News release | Thomas Lawrence

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 7, 2025) – The California State Teachers' Retirement System is pleased to announce the appointment of April Wilcox as senior investment director of Strategic Management and Operations.

Wilcox, formerly the director of Investment Services, now reports to Chief Investment Officer Scott Chan in this new position. 

Wilcox has been a key part of the CalSTRS investment team for more than 20 years, including serving as director of Investment Services and director of Investment Operations during the past decade. For the last five years as director of Investment Services, she was responsible for managing the CalSTRS Investment Portfolio behind the scenes, focusing on business and operational management.

"April and her team are the backbone of CalSTRS investments, and she is the right person to lead our future evolution in key areas such as the buildout of the investment team’s approach to technology,” Chan said. “She is a tremendous leader, and I’m confident she will excel as our newest senior investment director. Her experience and knowledge across the breadth of our portfolio and investment strategies are invaluable.”

Senior investment directors make decisions that significantly affect the Teachers' Retirement Fund, advise the chief investment officer on sophisticated portfolio management strategies and decisions, and make tactical and strategic investment recommendations.

In this new position, her responsibilities include:

• Implementing the Investments Branch’s vision, business plans, strategic goals and objectives, and determining asset allocation and budgetary planning.
• Providing senior leadership and strategic direction over the investment servicing and business operational management divisions, including Investment Operations, Compliance, Performance & Analytics, Data Solutions and Administration.
• Overseeing business risks, operational risk and governance across the Investments Branch.
• Collaborating across the Investments Branch on investment strategy implementation and strategic business initiatives.

During Wilcox's tenure as the director of Investment Services, the team achieved remarkable growth in core capabilities, enhancing private-asset operations, oversight protocols, and performance analytics frameworks. Her team successfully implemented complex investment strategies that resulted in strengthened operational efficiency and portfolio performance.

"I’m honored and excited for this new role working alongside other senior investment directors to achieve our mission on behalf of our members,” Wilcox said. “I look forward to building on our momentum with technological transformation and driving innovation across our investment divisions.”

Wilcox has more than 25 years of financial experience, including portfolio management, risk management, strategic planning and operational infrastructure oversight. She earned a Bachelor of Science in finance from California State University, Sacramento, an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from MIT Sloan, and the Investment Foundations Certificate from the CFA Institute, and she holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation.

Media contact

Thomas Lawrence
Phone: 916-414-1440
M-F, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. PDT
Newsroom@CalSTRS.com

About CalSTRS

CalSTRS provides a secure retirement to more than 1 million members and beneficiaries whose CalSTRS-covered service is not eligible for Social Security participation. On average, members who retired in 2022–23 had 25 years of service and a monthly benefit of $5,141. Established in 1913, CalSTRS is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world with $358.4 billion in assets under management as of May 31, 2025.