Board of Retirement

Neil Baker
Alternate Retiree, Elected by Retired Members

Neil Baker practiced law in the public sector for over 41 years. He began his career representing the City of Los Angeles as a prosecuting attorney, and he later specialized in civil rights compliance, employment and labor relations law, and police and fire services. In 1982, he joined the Office of the Sonoma County Counsel, and during his tenure there he was involved in both advisory and litigation work covering virtually every type of substantive matter within the jurisdiction of the County. He also served as the Assistant County Counsel responsible for the overall administration of the Office. As part of his duties, he provided legal support and representation to the SCERA. Since his own retirement in 2005, Neil continued to provide contract special counsel services to SCERA as he pursued his interest in public sector retirement issues. Neil received a degree in history from the University of California Santa Barbara, and his law degree from the University of Southern California.

Retiree, Elected by Retired Members

John Pels was appointed to fill the remainder term of the Alternate Retiree position in October 2013 and was subsequently elected in the Retiree trustee position, which he has held since January 2015. John retired as a Correctional Sergeant from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department in December 2009 following a 30-year career in law enforcement. Prior to his retirement he served for 12 years as the Board Trustee elected by Safety members.

Christel Querijero
Elected by General Members

Christel Querijero has served as an administrative manager for Sonoma County since 2008. She currently oversees a team of fiscal analysts and the accounting staff at the Sheriff's Office and is the budget lead for the law enforcement division. Prior to her County experience, Ms. Querijero worked at information technology companies as a business process consultant most recently on projects for the Department of Education and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Ohio State University. Ms. Querijero was elected to the Retirement Board beginning January 2015.

Erick Roeser
Ex-Officio Trustee

Erick Roeser began his career in public service in 1993 and has worked in the Sonoma County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector’s office since 2001.  He was appointed by the Board of Supervisors as Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector in June 2017 and elected to that position in June 2018.  He received a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Sonoma State University.  Erick is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association and the California State Association of County Auditors.

Joe Tambe
Appointed by the Board of Supervisors

Joe Tambe is currently retired after a career that included Organization Management, Real Estate Development and Administration, Litigation Management, and co-ownership of a private Arbitration/Mediation service utilizing retired Judges. He has an extensive community service background including Chambers of Commerce and long-time membership in the Rotary Club; and has served on many non-profit Boards. He has served as a public member of the California State Board of Accountancy, and as a Referee of the California State Bar Court.

Bob Williamson
Appointed by the Board of Supervisors

Mr. Williamson spent 33 years with Chevron in senior finance and related assignments, retiring in 1998. At Chevron he had management responsibility over Chevron's defined benefit and 401k plans, he has served on the Sonoma County grand jury, and is currently serving on the Ratepayer Advisory Committee of Sonoma Clean Power. He was appointed to the Retirement Board by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in February 2014.