In November, the PERA Board of Trustees voted to elect new officers. Taylor McLemore was elected to serve as Chair and the Hon. Rebecca R. Freyre was elected Vice Chair. They’ll begin two-year terms in January.

Freyre is a judge with the Colorado Court of Appeals, and she has been on the PERA Board since 2019. Freyre has been Chair of the Board’s Investment Committee since 2021.

We recently connected with Freyre to learn more about her experience and perspective as she prepares to take on a new role on the Board.

Tell us a little about yourself and the experience you bring to the Board.

I grew up in Kansas but had family in Colorado and knew this was where I wanted to live. I moved here in 1982 and worked in the financial services industry for the next six years. Finding corporate work unfulfilling, I attended law school in the evenings and decided to devote my career to public service. I was a public defender for 25 years and have served as a judicial officer for the last nine years.

How has your career in the justice system informed your work as a Trustee?

My work as a Trustee is a natural extension of my public service work in the justice system, where I must remain focused on following the law in a fair and impartial manner. PERA is subject to statute, so implementing the legislature’s fiduciary mandate of all Trustees feels very familiar. As a judicial officer, I can’t please everyone—every case has a winner and a loser. Similarly, Trustees must make decisions as fiduciaries that ensure PERA’s long-term stability and viability, and those decisions rarely make everyone happy.

What are you most looking forward to as you prepare to take on the role of Vice Chair?

I most look forward to working with my amazing fellow Trustees and assisting the new Board Chair in supporting PERA’s movement toward full funding. PERA has a thoughtful group of highly qualified Trustees, and I am confident that this team can fulfill its fiduciary duty to PERA’s members in a transparent manner as PERA faces the challenges that lie ahead.

What does effective Board leadership look like to you?

Effective Board leadership starts at the top, and our new Board chair demonstrated that leadership when he chaired our ad hoc hiring committee that selected PERA’s new CEO. Effective leadership is professional, transparent, and focused on the Board’s governance and fiduciary mandate. It must also be collaborative with PERA staff to serve the needs of all PERA members.

There will be elections for five seats on the Board in 2025. Do you have any advice for someone interested in becoming a Trustee?

First, decide where your passion lies and whether being a fiduciary is right for you—it isn’t right for everyone. Being a fiduciary requires Trustees to remove their “division” hats and to make decisions that are in the best interests of all PERA members, not just those who elect you. It also requires the ability to view decisions in the long-term and to resist short-term reactions. Being a Trustee is exceptionally fulfilling, but it is also hard work and requires making tough decisions. If your passion is to advocate specifically for your division, then you may wish to become involved in organizations that directly interact with the legislature.