Staff Training Panel

Suzanne Mayer was named executive director of SURS in December of 2021. Prior to being named executive director, she served for 10 months as both interim executive director and chief benefits officer.

Mayer has been with the SURS since 2002 and served as a retirement counselor, counseling manager, and director of outreach before becoming the chief benefits officer in 2018. As chief benefits officer, she oversaw the Call Center, Retirement Counselors, Employer Services, Claims Processing, Benefits Support Services, Communications, and the Retirement Savings Plan departments.

She is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in business management, and she holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Illinois Springfield.

Mayer is the first woman to lead SURS since Ruth Ellen Kunkel, the System’s original administrator who served from 1941 to 1952. She has been a participating member of NPEA since 2011.

SURS serves over 245,000 members and 61 employers and oversees $28.1 billion in defined benefit and defined contribution plan assets. The System provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to state university and community college faculty and staff.

Sonya Kinley is the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS). She is responsible for leading the human resources division, with a focus on achieving recruiting, employee relations, and training and development initiatives that represent the organization’s culture and values. As a member of the leadership team, Sonya contributes directly to the organization’s long and short-term strategic objectives while increasing organizational effectiveness. Sonya’s area of expertise also includes, but is not limited to, staffing, performance management, compensation, benefits, employee engagement, policies and procedures, compliance and reporting, and employee wellness and safety. Sonya also has experience in fundraising.

Since her leadership at the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, she has been instrumental in integrating human resource initiatives into the organization’s strategic goals. Sonya holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Morgan State University and a Master’s in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma. Sonya has 23 years of human resources experience, with 12 years in leadership roles. Before joining TRS in 2017, she held multiple positions in human resources in the nonprofit industry for 16 years.

Sonya resides in McDonough, GA, with her husband, Emmanuel. She enjoys traveling, playing tennis, and reading in her free time.

After five years of teaching Business in a North Dakota Public School and six months of working at the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System, Ms. Weeks started working for North Dakota Teachers’ Fund For Retirement in 2000. She received the Certified Retirement Counselor designation from InFRE in 2003 and has been a member of the National Pension Education Association since 2001. During the past 23 years, she has seen a lot of change in how retirement systems do business; mainly in the areas of member online access and technology. There definitely needs to be more education for staff, employers, and members to keep up with the changes. It has been her pleasure to work with North Dakota educators for over 20 years.