ADL Board Member Greg Smith is the Executive Director of the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA), which provides the pension for all employees in K-12 education in the state of Colorado. Greg is passionate about ADL’s educational initiatives, most especially No Place for Hate®.

 

How did you first become involved in ADL? How are you involved now?

I first became involved with ADL after learning of the No Place for Hate® Initiative in a number of the Colorado schools with which I engage in my day job, and learning that two individuals that I hold in high regard had leadership roles with the organization: Regional Director Scott Levin and former Board Chair Neil Oberfeld. They invited me to participate and I was pleased to become involved at the Regional Board level. I quickly became engaged with the education committee and thereby the No Place for Hate project.

What do you do in your professional life?

In my professional life I manage the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA), which provides the pension for all employees in K-12 education in the state of Colorado.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Like every child I dreamed of being a CEO of a public pension. Really, I dreamed of being a professional skier.

Where were you born? From where do your ancestors hail?

I am of Irish and English descent. I am a fourth generation Denver native and a portion of my family traces back to coming over on the Mayflower.

What’s your favorite holiday?

I’m going to cheat a little bit on this answer and say that my favorite holiday is birthdays, and not just my own; members of my family and friends also enjoy making a special occasion of our birthdays.

What’s your favorite food?

I am pure carnivore so any protein will do.

What are you reading?

My reading habits are restricted primarily to my professional arena and are exceptionally boring.

What’s a special place you have visited?

My wife and children and I have had the pleasure of traveling to many countries, but the most outstanding in my mind was a trip to Prague that we took a few years ago.

What’s one thing every person should know or experience?

I think everyone should know or experience the true satisfaction of providing service to others and making a difference in their lives.

What teacher or class stands out to you the most in your education and why?

The classes that made the difference in my education occurred in law school and were related to trial strategy and practice. I learned critical thinking skills and refined my communication abilities.

What are you passionate about personally? What can’t you stop talking about?

I am fortunate in that my personal passions are closely aligned with my professional responsibilities related to retirement security for our aging population, and our challenges in providing health care to all Coloradans.

Where can we find you when you’re not working?

My work-life balance is not optimal and it is hard to find the time when I’m not working. But on those occasions when I do have some time to relax, you can find me at a retreat in the mountains in southern Colorado where we enjoy spending our quiet time.

What would be impossible for you to give up?

It would be impossible for me to give up time with my now adult children and being a part of their lives.

If you had to teach something, what would you teach?

It would be related to ethics and fiduciary responsibility.

Tell me a story that immediately pops into your mind that was a defining or significant moment for you.

When I was a freshman in college and performing at a fairly marginal level, I called my father and asked him to get me a job for the summer which he quickly acknowledged he would do for me. As the summer grew closer I checked with my father, and he assured me that I was all set with a summer job. When summer came along I learned that my father had gotten me a job on the back of a trash truck throwing trash beginning at 5 a.m. 5 days a week throughout the summer. I quickly learned that a focus on education and avoidance of some professions in favor of others would serve me well. Sophomore grades were an improvement. 

Why do you choose to make a financial investment in ADL?

I find that the undertaking of the ADL and its focus on securing justice for all aligns well with my own principles. I appreciate how well those values are executed in an effective and efficient manner through the ADL structure.

Complete this sentence: For me, the ADL is …

… a resource through which I am confident that my principles are being reinforced and furthered in a broader sense than I can do as an individual.