• History
• Staff
• Location
• Board of Trustees
• Nebraska Statutes
• Investments
• Handbook
• Reports

Michael W. Smith - Executive Director

  Mr.Smith was born in York, Nebraska and secured degrees in Business Administration and Economics from Graceland College, Lamoni, Iowa. He has continued his education through numerous real estate, insurance and banking schools, graduating with honors from the Graduate School of Banking, University of Wisconsin Madison. Smith spent 15 years managing small commercial banks and insurance agencies before coming to the retirement system in the fall of 1989. Smith and his wife, Cheryl, have four sons. Outside of work he remains active with family activities, church responsibilities and he also enjoys baking and traveling.

"The diversity of the position is enjoyable. In the course of a week it's not uncommon to be counseling with a prospective retiree, discussing the system with a new employee, working on new legislation with the attorney and the legislature, working with the actuary to insure the plan is sound and working with the fund managers to maintain investment balance and quality. We have a strong, sound retirement plan and it is my goal as we move forward with plan improvements to maintain the financial integrity of the system."

James A. Ellis - Retirement Benefits Manager

The Retirement Benefits Manager's primary job function is communications with members of the retirement system. Communication efforts currently underway are the Link Newsletter, OSERS's website, retirement & financial planning workshops and the Annual Member Statement (Rainbow Sheet). Mr. Ellis is a native of Omaha and a product of the Omaha Public Schools. He attended Columbian elementary, Beveridge Jr. High, Horace Mann 9th grade center and Burke High School. He then went on to the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Ellis and his wife, Erin, have two daughters.

In his free time he enjoys spending time with family, boating, water skiing and golfing. "This position is rewarding because it allows me to help others. My job is educating our members by providing them with information and tools so they can more readily access retirement information and plan for their own retirement."

Joanne Malloy - Retirement Benefits Specialist

The Retirement Benefits Specialist's primary job function is calculation of retirement benefit estimates and payments, refund of contributions and monitoring the integrity of individuals' retirement data. She enjoys working with the public and remembers many of our retirees and former employees. Ms. Malloy is from Wall Lake, Iowa, but is no stranger to Omaha making Omaha her home for over 35 years. Ms. Malloy attended the College of St. Mary's securing her Associates Degree in Business. She began her work for OPS in 1970 with the Business Services office and came to the Retirement System in 1982.

On the weekends she loves to putter in her flowerbeds, or spend time with family and friends.

Kelly Sheard - Retirement System Secretary

The Retirement System Secretary's primary job function is preparing correspondence for individuals questions, registering participants for the workshops, receptionist and "other duties as assigned". If she doesn't have an answer to your question, she can direct you to the person who can. Mrs. Sheard is a native of Omaha and a product of the Omaha Public Schools. She attended Martin Luther King 9th Grade Center and Bryan Senior High School. In 1993, she graduated from the Omaha College of Business with an Integrated Software Specialist certification. In January 1997 she moved to Denver, Colorado and remained there until November 2005 when she moved back to Omaha. Mrs. Sheard has been with the Omaha Public Schools since January 2006 and has been with the Retirement Office since June 2007. Kelly likes Nebraska Cornhuskers football, spending time with family and friends, and loves to go camping and hiking.

After living in Colorado for 10 years, Cheryl moved back to the Omaha area and has been working with the retirement office since May of 2000.