April 3, 2008

SACRAMENTO, CA – Trustees of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) unanimously re-elected Dana Dillon as Chair and Jerilyn Harris as Vice-Chair for the 2008-09 term at their April 3 meeting.

The 12-member Teachers’ Retirement Board nominates and elects their chair and vice-chair annually. Members serve four-year terms. The board officers provide leadership to the trustees as they develop policies and provide direction for the nation’s second-largest public pension fund.

Dana Dillon, a teacher/librarian with the Weed Union Elementary School District, is the incumbent Teachers Retirement Board Chair. She has served on the board since 2004, and was vice-chair in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Dillon has been active in the California Teachers Association for more than 24 years, serving as state council representative. She is a member of the CTA Board of Directors.

Jerilyn Harris is an award-winning science teacher with more than 25 years experience teaching in Ukiah and Beverly Hills. On the CalSTRS Board, she chairs the Appeals and Legislative committees. Harris retired from teaching in 2002 and has served on the Teachers' Retirement Board since 2005. She is a former chair of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

"CalSTRS faces some very real challenges this year including legislative efforts to place restrictions on our investment opportunities and a long-term funding gap that we must bridge," said Dillon. "I’m confident my colleagues and I will ultimately surmount these obstacles to securing the financial future of our members and their families."

Established 95 years ago, the California State Teachers' Retirement System, with a $165 billion portfolio, is the second-largest public pension fund in the United States. It administers retirement, disability and survivor benefits for California's 813,000 public school educators and their families from the state's 1,400 school districts, county offices of education and community college districts.