Event Speakers

With more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, Donna Bland was named president and CEO of Golden 1 Credit Union in 2010. Currently, she serves on the Visa Senior Client Council, Department of Business Oversight Credit Union Advisory Committee, the board of Credit Union Direct Corporation, and the board of the Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council and Sacramento Host Committee. Bland was named a “Most Admired CEO” by the Sacramento Business Journal in 2020 and has been included among the Sacramento Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” in 2016, amid other honors.

Lexie Carter is an associate governmental program analyst in the CalPERS Board Governance & Sustainability unit, in charge of facilitating the CalPERS Board self-evaluation. She sits on the Investment Office Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council and helps facilitate diversity, equity and inclusion practices for the team. Carter began her career with the state of California in March 2015, joining CalPERS in September 2017 as a staff services analyst in the Investment Office.

Carolyn Coleman brings 25 years of experience as a leader and an advocate in the public and private sectors to her role as executive director and CEO of the League of California Cities, the largest and oldest organization representing California’s cities and towns and their leaders. Under her leadership, Cal Cities advances policies to expand local control through education and advocacy to enhance the quality of life for all Californians.

She joined Cal Cities in December 2016 after a decade with the National League of Cities (NLC) in Washington, D.C. as senior executive and director of federal advocacy. A national organization, NLC advances policies at the federal level that expand local control and provide resources for local programs. During her tenure at NLC, she oversaw the organization’s advocacy efforts and worked closely with city leaders from across the country and the 49 state municipal leagues to protect and promote local interests in matters before Congress, within the White House, and in the courts.

Prior to NLC, Coleman served as deputy mayor for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, where she led the mayor’s initiatives involving public works, economic and community development, parks and recreation, and neighborhood services.

Sarah Corr was named managing investment director for real assets in June 2020.

She implements and manages the fund’s global real asset investment strategy and policy portfolio, which includes real estate, infrastructure, and forestland.

Corr has been with CalPERS since 2001. She previously served as interim managing investment director over two years and as an investment director in the private equity asset class. Prior to joining CalPERS, she worked in the banking and insurance industries. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the Private Equity Women Investor Network.

Lauren Dillard is the executive vice president of investment intelligence, where she leads the strategic direction and fosters growth across Nasdaq’s index, data, and intelligence businesses. Dillard is passionate about professional career development of women in the financial services and serves as a regular speaker at the Kayo Conference Series, Tech Up for Women, and Women in ETFs. She was the executive sponsor of Women in Nasdaq, one of the founders of Carlyle’s Women’s Employee Resource Group, and a member of the Private Equity Women Investor Network (PEWIN), in addition to numerous other efforts to advance broad‐spectrum diversity.

Dorene Dominguez is the chairwoman and CEO of Vanir Group of Companies, Inc. Throughout her career, she has served on various corporate boards of publicly traded companies and is currently a director on the CIT Group and CIT Bank NA boards, on the KB Home board, and is an active member of the Coca-Cola Hispanic Advisory Council. In addition, she is a valued member of the Board of Directors of the California Chamber of Commerce. In recognition of her national business, philanthropic, and community efforts, Dominguez has been recognized by Fortune magazine as one of "The 50 Most Powerful Latinas of 2017".

Marcie Frost joined CalPERS as chief executive officer in 2016. She is the ninth CEO and second woman to head America's largest pension fund. As CEO, Frost oversees an annual budget of $1.8 billion, an experienced team of 2,800 professionals, and three lines of business for the fund: pensions, health benefits, and investments.

Under Frost’s leadership, CalPERS is focused on maximizing long-term investment returns to meet the fund's fiduciary responsibility to members and leverage the fund's global strength to drive sustainable markets.

Prior to joining CalPERS, Frost spent 30 years in public service with the state of Washington Her early leadership roles were in human resources with an emphasis on employee benefit programs and information technology. She later was named executive director of the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems, where she demonstrated strong leadership and innovation, an emphasis on customer satisfaction, and team collaboration.

Frost has also served as chair of the Pension Funding Council, was a member of the Technology Services Board in Washington, and was a voting member of the Washington State Legislature's Select Committee on Pension Policy. She represents the United States on the International Centre for Pension Management Board of Directors.

Alona Gornick serves as a managing director, origination, and head of the Chicago office for Churchill Asset Management, where she focuses on developing relationships with private equity sponsors and middle market lenders. Her career encompasses over 20 years of market experience, including serving as: director on the private markets team for Churchill’s parent company, Nuveen; an advisor to Golden Gate Capital; and a vice president at Oaktree Capital Management where she later became general partner. Gornick began her career in investment banking in the gaming and leisure group at Banc of America Securities.

Allison Herren Lee was appointed to the SEC in 2019 and designated acting chair of the commission in 2021. She brings to the SEC over two decades of experience as a securities law practitioner, as well as over a decade in various roles at the SEC. She has served as a special assistant U.S. attorney, was a member of the American Bar Association’s former Committee on Public Company Disclosure, and participated on a USAID project in Armenia, assisting in the drafting of periodic reporting and disclosure provisions for a comprehensive law of the Republic of Armenia on securities market regulation.

Jean Hsu was named managing investment director for Opportunistic Strategies (OS) in June 2020. The program enables the Total Fund to access investment opportunities outside of the existing asset classes by identifying and facilitating investments in assets and innovative portfolios perceived to be substantially undervalued.

Hsu sits on the CalPERS Investment Management Committee and the Investment Strategy Review Group, which determine the strategies and allocations of the Total Fund’s assets.

She joined the Investment Office in 2000 and has served in different management positions, most recently as the interim managing investment director for OS and investment director for OS. Before that she was portfolio manager for Global Fixed Income. Prior to joining CalPERS, Hsu worked for eight years in a variety of legal, finance, and investment fields, which included international structured finance, banking and securities, and corporate and government advisory.

Kirsty Jenkinson is the current investment director for CalSTRS. With over 20 years of experience in finance, she has worked across the globe — from serving as the director of governance & sustainable investment for BMO Global Asset Management in London to acting as the managing director and sustainable investment strategist with Wespath Institutional Investments in Chicago, Illinois. Jenkinson’s career has led her to all corners of the world. In mid-2019, she was appointed to her current role at CalSTRS where she's been working to continue to integrate sustainability into business ventures.

On May 19, 2021 the Teachers’ Retirement Board (Board) announced the appointment of Cassandra Lichnock as the new chief executive officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). CalSTRS is the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, with a 75% female membership and an investment portfolio valued at $299.8 billion as of April 30, 2021. Lichnock will serve as the fund’s first female CEO.

CalSTRS administers a hybrid retirement system, consisting of a traditional defined benefit, cash balance and defined contribution plans, as well as disability and survivor benefits. CalSTRS serves more than 949,000 members and benefit recipients. CalSTRS administers retirement benefits for California’s public school educators in grades kindergarten through community college.

As CEO, Lichnock will build and execute strategy, deliver on operational excellence, and forge a strong relationship with the Board. She will continue her leadership in modernizing CalSTRS systems and processes, build on the fund’s commitments to sustainability and diversity, and focus on evolving CalSTRS culture as the organization plans for a post-pandemic future.

Lichnock has served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) since March 2013. In this role, she oversees the Audit Services, Enterprise Strategy Management, Administrative Services, Benefits & Services, Public Affairs, and Technology Services divisions as well as the Ombuds office. She also serves as an advisor and counselor to the Teachers’ Retirement Board and the chief executive officer, ensuring that the most complex and critical operational issues and policy matters impacting the system are developed and implemented consistent with CalSTRS mission, vision and values.

Dr. Logan leads the CalPERS clinical policy program as well as COVID-19 response efforts. Before CalPERS, she served as the chief quality officer and associate medical director for the California Department of Health Care Services. Dr. Logan is also a practicing physician, volunteering every week at a local community clinic where she sees patients and all types of medical conditions. Dr. Logan graduated medical school from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui has represented the city of Sacramento and its surrounding areas since 2005. As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, she serves on the Health, Environment and Climate Change, and Consumer Protection and Commerce subcommittees, and is the vice chair on the Communications and Technology subcommittee. She focuses on ensuring quality, affordable health care for all, promoting clean energy, and is an ardent supporter of advancing STEM education, especially for women. Previously, Matsui served in leadership capacities for the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento Children's Home, the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra, and more.

Sarah Maynard is Global Head, External Inclusion & Diversity, Strategies and Programs at CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials. Based in London, Sarah leads a global, industry-recognized portfolio of Inclusion & Diversity programs for CFA Institute stakeholders in order to champion the cause of greater diversity in the investment management industry. An experienced investment professional, Sarah joined CFA Institute in 2019 from Majedie Asset Management, an independent global investment firm based in the UK, where she was Head of Stewardship and Client Communications Director. In the role, Sarah focused on ESG, especially governance, with a keen interest in how companies can achieve success through improving inclusion. Previously, Sarah was Director of Career Development at CFA Society of the UK, and a founder of the society’s Women’s Network, which she transformed into the Inclusion & Diversity Network, which now has a membership of over 1,200 investment professionals.

Lisa Middleton is serving in her first term on the CalPERS Board of Administration as a Governor’s appointee representing local governments. She actively serves on the Palm Springs City Council, the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the Sunline Transit Board of Directors, the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy, and on Coachella Valley Association of Governments' Transportation, Energy & Environment, and Conservation committees representing Palm Springs. In her role as a CalPERS Trustee, Middleton serves on the following committees: Risk & Audit, Investment, Performance, Compensation & Talent Management, as well as Vice Chair of Board Governance. Middleton is also a member of several other state- and county-wide committees focusing on city planning, transportation, and LGBTQ rights and resources. She is the first transgender person elected to a non-judicial office in the State of California.

Stacie Olivares was appointed to the CalPERS Board of Administration by the Governor to represent the insurance industry in 2019. Olivares brings with her over two decades of investment experience. Previously, she had served as chief investment officer of Lendistry, the senior advisor on impact investment and blockchain for the State of California, the managing director and chief investment officer of the California Organized Investment Network, and as the former executive director of the California Commission for Economic Development. In her role as a CalPERS Trustee, she serves on four committees including: Governance, Finance & Administration, Investment, and Performance, Compensation & Talent Management.

Kate Renwick-Espinosa is the president of VSP Vision Care, a nonprofit organization that helps provide vision benefits to over 90 million members worldwide. With over 20 years of experience in business, Renwick-Espinosa is highly accomplished with several honors and awards to her name including the "Most Powerful and Influential Women" Award by the California Diversity Council and the Pleiades Award by the Optical Women’s Association. Currently, she is focused largely on growth strategy, business transformation, financial strategy, product development, marketing, organizational design, and brand management, in the hope of making vision care more accessible across the globe.

Karishma Shah Page is a member of K&L Gates public policy and law practice. She focuses on federal legislative and regulatory policy while developing a variety of advocacy strategies to advance client objectives. Her other experiences include: serving as a legal clerk for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President; and the United States Agency for International Development. She has also been honored with the DCA Live Award for "Emerging Women Leaders in Private Practice" in 2020.

Anne Simpson joined CalPERS in 2009 and was named managing investment director for Board Governance & Sustainability in 2020. For 10 consecutive years, she's been ranked by the National Association of Corporate Directors as one of the year’s 100 most influential people in the boardroom. Simpson also serves on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee, the Leadership Council of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and the Senior Advisory Board at the Center for Responsible Business at Haas, U.C. Berkeley.

Mary Teichert is company president of Teichert Construction and has been with the company since 2004. Over her career, she has served as a consultant with Bain & Co, a director of product strategy at Apple, and in a variety of roles within Teichert, including general manager of Teichert Precast, general manager of Teichert Readymix, president of construction, and chief operating officer of Teichert Inc. Currently, Teichert is a board member of the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) and chair of the CBIA Governmental Affairs committee, as well as a board member of California’s Contractor State License Board and a governor’s appointee to the State of California Public Works Contract Arbitration Committee.

Marlene Timberlake D'Adamo joined the CalPERS executive team in 2016 as chief compliance officer and was recently named CalPERS’ first chief diversity & inclusion officer. In the past, she has also provided executive leadership as CalPERS' interim chief financial officer, bringing more than 25 years of finance and investment experience to the organization. Prior to joining CalPERS, Timberlake D’Adamo served in other leadership capacities in the finance and compliance field, including chief compliance officer of Glenmede Investment Management, vice president of the Glenmede Trust Company, and managing director, senior vice president, portfolio & risk management at PNC Bank in Philadelphia.