For immediate release:
April 16, 2025  

Contact: Katherine Morris
kmorris@sra.state.md.us

BALTIMORE, MD — The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System’s (SRPS) Board of Trustees approved the five nominations for the Climate Advisory panel submitted by Executive Director Martin Noven and Chief Investment Officer Andrew Palmer at yesterday’s board meeting. The vote cements Maryland’s status as a national leader in addressing climate change-related investment risks and pursuing opportunities for the System’s investments. 

“We were deeply impressed by the large number of experts willing to volunteer their time and energy to help us guide the System through the challenges of climate change, including its economic impacts and opportunities,” said Executive Director Martin Noven. “We look forward to working with the panel, as well as other experts in the field, to benefit the pension system and our members.”

With over 125 years of combined climate finance, sustainability, investment and research experience, the panel serves as a national model for advancing risk mitigation and securing the economic future of members, all while supporting sustainable climate action. The Board of Trustees, in alignment with Noven and Palmer, approved the following individuals:

Angelo Cavello, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Rosetta Analytics
Mary Cerulli, Founder, Climate Finance Action, Inc.
Maria Elena Drew, Director of Research for Responsible Investing at T. Rowe Price
Douglas Lawrence, Vice Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Climate Group
Stacy Swann, Founder of Resilient Earth Capital and former CEO of Climate Finance Advisors 

Yesterday’s vote follows the Board’s December 2024 approval of a governance charter establishing the Climate Advisory panel. “As fiduciaries for a 98-year-old pension fund, we’re in it for the long haul,” said State Treasurer Dereck E. Davis, who chairs Maryland’s SRPS Board of Trustees. “Part of that responsibility is managing investment risk – and the Climate Advisory panel will help us do just that. By advising the Board on potential climate-related investment hazards as well as market opportunities, the new panel will support our mission to provide secure retirements for generations of Maryland public servants.”

The Climate Advisory panel is the product of legislation sponsored by then-State Delegate Brooke E. Lierman during the 2022 legislative session, authorizing the Board to establish an advisory panel of experts in the analysis of climate change risk to provide the most current science and data available. “As Chair of the System’s Investment Committee, it is our responsibility to evaluate all risks to the pension portfolio. These risks include the consequences of extreme weather and climate change,” said Comptroller Lierman of the charter approval. “The newly appointed Climate Advisory panel will provide the Board with valuable expertise and guidance as we manage these risks for the benefit of our 415,000 members and retirees.”

The Climate Advisory panel will receive support and resources designated by the System’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Andrew Palmer, and will collaborate with the Investment Division on climate projects and reports. Responsibilities of the panel also include developing recommendations for evaluating and monitoring climate change risk across the asset classes within the System’s portfolio.

“Sustainability is the keystone to all our investment decisions, and in some sense, it is made more concretely tangible when considering the impact of climate risks on assets,” said Chief Investment Officer, Andrew Palmer. “To that end, we are fortunate to have climate experts lending their expertise. They analyze the preservation of value through a different yet wholly necessary lens.”

Following yesterday’s Board approval of the panel candidates, the System’s Climate Advisory panel is slated to begin meeting later this spring.

The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System is charged with the fiduciary responsibility for properly administering the retirement and pension allowances of nearly 168,000 retirees and beneficiaries as well as the future benefits for more than 245,000 active and former members. These groups include state government employees, teachers, law enforcement personnel, legislators, judges and local government employees and fire fighters whose employers have elected to participate in the System.

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