NCPERS Names Public Pension Communicators of the Year

The National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems honored five public pension fund staff members with awards recognizing exceptional communications and member services work they performed last year. The awards were presented at the NCPERS’ Communication and Member Services Summit this week.

“Retirement decisions carry lasting consequences, and public servants depend on information they can understand, trust, and act on,” said Hank Kim, NCPERS’ CEO, in a statement. “Today’s public pension communicators play a vital role in that journey—ensuring members have the clarity and confidence they need.”

Awards were presented in categories based on the pension fund’s assets under management—less than $10 billion, between $10 billion and $50 billion, and more than $50 billion—in addition to a “rising star” award for nominees with less than five years of experience at their organization and an honorable mention for member services.

The winners were:

• Ryan Woodhouse, content and publications manager, Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado – less than $10 billion – Woodhouse prioritized provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act in his design and distilled complex pension information into clear, member‑focused content to support Colorado’s first responders;
• Renee Garcia, director of communications and outreach, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board – $10 billion to $50 billion – Garcia modernized member education and helped bridge the gap between complex technical system implementation and organizational readiness during a major pension administration system overhaul;
• Beth Hallmark, chief communications officer, Teacher Retirement System of Texas – more than $50 billion – Hallmark steered a digital transformation that reimagined how 2.1 million members interact with their pension system resulting in unprecedented member engagement levels;
• Jalel Braden, senior communications specialist, San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association – rising star – Braden brought an innovative, human‑centered approach to education and outreach that meets members where they are; and
• Kate Chandler, member engagement manager, Maine Public Employees Retirement System – honorable mention – Chandler enhanced trust and service quality through data‑informed member engagement, modernized call center operations and fraud‑prevention initiatives.

All nominees were graded on a 10-point scale by a panel of three judges who won awards last year: Mehrin Rahman, communications director at the City of Austin Employees’ Retirement System; Candy Albers Smith, chief communications officer at the Missouri State Employees Retirement System; and Jonathan Yost, senior marketing and communications specialist at the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System.

This was the third year that NCPERS presented its Public Pension Communicator of the Year awards. Nominees were required to be employees of public pension funds that are active NCPERS members in good standing, but there were no eligibility restrictions for nominators.

The core criteria the judges used in their scoring were:

• Demonstration of leadership skills;
• Superior creativity and innovation in strategic communications; and
• Positive impact upon the pension and its members and/or the public pension community.

Lizzy Lees, director of communications at NCPERS, says an important theme that arose from the awards was that good communications and engagement with pension participants are “not optional.”

“They’re not nice-to-haves,” Lees says. “It’s difficult, but important work.”