CTPF Board Appoints Jay C. Rehak Interim Director

Jay C. Rehak

CHICAGO - The Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund Board of Trustees voted on Thursday, May 15, 2014, to authorize President Jay C. Rehak to take a leave of absence from his teaching position to serve as Interim Director at CTPF until June 30, 2014, when Executive Director Kevin B. Huber is expected to return from a medical leave.

"The plan is well-managed and has an excellent staff in place. I look forward to joining them during this critical period while pension reform is at the forefront of our legislators' agenda,'" said Rehak. "I plan to serve as a resource for our stakeholders and members and to help provide continuity for our organization while Mr. Huber is on leave."

Elected to the CTPF Board of Trustees as a representative of active teachers in 2009 and re-elected in 2012, Rehak has served as president since 2011, and is also member of the Trustee Leadership Forum for Retirement Security (an Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard University). Since joining the board, Rehak has served on several CTPF committees, including Investments, Finance and Audit, Pension Law and Rules, and chairman of the Communications Committee.

Rehak, who received the 2014 Tech Innovator of the Year Award from CPS, is an English teacher at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, a position he has held since 1993. An educator for more than 27 years, he began his CPS career as a language arts teacher at Daniel Webster Elementary.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master of Science in adult education from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Rehak received his National Board Certification in 2006.

His book, "30 Days to Empathy" - the world's first crowd-sourced novel written by high school students - received the 2013 Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year Award for non-traditional fiction.

ABOUT CTPF

Established by the Illinois state legislature in 1895, the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund manages members' assets and administers benefits. The $9.7 billion pension fund serves approximately 63,000 active and retired educators, and provides pension and health insurance benefits to more than 27,000 beneficiaries.