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.  

Michael serves as the Chief Investment Officer at Mill Creek Capital Advisors, LLC, and the Chairperson of the firm’s Investment Committee. In his role, Michael leads the firm’s Investment Strategy and Communications business units. He is responsible for managing the investment team, overseeing manager due diligence, and asset allocation decisions. 

Before joining Mill Creek, Michael was a Managing Director at UBS, where he headed the Investment Strategy team and was responsible for providing asset allocation and market advice to the firm’s clients. 

Prior to UBS, he worked in various investment roles at Lehman Brothers and Barclays and as a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. Michael is a frequent commentator and invited speaker in TV and print financial media, including Bloomberg, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Barron’s, and Business Insider. He has also served as an adjunct professor of economics and actively publishes his research in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Wealth Management, the Journal of Investing, and the Journal of Index Investing. 

Michael received an M.S. in Economics from New York University and a B.S. from the University of Georgia. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst^SM.  He currently volunteers as a mentor for veterans and college students. 

Ms. Herubin currently is the Senior Investment Officer for Real Estate at the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (“LACERA”), where she oversees global investment in equity real estate. Prior to joining LACERA, Ms. Herubin was a Senior Managing Director at Greystar, where she was the practice leader for the firm’s open-end funds platform and U.S. asset management group. Ms. Herubin was elected to the Board of Trustees of Brandywine Realty Trust in 2018 and served until joining LACERA in 2024 as chair of the Governance Committee and as a member of the Audit Committee. Between 2007 and 2019, Ms. Herubin held senior positions in real estate investment and portfolio management. She was an EVP for Senior Housing for the United Group, Principal and IC Member for The Townsend Group, Managing Director and Real Estate Equity IC Member for Barings, and Senior Product Specialist for Real Estate for Angelo Gordon. From 1993 to 2007, Ms. Herubin held several positions with the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, ultimately leading acquisitions and co-managing the equity real estate portfolio.

Ms. Herubin is a member of the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries, the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Pension Real Estate Association (Reporting and Valuation Affinity Group), Urban Land Institute (Multifamily Gold Council), and has been recognized as a Woman of Influence by Globe Street for her contributions to institutional real estate management.

Ms. Herubin received a BA degree in Urban Planning from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a JD, magna cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, where she was a Sparer Public Interest Law Fellow and an editor of the Law Review.

As Chief Investment Officer and Deputy Comptroller for Asset Management, Steven Meier oversees investments for the five New York City retirement systems. 

Mr. Meier brings over 40 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, previously serving as Assistant Treasurer and Interim Chief Investment Officer for the Connecticut Office of the State Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden, overseeing the investments of Connecticut’s $40 billion public pension system. Previously, Meier spent 17 years at State Street and State Street Global Advisors, where he rose to Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Global Fixed Income, Currency, and Cash Management, overseeing over $900 billion in assets. In addition, he was a member of SSGA’s Investment Committee for over 10 years, with responsibility for more than $2.3 trillion in Global Investments.  

Prior to his time at State Street, he worked at Credit Suisse First Boston as Director, Global Head of Fixed Income & Money Market Electronic Trading and Senior Trader in their Global Financing Group. His experience also includes roles at Oppenheimer Capital, Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, and Irving Trust Company. 

Meier is a CFA Charter Holder and certified Financial Risk Manager. He holds an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business and a BBA from Hofstra University’s Zarb School of Business.  

As Chief Investment Officer, Shannon O’Leary oversees the Foundation’s Investments team as well as all aspects of the Foundation’s $1.9 billion investment portfolios for individual donors, nonprofit endowment holders as well as two partner foundations, F. R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation. In her role, Shannon works closely with the investment committees, Foundation staff and others on portfolio decision-making to maintain and grow assets that sustain the Foundations’ grantmaking, ensuring secure annual income and offering other investment funding, education and capacity-building resources for the 200+ nonprofits it serves. Since joining the Foundation, Shannon has implemented an approach that both quantifies and prioritizes investing strategies that align with the Foundation’s work to inspire generosity, advocate for equity, and invest in community-led solutions. 

An experienced leader with depth and breadth in building and managing investment teams, processes and procedures, Shannon joined the Foundation after serving as CIO at The Advocate Group, a Minnesota-based wealth management firm. Previously, Shannon spent seven years as the manager of wealth planning and investments for a large family office and served as a member of its Investment Committee. She played an integral role in portfolio construction and monitoring, the management of due diligence, client reporting and risk management for the family’s complex multi-generational investment structure and associated entities. 

Shannon began her career as an analyst at Dearborn Partners in Chicago after earning a bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in high-energy physics from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. As a mom of four, Shannon enjoys bringing her family to community events where they can see the work of the Foundation. 

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 Associate Investment Manager at CalPERS, where he leads strategy and engagement for the System’s emerging manager platforms across private markets. Based within the Sustainable Investment team, Miguel focuses on identifying next-generation investment management talent and oversees emerging manager strategies in Private Equity, including GCM DEM, GCM Elevate, and TPG Next funds. He also serves as a liaison between the Investment Office and external managers, stakeholders, and advocacy groups.

Miguel began his investment career in 2002, later serving as an Associate Director with Marcus & Millichap Investment Services, where he raised capital and syndicated multiple real estate partnerships. He transitioned into financial services in 2010 before joining CalPERS in 2013.

Miguel is a first-generation Portuguese American and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. He was born and raised in San Diego, California, and earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and History from the University of California, Davis.

Kirk Sims heads TRS’ Emerging Manager Program. Since being established in 2005, TRS has committed $5.9 billion to one of the largest programs of its kind. An additional $4.6 billion has been invested directly with EM Program graduates. Each graduate was selected as a result of consistent outperformance among a group of more than 218 EM managers.  

Sims joined the Teacher Retirement System of Texas on March 1, 2019. Before joining Texas Teachers, he was a Senior Investment Officer for the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois. Sims had oversight and management responsibility of TRS’s Emerging Manager Program, a $750 million evergreen pool of capital designed to identify and invest in emerging investment managers across all asset classes. 

Prior, Sims worked at Prudential Retirement where he was responsible for a manager of manager’s retirement platform as well as an open architecture investment platform.  He also has a background in asset management and has held various positions with both large and small asset managers. 

Sims is a CFA charter holder and holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.  He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University in Washington, DC.