PC(USA) Board of Pensions nominates new executive team

New group streamlines decision making, adds expertise

Press Release | Board of Pensions

PHILADELPHIA – President Frank C. Spencer has announced a newly formed executive team at The Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Establishment of the team streamlines decision making as the board continues to transform so that it can better serve the church in a time of great change.

Members of the team, which reports to President Spencer, hold leadership roles critical to efforts to extend retirement and medical coverage to more PC(USA) church workers, and to expand educational opportunities to help pastors manage their ministries and churches manage their employment relationships in a changing church.

“This team positions us to work more effectively,” said Spencer. “We want to help employers be the best they can be, and all of us would like to see more church workers receiving just compensation. That’s what a church plan should do. It’s brothers and sisters in Christ making decisions for brothers and sisters.”

The Board of Pensions, a national agency of the PC(USA), upholds the commitment made by its congregations to care for their pastors, and it provides ways for churches and other Presbyterian-affiliated employers to care for their other employees. The reorganization, coupled with a redesign of the 2017 benefits plan of the PC(USA), results from strides to keep the covenant with pastors while also enabling more employers to offer benefits to more of their employees.

“When I arrived at the board two years ago, we started looking at how we might structure the organization to better meet the needs of the Church,” said Spencer. “I was working in small groups, setting up plans, mapping a path forward, and I got to know these individuals well. They are outstandingly talented in their fields. They’re knowledgeable. And every one of them has strong relationships throughout the Church. I’m deeply grateful to have them with me as we work to serve more, serve better, and serve the Church.”

The executive team members are:

Michael F. Fallon Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Fallon, formerly Vice President of Finance and Accounting, oversees the board’s financial, accounting, reporting, compliance, risk management, and physical assets functions. He manages vendor contracts and the Internal Audit team. Fallon brings decades of board experience to the team. He joined the agency in 1989 as Director of Internal Audit and was promoted to Assistant Controller and then Controller before being elected Vice President in 2001.

Judith D. Freyer, Executive Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Investment Officer. Freyer, formerly Senior Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Investment Officer, manages the Investments team. The team oversees management of the board’s balanced investment portfolio of more than $9 billion. She joined the board in 1988 as Assistant Treasurer, became Vice President of Investments and Treasurer in 1990, and was named Senior Vice President in 1999. Under her leadership, the portfolio has performed well and the pension plan has been well funded. Freyer has served as the board’s staff on the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) since 1990. MRTI is the PC(USA) committee that has worked more than 40 years on issues at the intersection of moral values, justice, and ethics that can affect corporate behavior, governance, and profitability. MRTI works to change the world one company at a time on issues as diverse as human rights, equal opportunity standards, bank lending practices, supplier standards, and sustainability. Freyer also serves on the Boards of Directors of the Boy Scouts of America, Cradle of Liberty Council, and of the William Penn Foundation, and chairs the investment committees of both. She also chairs the Investment Committee of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefits Board (MMBB), American Baptist Board, and sits on the Investment Committee of the Library Company of Philadelphia.

Patricia M. Haines, Executive Vice President and Chief Benefits Officer. Haines, formerly Senior Vice President of Benefits, leads the Benefits team, focused on plan design, administrative policy and compliance standards, funding adequacy, and growth initiatives as the agency works to expand its base of employers and serve more church workers. Haines joined the board in 2007, bringing significant professional experience in the employee benefits field, including many years of consulting with both large and small employers on benefits design, funding, and administration. She currently serves on the policy committee of the National Business Group on Health and on the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health.

The Reverend Dr. John G. McFayden, Executive Vice President and Chief of Church Engagement. McFayden, formerly Vice President, Church Relations, leads the Church Relations, Education, and Event Planning teams as well as the Assistance team, which partners with the Presbyterian Foundation on funds development. He is responsible for developing a comprehensive strategy of engagement with congregations, mid councils, and the denomination. Before joining the board in 2010, McFayden was senior pastor for First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is a former Moderator of the Presbytery of Chicago and has served on numerous General Assembly committees and task forces, including the Review Committee for the Church as a Whole and its six corporate agencies from 2008 to 2010.

Susan Reimann, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Reimann, formerly Vice President, Strategic Operations and Initiatives, oversees Plan Operations (which includes Member Services and Employer Services), Information Technology, Communications, Strategic Initiatives, Business Planning, Human Resources, and Organizational Training and Development. She joined the board staff in 2011 as Vice President of Communications and Public Relations after serving as Second Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Board of Pensions and Chair of its Healthcare Committee. Previously, she spent 25 years at a Fortune 500 company, holding leadership roles in corporate human resources, with a benefits specialty. Reimann is a ruling elder in the PC(USA.)

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About the Board of Pensions

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a connectional church. The Board of Pensions, one of six agencies of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), fulfills a unique role in the community by upholding the commitment made by congregations to care for installed pastors and by providing ways for churches and other Presbyterian-affiliated employers to care for other teaching elders and other employees. The board administers the church benefits plan, serving about 20,200 pensioners and survivors, 13,600 active plan members, 20,900 dependents, and 8,500 inactive members.