HARRISBURG, PA – The Board of Trustees of the Public School Employees' Retirement System voted Thursday to re-elect Chris Santa Maria as Board Chairman, and Rep. Frank Ryan as Board Vice Chairman at the annual public organizational meeting held at PSERS headquarters. Both positions have one-year terms.
Mr. Santa Maria has been a PSERS trustee since 2017 and serves as one of three active member representatives on the Board. He is a history teacher in the Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County. He was formerly president of the Lower Merion Education Association. Mr. Santa Maria holds a bachelor's degree in history from Washington College and a master's degree in education from Cabrini College.
Rep. Ryan, who is the House Republican Caucus' appointee to the Board, has been a PSERS trustee since 2019. He is an elected state representative, representing parts of Lebanon County. He is a certified public accountant and retired Marine Reserve colonel. He holds a bachelor's degree from Mt. St. Mary's College and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Maryland.
In other business, the Board voted to hire the firm Hudepohl and Associates, pending successful contract negotiations, to conduct a nationwide executive search for the vacant positions of Chief Investment Officer, Executive Director, and Chief Counsel. The firm also will conduct a salary study of those positions.
The Board also voted to hire the firm Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren to serve as PSERS securities class action consultant.
In other investment-related business, the Board approved the following investments:
- $250 million in Keystone Partners L.P. ("Keystone") / International Infrastructure Finance Company III,
- $100 million in Clearlake Capital Partners Fund VII, and
- $100 million in LEM Multifamily Fund VI, L.P.
More details on these investments can be found on PSERS website.
About the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System
PSERS, founded in 1917, began operations in 1919 to oversee a statewide defined benefit pension plan for public school employees. PSERS' role expanded upon the passage of Act 5 of 2017 to include oversight of two new benefit options consisting of defined benefit and defined contribution (DC) components and a stand-alone DC plan. As of June 30, 2021, PSERS had total net assets of $72.5 billion and a membership of about 248,000 active, 243,000 retired school employees and 27,000 vested inactive members.