Contact Us

The Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement
Association is located at:

433 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Phone: (707) 565-8100
Fax: (707) 565-8102


Organization Chart

Our organization chart Adobe PDF is available in Adobe Acrobat Format. If you do not own a copy of Acrobat Reader, you may visit our page to download Acrobat Reader.


Meet Our Staff

Elizabeth Anderson, Senior Benefits Specialist
(707) 565-8107

Elizabeth joined us in April 2004 after transferring from the Training Section of Human Resources. Her background includes over 15 years of Human Resources Generalist experience. Elizabeth works closely with the Benefits Coordinator preparing and calculating retirement benefits, teaching group counseling classes and conducting group retirement sessions. She has a BA in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

Susan Begun, Accounting Technician
(707) 565-8120

Susan joined the SCERA team in August 2006, after transferring from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department Administration. She has also worked in the private sector accounting field for 20 years. Susan is responsible for accounts payable and various retiree payroll duties. She has an AA and Human Resource Management Certificate from SRJC and is pursuing a BS in Business Administration from SSU.

Gary Bei, Administrator
(707) 565-8100

Gary came to SCERA as Assistant Administrator in February 2002. He has a background in public accounting and high tech financial management as a Division Controller at Hewlett Packard/Agilent Technologies here in Sonoma County and at JDS Uniphase (Optical Coating). In July 2004, Gary was promoted to SCERA Administrator. He works closely with the Retirement Board on administrative, financial and investment portfolio issues; and translating Board policy into action. Gary has a BA in Economics from Stanford University, a MBA in Accounting/Finance from UCLA and is a Certified Public Accountant.

James Failor, CFA, Investment Officer
(707) 565-8112

Jim joined the SCERA team in early 2007 to fill the newly-created position of Investment Officer. He brings extensive investment management and retirement system experience. His previous position was as a Client Relationship Manager at the investment firm of GMO (Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co.). Over the last ten years, Jim has worked as an institutional relationship manager and product specialist at various investment firms. Prior to that, he oversaw investments at Pacific Gas and Electric Company for their retirement, post-retirement medical and nuclear decommissioning trusts. Jim has a BA degree in economics from Pacific Lutheran University, an MBA degree from the University of Washington and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Leslie Garritson, Assistant Administrator
(707) 565-8100

Leslie, a registered nurse, came to SCERA in 1996, from Sonoma County Community Hospital, where she served for the previous 12 years in the role of manager of quality improvement and risk management. In March 2004 Leslie was promoted from Benefits Manager to Assistant Administrator. She oversees the Benefits group, the disability retirement processes and provides leadership for SCERA communications and systems projects. She is our resident expert in retirement planning. Leslie also works closely with the Administrator in the oversight of all aspects of the Pension Plan. Leslie has an AS Degree in Nursing from Santa Rosa JC and a BS in Health Care Administration from Saint Joseph’s College, Maine.

Diane Ginn, Department Information Systems Coordinator
(707) 565-8109

Diane became a SCERA staff member in February 2007 and comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience gained while working for Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies as a programmer, department analyst, project manager and company-wide customer service manager.  She has also been adjunct faculty in the Computer Information Systems Department at Santa Rosa Junior College.  Diane has a BA in Political Science from Montclair State University, a certificate from Chubb Institute of Computer Technology and is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.

Cathy Lanz, Accounting Manager
(707) 565-8119

Cathy joined SCERA in November 2002 after working for over 15 years at Health Plan of the Redwoods, most recently as manager of Accounting and Actuarial Services. She oversees all aspects of financial accounting and reporting within the organization, as well as the production of payroll for all retirement distributions. Cathy is involved in investment performance reporting and preparation of the Board financial package. She graduated from Sonoma State University with a BA in Business/Accounting.

Linda Nordberg, Executive Secretary
(707) 565-8106

Linda has been with SCERA since 1983, serving in virtually every capacity in the organization and now has the distinction of the longest tenure in the office. Her current responsibilities include payroll clerk, organization and travel coordination, and providing support to the Administrator and the Retirement Board. Linda is responsible for agenda and minute preparation and all Board correspondence. She has an AA from Merritt Junior College and a BA from Mills College, Oakland, both in Anthropology.

Helen Olson, RPA, Benefits Coordinator
(707) 565-8100

Helen came to SCERA in 1997 after spending 14 years in administrative management for Prudential Insurance. She is now responsible for overseeing the Benefits group. Helen holds a vast wealth of knowledge regarding reciprocity, purchasing service and can answer your questions about these issues as well as retirement planning. Helen has been working on her Certified Employee Benefits Specialist designation and has earned a certificate, Retirement Plans Associate, during this process.

Martin Pell, Accountant II
(707) 565-8108

Marty became a SCERA staff member in May 2004, coming from Redwood Regional Medical Group where he had worked for 5 years as a staff accountant for benefits administration and general accounting. Marty is responsible for all aspects of financial reporting including the preparation of the monthly financial statements. He has an AA in Accounting from Santa Rosa JC and a BA in Theater Arts/Communications from Santa Clara University.

Juanita Peña, Benefits Specialist
(707) 565-8115

Juanita joined the Retirement Staff in November 1998, after spending 10 years working for the Sonoma County Court system and Public Health. She provides active member services such as the purchase of service time, counseling, beneficiary changes as well as the preparation of retirement estimates. Juanita works closely with the Benefits Coordinator and the Assistant Administrator in scheduling appointments and processing retirements.

Jackie Purter, Senior Benefits Specialist
(707) 565-8114

Jackie has worked supporting the SCERA disability retirement process since October 2002. Jackie’s prior work experience included positions involved with document control, regulatory compliance and quality assurance. Her principal responsibility at SCERA is assisting members through the disability application process, including counseling and benefit calculations.

Cassandra Stinson, Benefits Specialist
(707) 565-8117

Cassandra came to SCERA from the City of Santa Rosa in July 2006.  She began her public service at the City in Human Resources, eventually moving to Personnel Services at the Santa Rosa Police Department.  Cassandra has an AA and AS from Santa Rosa Junior College and is also an RN.

Lynn Teichert, Accountant I
(707) 565-8118

Lynn joined the SCERA team in 1996 and is responsible for the retirees’ payroll. She leads the team that insures new retiree payroll is accurately processed and any changes for continuing retirees are researched and managed in a timely manner. Lynn is our resident expert on retiree health insurance benefit issues and works closely with all the County’s health insurance carriers on the administration of changes to health insurance on behalf of the retired members. She has a BS in Statistics from California State University, Hayward.

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