The Group Benefits Advisory Committee (GBAC) advises the ERS Board of Trustees on the planning and development of employee and retiree benefits  under the Texas Employees Group Benefits Program (GBP). The Committee provides the Board with input from ERS participants, and benefits experts and professionals to ensure that state benefits provide value to participants and employers, and remain competitive at a reasonable cost to employees, retirees and their dependents.

The Board appoints the Committee, which comprises no more than 11 members. Membership seeks to reflect a diverse cross-section of GBP-participating agencies and stakeholder groups, including:

• state agencies,
• public institutions of higher education,
• retirees,
• health-related institutions and
• insurance or benefit design consultants and professionals.

The Committee meets at least twice a year, providing scheduled reports and feedback to the ERS Board.

Governance Charter

The ERS Board of Trustees adopted the GBAC Governance Charter on August 23, 2017. 

Members

• Large state agency representatives:
  • ​Charlene Maresh, Department of Criminal Justice
    Term expires December 31, 2019
  • Harsh Zadoo, Department of Transportation
    Term expires December 31, 2020
• Mid-sized state agency representatives:
  • ​Megan LaVoie, Office of Court Administration
    Term expires December 31, 2020
  • Gene Snelson II, Animal Health Commission
    Term expires December 31, 2021
• Small state agency representative:
  • Dawn Heitman, State Soil and Water Conservation Board
    Term expires December 31, 2019
• Four-year institution of higher education representative:
  • Janet Bezner, Texas State University
    Term expires December 31, 2021
• Two-year institution of higher education representative:
  • Missy Kittner, McLennan Community College
    Term expires December 31, 2019
• Retiree representatives:
  • James Dobbins, Garland
    Term expires December 31, 2020
  • Gary White, Austin
    Term expires December 31, 2021
• Health-related institution representative:
  • Cynthia Jumper, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
    Term expires December 31, 2020
• Insurance or benefit design consultant representative:
  • Tom Lussier, The Lussier Group
    Term expires December 31, 2019