PSPRS Investment Team

Mark has been with PSPRS since 2007. He began as an intern and from there took positions of increasing responsibility: investment analyst, portfolio manager, and chief of staff. Mark was named CIO in 2018. Prior to joining PSPRS, Mark worked in banking for JP Morgan Chase. His outside activities include a four-year project as a forecaster for the Good Judgment Project, led by prominent behavioral economist Phil Tetlock. Mark lives in Gilbert with his wife and three children, and is a member of the acclaimed musical group Cinematic Pop.

• MS in Predictive Analytics (Northwestern University)
• MBA (Thunderbird School of Global Management, Jost Henkel Scholar)
• BA in Latin American Studies (Brigham Young University, honors from Sigma Iota Rho)

James joined PSPRS in 2018. He manages investments for the diversifying strategies asset class portfolio which includes investments in hedge fund strategies. James also manages the contractual income asset class portfolio which includes investments in private lending, royalty, leasing, and special situations strategies. He was named Deputy CIO in 2021. James has over a decade of experience in alternative investment management and portfolio construction. Prior to joining PSPRS, James was a Senior Investment Analyst for MIG Diversified Fund at MIG Capital where he focused on building the investment program, allocating assets, selecting managers, and leading the due diligence process. James also worked for Wedbush Securities, Roth Capital, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

• BA in Business/Economics (University of California, Los Angeles)
• Chartered Financial Analyst
• Certified Public Accountant
• Fluent in Mandarin

Alex joined PSPRS in 2025. He primarily oversees the global private equity and private credit teams. Prior to PSPRS, Alex spent 9 years at the UPS corporate pension working across private markets, rising from Senior Investment Analyst, supporting private equity, real estate, credit, and energy to Senior Portfolio Manager, leading the private equity portfolio. Alex continued to manage the UPS private equity portfolio as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, following UPS’s decision to outsource management of the plan. Alex started his career in the U.S. Army, serving as a field artillery officer with service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• MBA (Goizueta Business School, Emory University)
• BE in Mechanical Engineering (Vanderbilt University)
• Chartered Financial Analyst

Vaida has been with PSPRS since 2012. She began as an Investment Operations Analyst and has served as Director of Investment Services since July 2016. Her current responsibilities include overseeing financial and performance reporting for the PSPRS investment portfolio, management of day-to-day back office operations and custodial relationships, as well as portfolio risk analytics, trading, records retention and due diligence support functions. Her previous professional experience includes quantitative research and teaching in public finance and public administration, as well as non-profit administrative and financial management work.

• PhD in Public Administration and Management/Public Finance (University of North Texas)
• Master of Public Policy Administration (University of Missouri, St. Louis)

Prior to joining PSPRS in 2014, Jennifer was a partner in the Corporate Law Group of Quarles & Brady LLP in Phoenix, Arizona. Jennifer was selected as a finalist for the 2016 Arizona Corporate Counsel award presented by the AZ Business® magazine and was included among Southwest Super Lawyers® magazine’s 2012 Rising Stars.

• JD (Columbia University School of Law, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar)
• BS in Business/Accounting (Marquette University with honors, summa cum laude)
• Admitted to practice law in New York (1999)
• Admitted to practice law in Arizona (2000)

Susan joined PSPRS in 2023 and manages the contractual income asset class portfolio which includes investments in fixed income, private lending, royalty, leasing, and special situations strategies. Susan has spent her career focused on alternative investments, most recently with the Washington State Investment Board’s multi-billion dollar tangible assets portfolio. Prior to that Susan spent eight years in Seoul, South Korea, where she served as an operational due diligence specialist at Deloitte and an alternative investments analyst with Samsung Securities. Susan is currently based in Washington state.

• MA in International Cooperation (Yonsei University of Graduate Studies)
• BA in International Relations (Claremont McKenna College)
• CAIA designee since 2010
• Fluent in Korean

Edward joined PSPRS in December 2021. He began his investment career in the 1990s when he launched Waterford Partners. The firm focused on depressed emerging markets and mostly managed money for large hedge funds and family offices. After that, he was a senior portfolio manager at Passport Capital, a San Francisco-based global macro fund, where he managed a team of analysts. Before joining PSPRS, he launched and managed Cleargate Capital, which focused on European equities. Edward is working remotely for now from the East coast. Edward grew up in southeast Michigan and has lived in Switzerland, Brazil, and Mexico while working for a $2 billion European single-family office. His wife’s family has lived in Arizona for more than ten years. Edward and his wife have spent part of every winter here since 2011.

• MBA (University of Chicago)
• BA in Psychology/Sociology (Anderson University, Indiana)

Brandon joined PSPRS as a portfolio analyst in 2021. He was promoted to senior portfolio manager in 2024 and now manages the Private Equity and Real Assets portfolios within the Capital Appreciation asset class. Prior to joining PSPRS, Brandon held roles as a product analyst and business planning analyst within the Enterprise, Digital, & Analytics business unit of American Express. Outside of work, Brandon enjoys mountain biking and spending time with his family.

• BS in Finance and Business Management (Northern Arizona University)

Jeff joined PSPRS in 2015, beginning his tenure as an intern and progressing to his current role as Senior Portfolio Manager. In this capacity, he oversees the Real Estate, Real Assets, and Diversifying Strategies portfolios, including allocations to hedge fund strategies.

Before joining PSPRS, Jeff lived in Germany, where he taught English at Leipzig University. During this time, he enhanced his communication skills and developed meaningful experience in staff leadership, mentoring, and managing relationships with a diverse range of colleagues and students.

• MBA, IE Business School (Madrid, Spain)
• BS in Finance and Economics, Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, Arizona)

Janel joined PSPRS in 2025 as an Investment Paralegal – Supervisor.  Janel has more than eight years of experience as a paralegal. Prior to joining PSPRS, she worked in the private sector in the areas of litigation, probate, and criminal law. She is a Phoenix native and lives in Mesa with her five children.

• Paralegal Certificate (Phoenix College)
• BS in Business Management Information Systems (Brigham Young University)

Owen has been with PSPRS since 2015. He is responsible for the portfolio’s risk analysis and data analysis, a duty that includes assessing market environments, forecasting volatility and value at risk, building machine learning, statistical and predictive models. Owen creates programs, methodologies, and files for analyzing and presenting data; researches new data sources and analytical tools. Prior to joining PSPRS, Owen worked in banking, wealth management, and corporate finance. He is married and has a son. He counts fitness and fixing electronics among his hobbies.

• MS in Global Finance (Thunderbird School of Global Management)
• MS in Data Analytics (Harrisburg University of Science and Technology)
• BS in Finance and Management with a certificate in Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Arizona State University)
• Fluent in Mandarin
• Experience in Asia

Originally from the east coast, Katie Boligitz joined PSPRS as a portfolio analyst in January 2020 and was recently promoted to senior portfolio analyst. At PSPRS, she conducts due diligence and monitoring activities for the contractual income asset class category. Katie most recently worked as a performance auditor for the Arizona Auditor General’s Office where she was employed for three years. There, she made state government more efficient and effective by completing program evaluations across agencies such as the Arizona Medical Board, the Department of Child Safety, the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Agriculture. Not a typical desk job, she was able to tour an earthen dam, shadow egg inspectors, conduct phishing calls for an IT audit, and measure well water depths. At the end of each audit, Katie and her team wrote quality reports with value-added recommendations for the agency to implement and the Legislature to focus resources accordingly.

• Master of Economics (University of Arizona, Eller College of Management)
• Undergraduate Mathematics (La Salle University)
• Undergraduate Economics (La Salle University)

Niv joined PSPRS in June 2023. In her current role as senior portfolio analyst Niv conducts due diligence and monitoring activities for Global Private Equity asset class category. Prior to joining PSPRS, Niv worked as an IT consultant in NTT DATA, Dallas, Texas. With a passion for problem solving, Niv was committed to driving efficiency in the Financial Operations processes in NTT DATA. Niv has more than 10 years experience in various departments of Information Technology. Outside of work, Niv enjoy spending time with family and reading.

• Undergraduate in electronics and instrumentation engineering (Anna University, Chennai)
• Masters in finance (Arizona State University)

Lex joined PSPRS in June 2023. He spent the past four years as a senior operations analyst at Pathway Capital Management, a private equity firm in Irvine, California, where he managed the firm’s $90B AUM portfolio, primarily focused on global stock equities. Prior to Pathway, Lex was an operations analyst at Charles Schwab in Phoenix, AZ. At PSPRS, Lex supports the Global Public Equities Asset Class and due diligence process. Outside of work, Lex is a dedicated foodie and coffee connoisseur, travel enthusiast and enjoys photography. His most recent hobby is learning the electric guitar.

• B.S. Economics (University of Utah)

William Kelly joined PSPRS in 2024. Prior to PSPRS William worked at MasTec Renewables assisting the business development, estimating and strategic development teams related to solar projects. William interned at PSPRS in the summer of 2021. Outside of work William enjoys swimming, hiking, playing and watching lacrosse along with studying maps and American history. William has lived all over the country and plans to visit every state in the U.S.

• B.A. Politics, Philosophy, Economics and Law (University of Arizona)

Tim has served as an investment accountant since March of 2021. In this role, he accounts for, and reconciles, fund valuation statements and produces asset allocation reporting. Prior to this role, he served as the PSPRS compliance officer beginning in September of 2017. Beginning state service in 2002, he has held various positions in accounting, administration, and audit, within multiple state agencies. Tim is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP). In his free time, Tim enjoys hiking and travel.

• Master of Public Administration (Arizona State University)
• Bachelor of Business Administration-Accounting (Western Michigan University)

With a background in private sector bookkeeping, Jennifer joined the PSPRS Investment Operations team in 2023. In her role as investment accountant, Jennifer is responsible for processing capital commitments and capital distributions, capital commitment reconciliations as well as tracking and analyzing investment fees and expenses. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts and spending time with her children.

• BS Accounting (Colorado State University-Global Campus)

Rachel joined PSPRS in 2022 as a data analyst and in 2025 was promoted to senior data analyst. Her role focuses on applying statistical and analytical skills to develop risk and performance models, while also producing clear reports, summaries, and presentations to communicate insights. In addition, she conducts research analysis for investment team that can support and enhance their decision-making. Prior to joining PSPRS, she worked as a food scientist. She also worked in the academic area for several years.

• MS in Statistics (Arizona State University)
• PhD in Food Science and Technology (The University of Tennessee, Knoxville)
• MS in Medicine (Peking Union Medical College/Tsinghua University)
• BS in biological science, dual major in International Economics & Trade (Beijing Normal University)

CG joined PSPRS in 2025. CG interprets investment results and data, analyzes information, and creates reports and dashboards, assisting in the development of financial and statistical models. Most recently CG worked as a financial analyst with Northrop Grumman and prior to that worked as a center director and teacher at Mathnasium.

• MS in Data Science (Texas Tech University)
• BS in Applied Mathematics (Arizona State University)