Leadership

Eric Stern has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) since December 2017.

Prior to SCERS, Eric worked as manager at the California Department of Finance overseeing state budget and policy issues related to retirement and health benefits.  He previously worked at the California Little Hoover Commission, an independent oversight agency that recommends improvements to state government programs and operations.  Eric started his career as a newspaper reporter and editor.  He earned his Masters of Public Policy and Administration at California State University, Sacramento, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University.

Margo M. Allen, Ph.D., joined the SCERS leadership team in October 2021 as Chief Operations Officer overseeing multiple independent service areas, including Financial Operations, Administrative Services, and Information Technology.

Before coming to SCERS, Ms. Allen served more than eight years as Fiscal Services Officer at Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association. Previously she served as Executive Director for the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, and as a professor of business and management, serving on multiple boards. She also held several director positions in a decades-long career with the United States Air Force.

Ms. Allen received her Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Science from Walden University, her Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Chapman University, and her Bachelor of Science in Management Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Steve Davis has served as the Chief Investment Officer at SCERS since October 2016 and is responsible for the oversight and implementation of SCERS’ investment program.

Steve has been with SCERS since 2010, and previously was a co-portfolio manager at Wedbush Morgan Securities and a senior research analyst at Concord Investment Counsel.  Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Southern California, and also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designations.

Jason Morrish joined SCERS in 2023. Previously, Jason served as a Deputy County Counsel in San Joaquin County, where he was employed since 2004.

As part of the County Counsel’s office, Jason served as General Counsel for the San Joaquin County Employees’ Retirement Association since 2017. His responsibilities included interpretation and implementation of the County Employee’s Retirement Law of 1937, Brown Act, and Robert’s Rules of Order, plus contract development and review in all facets of business operations, and oversight and management of outside counsel.

Jason’s other San Joaquin County legal experience includes providing General counsel to General Services/Facilities Management/Capital Projects, County Deferred Compensation Plan, County Registrar of Voters, and General litigation counsel for San Joaquin County. His previous positions include Senior Associate at Merrill, Nomura & Molineux, LLP, and Associate at Smith, Merrill & Peffer LLP.

Jason graduated from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific with a Juris Doctor, and from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor’s in History.

Keith Riddle is the Chief Benefits Officer of SCERS and oversees the administration of benefits and related member services.

Keith joined SCERS in 2023 . Prior to SCERS, Keith worked as a Division Chief at CalPERS, overseeing the 130-person Disability and Survivor Benefits division.

Keith brings a wealth of customer service and business process know-how; he has worked in multiple positions at CalPERS since 2000, and also served a 3-year stint at CalSTRS as a field office manager. He has a deep knowledge of the overall planning and administration of benefits within a California public pension system.

Keith graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance and Insurance.

Timothy Taylor joined SCERS as Chief Technology Officer in July 2023 and has overall responsibility for the implementation of SCERS’s IT modernization program.

Timothy comes to SCERS with 23 years of experience at California Public Employees’ Retirement System, where he served as Chief Technology Innovation Officer since 2012. Prior to that, he served as Section Chief in the Application Development & Support Section, and as Manager for the Web Development & Support Section.

Timothy holds a Master of Arts in Multimedia Production and Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from California State University, Sacramento.

Jim Donohue joined SCERS as Deputy Chief Investment Officer in 2019 and is responsible for investment policies and strategy, supporting development of asset allocation and asset class structures, risk management framework, and oversight and selection of investment managers and service providers.

Previously, Jim served as the Private Equity Director for the American National Red Cross endowment and defined-benefit plans.  Prior to the American National Red Cross, Jim was with Keyhaven Capital Partners, a European fund of funds and advisory firm located in the United Kingdom. Jim has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Utah, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Claremont McKenna College.

José Martínez is the Senior Accounting Manager at SCERS.  He oversees the financial reporting and financial operations of the agency.

José brings experience from both the private and public sector.  Prior to SCERS, he spent 9 years at the El Dorado County Health and Human Service Agency as a Supervising Accountant/Auditor where he led various projects to implement an enterprise resource planning system, streamlined process and procedures during conversion to a super-agency, and oversaw departmental grant and financial audits and reporting.

Before that time, José maintained roles within El Dorado County Auditor Office and private sector Revenue Accounting.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Loyola Marymount University.