
The 2023 LACERS Symposium will feature a range of
speakers to educate all of our stakeholders regarding the
national perspective of public pensions, risks to public pension
funds, aspects of investments, retirement, and what’s
happening at LACERS.
Save the date and join us on our first virtual LACERS Pension
Symposium on February 22, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.
Agenda
9:00 AM Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:15 AM Pensions Administration
10:20 AM Investments
11:30 AM Recess
12:15 PM Future of Medicare/Controlling Health
Care Cost
1:20 PM LACERS Wellness Program
1:35 PM My LACERS Retirement Experience
Member Roundtable
2:05 PM LACERS Focus on the Member
Experience
2:35 PM LACERS Vision
2:50 PM Closing Remarks
How to Join
This is a virtual event and registration
is not required to join.
Zoom Webinar ID: 858 4290 5352
Please click on the link below to join this symposium:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85842905352
Or join via telephone
Dial (669) 444-9171
(669) 900-6833
If you would like to listen to the
symposium only, please use one of the following
options.
Council Phone system
Downtown (213) 621-CITY
San Pedro (310) 547-CITY
West Los Angeles (310) 471-CITY
Van Nuys (818) 904-9450
Public Comment Instructions:
Public comments and general public comments on matters within the
board’s jurisdiction and comments on any specific matters on the
agenda – this will be the only opportunity for public
comment – call-in participants press *9 to raise hand
during public comment period. Webinar link participants use
“raise hand” function located at bottom of Zoom screen.
Guest Speakers
Alex Brown, NASRA
Alex Brown is the Research Manager with the National Association
of State Retirement Administrators. In this role he collects and
distributes data and information covering a wide range of topics
pertinent to public retirement system administration and policy.
He has co-authored briefs and papers on topics such as employer
and employee pension contributions, hybrid retirement plans, and
pension reform. He has also discussed pension issues in front of
state legislatures, public pension boards of trustees,
professional associations, and other stakeholders. Prior to
joining NASRA, Alex worked at the Center for State & Local
Government Excellence and the International City/County
Management Association, focusing on pension and retiree health
care issues. He holds a B.S. from James Madison University and an
M.P.P. from George Mason University.
Carolyn Smith, NEPC
Carolyn’s career in investment consulting began in 1987, and she
joined NEPC in 2006. Carolyn has extensive experience
working with large institutional clients. She has a
specialty in defined benefit and defined contribution plans
working with them on plan design, investment and governance
issues. She is a member of the Diverse Manager Committee
and Women’s Leadership Forum.
Carolyn’s experience includes twelve years as a director and
senior consultant with Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting working
with a broad array of clients. She also had management
responsibilities for the U.S. Western Region. Prior to
Watson Wyatt, Carolyn was a senior consultant at Callan
Associates, Inc. working with the firm’s foundation, endowment,
corporate and public fund clients.
Carolyn received a B.S. degree in Finance from the University of
Utah. She currently chairs the investment committee for a
San Francisco Bay Area not-for-profit overseeing multiple
operating reserve accounts, a foundation and 403(b) plan.
Todd Tauzer, Segal
Todd Tauzer is a Vice President and Actuary, and Segal’s National
Public Sector Retirement Practice Leader, specializing in public
pension funding and risk management for public pension plans
across the United States. He came to Segal as Director of
Municipal Pensions from S&P Global Ratings, where he
developed a detailed framework to evaluate the health and
sustainability of public pension and OPEB plans across all 50
states. Prior to S&P he was a senior pension actuary at
CalPERS, where he worked for almost ten years and led work in
asset liability management and risk mitigation. Mr. Tauzer sits
on both the Board of the California Society of Municipal Analysts
and the University of the Pacific’s Actuarial Science program. He
is also active in leadership within the State of California,
serving on both the California Actuarial Advisory Panel and for
the California State Auditor’s High Risk Advisory Team for Local
Governments. He has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal,
Bloomberg, The Economist, Pensions & Investments, Investments &
Pensions Europe, Chief Investment Officer, Plan Sponsor, and The
Bond Buyer, among others.
Andy Yeung, Segal
Andy Yeung is a Vice President and Actuary in Segal’s San
Francisco office with over 25 years of actuarial experience. He
currently serves as supervising and co-consulting actuary for
LACERS, LAFPP, LADWP and twelve 1937 Act county and chartered
city retirement systems. He has also served as a member of the
State Association of County Retirement Systems (SACRS)
Legislative Committee since 2009. He is an Associate of the
Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of
Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and
an Enrolled Actuary.
Peter Cassidy, Anthem
As a Group Retiree Solutions Sales Executive, Peter partners with
commercial sales teams, brokers, consultants and clients as the
Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D subject matter expert for
strategic new sales. He has experience managing large, complex
accounts and excels at developing strong client relationships.
Peter joined the Anthem team in 2018 with over 20 years of
experience in the healthcare industry, including network
management, small and large group sales, account management, and
labor and trust. Peter has extensive experience consulting with
large group clients, especially in public entity and labor and
trust sectors, to develop and implement Medicare Advantage goals
and objectives. He also oversees the implementation process for
new clients. Peter has in-depth knowledge of CMS regulation, plan
administration and benefit design, and retiree benefit
management.
Dr. Alana Thompson-Byrd, Anthem
Dr. Alana Thompson-Byrd is the Managing Medical Director for
Group Retiree Services in Medicare Advantage. Dr. Thompson joined
Anthem in 2017 as an Operational Medical Director in the
Integrated Health, and Total Health Total You model for Anthem
National Accounts. Dr. Thompson lead both utilization and case
management teams that were responsible for jumbo commercial and
specialty business accounts. Dr. Thompson regularly interacts
with her plan providers to guide adherence to medical policy and
clinical guidelines as well as with her clients to optimize plan
design. Dr Thompson is one of the physician leads for the
Inclusive Care Initiative and the Anthem Physician and Clinician
(APC) for Health Equity Workgroup.
Dr. Thompson brings experience in large commercial business from
her time as St. Louis’s Area Medical Director for Concentra
occupational and health services. In this role she regularly met
with local and national clients to review and address their
utilization metrics, while providing insight to any outliers. She
managed seven clinics, was responsible for medical personnel
development and training, performed regular audits of each
clinic, and worked directly with the Account Executives to
support client-specific needs. Dr. Thompson was responsible for
improving the NPER scores of one of St. Louis’s flagship centers.
Previously Dr. Thompson practiced full scope family medicine
including pediatrics and obstetrics in the metropolitan area
surrounding St. Louis.
Dr. Thompson is a graduate of the University of Illinois College
Of Medicine at Peoria and a residency graduate of the Saint Louis
University Family Medicine program. She is board certified in
Family Medicine and lives in Illinois.
Ramiro Salas, Kaiser Permanente
Ramiro Salas is the Director of Group Medicare at Kaiser
Permanente. He has over 29 years of experience in the healthcare
industry – 16 of those in Medicare.
Ramiro works closely with Kaiser Permanente’s leadership team to
develop sustainable Medicare Advantage products for employer
group customers in the States of California and Hawaii.
He leads the team of Retiree Solutions Managers who are
responsible for ensuring City of LA’s Group Medicare contracts
are compliant with CMS regulations and to support City of LA with
all Medicare administrative needs.
Ju Anderson, Keenan
Ju Anderson is the Practice Leader of the Employee Benefits
HealthCare Division at Keenan. Ju has over 25 years of consulting
experience with 15 of those years at Keenan. Previous positions
were with Deloitte, Time Warner, Gallagher, Verisign and Deutsche
Bank. Ju holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Wellesley
College in Massachusetts.
As Practice Leader of the HealthCare Benefits Division for
Keenan, Ju consults clients with solutions that address their
specific needs and future organizational goals. Ju’s
expertise is in health and welfare benefits consulting that
involves team building and facilitating a collaborative
environment to deliver on high-value consultative services that
include benefits analysis, strategy, mergers and acquisition
support for clients, benefits program alternatives, vendor
management and solutions, retirement benefits, self-insured
opportunities, HR and other strategic solutions.
Laurie LoFranco, Keenan
Laurie LoFranco has more than 30 years of experience in
human resources and employee benefits. Laurie joined Keenan &
Associates in 2008 after spending the previous 12 years at the
City of Corona, most recently serving as their Human Resources
Director. Laurie has been with Keenan & Associates for 14 years
and currently runs the Municipal Practice for Keenan covering the
State of California. Laurie served on the Board of
Directors for the California Personnel Employee Labor Relations
Association (CALPELRA) and is currently serving on the Board of
Directors for the Inland Empire Chapter of IPMA-HR. Laurie holds
an Executive Level Human Resources Certification from IPMA and
holds a California State Insurance License in Accident, Health
and Life Insurance. Laurie graduated from the College of Notre
Dame with a Degree in Human Services and holds a Master’s Degree
in Public Administration from California State University, San
Bernardino.
Robin Rager, Keenan
Robin Rager, Vice President of Health Management at Keenan, has
been involved in the health and wellness field for over three
decades, as a consultant, college professor, and researcher, and
has been leading the Keenan employee health management consulting
team since 2010. His professional activities have focused on
individual and population health management, and the design and
evaluation of effective health and wellness programs in a variety
of populations and settings. He holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in
Health Education from Penn State University, has served as
the Director of Penn State’s Center for Worksite Health
Enhancement, and has authored numerous articles and presentations
on health management. He has been honored as a Fellow of
the Association for Worksite Health Promotion, served as chair of
the American Public Health Association’s Worksite Health
Promotion Committee, and participated in the development of the
Healthy People Objectives for the Nation.