PHOENIX — Last week, Governor Doug Ducey announced the appointment of Diane Landis and Ashley Ruiz to the Arizona State Retirement System Board of Trustees. The nine-member board governs the pension fund for state employees, acts as fiduciary of the trust fund, and plays a role in legislative, investment and policy decisions.
Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) serves more than 500,000 of Arizona’s public servants across the state, including state employees, our three state universities, community college districts, school districts, charter schools, all 15 counties, most cities and towns, and a variety of political subdivisions, such as fire and water districts.
Board members are appointed by the Governor to three-year terms. The board is comprised of five appointees representing ASRS beneficiaries and four public members.
Ducey is reappointing Kevin McCarthy and Michael Lofton.
Landis will serve as a public member. Landis worked for 14 years in investments and financial planning, retiring as Vice President – Investments, for UBS Financial Services in 2007. This year, she fully retired as a CPA after 33 years from a career which also included tax and audit work in her early years.
Landis was elected to the Litchfield Park City Council in 2010, serving one term until 2015. She has served on the Litchfield Park Industrial Development Authority Board since 2016, has been a Precinct Committeeman since 2009, is a Dodie Londen Excellence in Public Service graduate and Flinn Brown Fellow. In addition to her one term on City Council, Landis was a liberal candidate for State Legislature on multiple occasions, running as a pro-ObamaCare Medicaid Expansion candidate against Republican Representatives Steve Montenegro and Darin Mitchell and later against Steve Montenegro for the State Senate seat. She lost all of those contests.
Ashley Ruiz will serve as a state employee representative. Ruiz has served as the Arizona State Comptroller since March of 2020. Prior to her current role, she served as Interim Deputy State Comptroller from September of 2019 until March of 2020, as well as the Business Administrator for the Arizona Department of Corrections from 2014 until 2019. Prior to that position, she served as the Finance Manager for the University of Phoenix.
McCarthy is a reappointment to the Board of Trustees and will serve as a public member. McCarthy is President of the Arizona Tax Research Association, an independent, statewide taxpayer organization that promotes efficient and effective use of tax dollars through sound fiscal policy.
Michael Lofton is a reappointment to the Board of Trustees and will serve as a public member. Michael is owner and CEO of the Lofton Family of Companies, a real estate, investment and development firm. He is also an owner and partner of Capital Fund, LLC, a private lending company in Arizona. He has been involved with numerous professional organizations related to the home building industry and with several charities focused on helping children and victims of domestic violence.