Brian DeLoriea is an Investment Officer with the State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS). He has been a member of SURS’ investment team for eight years. Brian oversees the investment risk management and performance reporting efforts within SURS’ $23 billion defined benefit program. He also works in coordination with SURS’ DC consultant and other external partners to review and monitor investments within SURS’ defined contribution plans, including the $3.9 billion SURS Retirement Savings Plan and the recently launched SURS Deferred Compensation Plan.
Brian is a CFA charterholder with 19 years of experience as an investment professional, having worked in areas such as discretionary asset management, performance measurement, institutional consulting, and trust portfolio management.
Michael Dickson, Vice President, Strategic Relationship Management
Corebridge Financial
Michael Dickson joined Corebridge Financial (formerly AIG Retirement Services) in 2017 as an Executive Relationship Manager in our Midwest Region. In 2022, he was promoted to VP, Strategic Relationship Management to join the Relationship Management leadership team at Corebridge, focused on strategic projects to enhance the plan sponsor experience. Michael has a strong background in plan administration, relationship management and consulting, with more than 15 years of experience with defined contribution plans. Prior to joining Corebridge Financial, Michael worked for Transamerica, where he was responsible for leading a team of Relationship Managers, service delivery of benefits administration, implementation and conversion of mutual fund and annuity products, and establishing recordkeeping and custodial or trustee services for various plan types. He holds his FINRA Series 7 and Series 63 securities licenses, as well as Life, Health & Variable Annuity insurance licenses.
Michael is based in our office located in Columbus, OH. When he is not working hard for you and your employee’s you can find him outside walking, hiking, or biking with some combination of his wife, Hilary, and their 3 children, Graham, Bo and Paige.
Wendy Dominguez, President and Co-Founder
Innovest
Wendy is the President and Co-Founder of Innovest Portfolio Solutions. She has more than 30 years of experience in the investment consulting profession. Her clients include some of the largest retirement plans in the United States. She leads Innovest’s Retirement Plan Practice Group, a specialized team that identifies best practices and implements process improvements to maximize efficiencies for our retirement plan clients. Wendy has been named one of the 20 Most Influential Women in Benefit Advising in the nation by Employee Benefit Adviser. Finally, Wendy has been designated as one of the Financial Times’ Top 100 Women Financial Advisors.
Janice Garcia, Deferred Compensation Manager
City of Anaheim
Janice Garcia is the Deferred Compensation Manager at the City of Anaheim. She is responsible for managing the City’s deferred compensation, 401(a) plans, and RHS program. With a portfolio exceeding $500 million in plan assets and over 8,700 participants, Janice and her team ensures the smooth operation of these crucial programs. Her primary goal is to enhance retirement readiness among Anaheim employees and this dedicated effort earned the City, recognition, including the esteemed NAGDCA leadership award, for their effective campaigns to improve financial wellness.
With a strong foundation in human resources, Janice possesses nine years of specialized experience in deferred compensation employee benefits. Additionally, her background and knowledge in accounting, spanning 18 years in the IT and education sectors empowers her to navigate the complexities of financial management, helping the City of Anaheim employees to a secure retirement.
Mike Golojuch, Retiree Member, Deferred Compensation Committee
City and County of Honolulu
Mike is the elected Retiree member to the City and County of Honolulu Deferred Compensation Committee. He is on his second term. Prior to retiring, Mike was the Administrative Service Officer, Department of Budget and Fiscal Services for 12 years. One of major functions was the Administrator for the City and County’s 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. He has been a NAGDCA member for 21 years and has served on the NAGDCA Annual Conference Committee and the Awards Committee.
Mike is also a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel with experience in missile operations, planning and programming, and human resources. He earned a BA in Business Management from San Diego State University, MS in Business Administration from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Hawai`i.
Ted Grigsby, Executive Director, Senior Principal
Hyas Group
Ted Grigsby, CIMA is an executive director and senior principal for the Hyas Group and focuses on serving the firm’s retirement plan sponsor clients. With nearly 20 years of experience in the investment services industry, he works with plan sponsor committees to improve participant outcomes through plan design, fiduciary training and governance, investment monitoring, vendor management, and fee analysis and review.
Throughout his career, Mr. Grigsby has spent time serving both the board room and developing participant education programs, which has allowed him to bring a unique and experienced perspective to plan design and portfolio construction. In order to stay current on industry trends, enhancements, and changing legislation, Mr. Grigsby conducts regular on-site due-diligence trips to major record keepers and industry professionals.
Prior to joining the Hyas Group, Mr. Grigsby worked at Human Investing, a Northwest-based Registered Investment Advisor firm for 12 years. The majority of his tenure was spent developing and leading all aspects of the firm’s retirement plan practice. As a director and lead consultant, Mr. Grigsby’s responsibilities included plan design, investment menu construction, RFP management, vendor management, and developing customized participant education programs. Mr. Grigsby primarily served the firm’s corporate and nonprofit clients. Mr. Grigsby began his career at Franklin-Templeton Investments in California. During his time at Franklin, he worked closely with the firm’s global portfolio management and trading team and gained valuable insight into the inner-workings of mutual fund companies.
Mr. Grigsby earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and Finance from the University of Oregon, Lundquist College of Business and received a Master of Science in Finance from University of Portland, Pamplin School of Business. Mr. Grigsby has received a CIMA® certification, having completed his education at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
He is a FINRA Series 65 license-holder and is a member of the Investment and Wealth Institute. He is also a member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA). Mr. Grigsby volunteers his time to serve as a committee member for several nonprofit organizations.
Barbara Healy, Consultant
NFP Retirement
Barbara Healy is a SEC Registered Investment Advisor and Consultant affiliated with NFP Retirement/SST Benefits Consulting. Barbara advises public sector and non-profit educational institutions retirement plans nationwide. Prior to joining NFP Retirement/SST Benefits, Barbara was a Retirement Specialist at CUNA Mutual Group and also the Western Market District Regional Vice President. Barbara served as a Vice President at Great West Life & Annuity (Empower) in charge nationally of the education retirement market. She was responsible for the successful launch of an innovative, low-cost open architecture, internet-based IRC §403(b) and IRC §457(b) plan offering. Barbara was recruited by Great West from her Vice President of Business Development for all Public-Sector plans at Nationwide Retirement Solutions position where she worked for two years with the NEA ValueBuilder program among many other responsibilities. Barbara was responsible for MetLife’s K-12 Education retirement market nationally prior to Nationwide. Barbara started her career as a high school business teacher at a Chicago high school. She earned an MBA and entered the Financial Services Sector as the first Director of Membership Services and Certified Financial Planner for the San Diego Teachers Association.
She has 35+ years of experience exclusively assisting public sector plans, school districts, credit unions and other non-profits with their retirement and pension plans. Barbara has earned an MBA degree in finance from DePaul University. She earned the CFP® designation from the College of Financial Planning, the Certified Funds Specialist designation, the Chartered Mutual Fund Specialist designation, the Certified Retirement Administrator designation, and the ASPPA TGPC designation and the AIF designations. Barbara is a member of the Institute of Business and Finance, Who’s Who in Financial Planning, National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA), Madison’s Who’s Who, and the Gerson Lehrman Consulting Group. She has volunteered her time for NAGDCA and InFRE.
Barbara is popular lecturer and has authored the book “Personal Financial Planning Handbook for Education and other Nonprofit Employees” and has published many financial articles and monographs as well as recorded many educational recordings for MetLife Resources, Nationwide Retirement Solutions, and Great West Life. She has been an adjunct lecturer for marketing and finance courses at several Community Colleges. Recently, Barbara was appointed to serve on the CFP® Council on Education.
Barbara also served on the Arizona Town Hall and the Arizona School to Work Partnership Boards for several years.
Jay Henderson , Associate Vice President of Total Rewards
University of California, Office of the President
John-Stephen Henderson (Jay) is the Associate Vice President of Total Rewards for the University of California System responsible for Compensation, Benefits, and Retirement Plans for the university system which includes ten campuses, six health systems (including five academic medical centers), three national labs, and a network of agricultural and natural research centers, the UC system includes 295,000+ students and 227,000+ faculty and staff, with two million alumni living all around the world.
Prior to his current role at the University of California, Jay has served the Director of Total Rewards at both UC Riverside and UC Berkeley. He has also served as the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor & Chief Human Resources Officer at UCR. Jays’ other higher education experience includes serving as the Director of Total Compensation at The Ohio State University and he also served as the Assistant Director of Human Resources at the University of South Florida where he was responsible for a multi-disciplinary team covering Compensation, Benefits, Employee Relations, Labor Relations, Employment, HRIS and Records Retention.
Jay also has several years of HR experience leading total rewards in private sector organizations including Disney, Nestle, Charles Schwab, Toyota, Raytheon, and others. Overall, Jay has more than 25 years in Human Resources with primary focus on Total Rewards.
Ben Hensarling, Chief of Deferred Compensation
State of Florida
G. Ben Hensarling is the Plan Administrator for the Florida Deferred Compensation Plan, a voluntary governmental 457b that supplements other available retirement programs. He has been employed in the financial services industry for over 20 years, and has been with the Plan for a decade. Under his leadership, the Plan has been recognized several times through NAGDCA Leadership Awards.
Ben is a 12th generation Floridian, and graduated from the University of Florida. Additionally, he holds a Master of Business Administration from Florida State University and a Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University.
Amy Heyel, SVP, Government Practice Lead
Corebridge Financial
Bio coming soon!
Cindy Hoes, AVP, Business & Program Strategy
Nationwide
Cindy Hoes is the Associate Vice President of Business and Program Strategy for the Nationwide Retirement Institute. Cindy leads a team dedicated to insight-driven financial and retirement planning thought leadership and industry partnerships.
Prior to joining Nationwide, Cindy was an Associate at Franklin Park, a private equity advisory and investment management firm, where she led national institutional business development and client service efforts. Prior to Franklin Park, she held various roles at Lincoln Financial Group, spanning sales, marketing and business development across products and markets. In addition, Cindy founded CDC Consulting Services and provided marketing and communications to small business owners. With over 19 years of experience, Cindy has deep knowledge of financial wellness and retirement planning concepts and solutions.
Cindy holds an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She also holds Series 6 and 26 licenses.
Bryan Jeffries, Director of Deferred Compensation
International Association of Fire Fighters
Bio coming soon!
Greg Jenkins, CFA, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Defined Contribution
Invesco
Greg Jenkins, CFA is a Managing Director and Head of Institutional Defined Contribution on the North American Institutional team. As a managing director, he and his team are responsible for new business development and relationship management with plan sponsors and consultants. In addition to his role at Invesco, Jenkins currently serves as co-chair of the PRRL steering committee and co-president of the Defined Contribution Real Estate Council. He is a frequent speaker and thought leader on relevant topics in the retirement industry. Greg is a CFA charterholder.
Kevin Kilcarr, Senior Managing Director of Retirement Services
Enterprise Iron
Kevin has 35+ years in Financial Services industry, including end-to-end development and the implementation of new products and services at Fortune 100 firms. His expertise spans Insurance, Defined Contribution, Defined Benefit, Health and Welfare. Before joining Enterprise Iron and prior to the TESS contract supporting the TSP plan, Kevin managed the OmniPlus application at TIAA during a major conversion and development effort of 3.5 million participants and over 7 million accounts.
Sean Klein, EVP, Client Solutions and Analytics
PIMCO
Mr. Klein is an executive vice president on the client solutions and analytics team in the Newport Beach office. Prior to rejoining PIMCO in 2019, he was head of wholesale stress testing at MUFG Union Bank. Earlier in his career, he headed empirical model development and special consulting services at Kamakura Corporation. Mr. Klein also teaches financial econometrics at the University of California, Irvine’s Merage School of Business. He has conducted commissioned research for the U.S. government and for the Society of Actuaries, and he has published research on the use of neural networks in financial risk modeling. He has 11 years of investment and financial services experience and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Tera Klutz, State Comptroller
Indiana Deferred Compensation Plan
Tera K. Klutz is the 57th Indiana Auditor of State and the first CPA to serve as the state’s Chief Financial Officer. Effective July 1, 2023, Klutz also became the first State Comptroller for Indiana, per House Enrolled Act 1001.
She was appointed in 2017, elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. As Comptroller, Klutz is focused on providing accurate information, maintaining and enhancing government transparency, and delivering great customer service to ALL Hoosiers.
Prior to becoming the State Comptroller, she was elected as the County Auditor in Allen County in 2010 and 2014. She was named Auditor of the Year in 2016 by the Indiana Auditor’s Association. Before serving in the public sector, Klutz was a Senior Accountant at Crowe and PwC in Ft. Wayne.
Klutz holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, and is a member of the Indiana CPA Society, the American Institute of CPAs, and Cornerstone Lutheran Church.
Jonathan Kowolik, Head of Investment Operations Solutions Group, Sr. Consultant, Principal
RVK, Inc.
Jonathan is a Senior Consultant with RVK and is located in New York. He joined RVK in 2001 and serves as the practice leader for the RVK Investment Operations Solutions Group (IOSG). The IOSG has primary responsibility for providing project consulting and research including search and evaluation projects for trust/custody providers, recordkeepers, securities lending programs, transition management, and other operational consulting projects. Jonathan and the IOSG also provide support to RVK’s Defined Contribution Solutions Group (DCSG) on matters related to DC Plan Operations including Recordkeeping Evaluation, Monitoring and Search activities. Jonathan serves as a dedicated resource to many of the firm’s largest client relationships while also holding a consulting and advisory role within the general RVK consulting organization. He earned his BS in Economics with dual concentrations in Management and Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Jonathan is an RVK shareholder.
Marla Kreindler, Partner
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Marla Kreindler is a senior partner in the employee benefits and executive compensation practice of Morgan Lewis with more than 30 years of employee benefits and investment management experience. She regularly counsels governmental deferred compensation plan clients on plan governance and administrative matters, risk management, investment matters, contracting and tax and regulatory matters. She has extensive experience negotiating and drafting all types of plan administrative and investment agreements, and drafting plan documents and participant communications.
Michael Kreps, Principal
Groom Law Group
Michael Kreps is chair of Groom’s Retirement Services group, and he works with a wide variety of clients on complex retirement and health plan issues. His firsthand experience with the legislative and regulatory process gives him a perspective that is often instrumental in helping clients develop and implement effective compliance and advocacy strategies. Michael advises many of the country’s largest benefit plans and service providers on issues related to plan governance, administration, funding, and restructuring. Michael is an expert on benefit plan recordkeeping and the development of complex financial and insurance products. He also serves as fund counsel to some of the largest benefit plans in the country, including public retirement systems and VEBAs. Michael helps clients address complex pension funding challenges for both single employer and Taft-Hartley (multiemployer) plans, and he has been involved in over a dozen distress terminations before the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). As a zealous advocate, Michael routinely represents clients before regulators and Congress. He has successfully navigated dozens of Department of Labor (DOL) investigations, including a large number of service provider “book of business” audits. Michael also has secured federal legislation on behalf of clients to, among other things, change the pension funding rules for community newspapers, facilitate retirement plan participation by homecare workers, and provide pension funding relief to a national non-profit. From the 111th through the 114th Congresses, Michael served as the Senior Pensions and Employment Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He managed all aspects of the Committee’s retirement agenda and had primary staff responsibility for pension legislation, including the pension investment provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the funding stabilization and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation reform provisions of the MAP-21 Act of 2012, the Pension Relief Act of 2010, and the CSEC Pension Flexibility Act. He also led the Committee’s oversight of regulatory activities involving employee benefit plans. Michael serves as external general counsel for the Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets (CIEBA) and is on the Executive Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA). He is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School (JD with honors), the University of Colorado (with distinction), and the Sorensen Institute Political Leaders Program.
Stacey Laxton, Participant Engagement Consultant
Voya Financial
Stacey Laxton is a Participant Engagement Consultant with more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She is responsible for developing and implementing effective, award-winning, high-quality communications that drive measurable results. She offers the unique ability to proactively collaborate with clients to achieve their goals while identifying opportunities to promote positive participant behaviors. She is most proud of the relationships she builds with her clients.
Prior to joining Voya, Stacey spent five years at MassMutual and eight years at Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management working in a marketing and communication role. As well as four years at John Hancock within the Group Long-Term Care Division.
Stacey holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northeastern University. She is located in the Boston area.
David Levine, Principal
Groom Law Group
David Levine is co-chair of the firm’s Employers & Sponsors group. He advises plan sponsors, advisors, and other service providers on a wide range of employee benefits matters, from retirement and executive compensation to health and welfare plan matters. David advises on the design and redesign of complex retirement, executive, and health and welfare plans; ongoing, day-to-day counseling of plan sponsors; in-depth compliance reviews of corporate and governmental benefit programs; alternative products and assets, including venture capital, private equity, and cryptocurrency, for IRA, HSAs, and 401(k) plan service providers; products and compliance for retirement and health service providers, and representation of tax-exempt organizations with respect to issues involving corporate governance, executive compensation, and unrelated business income tax liability. David was previously the Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (2011-2013) and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association and serves in a number of leadership roles in the American Bar Association Tax Section’s Employee Benefits Committee. David regularly speaks on plan design, fiduciary governance, and legislative issues and contributes a recurring column to NAPA Net — The Magazine. He is recognized in the Chambers USA guide for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation.
Hank Levy, Treasurer-Tax Collector/Plan Officer
Alameda County
Henry C. Levy (Hank) was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to fill the remaining term of the former Treasurer-Tax Collector (TTC) in May 2017 and was elected to a full four-year term in June 2018. Prior to becoming Alameda County, TTC, Hank managed his accounting firm, The Henry Levy Group, CPAs and Consultants, which he founded in 1991. He grew it to over 30 people in 6 offices in Northern California. He sold the firm in 2016 prior to his appointment as TTC.
Hank is currently on the board of two non-profits: Pogo Park (Richmond, CA) and Senior Medi-Benefits. He has served on numerous other non-profit boards and been active in government citizen organizations since the mid-1980’s. He served on the Alameda County Assessment Appeals board from 2004 to 2017. He taught income tax for the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program for 4 years.
An East Coaster by birth, Hank came out to California in his early twenties, living always on the border of Oakland and Berkeley. He raised 4 children, who attended Oakland and Berkeley public schools. Hank has been a baseball umpire for almost 20 years, and has written a short memoir on this subject. Hank was married to Marcia Goodman for almost 32 years until she passed away from complications from Ovarian Cancer on December 5, 2017.
Hank is an accredited community college instructor. He has taught accounting, employee benefits, and economics various Universities and colleges in the Bay Area. Hank received his B.A (History) from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, his M.A (Industrial Arts) from San Jose State University, and his accounting education from California State University, Hayward (now Cal East Bay) and Golden Gate University.
Karyn Lujan, Deferred Compensation Plan Manager
State of New Mexico
Karyn Lujan is the Plan Manager for the for the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico’s 457b Deferred Compensation Plan – a voluntary, supplemental $750 million plan with over 23,000 participants, and growing. With a background in Public Relations, Ms. Lujan initiated of a complete rebrand of the Plan in efforts to communicate the connection to New Mexico’s mandatory government pension system. This included the adoption of a new Plan name: The PERA SmartSave Deferred Compensation Plan. Within 12 months of the rebrand, participation increased by more than 13% as well as the AUM by 9%. Next, Ms. Lujan completed an in-depth administrative fee analysis which resulted in the PERA Board adopting a new hybrid fee structure that lowered the annual recordkeeping fee for 2/3 of plan participants. Soon after, she actively participated in the annual New Mexico Legislative Session to update the Plan’s 36-year-old governing statutes to allow for online enrollment and transactions – a feat that had never been pursued, bringing the Plan to a much needed modern existence.
Because the Plan is voluntary, outreach is of the utmost importance and Plan evolution is a must. Ms. Lujan’s 19 years of experience working with public employees helps her understand financial behavior in New Mexico; she maintains an empathetic view on the PERA SmartSave Plan’s various outreach strategies in efforts to strengthen current financial pictures in hopes to reach the ultimate goal of a secure retirement for all New Mexicans.
Kenje Mallot, Financial Solutions Advisor
Alight Solutions
Kenje Mallot is financial solutions advisor at Alight Solutions, where she is responsible for working with clients to help them understand the industry landscape, create their strategy, choose solutions and execute their plans.
With almost 30 years of experience in the finance industry, Kenje brings deep expertise to Alight. She specializes in the financial user experience, financial product strategy, vendor partnerships and enhancing the financial lives of our clients’ employees by supporting, encouraging and facilitating positive financial behaviors and benefits decisions.
Kenje joins Alight from Aon Hewitt, where she served as financial solutions product manager. There, she focused on enhancing the overall employee experience through financial support and solutions. Before that, Kenje managed strategic relationships, participant services and government field operations at State Street Global Advisors, CitiStreet, ING and Voya Financial, respectively.
Kenje holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Concordia College.
Lisa Marques, Manager, Participant Engagement
Empower
Lisa Marques is a Manager of Participant Engagement for Empower. In her role, she is responsible for leading a team of Retirement Plan Counselors who service plans in the government market. Lisa joined Empower in 2015. She has eight years of experience in the financial services and retirement plan services industries. Lisa holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Northridge. She currently maintains FINRA Series 6 and 26 securities registrations and the Series 63 state securities license, and she holds the Certified Retirement Counselor® (CRC®) designation from the International Foundation for Retirement Education (InFRE).
Seth Miller, Retirement Readiness Director
State of Washington
Bio coming soon!
Jaime Morgan, Principal, Client Service & Marketing
Peregrine Capital Management
Jaime is responsible for the client service and marketing of Peregrine’s specialty equity strategies with a primary focus on institutional clients and consultants in the Western and Pacific Northwest regions. Prior to joining Peregrine in 2023, Jaime served as a Senior Director, Client Portfolio Specialist for Galliard Capital Management where she was responsible for developing customized stable value portfolio solutions and communicating portfolio strategy and performance to clients and consultants. In addition, Jaime was responsible for new business development for the firm. Before joining Galliard, Jaime served as a Senior Director, Institutional Sales and Relationship Management at Principal Global Investors where she was responsible for developing and managing client relationships for the firm’s various fixed income, real estate and equity investment strategies.
Jaime holds a BS degree in Finance from Iowa State University and an MBA from the University of Iowa. She holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA) certification, administered by the Investments & Wealth Institute.
Dan Morrison, Senior Vice President, Head of Government Markets
Empower
Dan Morrison is Senior Vice President of Government Markets for Empower. In his role, he leads the firm’s government segment, overseeing sales, client retention and financial results. The government business comprises nearly 5,000 plans and 3.7 million government workers. As such, Empower is a top provider of 457 plans by assets and participants, and its customers include 30 state 457 programs.
Dan joined the organization in 2004. He’s held increasingly responsible sales and service positions, including Sales Director and Managing Director. In the latter role, he led 70 directors and relationship managers. Most recently, Dan served as Vice President and Practice Leader for Empower’s not-for-profit segment, where he was responsible for overall sales and retention in the company’s growing book of healthcare, education, faith-based and other not-for-profit plan sponsors.
Dan holds bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and English from the University of Vermont.
Paul Nacario, Principal
Innovest Portfolio Solutions
Bio coming soon!
Chris Nikolich, Head of Glide Path Strategies
AllianceBernstein
Christopher Nikolich joined AB in 1994 and is the Head of Glide Path Strategies (US) in the Multi-Asset Solutions business, leading research efforts relating to the design and management of effective target-date and lifetime income fund solutions. He is the author of defined contribution (DC)-related research, such as Designing the Future of Target-Date Funds: A New Blueprint for Improving Retirement Outcomes. In addition, Nikolich has authored thought leadership focused on topics such as plan design, asset allocation, inflation and the design and evaluation of retirement income solutions. Nikolich also works closely with clients in the implementation of AB’s research to structure their customized target-date and lifetime income funds. He holds a BA in finance from Rider University, an MBA in finance from New York University, is the Vice Chair of Rider University’s Investment Subcommittee and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association.
Mikaylee O’Connor, Principal, Senior Defined Contribution Strategist
PGIM
Mikaylee O’Connor is a Principal, Senior Defined Contribution Strategist for PGIM. Ms. O’Connor provides thought leadership to DC plans on investment issues, plan design, investment structure, and the implications of regulatory and legislative changes. Ms. O’Connor supports PGIM’s DC thought leadership as well as innovative solutions to help plan participants achieve their retirement income goals.
Prior to joining PGIM, Ms. O’Connor was the Head of DC Solutions for RVK, Inc. In this role, she advised several clients including corporate, multiple-employer, and public DC plans, working directly with them on developing investment policies, investment menu design, plan fee reviews, target-date fund evaluations, and trustee education.
Ms. O’Connor is involved with the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), where she serves as a member of the Operating Committee and Executive Committee, and the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc. (NAGDCA), where she is a member of the Legislative Committee.
Stephanie O’Dear, Vice President, Government Markets
Empower
Stephanie O’Dear is Vice President of Government Markets for Empower. In her role, she is responsible for developing and enriching client relationships, contributing to the growth of the segment, and supporting a team responsible for delivering on the value proposition. Stephanie just celebrated 12 years with Empower and has also been a leader of marketing, sales, and strategic communications teams. She has received several awards for her work in marketing, participant communications and education and has 20 years of experience in marketing, branding, strategic communications, and sales management. Stephanie holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and advertising from the University of Missouri and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She holds a certificate in sales management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and has a Six Sigma Green Belt in financial services.
Jake O’Shaughnessy, Managing Director
SageView Advisory
Jake O’Shaughnessy, CFA is a Managing Director in SageView’s Portland, Oregon location. As an advisor for the institutional practice, Jake services more than $10 billion in assets across public, private, and not-for-profit defined contribution retirement plan relationships. A frequent speaker at defined contribution events such as NAGDCA, P&I DC West, and Western Pensions and Benefits, Mr. O’Shaughnessy is a well-known figure in the retirement consulting industry.
Prior to joining SageView, Jake worked in a consulting capacity at Arnerich Massena and RVK, bringing more than 13 years of experience in the financial industry. He has also worked with Shinsei Bank Investment Banking Group in Tokyo, Japan and Willamette Securities.
Jake graduated cum laude with a Master of Business from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Oregon. Mr. O’Shaughnessy is a former member of the NAGDCA Industry Committee, the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honors Society, and has also earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. He is a former FINRA Series 6 and 63 holder.
Jacob Peacock, Partner, Consulting Director
AndCo Consulting
As a Consulting Director at AndCo, Jacob leads a team of consultants in providing customized investment and fiduciary oversight for clients with institutional portfolios including defined contribution, defined benefit, endowments and foundations. He also contributes his experience to AndCo’s overall defined contribution strategy. Jacob is a frequent speaker at educational and industry conferences and actively participates on various related Committees. He is currently serving as an elected member of the NAGDCA Industry Committee which is focused on improving public sector retirement plans. He has spent his entire career in the retirement industry and brings a unique perspective with prior experience including participant-level education, corporate strategy, and business development. Prior to joining AndCo he held positions at Mercer and Wachovia (now Wells Fargo).
Jim Potvin, Executive Director
Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia
Jim Potvin is the Executive Director of the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia (ERSGA). He joined ERSGA in February, 2009 as the Deputy Director, after 15 years in private industry working in retirement plan administration and consulting. He was appointed as the Executive Director in February, 2012.
Jim began his career as a pension administrator for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, before moving into a consulting role with Arthur Andersen LLP. He later joined Hewitt Associates, a global HR consulting firm, as the Location Manager for the RFM Pension Administration outsourcing group. At ERSGA, Jim is responsible for the administration and operations of five defined benefit plans, two life insurance plans, and three defined contribution plans covering more than 120,000 active members and 75,000 retirees.
Jim holds a B.A. in Mathematical Economics and Managerial Studies from Rice University, and an M.S. from Georgia State University. He is a former president of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, and a member of the NAGDCA, the National Conference of State Social Security Administrators, and the Government Finance Officers Association.
James Reeves, Deputy Director
New York State Deferred Compensation Plan
James Reeves is the current Deputy Director for the New York State Deferred Compensation Plan and has been working for 15 years in various roles for the Plan including helping participants face to face in the field, and more recently helping to manage and guide the Plan’s future direction. He strongly believes in the power of well run DC plans to deliver better retirement outcomes for Plan participants at a lesser cost than they could obtain otherwise. He currently holds the CFP® and CRC designations, as well as a B.S. in Business from SUNY Fredonia and Associates Degree in computer science. He coauthored a published paper in PLI in 2019 discussing the retirement system frameworks of various countries and possible decumulation solutions.
Cindy Rehmeier, Manager of Defined Contribution Plans
MO Deferred Comp Plan
Cindy Rehmeier, CFP® is the Manager of Defined Contribution Plans with the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS). She joined MOSERS in 1999 and prior to her current focus on defined contribution plan investment and administration oversight, she managed the defined benefit plan’s internal short-term fixed income portfolio, securities lending activity and assisted with external equity and fixed income manager oversight. Cindy served eleven years on the board for the Missouri Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (MAPERS) and was a member of the NAGDCA Executive Board from 2014 – 2020.
David Schneier, Director
Fidelity Customer Protection
David Schneier is a Director with Fidelity’s Customer Protection team. He is an accomplished IT professional with well over thirty years of experience, the past twenty-five of which have been focused on Cyber Security. Prior to joining the Customer Protection team, he led a team responsible for assessing cybersecurity programs for Fidelity suppliers and third parties. He possesses the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Third Party Risk Professional (CTPRP) certifications.
Scott Steventon, Director of Retirement Programs
City of Phoenix
Scott Steventon currently serves as the Director of Retirement Programs for the City of Phoenix. Prior to that he served as the Deputy Director and Operations Manager. Scott is responsible for the effective and efficient administration of defined benefit and deferred compensation retirement programs for over 25,000 employees and retirees. He oversees an administrative and investment budget of over $30 million and an investment portfolio of ~$6 billion. With over 28 years of government service, Scott spent 17 years with the Phoenix Police Department in a number of different positions, completing his time as a state and federal grants program manager. He also spent several years as a capital bond programs manager building cultural facilities for non-profit organizations that provide programs and services to residents and visitors to the Valley of the Sun.
Tonya Toler, CPM®, CRC®, Director of Member Services
Maryland Supplemental Retirement Plans (MSRP)
Tonya Toler is the Director of Member Services at MSRP. The Member Services Education team that she heads develops award-winning campaigns and initiatives that are effective and aligns with the mission of the agency to provide the best in financial education across all career stages.
Tonya holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Towson University and is currently pursuing the Certified Financial Planner designation. She is located in Baltimore, Maryland.
Stacey Tovrov, Head of Investment Strategy, Retirement Solutions
BlackRock
Stacey Tovrov is the Head of Investment Strategy for Retirement Solutions within BlackRock’s Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions group. Retirement Solutions serves as the center for lifecycle investing at BlackRock, bringing together expertise in research, portfolio management, strategy, and technology. She is responsible for the development and commercialization of BlackRock’s lifecycle and decumulation investment strategies and representing the global LifePath target date fund franchise to institutional investors, consultants, and financial professionals.
Prior to joining Retirement Solutions, Ms. Tovrov was focused on product development and strategy for BlackRock’s Sustainable Investing platform, as well as the Strategic Product Management group. Previously, as Chief of Staff to the Head of the Portfolio Management Group, she was responsible for executing strategic projects and business management initiatives across the firm’s investment teams. Ms. Tovrov joined BlackRock in the institutional client business in New York and London, where she was responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with the firm’s pension funds, central banks, multilateral agencies, and other official entities.
Ms. Tovrov earned a BA degree in economics and international relations from Tufts University.
Kerrie Vanden Bosch, Chief Executive Officer
MERS of Michigan
Kerrie Vanden Bosch joined MERS at the beginning of 2020. Prior to joining MERS, she worked for the State of Michigan Office of Retirement Services for 16 years, serving as Executive Director since 2015.Kerrie has more than a decade of experience with retirement financing issues, including a history of finding solutions to challenging financial situations for public school retirement plans and serving on the governor’s local government pension workgroup. In addition, Kerrie assisted with the Detroit bankruptcy as a retirement subject matter expert, serving for five years on the City of Detroit General Retirement System Investment Committee, including three years as vice chair and chair. Kerrie has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Calvin College and a Master of Arts in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University.
Melanie Walker, Senior Vice President
Segal
Melanie Walker is a Senior Vice President in Segal’s National Compliance Practice, based in the firm’s Denver office. She has provided ongoing and special project compliance services for employee benefit plans for 20 years. Her primary area of expertise is with public sector retirement plans, and she serves as a national resource for Segal in this area. Ms. Walker received a BA in Political Science and International Affairs with an area of concentration in the former Soviet Union at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a JD from the University of Colorado School of Law. Ms. Walker is an active member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA), where she serves on the tax committee. She is also a member of the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) where she currently serves on the legislative committee.
Jay Washington, Assistant Vice President, Diverse Market Segments
Voya Financial
Jay Washington is the Assistant Vice President, Diverse Markets Segment for Voya Financial. He works with Voya’s Corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team, and is a national Subject Matter Expert. Jay partners with internal stakeholders including sales, service, operations, legal and product to position Voya to attract and retain diverse clients and provide a consistent experience that speaks to the different needs of these markets from engagement and onboarding and into the ongoing relationship.
Jay has been in the retirement industry since 2004. He has 22 years of experience in sales, operations, and service. Before joining Voya in 2020, Jay worked for other recordkeepers including Vanguard, TIAA, and OneAmerica.
Jay earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Master of Business from Point Park College. Jay also holds Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS®), Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®), and Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) professional designations.
Megan Yost, Senior Vice President
Segal Benz
Megan Yost is a Senior Vice President and Engagement Strategist at Segal Benz. A recognized thought leader in benefits communications, Megan has led award-winning campaigns with some of the country’s biggest plan sponsors to improve and increase participants’ interactions with their benefits.
Megan speaks frequently at industry conferences and with policymakers. She has testified several times before the ERISA Advisory Council to the U.S. Department of Labor. She’s quoted frequently in the press and is a member of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) Executive Committee, serving as its Communications Committee Chair. Additionally, she serves as a judge for industry awards, including DCIIA and Pensions & Investments (P&I) Excellence & Innovation Awards and P&I’s Eddy Awards.
Prior to joining Segal Benz, Megan was the Head of DC Experience at State Street Global Advisors. Megan earned a BA in English from Colby College and an MBA from Boston University.
Gerald Young, Senior Research Analyst
MissionSquare Research Institute
Gerald Young serves as Senior Research Analyst at MissionSquare Research Institute. In this role, he conducts research on local and state government workforce issues, public retirement plans, staff sharing, DEI, financial wellness, and other related topics.
Prior to joining the Research Institute in 2017, he worked with the International City/County Management Association for over two decades on performance management, police recruitment, organizing best practices symposia, and researching smart communities and local government innovation. He has also served local government directly for eight years with the cities of Chula Vista and Loma Linda, California, with a focus on budgeting and program evaluation.
His research has been covered by a variety of publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, PlanSponsor, Politico, Route Fifty, and American City & County.
Mr. Young earned a master’s in public administration from the University of Kansas and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics/computer science and political science from Loyola University Chicago.