Board Members
SDCERS' Board of Administration is comprised of 13 Board Members. The fairly unique thing about SDCERS' Board is that the majority (7 of the 13 Board Members) are independent appointees - meaning they are members of the San Diego community who have specific qualifications and experience for Board membership, but they are not members of SDCERS. Since these seven members do not participate in the SDCERS pension system, they therefore do not have a personal stake regarding SDCERS benefits. The impartiality of the independent appointees, combined with the personal experiences of the Board Members who are also SDCERS Members, increases our Board's ability to be both effective and trustworthy in its administration of the SDCERS pension plans.
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Paul Kaufmann
Board President - Independent Appointee
Term Date: March 31, 2027
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Lisa Marie Harris
Board Vice President - Independent Appointee
Lisa Marie Harris is a 28-year veteran in the field of public finance, having served at all levels of government: federal, state, and local. Over the course of her career, she has garnered a national reputation in the field largely from the issuance of billions of tax-exempt bonds, management of billions of assets, and from her active service in national civic organizations such as Government Finance Officers Association ("GFOA") and Women in Public Finance ("WPF"). Lisa holds a Bachelor's degree in economics from UC Berkely and a Master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.
Term Date: March 31, 2025
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Bret A. Bartolotta
Active General Board Member
Bret Bartolotta is a Lead Deputy City Attorney in the Public Finance Section of the San Diego City Attorney’s Office, focusing on the City’s various financings (e.g., direct State and Federal loans, municipal bond issuances, etc.). Bret also serves as the DCA for Finance and Disclosure on the Disclosure Practices Working Group, a sub-group composed of City Officers and Department Directors that reviews material disclosures made by the City in Official Statements to bond issuances, the City’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, and budget documents for compliance with securities laws. Prior to joining the City Attorney’s Office, Bret was in private practice for over 10 years, working in the areas of private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and general business law. Additionally, Bret has been a member of the San Diego Nice Guys since 2009, a philanthropic group focused on helping local families and individuals who, through no fault of their own, have fallen on tough times.
Term Date: March 31, 2025
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Thomas Battaglia
Active General Board Member
Thomas “Tom” Battaglia has been an employee with the City of San Diego since 2002 and is currently a Program Coordinator in the Loss Control Team section of the Risk Management Department. He has expertise in public finance for the City’s Capital Improvements Program (CIP), Operating Budgets, Accounting, and Accounts Payable/P-Card Program. Prior to this term, Tom served as the Active General Member representative on the SDCERS Board of Administration from 2017 – 2021. Tom previously sat on the Investment, Business & Governance, and Disability Committees. Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and a Master of Arts degree in Management from the University of Redlands.
Term Date: March 31, 2025
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B. Chris Brewster
Retiree Board Member
Chris Brewster served as San Diego’s Lifeguard Chief from 1988 to 2001, and in various other lifeguard ranks beginning in 1979. He has served, on a voluntary basis, as President of the Americas Region of the International Life Saving Federation since 1995. He also volunteers as President of the United States Lifesaving Foundation, Chair of the National Certification Committee of the United States Lifesaving Association, Editor of American Lifeguard Magazine, and Secretary/Treasurer of the San Diego Lifesaving Foundation. He is a former president of the United States Lifesaving Association and is the editor of the last three editions of its textbook, which is used to train America’s beach lifeguards. He has served as a board member of the City of San Diego Retired Employees’ Association since 2020. He earned a Bachelor of Science at the University of Colorado and is a graduate of LEAD San Diego. He also consults as a subject matter expert on legal cases in his area of expertise.
Term Date: March 31, 2027
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Michelle Bush
Independent Appointee
Michelle Bush has over 20 years of experience in finance, operations, and strategic planning. Currently, she serves as the Chief Administrative Officer for the San Diego County District Attorney's Office - a position she has held for over 15 years. Michelle also has experience working for one of the largest international auditing, tax, and consulting firms, KPMG Peat Marwick, where she served as Senior Manager to many of the leading government and not-for-profit organizations in San Diego County. Michelle has her Bachelor's degree in Accounting from San Diego State University and is a certified public accountant in the State of California.
Term Date: March 31, 2025
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Natasha Collura
Mayoral Designee
Ms. Collura currently serves as the Executive Director of Special Events and Filming for the City of San Diego and oversees a portfolio of services that support the City’s special event, filming, business and tourism industries in order to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact and extensive worldwide exposure for the San Diego region. Ms. Collura previously served as the City’s Executive Director of Corporate Partnerships. During her tenure in that position from March 2011 through 2018, she negotiated and implemented several new multi-year partnerships that generated millions of dollars in additional revenue for the City.
Ms. Collura also served as the Director of Revenue Generation and Partnerships for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority from 2018-2019, where she was responsible for revenue generation contracts and programs representing approximately $165,000,000 in revenue. Prior to her career in public service, she worked in the private sector for over 15 years in various sectors of Marketing for the Zoological Society of San Diego and Busch Entertainment Corporation.
Term Date: No end date
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Elvin Lai
Independent Appointee
Mr. Lai is a fourth-generation owner-operator of the Ocean Park Inn in Pacific Beach since 2003. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the San Diego Foundation and on the Board for the Asian Business Association. Previously, Mr. Lai served as Chair of the San Diego County Lodging Association, Chair of the California Hotel and Lodging Association, Board Member of the San Diego Tourism Authority, and member of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation Board of Directors. Elvin also created, cofounded, and co-chaired the PB Clean and Safe pilot program and continues to work to make this program a permanent reality for Pacific Beach. As a result of Elvin’s community service, both Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Mayor Todd Gloria and Councilmember Chris Cate presented Elvin with the honor of proclaiming August 31, 2020; June 2, 2022; and December 8, 2023 as Elvin Lai Day.
As an entrepreneur with businesses in four different sectors, Elvin’s greatest passions are building relationships, creating strategic alignments, supporting the growth of our economy and tourism industry, and working to better our community for future generations. Elvin has a bachelor’s in Biology and a minor in Chemistry from the University of San Diego, as well as a Master's in Hospitality Management from San Diego State University.
Term Date: March 31, 2027
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Paul Lotze
Active Fire Safety Board Member
Paul Lotze is a Fire Engineer with San Diego Fire-Rescue Dept. He is part of the Post Academy Training ("PAT"). As a PAT Engineer, Paul has the opportunity to drill, train, and mentor probationary firefighters. During his time at PAT, he noticed the need for new hires to have an understanding of retirement readiness, because, at the time, they no longer had guaranteed income through a pension or social security. In order to fill this void and help support his fellow firefighters, Paul co-created the first retirement presentation for new hires. His passion to serve in the area of retirement readiness overflowed to his entire fire family and this helped catalyze the first retirement account chart. Paul’s continued desire to serve the financial prosperity of all firefighters has led him to the position of Active Fire Safety Trustee on the SDCERS Board. Paul’s prior knowledge and application of financial awareness, as well as his willingness to serve, will now benefit his peers and their families for years to come.
Term Date: March 31, 2025
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Louis J. Maggi
Active Police Safety Board Member
Louis J. Maggi has been a San Diego Police Officer for 20 years, and is a currently a Detective Sergeant assigned to the Homicide Unit. He worked in Western Division as a patrol officer for seven years before being promoted to Detective. As a Detective, Mr. Maggi spent four years in the Financial Crimes Unit and five years in the Homicide Unit. As a Sergeant, he worked in Southeastern Patrol before being assigned back to the Homicide Unit. Mr. Maggi previously served as the San Diego Police Officers Association representative to the San Diego City Employees Retiree Medical Trust, and gained training and experience working with employee benefit plans. Mr. Maggi holds an Associate of Science degree in Administration of Justice and has attended hundreds of additional hours of specialized investigative training. He is also a Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) Certified instructor and currently instructs in the POST Officer Involved Shooting Investigation course.
Term Date: March 31, 2027
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Louie Nguyen
Independent Appointee
Louie Nguyen is a seasoned financial analyst with close to 25 years of experience. Prior to joining Mission Driven Finance, Louie ran Soledad Investment Management, where he made global investments including impact-oriented investments in Vietnam. Before launching Soledad, Louie was a senior portfolio manager for the Needelman Asset Management International Value product. Earlier in his career, he worked directly with company founder Charles Brandes as an institutional portfolio manager for high-profile North American and Asian institutional clients at Brandes Investment Partners. Louie is also civically engaged, holding civic leadership positions with the Mingei International Museum and Asian American Repertory Theatre.
Term Date: March 31, 2025
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Clifford Schireson
Independent Appointee
Term Date: March 31, 2027
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Roberta Spoon
Independent Appointee
Roberta Spoon is a licensed CPA and founding partner at the forensic accounting firm of Brodshatzer, Wallace, Spoon & Yip, CPAs. Roberta's experience in volunteerism includes two terms as Board Vice Chair for the San Diego Housing Commission, where she worked closely with the Finance Department, served as their Audit Committee Chair, and served on the Strategic Planning Committee. Currently she also volunteers for the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center as Audit Committee Chair and Housing Development Partners, serving as an Audit Committee Chair and as Board Treasurer. Roberta earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance from San Diego State University.
Term Date: March 31, 2025