Meet Our Board of Trustees
John Lyons, Chairperson
Appointed Board Member
John Lyons is a partner at the law firm DLA Piper LLP (US). He has practiced law in Illinois for the past 33 years focusing on corporate restructuring and governance.
Collin Van Meter, Vice Chairperson
Elected Board Member
Collin Van Meter has worked in the information technology field for the last 19 years, with 13 of those in Illinois higher education. He is currently employed with Technology Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously, he was a member of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s (SIUE) Information Technology Services Unit.
During his time at SIUE, he worked closely with faculty, staff and students assisting with the implementation and utilization of educational technology across the university. He served on the University Staff Senate as a senator representing Civil Service Open Range employees and believes strongly in shared governance and representation. He has been an elected member of the SURS board since 2018.
Van Meter received a Bachelor of Science in political science from Illinois College and a Master of Science in computer management and information systems from SIUE.
Scott Hendrie, Treasurer
Appointed Board Member
Scott Hendrie is vice president of finance and treasury at the Carle Foundation, serving on both their Retirement Plan and Health and Welfare Committees. He is a member of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine Joint Liaison Committee and a Board Observer for Ascension Ventures IV, L.P. Previously, he worked for First Busey Corporation, a financial holding company, for 15 years.
Hendrie received a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He earned his chartered financial analyst designation in 1999.
Andriy Bodnaruk, Elected Board Member
Andriy Bodnaruk is a professor and interim head of the department of finance at the University of Illinois Chicago. Prior to joining UIC, he was at the University of Notre Dame (2008-2016) and Maastricht University (Netherlands, 2005-2008).
Bodnaruk has completed academic research on mutual fund investments, fund manager conduct and financial (un)sophistication of individual investors. His work has been published in leading academic journals including Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, and Management Science.
He received his doctorate in finance from the Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden) in 2005.
Richard Figueroa, Appointed Board Member
Richard Figueroa is the chief investment officer of Barrett-Lo Visionary Development. Before joining Barrett-Lo, he was the chief operating officer of Janko Group, the director of capital markets for the Opus Group and served as the director of acquisitions for Mansur & Company.
Figueroa has a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s degree in public policy and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
J. Fred Giertz, Elected Board Member
J. Fred Giertz is a Professor Emeritus of Economics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University in 1970. Giertz previously served as an appointed member of the SURS Board from 1995-2005 and an elected-active member from 2009-2012. He served as chair of the board’s Investment Committee for five years.
Giertz also is a member of the Parkland College Foundation Board of Directors and the State Universities Annuitant Association.
Giertz has written extensively about pensions including SURS and has testified before the Illinois General Assembly and a U. S. House Committee on pension funding problems. He has been on the faculty of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois since 1980.
Pranav Kothari, Appointed Board Member
Pranav Kothari is the founder and CEO of Revolution Impact, which focuses on helping empower social sector organizations to achieve their goals. He also serves as Adjunct Lecturer of Social Impact at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, teaching both MBA and executive education courses on the education sector, social sector performance measurement and board governance.
Kothari has held prior leadership roles with KnowledgeWorks, StriveTogether and Mission Measurement and has served as board president of the National College Attainment Network.
Kothari received his Master of Business Administration in Corporate Strategy and Organizational Behavior from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and A.B. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis.
Herbert Pitman, Elected Board Member
Herbert Pitman is currently a full-time lecturer of Health Administration at Governors State University in University Park, IL. His health care lectures include topics in accounting, financial management, statistics and economics. He has also previously served as a graduate advisor and adjunct professor for the department.
Prior to joining Governors State University, Pitman founded and was president of Perennial Corporation, a business management firm in Chicago. He also served as the information technology consultant for the chancellor and vice-chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago and as chief financial officer and bursar for Kennedy-King College.
Pitman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Chicago State University, was an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and received his Master of Science degree in public policy and finance from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University.
Steven Rock, Elected Board Member
Steven Rock has taught economics at a number of Illinois institutions over the years. Most recently, he was at Western Illinois University (1990-2018). Prior to that he worked at Northern Illinois University (1986-1990), Illinois Institute of Technology (1978-1986), and the University of Illinois Chicago (1975-1978). He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University.
Rock has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Economic Inquiry, National Tax Journal, Public Finance Quarterly, Public Budgeting and Finance, Accident Analysis and Prevention, Transportation Research Record, and Public Health Reports.
Notable service includes the Faculty Advisory Council of the Illinois Board of Higher Education (13 years), Faculty Senate at Western Illinois University (12 years including 7 as chair), the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (national officer for 4 years), and the University Professionals of Illinois (chapter officer for 18 years). He has served on a number of education-related task forces, several involving the Illinois Monetary Assistance Program.
Antonio Vasquez, Elected Board Member
Antonio Vasquez is a professor of economics and chair of the Business Department at Wilbur Wright College. He previously served as a lecturer at Harold Washington College, the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) and Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU).
Vasquez has long worked with El Valor, a non-profit organization in the Hispanic community of Chicago serving adults and children with disabilities, as well as with the Center for Capacity Building on Minorities with Disabilities Research at UIC.
Vasquez received his B.A. from DePaul University and his M.A. from UIC. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. in Disability Studies. He is a member of the American Economics Association, the Society for Community Research and Action and the Association on Higher Education and Disability.
For more information on the SURS Board of Trustees, click here.