SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments to the California State Teachers’ Retirement (CalSTRS) Board. In October the Governor committed to appointing individuals with greater independence and stronger financial backgrounds to public retirement boards, as part of his pension reform plan to end abuses and cut costs in California’s pension systems. Today’s appointments add significant public and private sector financial expertise to the CalSTRS board and will help steward one of our state’s largest and most important retirement systems through uncertain economic times.
Michael Lawson, 58, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the California State Teachers’ Retirement Board. Lawson was a partner at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom LLP from 1995 to 2011, and was an associate there from 1980 to 1995. He was also a staff attorney at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation from 1975 to 1980. Lawson earned his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. He serves on the board of trustees of Morehouse College and the Advancement Project. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lawson is a Democrat.
Paul Rosenstiel, 61, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the California State Teachers’ Retirement Board. Rosenstiel has been a principal at De La Rosa & Co. Investment Bankers since 2009 as well as from 1995 to 2005. He was deputy state treasurer at the State Treasurer’s Office from 2007 to 2009 and policy director for Steve Westly for Governor from 2005 to 2006. Rosenstiel was vice president of public finance for First Boston Corporation from 1986 to 1995. He received his Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Rosenstiel is currently chair of the California Budget Project and is a board member at the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Rosenstiel is a Democrat.