Taffi Ayodele joined the Bureau of Asset Management as the Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Emerging Managers in October of 2022 and now serves as Head of Diverse and Emerging Manager Strategy. In this role, she is a voting member of the investment committee and responsible for ensuring that the Bureau creates opportunities for emerging, diverse and women owned investment firms. Internally, Mrs. Ayodele focuses on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion within BAM and ensuring equity and culture. In addition, she is responsible for the Bureau’s annual Diverse and Emerging Manager Conference and MWBE report. 

Prior to BAM, Mrs. Ayodele was a Principal for Harpia Asset Management focused on distressed real estate in New York City. Before Harpia, she was CEO of tech fashion brand, Thandos. Prior to Thandos, Mrs. Ayodele held numerous roles including Principle, TW Advisory focusing on minority businesses looking to securing government contracts and sourcing business capital and Director, DASNY, which is the second largest municipal bond issuer in the country.  

Mrs. Ayodele received her Bachelor’s in Economics from New York University and her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, & Business.  

Ryan Bailey is an accomplished financial professional with extensive experience in investment management and strategic leadership. He currently holds the position of Chief Investment Officer and Senior Managing Partner at Paradigm Global Investors, where he oversees both discretionary and non-discretionary investment practices. In this role, Ryan provides guidance and expertise across various areas, including manager research, portfolio construction, MWBE initiatives, governance, and all functions of a high-performing non-profit investment office. 

Prior to joining Paradigm, Ryan served as Co-Chief Investment Officer at Investment Office Resources and was a co-founder of Carbonado Partners, LLC. His previous experience includes a notable tenure as the Head of Investments at Children’s Health System of Texas, where he managed a $1.8 billion investment portfolio for the hospital’s pension, foundation, operating cash, and long-term pools. As the inaugural investment officer for the hospital, Ryan played a crucial role in establishing the department and implementing effective systems, processes, and governance structures. 

Before his time at Children’s Health, Ryan served as an Investment Officer and Interim Chief Investment Officer at the Meadows Foundation, where he led due diligence efforts, contributed to strategic asset allocation development, and developed and executed investment strategies to achieve competitive performance. 

Ryan is a Yale University graduate, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He possesses several certifications, including Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), and Chartered Market Technician (CMT). Ryan’s career began with the founding of a trading company at the World Trade Center in 2000, and after surviving the events of 9/11, he relocated to Dallas, Texas. 

Throughout his career, Ryan has been recognized for his exceptional contributions and industry expertise. He was featured in D magazine in June 2011, named one of the “40 under 40” by Asset International–Chief Investment Officer Magazine (aiCIO) in April 2015, and was a finalist for the aiCIO’s 2015 Next Generation Award. He received the Institutional Investor 2016 Investor Intelligence Award for Healthcare Institutions’ Portfolio Construction and was a finalist for CIO Magazine’s Industry Innovation Award for Healthcare in 2017. In addition, Ryan was awarded Institutional Investor’s Healthcare System of the Year Award in 2018. 

Ryan actively serves as a director on the boards of Blue Dolphin Energy (BDCO), Bridgeway Capital Management, Suit Up, Portfolios with Purpose, Wendell Rhoads Consulting, and is an Angel for the Texas Wall Street Women. Furthermore, he serves on the Investment Committees for the Texas Employee Retirement System, American Heart Association, Dallas Police and Fire, and Parkland Hospital, reflecting his commitment to contributing to various organizations and causes.

Rebecca Carland joined Knight Foundation in 2025 and serves as Chief Investment Officer.  Prior to joining Knight, Rebecca spent fifteen years overseeing assets for prominent U.S. and international families and foundations. Most recently, she served as Chief Investment Officer at Builders Vision, a private family office and impact investment platform. Rebecca also held senior investment and advisory roles at Walton Enterprises, Cambridge Associates, and Goldman Sachs. She started her career with the U.S. Department of Justice, supporting international rule-of-law programs and antitrust matters.  Rebecca currently serves on the Investment Committees of the Obama Foundation and ImpactAssets.  She earned an MBA from the University of Virginia and a BA in international relations from Tufts University. 

Manuel Casanga joined the New York State Common Retirement Fund in 1997. He is the Director for Real Estate and Real Asset Investments. He’s been the Director for Real Estate Investments since August 2015, with further responsibility for Real Asset Investments since July 2018. He manages a combined portfolio totaling $40 billion and develops the portfolio’s long-term investment strategy. Mr. Casanga holds a B.S. in Management from Rutgers University and an M.S. in Real Estate Finance from New York University. Mr. Casanga is a veteran and retired from the New Jersey Army National Guard with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Lastly, he serves on the PREA Foundation Board as Secretary. 

Michael Dymond is a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Global Private Equity team of APG US Asset Management Inc, based in New York.

As a senior member of APG’s private equity team, Mr. Dymond focuses principally on leading primary investments in private equity funds in the US and Europe. His role encompasses management of the global private equity portfolio in addition to manager selection, due diligence and monitoring of investments. He serves on numerous private equity fund advisory boards.

Prior to joining APG, Michael was a Senior Investment Manager in the private markets group at USS Investment Management in London. Michael was also a member of the private market’s investment
committee for USS.

Prior to USS, Michael was a member of the private funds group at Pinebridge Investments in London. Before
that, Michael worked at BNP Paribas Fortis Bank in Brussels as a member of the global private equity team.

Erin Harkless Moore is the VP and Managing Director of Investments for Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company created to accelerate social progress around the world. As a member of Pivotal’s Executive Leadership Team, Erin leads the organization’s fund, and direct investment decisions, overseeing a diverse portfolio of investments that drive breakthrough innovations and impact for people in this country. With nearly 20 years of investment experience, building and managing customized portfolios for endowed institutions and family offices, Erin’s commitment to discovering and cultivating relationships with leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and founders has been a driving force in her success. Prior to joining Pivotal, Erin served as Managing Director at Cambridge Associates, where she sourced and conducted diligence on investment managers across asset classes. Erin received her MBA from the Harvard Business School as a Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow and her BSBA magna cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis as a John B. Ervin Scholar. She is also a CFA charterholder and member of the CFA Society of Washington, DC.  Erin was honored as part of the inaugural Black Women in Asset Management 40 under 40 List in 2022 and named to Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance in 2025 and again in 2026.   Erin is also a Fellow of the eighth class of the Aspen Finance Leaders Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. 

Outside of work, Erin serves on the Board and Investment Committee for Builders Vision Philanthropy and is a vice-chair of the Alumni Board of Governors for her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. She also serves on the Advisory Council for White Oak Enterprises, a multi-generation family office.  Erin is a former member of the board of the DC Public Library Foundation, where she served as treasurer and chair of the finance/investment committee.  A native Texan, she resides on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC with her husband and two children. When not chasing after her kids, Erin enjoys exploring new restaurants, spending time with friends, travel, mahjong, reading, and fiction writing.

DeAnna is a Senior Consultant with NEPC and has over 20 years of experience in the investment industry. In her current role, DeAnna works closely with NEPC’s Public Fund and Endowment & Foundations clients. Her expertise in asset allocation, portfolio construction and implementation, performance measurement, as well as more complex technical projects, allows her to service all aspects of portfolio management for NEPC’s clients. In addition to her roles with her clients, DeAnna also serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Emerging & Diverse Manager Committee, which aims to identify highly qualified diverse investment firms that meet the unique goals, risk parameters, and financial objectives of NEPC’s clients. She is also a member of NEPC’s Asset Allocation Committees.  

Prior to joining NEPC, DeAnna was the Vice President of Community Investments for BMO Harris Bank, where she managed the bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) portfolio, which primarily consisted of CDFI, private real estate and private market investments. She also held roles at RVK, Inc and began her career as an analyst with Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund. 

DeAnna earned her B.S. in Economics from Northern Illinois University. She serves as the Chair of the Board and Investment Committee Chair for T.A.S.C, Inc and is the President of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP). She also serves on the board of Lawrence Hall and the national board for NASP. Passionate about equity and inclusion within financial services, DeAnna has spoken on several panels discussing ways to increase diversity within financial services and invest with diverse investment managers. 

Toru Masudais, CEO of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Investment Co., LTD., and Board of Directors of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust (Hong Kong) Limited. He has over 20 years of experience in the private equity industry and has been deeply involved in all phases of the firm’s business development regarding Private Equity since 2000. Today, He directs the group’s PE/Infrastructure strategy, investment decisions, and client relationships, in addition to overseeing the group’s continued expansion into new product areas in the asset management business. Before he engaged in PE Business, he was a professional at the merger and acquisition advisory team in Tokyo and London. He graduated from Osaka University, Faculty of Economics in 1988 and joined The
Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co.

Sly is the current Director of the Emerging Manager Program (“EM Program”) for the New York State Common Retirement Fund (“CRF”). The EM Program includes 118 investment managers and assets that are at an all-time high of approximately $13 billion. The CRF EM Program is one the largest and most comprehensive in the U.S. and, as Director, he sets the strategic direction for the program. He leads a team of three professional staff and partners with the CRF’s CIO, internal investment staff, program partners and aligned organizations to identify and manage the emerging managers across all asset classes. In his years at the CRF, Sly has also served as a Senior Investment Officer and Interim Director of the EM Program.

Sly received both a B.S. and M.B.A. from Fordham University and is currently serving as Trustee Fellow and adjunct professor for the University.

Patrick McGowan is a Managing Director at Sanctuary Wealth Group, serving as the Head of Alternative Investments and Head of Manager Research. In this role, he spearheads a team responsible for all Alternative Investment activities, including the Firm’s private equity, private credit, real asset, and hedge fund investing strategies, as well as the traditional Investment Research Focus List. He is a member of the Sanctuary Asset Management Investment Council, which plays a pivotal role in constructing the Firm’s global economic and capital market views and leads the Alternative Investment Committee. 

Before joining Sanctuary, Mr. McGowan held a senior leadership position at the GP-stakes arm of Azimut Group (BIT: AZM), one of the largest independent wealth management companies in Europe; Invesco Private Capital (NYSE: IVZ), where he worked on investments for early-stage venture capital funds; the Carlyle Group, in the private credit joint venture OC Private Capital (TAKIX). He started his career at OppenheimerFunds.  

Mr. McGowan serves on the Executive Committee and is a board member at the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives (ipa.com). He also serves on the Board of Unifi CAIA.  

Patrick earned his Bachelors of Science in Psychological Sciences from Vanderbilt University and completed the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate Business School accelerator MBA. He holds his FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses. 

Treasurer Erick Russell was sworn in as Connecticut’s 84th State Treasurer on January 4, 2023. He is currently serving his first term.  

As Treasurer, he administers Connecticut’s pension funds, oversees the state’s debt and cash management, collects and returns unclaimed property, and manages the Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET), a 529 plan that helps students and families save for higher education. One of the premier accomplishments of his first term has been the funding and launching of the nation’s first statewide Baby Bonds initiative.  

Treasurer Russell previously worked for the Connecticut law firm of Pullman & Comley, where he was a partner in the firm’s Public and Private Finance Group. He represented towns, cities, and the state in financing infrastructure projects, managing debt, and restructuring pension obligations. In that work, he often interfaced directly with the Office of the Treasurer, gaining firsthand insight into how the agency operates and its potential to shape the financial future of Connecticut. 

Born and raised in New Haven, he was the first in his family to graduate college, earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Haven and a law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.  

Treasurer Russell continues to advocate for people traditionally left out of the political process and denied economic opportunity. He has embraced the role of mentor, particularly for young Black and LGBTQ people. In 2022, he became the first Black out LGBTQ person in American history to be elected to statewide office. 

Miguel Silva is an Investment Manager within the Sustainable Investments team at CalPERS,
where he leads strategy, oversight, and engagement for the organization’s emerging manager platforms across private markets. His responsibilities include sourcing and leading due diligence on new fund and co-investment opportunities and overseeing performance across intermediated emerging manager strategies in Private Equity. He works closely with asset class leadership, external advisors, and investment managers to support disciplined capital deployment aligned with long-term beneficiary outcomes.

Miguel began his investment career in 2002 and has experience spanning institutional allocation, private market sponsorship, financial advisory, and commercial brokerage. Earlier in his career, he served as a Managing Member of real estate partnerships, raising capital and executing value-add investment strategies in Northern California. He also worked as a financial consultant and as a commercial brokerage professional advising on acquisitions and dispositions. This cross-platform experience across LP, GP, advisory, and transactional roles informs his approach to manager evaluation, risk assessment, and capital formation.

A first-generation Portuguese American, Miguel is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. He earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of California, Davis.

Monte Tarbox was appointed in January 2026 by New York City Comptroller Mark Levine as Interim Chief Investment Officer for the Comptroller’s Office’s Bureau of Asset Management (BAM). In April 2026, Comptroller Levine appointed Tarbox to the position permanently. In this role, Mr. Tarbox is responsible for leading BAM and spearheading Comptroller Levine’s responsibilities as investment advisor and custodian, overseeing the $300 billion investment portfolio of the city’s five public pension systems during the ongoing search for a permanent CIO. 

Mr. Tarbox was from 2013 to 2023 the Executive Director, Investments for the National Electrical Benefit Fund (NEBF) which provides pension benefits to IBEW members and the electrical industry nation-wide. Mr. Tarbox has over 27 years of experience as an investment officer and advisor serving multi-employer pension funds and other institutional investors in the United States and Australia. 

Prior to joining NEBF, Mr. Tarbox was CIO of the IAM National Pension Fund in Washington. Previous experience included five years with IFM Investors, a global investment firm that is wholly owned by over 30 Australian superannuation (pension) funds. He was responsible for working with North American institutional clients in the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund. He has held senior positions with investment consulting firms in Chicago, Washington, and Melbourne, Australia. During his consulting career, Mr. Tarbox did extensive work in capital markets research, asset allocation, investment policy, manager structure and research, brokerage analysis, corporate governance and performance evaluation. He also spent two years as the Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Center for Working Capital where he developed a trustee training and education program and created a trustee curriculum on fiduciary duty and investment responsibilities. 

Mr. Tarbox has a BA from Carleton College (Magna cum laude) and an MBA from the University of Chicago with a specialization in finance. He also holds the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist designation awarded by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He served for 16 years as a Board Member on the Board of Investments for the Montgomery County Public Schools Retirement System in Rockville, MD. Since 2018, he has served as a Public Advisor to and member of the Investment Committee of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System in Baltimore, MD. 

Anastasia Titarchuk is the Chief Investment Officer for New York State’s Common Retirement 

Fund.  As of March 31, 2026, the value of the Fund was $295.4 billion.  Under the direction of State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Titarchuk is responsible for developing and implementing investment strategies to ensure that the Fund remains one of the best-funded and best-managed public pension plans in the country.  The Fund holds assets in trust for more than one million employees and retirees from the state and local authorities. 

Anastasia is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets, and the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee (TBAC). 

Anastasia was born in Moscow and moved to the U.S. as a teenager.  She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yale University with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics.