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The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has named Mary Anne Ashley the new Chief of its Legislative Affairs Division.
Ashley was previously Director of Government Relations for the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), where she held various legislative and governmental posts since 2007. In her CalPERS role, she will be responsible for the overall administration of the Legislative Affairs Division, providing strategic policy direction on both state and federal legislative matters covering a broad spectrum of pension, health care, and investment issues.
She will begin her new role on October 19 and will report to Doug McKeever, Deputy Executive Officer for Benefit Programs, Policy and Planning. Ashley replaces Daniel Brown who left the pension fund in May.
"Mary Anne understands the issues we face at CalPERS and is uniquely qualified to lead our legislative efforts," said Doug McKeever, Deputy Executive Officer for Benefit Programs, Policy and Planning. "We welcome her experience and insights as we work to deliver long-term retirement and health care benefits."
Ashley's tenure at CalSTRS included roles beginning as a legislative affairs manager, ultimately culminating in her appointment as director of governmental relations, where she advised the CalSTRS Board on pending legislation and communicated the teacher's pension fund’s position and concerns on legislation to members of the state Legislature. She previously served on the staff of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board and the Department of Social Services.
Ashley holds a bachelor's of science degree in business administration from California State University, Sacramento, and a certificate in Public Plan Policy in Employee Pensions.
For more than eight decades, CalPERS has built retirement and health security for state, school, and public agency members who invest their lifework in public service. Our pension fund serves more than 1.7 million members in the CalPERS retirement system and administers benefits for more than 1.4 million members and their families in our health program, making us the largest defined-benefit public pension system in the U.S. CalPERS' total fund market value currently stands at approximately $288 billion. For more information, visit www.calpers.ca.gov.
