About the Board and its members

The Board and its duties

Jeff Wulfson, Chairman, Designee of Commissioner of
Elementary and Secondary Education
Timothy P. Cahill, State Treasurer
Nicola Favorito, State Treasurer’s designee
A. Joseph DeNucci, State Auditor
Emily D. Cousens, State Auditor’s designee
John A. M. Dow, Jr.
Karen Ann Mitchell
Ellen T. Hargraves
Linda M. Ruberto

The Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement Board administers the Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System (MTRS). The Board is composed of seven members chosen in accordance with the enabling statute of the MTRS:

• the Massachusetts State Treasurer or his or her designee
• the Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or his or her designee
• two members who are elected by the active and retired members of the system,
• one member—who must be a retired teacher—who is appointed by the Governor,
• one member who is chosen by the vote of the other four, and
• the last member and the Board’s chairperson is the Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education or his or her designee.

Excepting the chairperson, State Treasurer and State Auditor, each member serves a four-year term. The length of the chairperson’s term depends upon the term of office of the Commissioner of Education. The Board, which meets at least once a month,

• votes on every disability retirement allowance,
• investigates all claims for accidental and ordinary disabilities,
• establishes the rules and regulations of the agency, and
• oversees the dissemination of services and information to its membership of more than 88,000 active educators and 44,000 retirees and survivors.

Jeff Wulfson

Chairman, Designee of Commissioner of
Elementary and Secondary Education
Since October 31, 2007

Jeff Wulfson is associate commissioner for school finance and district support in the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. He oversees the Department’s major school funding programs, including Chapter 70, special education circuit breaker, and transportation. He is also responsible for school choice programs, charter schools, special education appeals, and regional district governance issues. Prior to joining DOE he was the director of administration for the Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services and also served as chairman of the finance control boards for the cities of Brockton and Lowell. He is a past president of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Society for Public Administration, and received his undergraduate and MBA degrees from Dartmouth College.

Timothy P. Cahill

Treasurer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
Chair, Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (PRIM);
Chair, State Retirement Board; and
Teachers’ Retirement Board member since January 2003

Tim Cahill is serving his second term as Massachusetts State Treasurer and Receiver General. He was the Norfolk County Treasurer for six years and a Quincy City Councilor from 1987 until January 2003. Cahill lives in Quincy, not far from his boyhood home, with his wife, Tina (Falco) Cahill, an elementary school gym teacher, and their four daughters Makena, Nicole, Devin and Kendra.

Nicola Favorito

State Treasurer’s designee
Executive Director, State Retirement Board

Mr. Favorito serves as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Retirement Board which administers the State Retirement System on behalf of more than 50,000 retired and 83,000 active members. As an attorney, Mr. Favorito previously practiced in the areas of public employee retirement law, education, and municipal law. Mr. Favorito is a graduate of Boston Latin School, Harvard College and Suffolk University Law School.

A. Joseph DeNucci

Auditor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
Commissioner, Vice-Chair of Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC); and
Teachers’ Retirement Board member since July 1, 2000

Joe DeNucci of Newton has been Auditor of the Commonwealth since 1987. His primary responsibility is to make sure that public funds are spent legally, wisely, and for the purposes intended. Before being elected State Auditor, he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 10 years. For six years, he was House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Human Services and Elderly Affairs.

Auditor DeNucci currently serves as chairman of the State Inspector General’s Council, as chairman of the Municipal Finance Oversight Board, as vice-chairman of the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission, and as a member of the State Comptroller’s Advisory Board, the Teachers’ Retirement Board, and the School Building Assistance Advisory Board, the County Government Finance Review Board, the Witness Protection Board, and the Health Care Quality and Cost Council. He is the state designee to, and past chairman of, the New England Intergovernmental Audit Forum, and is a member of the Association of Government Accountants.

Joe and his wife Barbara live in Newton and have five children and 14 grandchildren.

Emily D. Cousens

State Auditor’s designee
Director, State Auditor’s Division of Local Mandates
Appointed August 28, 2009

Emily Cousens has served as an attorney in the State Auditor’s Office for over 20 years. As Director of the Auditor’s Division of Local Mandates, she writes legal opinions and conducts fiscal impact studies on laws and regulations affecting municipal and school finance. Ms. Cousens has a long history in education law, beginning her career at the Legislature’s Special Commission on Unequal Educational Opportunity, then moving on to the staff of the Joint Committee on Education, and later the House Committee on Ways and Means. She is a graduate of Salem State College and Suffolk University Law School.

John A. M. Dow, Jr.

Elected by the Membership
Term expires 12/31/2011

John “Jay” Dow, a retired Marblehead teacher, has served on the MTRB since 1972. As the Board's senior member, Mr. Dow brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Board’s decision-making process.

Mr. Dow began his teaching career in the Boston public schools, taught in Ipswich for a few years and then transferred to Marblehead, where he remained for 35 years. While President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) in the early 1970s, he learned the importance of the pension system and a strong retirement board. Soon after his MTA term expired in 1972, Mr. Dow ran for an open seat on the Board and won.

Karen Ann Mitchell

Elected by the Membership
Term expires 12/31/2011

Elected to the Board in December 2007, Ms. Mitchell has taught 7th and 8th grade reading in the Plymouth Public Schools since 1986, and was awarded National Board Certification in 2000. Throughout her career, she has been active in union organizations at both the local and state levels. A longtime member of the Education Association of Plymouth and Carver, she has served as that group’s president, vice president and secretary. Ms. Mitchell has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, having been elected to three terms. She holds an associate’s degree in psychology from Cape Cod Community College, a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of South Alabama, and a master’s degree in education from Bridgewater State College. Ms. Mitchell resides in Plymouth.

Ellen T. Hargraves

Appointed by the Governor
Term expires 4/18/2010

Ellen Hargraves, from Groton, retired in August 2000 after a 25-year teaching career as an elementary teacher in the Ayer and Groton-Dunstable School Systems. Over those years, she taught 6th, 2nd and mostly 4th grade. For a total of 11 years, she served and chaired the Groton-Dunstable and Nashoba Valley Technical School Committees. She was the founder and past-president of the Groton Parent-Teacher Organization, and in recent years, served as a representative on the board of the Groton-Dunstable Educators’ Association. She was a School Council teacher representative, ran workshops on study skills and served on Math, Health and Social Studies Curriculum Committees.

Linda M. Ruberto

Reappointed by the Board
Term expires 1/31/2012

Retired as of the end of the 2005–06 school year after 33 years of service as a Massachusetts public educator, Ms. Ruberto was most recently a biology teacher in the Pittsfield Public Schools, where she taught at both the middle and high school levels. She is now in her 16th year on the Board, having served as a member since 1991. During her tenure on the Board, Ms. Ruberto has been active in the work of the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR), serving as Chairperson of both the Resolutions and Education Committees for two years, and also participating on the Legislative and Nominating Committees.