News release | Thomas Lawrence

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (May 4, 2023) – At the Teachers’ Retirement Board meeting on May 3, the trustees of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System reelected Harry Keiley as chair and elected Denise Bradford as vice chair of the board for the fiscal year 2023–24 term.

This is the fourth consecutive year Keiley is serving as chair. Bradford succeeds Sharon Hendricks, who served as vice chair for three consecutive terms. Hendricks nominated fellow educator Bradford during the meeting.

The 12-member board nominates and elects its chair and vice chair annually. The chair and vice chair provide board leadership, direction and policy development for CalSTRS, the largest educator-only pension fund in the world.

“I’m grateful to my board colleagues for their continued faith and teamwork,” Keiley said. “I’m excited to partner with Denise, who, as a longtime teacher, consistently has the best interests of our members at heart. We have a great team at CalSTRS, and I look forward to working with our staff and partners to ensure we uphold our mission and meet the pension promise made to our members.”

Keiley is a high school teacher with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and was first elected to the Teachers’ Retirement Board in 2007. He has served as president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association and chair of the California Teachers Association Political Action Committee.

Bradford is an elementary school teacher with the Saddleback Valley Unified School District in Southern California and was first elected to serve on the board in 2019. She has served as the president of the Saddleback Valley Educators Association and chair of the CTA Retirement Committee and is currently on the CTA Board of Directors.

“From the moment I joined this board, my colleagues have been welcoming, collaborative and immensely helpful. I’m humbled to become vice chair,” Bradford said. “I will follow in Sharon’s footsteps by considering the financial future of California’s public educators with every move we make.”

Media contact

Thomas Lawrence
Phone: 916-414-1440
M-F, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. PDT
Newsroom@CalSTRS.com

About CalSTRS

CalSTRS provides a secure retirement to more than 1 million members and beneficiaries whose CalSTRS-covered service is not eligible for Social Security participation. On average, members who retired in 2021–22 had 25 years of service and a monthly benefit of $4,809. Established in 1913, CalSTRS is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world with $307.2 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2023. CalSTRS demonstrates its strong commitment to long-term corporate sustainability principles in its annual Sustainability Report.