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Board of Retirement

The SCERA Board of Retirement is a nine-member Board, plus one alternate retired member. Four of the trustees are appointed by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, five are elected by SCERA's membership (two general, one safety, one retired, one retired alternate), and the County Treasurer is elected by the general public. With the exception of the County Treasurer, Board members serve three-year terms of office with no limits on the number of terms that can be served.

Board members

	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.
	Michael Gossman Elected by General Members Michael Gossman has held numerous administrative-management roles throughout the County. He is currently the Division Manager of Finance and Administration at the Sonoma County Water Agency, responsible for administrative, financial, and business operations. Mr. Gossman received Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Master of Business Administration degrees from Sonoma State University. He is an active member of the Government Finance Officers Association. He was elected to begin service on the Retirement Board in January 2014.
	Greg Jahn Appointed by the Board of Supervisors Greg Jahn is the former SCERA Assistant Retirement Administrator who has a distinguished history in the local finance/banking industry. He is now the Chief Financial Officer at Exchange Bank. Mr. Jahn has served on the Retirement Board since January 2003.
	John Pels Retiree, Elected by Retired Members John Pels was appointed to fill the remainder term of the Alternate Retiree position in October 2013. 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.
	David A. Rabbitt District 2 Supervisor, County of Sonoma As a member of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, David Rabbitt was appointed to the Retirement Board in January 2011. Prior to election to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in 2010, Mr. Rabbitt owned his own business as a licensed architect and served as a member of the Petaluma City Council.
	Erick Roeser Ex-Officio Trustee Erick began his career in public service in 1993 and has worked in the Sonoma County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector’s office since 2001 in a variety of positions including Property Tax Manager, General Accounting Manager and Assistant Auditor-Controller. On June 6, 2017, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors appointed Erick to the Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector position to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor. 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.
	Brian Williams Elected by Safety Members Brian Williams has been employed with the County as a Correctional Deputy since 1991. Mr. Williams was elected to the Retirement Board in January, 2013.
	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.

SCERA's long standing Board Education Policy encourages the Trustees of the Board to pursue continuing education to increase the knowledge they need to effectively carry out their fiduciary duties. Training may include conferences, courses, workshops or other similar events in areas such as investments, actuarial principles, plan governance, and retirement law. The recent enactment of AB 1519, effective January 1, 2013, requires Trustees to obtain at least 24 hours of education in the first two years of their term. The requirement also applies to every subsequent two-year period of service to the Board. View the 2017 Trustee Education Compliance Report.