Cassandra Lichnock is the first female chief executive officer of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. CalSTRS is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world and provides a secure retirement to more than 1 million members and beneficiaries whose CalSTRS-covered service is not eligible for Social Security participation.

As CEO, Lichnock builds and executes strategy, focuses on operational excellence, and collaborates with the Teachers’ Retirement Board to lead CalSTRS. She directs efforts to strengthen workplace culture, drive innovation and better manage opportunities and risk. She helped advance CalSTRS' sustainable business practices to manage long-term risks and capture investment opportunities. She also championed the effort to develop a culture of innovation. These efforts help evolve CalSTRS’ culture and give employees skills and pathways to grow within the organization.

Lichnock joined CalSTRS in 2008 as the human resources executive officer and was selected as the chief operating officer in 2013. She served as COO until her 2021 appointment to CEO. In her previous roles, she was responsible for advising and counseling the board, planning enterprise-wide strategies, and ensuring the most complex and critical operational issues and policy matters were developed and implemented in a manner consistent with CalSTRS’ mission, vision and values. She’s held a variety of key positions throughout her career with the State of California.

Born in California, Lichnock holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Golden Gate University, San Francisco; an executive certificate in technology operations and value chain management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and certificates in human resource management from Golden Gate University and labor management relations from the University of California, Davis. Lichnock serves on the board of the International Corporate Governance Network.