WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (November 7, 2022) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, is pleased to announce the hiring of Kate LeBlanc as retirement readiness director.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 29, 2022) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) today announced a -1.3% net return on investments for the 2021–22 fiscal year, ending with the total fund value at $301.6 billion as of June 30, 2022. The 2021–22 return, CalSTRS’ first negative return since 2009, reflects the ongoing volatility of global financial markets impacted by inflation, rising interest rates, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 15, 2022) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System is pleased to announce the promotion of Cheryl Cervantes-Dietz as chief auditor.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (May 9, 2022) – At the Teachers’ Retirement Board meeting on May 4, the trustees of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) reelected Harry M. Keiley as chair and Sharon Hendricks as vice chair of the board for the fiscal year 2022–23 term.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 10, 2022) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today debuted a redesigned website offering an improved search function, simplified navigation and a modern style: CalSTRS.com. The new design focuses on California’s public school educators and their beneficiaries.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (December 13, 2021) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced it was named a Best Place to Work in Money Management in 2021 by Pensions & Investments magazine for the sixth consecutive year.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (November 10, 2021) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, today announced the promotion of Kelly Criss as head of investment operations. He replaces April Wilcox, who became CalSTRS’ director of investment services in October 2021.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (November 8, 2021) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced that Governor Newsom has appointed Ken T. Tang to the Teachers’ Retirement Board.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (October 27, 2021) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, is pleased to announce the appointment of Kristel Turko as the director of human resources. She replaces Melissa Norcia, who became CalSTRS’ chief administrative officer in September 2021.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (September 7, 2021) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, today announced the appointment of Melissa Norcia as the chief administrative officer (CAO). She replaces Lisa Blatnick, who became CalSTRS’ chief operating officer in August 2021. Norcia’s first day as CAO will be September 15, 2021.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (August 4, 2021) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, today announced the appointment of Lisa Blatnick as chief operating officer. She replaces Cassandra Lichnock, who became CalSTRS’ chief executive officer on July 1, 2021. Blatnick’s first day as COO will be August 16, 2021.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 26, 2021) — The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) today announced a 27.2% net return on investments for the 2020–21 fiscal year, a record high that far exceeded the investment assumption of 7.0%. Growth was driven by strong performance across all markets, despite the global pandemic. As of June 30, 2021, the total fund value was $308.6 billion—double the value from just 10 years ago.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (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. Lichnock will serve as the fund’s first female CEO, an important milestone demonstrating the Board’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. Her first day as CEO will be July 1, 2021.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 16, 2021) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) today announced that portfolio manager Aeisha Mastagni was elected to the board of directors for the Council of Institutional Investors (CII). Mastagni, who works in CalSTRS’ Sustainable Investment and Stewardship Strategies (SISS) unit, also served on the CII board of directors from 2015—2019. She was also elected as co-chair for the public fund constituency.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (January 21, 2021) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, announced the appointment of Teresa Schilling as Chief Public Affairs Officer effective January 25. Schilling will provide strategic leadership and guidance to the Teachers’ Retirement Board, executives and the CalSTRS organization on policy, communications and stakeholder programs and issues. Her position reports directly to CalSTRS Chief Operating Officer Cassandra Lichnock.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (January 5, 2021) – Lamont King was appointed Assistant General Counsel for Investments for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System effective December 14, 2020. In his new role, King heads the Investment Counsel division in the Office of the General Counsel. King began his career with CalSTRS in 2010 as one of two specialized counsels on the investment-focused legal team and rose to senior investment counsel in 2013. He has served in a lead capacity in that role for the past two years.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (December 21, 2020) – Scott Chan, CalSTRS Deputy Chief Investment Officer, was elected to the Toigo Governing Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2021. The Toigo Foundation fosters career advancement and increased leadership presence of underrepresented talent in the financial industry.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (October 19, 2020) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced the appointment of April Wilcox as the new director of investment services. Wilcox will oversee the business support units of the Investments Branch, including operations, performance, compliance and administration. The position reports directly to Chief Investment Officer Christopher J. Ailman.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 20, 2020) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) today announced its investment portfolio returned 3.9% net of fees for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, and recorded the year-end fund value at $246.0 billion. The 2019–20 return reflects the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on global financial markets.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 13, 2020) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System today announced that their Sustainable Investment and Stewardship Strategies (SISS) Investment Director, Kirsty Jenkinson, was selected as one of Chief Investment Officer Magazine’s Class of 2020 NextGen investors. Jenkinson leads a portfolio of $6.3 billion and is also responsible for overseeing CalSTRS’ stewardship activities, including the system’s corporate engagement and proxy voting activities, and managing strategic relationships with key stakeholders, the media and the broader investment industry.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (April 13, 2020) – After 24 years of service, Debra Smith, Chief Operating Investment Officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, announced her retirement in February. She will continue to serve as COIO until May 7, 2020.  CalSTRS will soon conduct a competitive search for her successor.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 20, 2020) – At the request of the Teachers’ Retirement Board, CalSTRS Chief Executive Officer Jack Ehnes will continue to serve as CEO through June 30, 2021. Ehnes previously announced an earlier retirement date at the March 2020 board meeting. His June 2021 retirement will allow the board to postpone the executive search for a new CEO to ensure the most thorough and competitive process possible. This decision will enable CalSTRS to maintain focus on appropriately responding to the coronavirus crisis and securing the financial future of California’s educators.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 5, 2020) – Jack Ehnes, chief executive officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), initially announced his September 2020 retirement at the March 2020 Teachers’ Retirement Board meeting. Following this announcement, the board requested he continue to serve until June 30, 2021, to allow more time to conduct a search for his successor. Ehnes joined CalSTRS as CEO in February 2002.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (January 28, 2020) — Denise Bradford, a longtime elementary school teacher from the Saddleback Valley Unified School District in Orange County, has begun serving a four-year term on the Teachers’ Retirement Board as one of three elected members on the 12-member board.