With the passing of Executive VP Paul Shanley, Association President Frank Valeri fully recognized the importance of filling his position now before the September 2026 elections, as the by-laws empower him to do. As Valeri sees it, “This is too important a position within our organization to be left vacant for more than a year. “Having worked with him on public retirement issues over decades, I knew that Sean had the experience and knowledge to step right into the job and be an outstanding Association officer. Here’s a brief summary of his illustrious career in public service.” Sean has over 37 years of experience in the public retirement field. He retired from the Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System (MTRS) in December 2024, as the Assistant Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, having first been employed by the MTRS in 1997 as the Director of Intergovernmental Services. And, prior to his employment with the MTRS he served as Director of Research for the Joint Committee on Public Service at the Massachusetts Legislature. Prior to his retirement, Sean also served as a board member of the Coalition to Preserve Retirement Security (CPRS), from 2002 to 2024, and as President of the Board of Directors of CPRS from 2017 to 2022. Ed Note: CPRS is a non-profit organization composed of members representing state and local governments, public employee unions, retiree associations, and public pension systems across the country, whose mission is to assure the retirement security of millions of public employees and retirees by protecting the financial integrity of their public retirement systems. In addition, his career includes serving for several terms on the Legislative Committee of the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR). In 1997, he was the recipient of the Massachusetts Association of Contributory Retirement Systems (MACRS) William Lynch Public Service Award. On a more personal note, Sean is the son of retired Lawrence Firefighter and former long-time Lawrence Retirement Board Member Jack Neilon and former Lawrence City Councilor Pam Neilon. “Thanks Sean for accepting this appointment,” adds Valeri. “I look forward to working with you to best serve our members. Welcome aboard.”