Rastegar Property Company

Ari Rastegar is the Founder & CEO of Rastegar Property Company, a technology-focused private equity real estate firm. Ari has built portfolios as an investor, developer, & manager spanning 38 cities & 13 states encompassing over 5,000,000 sq/ft of properties. Since launching Rastegar, Ari has led the firm by building portfolios of multi-family, self-storage, office, retail, & industrial. Forbes labeled him “The Oracle of Austin” in 2021, & Austin Monthly recently named him the King of Austin Real Estate. Ari ranked #93 on Commercial Observer’s Power 100 List, which includes the 100 most powerful people in commercial real estate today.

TEXPERS, Executive Director

Art Alfaro served the City of Austin for 31 years, as City Treasurer for the last thirteen of those years. He was responsible for the City’s comprehensive cash management program, the $5.9 billion debt management program and investment management of a $3.3 billion portfolio. Art also served as a trustee on several city boards, including the Employees Retirement System, Firefighters’ Relief & Retirement Fund, Police Retirement System and the Deferred Compensation Committee. In addition to being a former trustee on the city’s three pension funds, he was also a member of the Government Treasurers’ Organization of Texas (GTOT), Government Finance Officer’s Association of Texas, Austin Convention Center Enterprises, Austin Convention Condominium Association, Austin-Bergstrom Landhost Enterprises, Travis County Investment Committee, Public Trust Advisors Texas CLASS Investment Advisory Board, TexasTERM Investment Advisory Board and Hispanic Business Alliance Fund. He served as GTOT president in 2010, and also as legislative committee chair.

Jackson Walker LLP
Chuck Campbell, Esq. is a partner in the Tax section of Jackson Walker, L.L.P. represents public and private sector clients in all areas of employee benefits and executive compensation. He regularly assists clients in the design, drafting, and compliance aspects of retirement plans (including 401(k), 403(b), and traditional pension plans), health and disability plans, deferred compensation plans (including handling aspects of 409A and 457 compliance), stock option and other equity compensation plans, severance arrangements, and executive employment agreements. In addition, a significant part of his practice involves representing public pension plans, their trustees, and the governmental entities that participate in or sponsor such plans, and addressing the unique issues that these organizations face. Because his practice focus is on federal income tax and ERISA issues, Campbell also represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor. ccampbell@jw.com

Pension Review Board of Texas, Staff Actuary

David joined the Texas Pension Review Board as Senior Actuary in October 2021 despite knowing that he would have to speak in public. Prior to joining the PRB, he had over twenty years of microphone-free experience in plan design, actuarial valuation and administrative consulting on pension and post-retirement welfare plans for employers of all types including governmental entities, large hospital systems, and Fortune 500 companies. David lives in Houston and enjoys hiking in nearby state parks and national forests with his son. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) and an Enrolled Actuary (EA). David holds a BBA in Finance, Statistics and Operations Research from the University of Houston.

Contract Plan Administrator

Debra Jones serves as the Plan Administrator for six TLFFRA Funds. She began her career 22 years ago in Beaumont, TX. She served the Beaumont Fund for 12 years until she moved to Longview, TX. A call for help from a small Fund in the Valley, sparked a new interest of working remotely and filled a growing need for administrative support in small to mid-sized Funds. Debra currently serves as a trustee on the TLFFRA Education Foundation.

TLFFRA Educational Foundation, Chairman
Kolby Beckham is the Chairman of the Longview Firemen’s Relief & Retirement Fund. He started his fire service career in 1993 and currently serves as a Truck Captain, Paramedic and Special Operations Team member for the Longview Fire Department. Kolby was elected to the pension board as a firefighter trustee in 2007, and was elected to the position of Chairman in 2011. Mr. Beckham also serves as the Chairman of TLFFRA Education Foundation, a nonprofit board that provides trustee training to Fire Department pensions across Texas. Kolby served the former Office of the Fire Pension Commissioner of Texas as a peer review trainer. He has helped bring the Longview Firemen’s Relief & Retirement Fund from an Infinite unfunded liability in 2010, to 27.6 years of unfunded liability in 2022.

CAPTRUST Principal, Financial Advisor

Lisa joined CAPTRUST from South Texas Money Management in 2019. A native of Amarillo, Ms. Miller received her Bachelor of Science degree from West Texas A&M University and her Master of Science degree from Sam Houston State University. She worked for the late state senator Teel Bivins of Amarillo in his district and capitol offices for seven years before beginning her career in governmental relations for a statewide firefighters’ association and then for the law firm Hance Scarborough, LLP.

In 2004, Governor Rick Perry appointed her to serve as the state’s seventh firefighters’ pension commissioner, a position she held until joining South Texas Money Management in late 2010. The Commissioner’s office oversaw defined benefit pension funds for more than 300 municipalities with combined assets of more than $1.4 billion.

Miller holds an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designation. In 2011, the Austin Business Journal named her one of the city’s Women of Influence and Leadership Texas in 2019.

Abraham Trading Company, President
Salem Abraham is the President of Abraham Trading. Salem graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in December 1987 with a bachelor's degree in finance. He began his investing career as a futures trader while still in college, using quantitative models to trade global futures markets beginning in 1987. Throughout his career, Salem has managed investments in stocks, bonds, options, derivatives, and private equity. He has held full membership seats at both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. His first investment experiences were shared with his grandfather, who employed him to buy and sell distressed minerals and ranches in the Texas Panhandle in the late 80s. In total, Salem has bought and sold more than 200,000 acres of land and resources. He manages investments in oil and gas properties, wind rights and residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate properties.

Salem has served on nonprofit investment boards for over 25 years. From 1995 to 2014, he served on the Amarillo Area Foundation Investment Committee. From 2004 to 2021, he served on the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Investment Committee. He assists with both large and small nonprofit endowments, with portfolios ranging from $1 million to over $4 billion in assets. His experiences with large and small institutional investors have provided insights into the unique mandates and challenges of managing foundation and endowment portfolios of all sizes. Salem started the Pickens-Abraham Foundation with T. Boone Pickens in 2008. The foundation provided college scholarships to accomplished graduating seniors in the Texas Panhandle. The investment strategy that Salem used for his part of the foundation was the inspiration for the Abraham Fortress Fund strategy. After Pickens' death, the Pickens-Abraham Foundation dissolved, and Salem's portion of the money became the Salem and Ruth Ann Abraham Foundation. The foundation provides education scholarships and donates to universities, family services, children's causes, and health services.