CITIES TMRS - Texas Municipal Retirement System

Texas Municipal Retirement System
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2016
Annual Training Seminar
September 7-9, 2016 • Sheraton Austin at the Capitol
Welcome to the TMRS Annual Training Seminar
We’re glad you’re here! The 2016 TMRS Annual Training Seminar returns to the Capital of Texas, and this year’s
theme is “The Power of Partnership” between TMRS and its member cities, with special emphasis on the relationship between TMRS and administrators. City Correspondents and other administrative personnel are important
ingredients in a successful recipe: providing municipal employees a clear understanding of how the System works
for them, and why their city has chosen to become a TMRS city. We couldn’t communicate this important information without you!
On Wednesday evening before the main seminar programming kicks off, we are offering a session designed for cities new to the TMRS
family and for city administrators who are new to their positions. This presentation is an overview of the System and will acquaint you
with resources you can use in administering the plan at your city.
Courses on Thursday and Friday include joint presentations and panel discussions, emphasizing the themes of collaboration and partnership. This year we are pleased to have three keynote speakers. Reggie Butler, CEO of Performance Paradigm, LLC, will kick off our
seminar with a presentation on the Power of Partnership. Joe Serio, principal of Joe Serio Enterprises, will enlighten and entertain us
during lunch with his message about collaboration. The seminar concludes with keynote speaker Julia A. Nicholson, pension education expert and principal of J | N Consulting, who will send us home with an affirmative message about the power of pensions.
Other visiting speakers are Keith Brainard, Research Director from the National Association of State Retirement Administrators
(NASRA), speaking on current state and national issues; Bob Scott, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant City Manager of Carrollton,
discussing GASB requirements; Mark Randall, from TMRS’ consulting actuary GRS, discussing actuarial perspectives; and Tom Clark,
Social Security Consultant, highlighting Social Security and Medicare in TMRS cities.
On Thursday evening, after our full day of sessions, we will have dinner aboard a riverboat while cruising Lake Austin. Be sure to join
us at 5:30 to catch a shuttle to board the riverboat.
The power of our partnership with member cities yields an incredible result — providing the best retirement plan for city employees.
We hope you have a great time in Austin and a good learning experience at our seminar!
David Gavia
TMRS Executive Director
TMRS Board of Trustees
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Jim Parrish, Chair
Deputy City Manager –
Administrative Services
Plano
James “Jim” Paul Jeffers
City Manager
Nacogdoches
Julie Oakley, CPA
Director of Finance
Lakeway
Bill Philibert, Vice Chair
Human Resources Director
Deer Park
David Landis
City Manager
Perryton
Roel “Roy” Rodriguez, PE
City Manager
McAllen
KeynoteSpeakers
The Power of Partnership
Thursday, September 8 • 8:45 am
Reginald F. Butler
Founder and CEO, Performance
Paradigm
Reggie Butler is a highly recognized motivational speaker and
corporate consultant/educator
with over 28 years of experience in delivering transformative learning solutions in the
private and public sectors. He
serves a wide portfolio of diverse clients and industries both domestically and abroad.
A high-energy motivational speaker for personal, professional, and organizational improvement, he has been
called a visionary who leverages his experience in human
capital performance, educational design, and leadership
development. He is also well versed in the delivery of
both virtual and experiential learning solutions.
Reggie has collaborated with executive leadership teams
to develop and execute strategies to change organizational culture and increase leadership effectiveness. His
competency model focuses on achieving results, fostering change, engaging staff, and leveraging relationships.
His areas of expertise include organizational change management, diversity and inclusion, multicultural recruiting,
executive leadership, conflict resolution, trainer certification and development, e-learning strategies, high performing teams, recruitment and retention strategies, and
executive coaching. Reggie holds a master’s in educational administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati and
graduated with a double major in theatre and music from
Washington University in St. Louis.
Collaboration and Relationship Building
Thursday, September 8 • 1:00 pm
Joe Serio, Ph.D
CEO, Joe Serio Enterprises
Dr. Joe Serio helps people in
various organizations navigate
resistance to change so they
can move forward successfully. “Dr. Joe“ knows all about
fear and change — he spent
10 years in the former Soviet
Union working with the KGB!
He brings his unique insight,
wisdom, and experience to the
TMRS seminar and teaches participants how to Get the
Nerve® to Lead and Succeed.
An international speaker, trainer, and author, Joe holds a
Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University, with a specialization in Leadership and Organizational
Behavior. His unique experience in the former Soviet Union
investigating the Russian mafia included a year spent working in the Organized Crime Control Department of the Soviet
national police prior to the collapse of the USSR. The author
of the critically acclaimed book, Investigating the Russian
Mafia, he recently released the first two books in his Get the
Nerve® Series, Overcoming Fear: 50 Lessons on Being Bold
and Living the Dream and Public Speaking: 50 Lessons on
Presenting Without Losing Your Cool.
The Power of Public Pensions
Friday, September 9 • 10:45 am
Julia A. Nicholson
Principal, J | N Consulting
Julia has more than 25 years of
experience in the fields of employee benefits consulting, administration, operations, and human resources. She facilitates
discussions on board governance,
strategic planning, benefit design, administration, operations,
and performance management
for boards and executives of pension and health and welfare plans across the country. She has served as the CEO of
the Motion Picture Industry Pension & Health Plans, which
administers retirement and health plan benefits for over
115,000 members, and as the Vice President of Operations
for the UFCW–Employers Benefit Plans of Northern California, LLC, an entity that administers benefits for over 120,000
members. Prior to these positions, Julia served as CEO of
the Central Valley Trust, which provides benefits to approximately 38,000 active and retired school district employees
in California; as Senior Vice President at Keenan & Associates (the 17th largest independent consulting and insurance
brokerage firm in the U.S.), and officer and consultant for William M. Mercer (consultant for public sector plans across the
country on a wide array of issues).
She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in business administration,
with majors in finance and management and organizational
behavior, and received her MBA degree from the University of
Denver. She is an instructor for the International Foundation
of Employee Benefit Plans Certificate of Achievement in Public Plan Policy (CAPPP®) program and a former member of the
International Foundation Actuaries/Consultants Committee.
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Course Descriptions
Wednesday, September 7
Introduction to TMRS
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | Ballroom D
Welcome to TMRS! This is an orientation session for new TMRS
cities and employees that will acquaint you with resources you
can use in administering the plan at your city. It covers TMRS history, an overview of the Plan, how TMRS works with cities, how
the Travel Team provides service to cities, and resources that
cities may wish to use. Included in the orientation is a sample
presentation the Travel Team uses when explaining TMRS to employees at benefit meetings.
Eric Davis
David Rodriguez
Lorraine Moreno
Thursday, September 8
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:
The Power of Partnership
8:45 – 10:15
Being a highly successful leader requires
different skill sets than it did even five years
ago. The pressures to do more and get more
from each employee are increasing rapidly
as organizations attempt to contain costs, retain talent, and
increase productivity. In this session, you will:
Funding and Investments
10:30 – 11:30
This joint presentation covers actuarial and investment issues
from the points of view of our System’s consulting actuary (GRS)
and executive staff. Leslee Hardy, TMRS’ Actuarial Services Director, and Mark Randall, CEO of GRS, will tag team for a summary of
recent actuarial changes and how they affect cities; then TMRS’
Chief Investment Officer, T.J. Carlson, will present an overview of
investment classes and diversification.
Leslee Hardy
Mark Randall
T.J. Carlson
Important Issues and Error Correction
11:30 – 12:30
This panel from the TMRS Member Services Department, monitored by Regional Manager Sean Thompson, will describe “fixes”
of errors and give you tips for how to prevent them. Each issue
discussed will start with a definition of the issue, including correction of errors, City Portal processing, electronic payroll submission, compensation, the ins and outs of enrollment, and more. Be
sure to bring your questions for the panel!
Sean Thompson,
Moderator
Vikki Vasquez
Chad Nichols
Peter Jeske
Maryann Malave-Jaini
●● Explore new ways to evolve your current leadership style
to meet the demands of an ever-changing workforce
●● Practice skills and techniques to increase
workforce engagement
●● Develop techniques to flex between managing
yourself and leading others
●● Identify methods for transforming your current
network from transactional relationships to
relevant partnerships
Reggie Butler will guide you on an engaging learning path
that promotes new ways to expand your current mindset. You
will walk away with personal and business insights to develop a relevant leadership profile and relationship profile that
works across multiple generations, changing demographics,
and global business demands.
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LUNCHTIME SPEAKER:
Collaboration and
Relationship Building
1:00 – 2:00 (After lunch)
Collaboration and relationship building
are the keys to success. Unfortunately
sometimes the result of communication
is misunderstanding, which acts as a barrier to building relationships. This presentation addresses one of the most potent
obstacles to effective communication: fear. Without effective
communication, the hope of building lasting and meaningful relationships is severely hampered. Dr. Serio will give you
simple but powerful tools and techniques that can be put into
practice immediately to build better relationships.
Update on GASB Implementation
2:00 – 3:00
The city perspective and the TMRS perspective are included in
this overview for your city Finance department. This presentation
includes an update on GASB 68 implementation, a look at future
GASB issuances that may affect TMRS cities, and an review of the
TMRS resources available to cities. Also included in this joint presentation between Bob Scott (CFO, City of Carrollton) and Rhonda
Covarrubias (TMRS Finance Director) is a summary of frequently
asked questions from Ariel Chou (TMRS Actuarial Analyst) that
TMRS has received from cities while they are preparing their financial statements.
Bob Scott
Rhonda Covarrubias
Ariel Chou
Legal Issues and Special Considerations
3:00 – 4:00 Legal and Member Services Panel
How does the city deal with major changes in members’ lives,
such as divorce and death? Our expert panel, composed of a City
Benefits Administrator, a TMRS lawyer, a member of the Travel
Team, and a TMRS Support Services Analyst, will discuss these
topics. In addition, the group will discuss legal issues such as
marriage, divorce, termination of employment, and death benefits. Come prepared to ask the panel questions regarding these
issues at your city!
Shannon Lucero • Moderator, Michelle Mellon-Werch, Tricia Solis,
Esmeralda Arellano • Garland
TMRS Makes Sense
4:15 – 5:15
Often cities and members may not be aware of the hidden benefits of TMRS as a retirement system. In this presentation, Debbie Muñoz, Director of Member Services, gets the ball rolling by
explaining how Member Services works hand in hand with cities
to help administer the plan. Then Anthony Mills, Senior Regional
Manager for the Travel Team, highlights the advantages TMRS
brings to the table, explaining how our unique cash balance plan
is a boon for cities, individual employee members, state and local
economies, and the public at large.
Debbie Muñoz
Anthony Mills
Friday, September 9
Current State and National Issues
8:30 – 9:30
Keith Brainard, Research Director at the National Association of
State Retirement Plans (NASRA), will summarize current pensionrelated issues at the state and national level. His co-presenter,
Dan Wattles, Director of Governmental Relations at TMRS, will
provide an overview of interim preparations for the upcoming
85th Legislative Session and will summarize the meetings of the
TMRS Board’s Advisory Committee on Benefit Design.
Keith Brainard
Dan Wattles
The Full Retirement Picture –
Social Security and Medicare
9:30 – 10:30
Colin Davidson, a Regional Manager on TMRS’ Travel Team, will
introduce topics retirees should take into consideration; then
Tom Clark, a longtime employee of the Social Security Administration and an expert consultant on Social Security and Medicare,
will enlighten you on the impact Social Security has on cities. In
addition, Tom will explain how Medicare works for both retired
and active city employees.
Colin Davidson
Tom Clark
CLOSING KEYNOTE:
The Power of
Public Pensions
10:45 – 11:45
The seminar closes with a high-level, positive overview of how plans like TMRS fit into
the overall pension picture. Julia Nicholson,
an expert pension educator, will provide a brief history of pensions and summarize the current debate about pensions and
their funding. She’ll explain how pensions are truly an economic plus at the local, state, and national levels. She will
also share some positive, often overlooked information about
pension plans, including their funding, how they benefit their
communities, and how they are ultimately a way that employees and employers can partner together for the greater good.
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Guest Speakers
Keith Brainard
Mark Randall
“Current State and National Issues”
“Funding and Investments”
As research director for the National Association of State Retirement Administrators
(NASRA), Keith collects, prepares, and distributes to NASRA members news, studies,
and reports pertinent to public retirement
system administration and policy. He is coauthor of The Governmental Plans Answer Book, Third Edition,
and he created and maintains the Public Fund Survey, an online
compendium of public pension data sponsored by NASRA. He
created the State & Local Pension Exchange, predecessor to the
Public Fund Survey and recipient of the Award for Excellence in
Government Finance from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Keith has discussed public pension issues before
Congress, state legislative committees, public pension boards of
trustees, and on multiple media outlets.
He is an appointed member of the Texas Pension Review Board
and an elected member of the Georgetown, Texas, city council.
Keith previously served as manager of budget and planning for
the Arizona State Retirement System and as a fiscal analyst for
the Texas and Arizona legislatures. He also served as an Advisory
Committee member for TMRS. He holds a BA and an MPA from the
University of Texas at Austin.
Robert B. (Bob) Scott
“Update on GASB Implementation”
Bob Scott is Chief Financial Officer/Assistant
City Manager for the City of Carrollton, Texas,
where his responsibilities include all aspects
of the city’s financial operations. A CPA, Bob
began his career in public accounting, ultimately serving as an audit manager with responsibility for a large
number of governmental clients.
He has extensive experience in accounting and financial reporting issues, having served on various GASB review committees
and taskforces including the pensions taskforce. He also authored the AICPA course: GASB 68 Accounting and Auditing Workshop. He worked closely with TMRS and its consulting actuary,
GRS, to prepare the GASB 68 reporting packages in a manner that
is understandable to employers. An active member of the AICPA,
he currently serves as a member of the State and Local Government Expert Panel. In 2008 the AICPA named him the outstanding
CPA in local government. He is a former member of the TMRS
Advisory Committee.
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Mark Randall has served on the Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company Board of Directors
since 2001. He has more than 30 years of
employee benefits consulting experience
with an emphasis on public pension retirement systems. As CEO of GRS, Mark is involved in all aspects of general employee benefits consulting,
including design, implementation, financing, and qualification issues, as well as actuarial audits, employee communications, and
strategic analysis. GRS’ client base includes more than 800 public
sector agencies.
Mark is a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA),
a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA), and an
Enrolled Actuary (EA) under ERISA. He has been a frequent guest
speaker at national conferences such as the National Conference
on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS), the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), the National
Society of Institutional Investment Professionals (NSIIP), and also
at regional conferences such as the Texas Association of Public
Employee Retirement Systems (TEXPERS) and the Oklahoma Association of Public Fund Employees.
Tom Clark
“Social Security and Medicare”
Tom Clark worked for the Social Security Administration for 33 years before retiring in
June of 2011. He held the positions of claims
representative, operations supervisor, field
representative and public affairs specialist.
Tom made over 6,000 speeches as an employee of the Social
Security Administration, more than anyone else in the history of
the agency. He also produced and appeared in over 200 informational television shows about Social Security and Medicare and
wrote monthly columns which were read by over 2 million persons monthly. Tom received two Commissioner Citations, Social
Security’s highest award, and four Deputy Commissioner of Communications Citations for excellence in explaining the complexities of Social Security.
Since retiring, Tom has begun a second career as a Social Security
consultant and speaker. He is an expert in explaining how receiving a pension based on work not covered by Social Security (such
as a public pension benefit) can affect Social Security benefits. He
makes difficult topics like the Windfall Elimination Provision and
the Government Pension Offset understandable.
TMRS Travel Team
Lorraine Moreno • Regional Manager (Region 2)
Lorraine joined TMRS in February of 2000. She worked in the
Retirement team, the Membership team, and the Call Center before joining the Travel Team in 2007. She currently serves as a
Regional Manager, primarily in the San Antonio area and the Rio
Grande Valley. Prior to coming to TMRS, Lorraine worked with the
Travis County Domestic Relations Office and as a paralegal for
12 years at an Austin law firm. She attended Austin Community
College and St. Edwards University and has her Medical Assistant
and EMT certifications.
Sean Thompson • Regional Manager (Region 3)
Anthony Mills • Senior Regional Manager (Regions 3 and 4)
Anthony has more than 20 years of public retirement program
experience and currently serves as senior manager of TMRS’ Regions 3 and 4 (covering all of East Texas, portions of Central Texas,
and parts of the DFW Metroplex). Before coming to TMRS in 2004,
Anthony spent 11 years as a benefits educator with the Employees
Retirement System of Texas (ERS),and also worked with the Texas
County and District Retirement (TCDRS) as a field services representative. Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the
University of Texas at Austin.
David Rodriguez • Senior Regional Manager (Regions 1 and 2)
David joined TMRS in 1997 and has been a member of the Travel
Team for the past 19 years. He currently serves as the senior manager of TMRS’ Regions 1 and 2 (covering the Panhandle, all of
West Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and parts of the
DFW Metroplex). David has a BS degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, an MA in Business Communication from Jones
University, and completed the Certified Public Manager program
at Texas State University in San Marcos.
Sean joined TMRS as a Records Technician in 2005 and was
promoted to the Member Services Department that year. In April
2008 he joined the Communications Department and was promoted to his current position in 2014. As a member of the Travel
Team, Sean helps TMRS educate members and cities. Prior to
his employment at TMRS, he worked as an assistant to the Athletic Director of St. Edward’s University. He holds a BS in sports
management from Texas A&M University and an MBA from St. Edward’s University.
City Information Suite
Bonnell Room, 4th Floor
Sheraton
Austin
3rd Floor
Colin Davidson • Regional Manager (Region 1)
Colin joined TMRS in 2006. He has been a member of the Records Department, Call Center, and Retirement Teams, and now
is a Regional Manager of City Services. Like all of the Travel Team,
he goes where needed in Texas but mainly covers the Panhandle
and parts of the DFW Metroplex. In addition, Colin works on increasing TMRS’ online initiatives. Colin has a BA degree from the
University of Texas in Austin.
Shannon Lucero • Regional Manager (Region 4)
Shannon has been with TMRS for 14 years, having worked as a
Membership Analyst, Support Services Analyst, and currently as
Regional Manager on the Travel Team. She received her bachelor’s degree in 2010 in business management from the University
of Phoenix. She is currently finishing her Communications Certification through the UT Professional Development Program. Prior
to TMRS, Shannon worked for the Texas Public Finance Authority.
■ Training Sessions ■ Intro Session & Breakfast/Lunch
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The City Information Suite will be open in the Bonnell Room, 4th Floor, at these times:
Thursday 10:30 – 12:30 and 2:00 – 4:30; Friday 9:00 – 10:45.
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6:00 – 6:30 pm
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WEDNESDAY
Atrium / Lobby
Ballrooms E – H
Ballrooms A – D
Registration for
Wednesday evening participants
Introduction to TMRS
(Ballroom D)
TMRS Staff
6:30 – 7:30
THURSDAY
7:30 – 8:20 am
Breakfast
Registration for all participants
Welcoming Remarks
8:20 – 8:45
David Gavia, TMRS Executive Director
8:45 – 10:15
The Power of Partnership
Reggie Butler, Performance Paradigm, LLC
Opening Keynote
10:15 – 10:30
Break
10:30 – 11:30
Funding and Investments
TMRS Staff and Mark Randall, GRS
11:30 – 12:30
Important Issues and Error Correction
Panel Discussion
Lunch
Collaboration and Relationship Building
Joe Serio, Motivational Speaker
12:30 – 2:00 pm
2:00 – 3:00
Update on GASB Implementation
TMRS Staff and Bob Scott, CFO, Carrollton
3:00 – 4:00
Legal Issues and Special Considerations
Panel Discussion
4:00 – 4:15
Break
TMRS Makes Sense
TMRS Staff
4:15 – 5:15
6 – 8:30
Dinner and River Cruise
Lake Austin Riverboats
FRIDAY
Breakfast
7:30 – 8:30 am
8:30 – 9:30
Current State and National Issues
TMRS Staff and Keith Brainard, NASRA
9:30 – 10:30
The Full Retirement Picture –
Social Security and Medicare
TMRS Staff and Tom Clark, Social Security Consultant
10:30 – 10:45
Break
Closing Keynote
10:45 – 11:45
The Power of Public Pensions
Julia Nicholson, Pension Consultant
11:45 – 12:00
Closing Remarks and Prize Drawing
LEGEND
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■ Keynote Speakers
■ Training Sessions
TMRS Staff Presenters
David Gavia • Executive Director
As Executive Director of TMRS, David implements the Board’s
policies and administers the System’s future direction. He joined
TMRS as General Counsel in 2001 and was appointed acting
Executive Director in August 2009 before the Board chose him
as Executive Director in March 2010. Before TMRS, he worked
as Assistant General Counsel in the Benefits/Tax area for the
Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS). He received his
bachelor’s in business administration from Trinity University in
San Antonio and his JD from the University of Texas at Austin.
In addition to being an attorney, he is also a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the National Association of Public
Pension Plan Attorneys, the Texas Association of Public Pension
Attorneys, the State Bar of Texas, and the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants.
Eric W. Davis • Deputy Executive Director
Eric began work at TMRS in 1987 as the Administrative Assistant
and has served as the System’s Membership Development Officer
and Director of Member Services and Information Technologies,
as well as the System’s Interim Executive Director. He graduated
cum laude from Texas Tech University in 1983 with a BA degree
and earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Texas
Tech in 1985. Eric is a member of numerous professional associations, both nationally and in Texas, including six years of service on the Government Finance Officers Association’s Standing
Committee on Retirement and Benefits Administration.
T.J. Carlson • Chief Investment Officer
Since joining TMRS in December 2013, T.J. has built an extremely
experienced professional investment staff of 18 and has overseen TMRS’ diversification efforts into new investment areas,
including Absolute Return Strategies, Private Equity, Non-Core
Fixed Income, and Real Assets. Prior to joining TMRS, T.J. was
the Chief Investment Officer for the Kentucky Retirement System
and for the West Virginia Investment Management Board. He
also served as a Principal at EnnisKnupp, was the Chief Investment Officer and Treasury Director at the Marshfield Clinic, and
was a Sergeant in the USMC and Reserves.
Ariel Chou • Actuarial Analyst
Ariel Chou has been with TMRS since March 2015 in the Actuarial
Services Department. She works on rate letters, valuations, experience studies, and GASB 68 reports. She is also one of the main
city contacts regarding GASB 68 issues. Before TMRS, she was
a senior auditor for the State Comptroller’s Office. She received
her master’s in accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Currently, she is working toward her Associate of the Society of
Actuaries designation.
Rhonda Covarrubias • Director of Finance
Rhonda has over 20 years of experience in the pension industry with the Texas Municipal Retirement System. She began her
pension career in 1994 as the organization’s Investment Accountant, was later promoted to Controller, and currently serves as the
Director of Finance. Prior to her employment with TMRS, Rhonda spent five years as an auditor with KPMG, focusing on the
government, banking, and school district industries. Rhonda currently serves as a board member of the Public Pension Financial
Forum (P2F2).
Leslee S. Hardy • Director of Actuarial Services
Leslee joined TMRS in December 2007 as the System’s first Staff
Actuary. She has spent her entire 36-year career specializing
in the retirement plan arena. Before joining TMRS, she worked
as a consulting actuary. As the Director of Actuarial Services,
she coordinates actuarial activities between the Board, staff,
member cities, and the System’s consulting actuary, GRS. She
is a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA), an
Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA), an Enrolled Actuary,
and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).
She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas
at Austin with a bachelor of business administration degree in
Actuarial Science and Finance.
Michelle Mellon-Werch • Assistant General Counsel
Michelle recently celebrated nine years at TMRS in the Legal Department advising the Member Services and IT departments. She
also handles most of the more complex and interesting questions from concerned members, retirees, and participating municipalities, as well as open records requests and contract negotiations. A native Texan from Houston, Michelle went to Bellaire
High School and is fluent in Spanish. She received a joint degree
in law and public affairs from the University of Texas School of
Law and the LBJ School of Public Policy in 1997.
Debbie J. Muñoz • Director of Member Services
Debbie began her career in the public retirement arena in 1991
when she was hired as an analyst with the Texas County and District Retirement System. She joined TMRS in 1998. Early in her career she worked as a Membership Development Representative
and spent much of her time educating the TMRS membership as
well as city personnel regarding TMRS benefits statewide. Debbie is dedicated to helping members, retirees, and cities. She
plays a significant role in the development of the TMRSDirect
project. Debbie earned her BA in Government from the University of Texas and served as a Council member of the City of Kyle.
Bill Wallace • Director of Communications
Bill began his career in the public pension field in 1985 as a researcher and database programmer for the Texas State Pension
Review Board. He then spent several years at the Employees Retirement System (ERS) of Texas in government relations and planning, serving as the System’s liaison to the Comptroller’s statewide payroll project, among other duties. He joined the TMRS
(over)
TMRS Staff Presenters (cont.)
staff in 1999 and has been the agency’s Director of Communications since 2004. He has a master’s degree in English from the
University of Texas.
Dan Wattles • Director of Governmental Relations
Dan has been with TMRS since 2010. Prior to coming to TMRS,
Dan worked in governmental relations for the Texas State Auditor’s Office, the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs, and the Texas Department of Commerce. He has also
worked for the Wisconsin, Arizona, and California Legislatures
and spent four years in the U.S. Navy. Dan has his bachelor’s
degree in public administration from the University of Arizona,
a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the
University of Texas at Austin, and is a Certified Public Manager.
City
Information
Suite
Come to the Bonnell
Room, 4th floor, for
one-on-one visits with
members of the Travel
Team, Member Services,
and the Actuarial Services
Department. They can help you
with benefit information, plan change questions,
actuarial funding analysis, and demos of the City
Portal and MyTMRS.
Thursday September 8: 10:30 – 12:30 & 2:00 – 4:30
Friday September 9: 9:00 – 10:45
Panelists
Esmeralda Arellano • Benefits Manager, Garland
In her position with the City of Garland, Esmeralda provides
oversight on benefits administration, retirements, and managing healthcare costs. Her experience as a Benefits Assistant and
Benefits Coordinator prepared her to serve in her new role as
Benefits Manager serving more than 2,000 employees. Esmeralda is pursuing her BS in business administration at Texas Woman’s University. She has earned her Certified Government Benefits Administrator Certificate (CGBA) through the State and Local
Government Benefits Association (SALGBA). Esmeralda’s passion
is to provide guidance and understanding to her coworkers to
ensure they have the tools they need to be successful.
Chad Nichols • Member Services Manager
Chad has been with TMRS since April 2002. He started in the
IT department as the Computer Support Specialist, where he
provided technical support to the organization. In 2006 he was
promoted to Member Services Manager. Chad is a graduate of
Friends University in Kansas and has also received the Certificate
of Achievement in Public Plan Policy and certification for Senior
Management Development.
Peter Jeske • Business Analyst, Member Services
Peter has been with TMRS for 11 years. As a business analyst in
the Member Services department, he takes a deep dive into the
business processes and also serves as the department project
manager. He enjoys balancing his technical and people skills,
and has received the Certificate of Achievement in Public Plan
Policy. He is currently attending Concordia University to obtain a
master’s degree in business administration.
Tricia Solis • Support Services Analyst
During her 15 years of service at TMRS, Tricia has served on every
team of the Member Services Department. She was promoted to
the Support Services Department in 2013, where she analyzes
and processes legal documents and court orders affecting member accounts as well as ensuring compliance of death benefits
and divorce proceedings with state statutes, federal regulations,
and TMRS requirements. She has a BA in Spanish/International
Business and an MBA with a concentration in Service Operations
Management from St. Edward’s University. Tricia is also a former
volunteer for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office Victim Services
and Austin Police Department Interpreter Units.
Maryann Malave-Jaini • Member Services Team Lead
Maryann began working at TMRS in 2001 in Member Services,
assisting and instructing members, retirees, and city personnel
on their TMRS benefits. In her current position as a Member Services Team Lead, she provides lead level support to the Member-Call Team and continues to perform Member Services duties.
Before coming to TMRS, Maryann worked at the Texas Municipal
League–IEBP. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Maryann is bilingual and can discuss retirement benefits in both English and
Spanish.
Vikki Vasquez • Member Services Manager
Vikki began working with TMRS in 1998 in the Member Services
Department assisting and instructing members, retirees, and city
personnel on their TMRS benefits. She has served as Member
Services Manager for the past 18 years. Before coming to TMRS,
Vikki was a Member Services Manager with the Texas County and
District Retirement System. She attended both Concordia University and Texas Tech University and received the designation of
Certified Public Manager through Texas State University as well
as a Certificate of Achievement in Public Plan Policy.