(The Center Square) – California’s main state retirement fund, CalPERS, announced the hiring of a new chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer whose listed duties include integrating DEI principles into investment practices, and recruiting staff for DEI-informed proxy voting and ESG investing, The Center Square has learned.
CalPERS, which faces an estimated $166 billion shortfall, insists the position won’t influence financial choices. Shari Slate was hired for the job with base compensation of $221,580, though neither her Linkedin profile nor the news release indicate she has any experience in the finance industry.
CalPERS’ May 2025 state paperwork for the position says responsibilities include “integrating DEI principles into CalPERS’ investment practices, where the Chief DEI Officer collaborates with the Investment Office,” and “collaborating with investment groups to integrate DEI into financial decision-making, advocating for equity-driven investment strategies, and ensuring that CalPERS’ investment portfolio reflects its commitment to sustainability, social responsibility, and equitable outcomes.”
The document also says the chief DEI officer will recruit talent with expertise in “DEI to support investment strategies, including proxy voting,” and “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) to enhance CalPERS’ ESG investment strategies.”
“By embedding DEI principles into its investment framework, CalPERS can drive systemic change within the financial ecosystem while aligning its investment strategies with its mission and values,” continued CalPERS.
Critics say the position, which CalPERS itself says “extends beyond traditional DEI matters,” amounts to using retiree funds for pushing political change at businesses.
“It’s not just a DEI manager internally, they’re hiring a political activist to go out and go to Wall Street, and go to these various businesses and say, ‘hey, if you want us to invest in you, you’d better embrace our political agenda’ — and they’re using retiree and taxpayer funds to do it,” said Assemblyman Carl Demaio, R-San Diego, in a phone interview with The Center Square.
Despite the job description, CalPERS presented the role as focused on workplace culture and not investment decisions.
“Financial performance is the only driver of our investments,” said CalPERS’ Division Chief of the Office of Public Affairs Mary Lynne Vellinga in an email statement to The Center Square after initiating a phone call but declining an interview. “This role will not influence investment decisions. Culture drives performance, and this position is a key component of creating an inclusive workplace culture where we can attract and retain the talent we need to produce the best results for our members.”
Prior to CalPERS, Slate worked as as senior vice president and chief DEI officer at CVS, and Chief Inclusion and Collaboration Officer and Senior Vice President Inclusive Future and Strategy at Cisco. Before Cisco, Slate was Chief Diversity Officer and Director of Global Community Affairs at Sun Microsystems. Slate also recently served as a board member at the California State University Foundation Board of Governors, and a council member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council for Social Cohesion.
Vellinga’s email noted CalPERS’ authorized staffing levels are down slightly from FY 2019-2020, while its budget grew only 1.1% between FY 2023-2024 and FY 2024-2025. Vellinga also reported CalPERS is now 84% funded as of December 31 2025, that is, it has a 16% shortfall against projected future liabilities.
Some of CalPERS’ previous ESG investments have gone awry. Last year, The Center Square uncovered that CalPERS had lost 71% of the $468 million it put into its clean energy and technology fund.
In early December, Reason Foundation estimated CalPERS’ pension deficit was $166 billion.
