Professionals

PCA prides itself in having assembled a highly knowledgeable and diverse team of senior consultants with over 20 years of financial industry experience, serving both business and governmental leaders. As a boutique firm, our consulting team is nimble and efficient in adapting to both changes in the current market and our client's specific needs. We also believe that we provide the most stable client service management, as PCA has enjoyed no consultant turnover in the general and alternative consulting divisions since its founding in 1988.

Our Professionals

Allan Emkin, Managing Director
Los Angeles, CA

Mr. Emkin co-founded PCA with Nori Gerardo Lietz in 1988 and is a Managing Director. Mr. Emkin has over twenty years of general consulting experience, with an emphasis on public plan administration and investment policy, non-dollar investments and real estate investments. Prior to forming PCA, Mr. Emkin was a Vice President at Wilshire Associates where he was responsible for public plan relationships and was the director of international and real estate research. Prior to becoming a consultant, Mr. Emkin worked in the California Governor's office, and before that he was a registered lobbyist for ten years.

Mr. Emkin is a frequent speaker at various forums and educational seminars, such as the Institute for Fiduciary Education (IFE), Pensions in the Nineties (now known as Pensions 2000), Institutional Investor, and Pension and Investment Age conferences.

 

Neil Rue, CFA, Managing Director
Portland, OR

Mr. Rue joined PCA in 1991. Mr. Rue, based in Portland, has nineteen years experience as an investment consultant for various institutions. Prior to joining PCA, Mr. Rue spent seven years at the Frank Russell Company in several product development and research-oriented capacities.

Mr. Rue has been a speaker at SACRS, Guns & Hoses, and other industry conferences. The Money Management Letter recently recognized Mr. Rue as 2005 Consultant of the Year for Public Funds. Mr. Rue, a Chartered Financial Analyst, received his Bachelor's and MBA degrees from the University of Washington.

 

Mike Moy, Managing Director
Mission Viejo, CA

Mr. Moy joined PCA in 2005 and provides consulting services for PCA's private equity clients. Mr. Moy is currently involved in a special project on behalf of one of PCA's largest clients to perform a review of their program and is expected to contribute to our clients investment policy development, portfolio structuring, manager due diligence and specialize research.

Previously, Mr. Moy was a Managing Director at Pacific Corporate Group where he was a member of the Board of Directors and Co-leader of the group responsible for evaluating, recommending and monitoring private equity investments for public institutional clients. During his tenure at Pacific Corporate Group, Mr. Moy led due diligence efforts on fourteen partnerships resulting in recommendations to commit capital in excess of $1 billion. Prior to Pacific Corporate Group, Mr. Moy was a Managing Partner at KPMG Peat Marwick where he managed a 100 person audit and tax practice in Sacramento, CA.

Mr. Moy received his BBA from St. John's University.

 

Judy Chambers, Managing Director
New York, NY

Ms. Judy Chambers joined PCA in 2007 as a Managing Director. Previously, Ms. Chambers was a Principal at Caswell Capital Partners, a merchant bank formed to serve the needs of small and middle market media and entertainment companies. She focused on providing strategic and financial advisory services to clients as well as raising debt and equity financings for strategic investments.

Prior to joining Caswell Capital Partners, Ms. Chambers was a Vice President in Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers where she worked in the Leveraged Finance Group. She has extensive experience in analyzing capital structures and structuring complex transactions. At Lehman Brothers, Ms. Chambers originated and executed approximately $9 billion in high yield bonds, leveraged loans and bridge financings related to mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and debt restructurings. Ms. Chambers' completed transactions span various industries including media, financial institutions, natural resources, industrial and consumer services. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Ms. Chambers was an Assistant Vice President in the Global Finance Group at NationsBank where she worked on foreign exchange and change implementation projects.

Ms. Chambers is a member and international delegate of the Financial Women's Association of New York. She is the chairperson of the Young Professionals Advisory Group of A Better Chance and also serves on the Benefit Committee of A Better Chance and Career Gear. Ms. Chambers is the President of the Tri-State Kellogg Black Alumni Association and a member of the Duke University Metropolitan Alumni Association of New York. Ms. Chambers is also a member of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council.

Ms. Chambers holds a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and a Masters of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

 

Tad Fergusson, CFA, Managing Director
Portland, OR

Mr. Fergusson joined PCA in 1996 and provides consulting services for PCA's alternative investment consulting clients. Mr. Fergusson has primary responsibility at the firm for monitoring the activities of the private equity market and conducting due diligence on potential opportunities. In support of PCA alternative investment clients, Mr. Fergusson develops investment policy and guidelines, prepares strategic and structural reviews, conducts partnership due diligence and selection, as well as oversees performance reporting and manager monitoring. In addition, Mr. Fergusson conducts research on a spectrum of topics pertaining to the alternative investment asset class.

Mr. Fergusson oversees PCA's private equity database examining almost 300 opportunities per year and has conducted due diligence on 42 partnerships resulting in the placement of over $700 million in new commitments. In addition to executing several private equity projects for some of PCA's largest and most important clients, Mr. Fergusson is responsible, on a co-lead basis for several of PCA's private equity retainer relationships.

Mr. Fergusson has been involved in the pension industry for over ten years. Previously, Mr. Fergusson provided administration services to 401(k) pension plans as a Defined Contributions Analyst with the firm Milliman & Robertson Inc. Mr. Fergusson, a Chartered Financial Analyst, received his Bachelor's and MBA degrees from the University of Oregon.

 

Christy Fields, Managing Director, Real Estate
Portland, OR

Ms. Fields rejoined PCA in 2007 as Managing Director of Real Estate Consulting Services. Ms. Fields has fifteen years of experience as a real estate investment consultant, providing a wide array of clients with strategic planning, portfolio analysis, manager and fund due diligence, transaction structuring and analysis, performance measurement and attribution, and industry research. 

Previously, Ms. Fields spent four years at Westwood Consulting, Inc., as a real estate consultant dedicated primarily to the CalSTRS’ and CalPERS’ real estate portfolios. Prior to Westwood, Ms. Fields spent five years with PCA’s prior real estate consulting practice, working closely with clients. Earlier in her career, Ms. Fields was a Senior Consultant with PriceWaterhouse Coopers’ Real Estate Consulting Services Group where she specialized in real estate investment analysis, property appraisal, property-level acquisition due diligence, and master planning studies.

Ms. Fields received her Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and her Masters in Business Administration from Yale University’s School of Management.

 

John J. Burns, CFA, Managing Director
New York, NY

Mr. Burns joined PCA in 2008 as a Managing Director.  Previously, Mr. Burns was the Director of Public Equity for the North Carolina Retirement Systems in Raleigh, NC.  In that capacity he was responsible for equity portfolio structure, investment manager monitoring and due diligence, and equity portfolio transitions.

Prior to joining NCRS, Mr. Burns spent twenty-four years at the New York City Retirement Systems where he was responsible for overseeing the $85 billion publicly traded Equity and Fixed Income portfolios.  In addition, he developed and recommend asset allocation strategy and investment policies for the five NYC Pension Funds and four Variable Supplements Funds.

Mr. Burns, a Chartered Financial Analyst, received his BS Business Administration from Manhattan College and his Masters of Business Administration from Pace University’s Graduate School of Business Administration. 

 

Sarah Bernstein, Ph.D, Principal
Los Angeles, CA

Ms. Bernstein joined PCA in 2002 as a Principal and has assumed senior responsibilities across varying clients and consulting projects. For the previous six years, Ms. Bernstein was an equity analyst with several Wall Street firms including Kaufman Bros., First Union Capital Markets Corp., US Bancorp, and Piper Jaffray. In the July 2000 issue of "Wall Street Journal 1999 Best on the Street", Ms. Bernstein was named No. 1 for Estimate Accuracy and No. 3 for Stock Picking within the Enterprise Software sector.

Prior to her Wall Street experience, Ms. Bernstein was an Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations Secretariat where she analyzed investment, productivity, growth, inflation, technological change and employment in developed market economies for internal UN discussion and publication. In addition, Ms. Bernstein was a Vice President with Mantis Holdings, a Project Director with the Ontario Investment Fund Initiative and a Senior Economist with the Cuomo Commission on Competitiveness.

Ms. Bernstein earned a BA in Politics at the University of California and a Ph. D. in Economics at the New School for Social Research in New York.

 

Jeremy Thiessen, Senior Vice President
Portland, OR

Mr. Thiessen joined PCA in 2002 and provides consulting services for PCA clients across all asset classes. For traditional asset classes, Mr. Thiessen’s services include risk budgeting, portfolio and manager attribution analysis, asset class structural reviews, investment manager searches, and performance monitoring.  Mr. Thiessen also assists with private equity and real estate manager due diligence.  Mr. Thiessen’s responsibilities include board meeting attendance for several PCA clients.

Previously, Mr. Thiessen served as Senior Asset Manager of Columbia Housing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary and affordable housing syndicate of PNC Financial Services.  Mr. Thiessen was a member of the Special Assets Resolution Group and managed a portfolio of “watch list” assets.  His responsibilities included overseeing and analyzing a portfolio of 25 tax credit limited partnerships, creating solutions for troubled assets, and implementing solution strategies.

Prior to serving as a Senior Asset Manager for Columbia Housing, Inc., Mr. Thiessen was a Trust Officer for Farmers and Merchants Trust Company of Long Beach, California.  There he was responsible for a portfolio of 129 trust accounts, totaling $53 million in assets under management across the full spectrum of asset classes. 

Mr. Thiessen earned his MBA with an emphasis in finance from California State University, Long Beach.

 

David Sancewich, Vice President
Portland, OR

Mr. Sancewich joined PCA in 2004 and provides analytical support across all traditional and alternative asset classes, furnishes performance measurement on client portfolios, and assists with indiscriminate client projects.

Previously, Mr. Sancewich worked at Windermere Investment Consulting as an Analyst, where he focused on performance measurement analysis, traditional manager research, and everyday support of client specific issues.

Prior to that, Mr. Sancewich worked as an analyst for the Russell Investment Group, where he evaluated various US equity products for Russell's manager research group. Mr. Sancewich also advised large institutional clients on manager selection as well as Russell's multi-manager funds business. He also helped work on the structure of Russell's equity, taxable, and alternative investment products.

Mr. Sancewich earned a MBA as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from Washington State University.

 

Kay Ceserani, Senior Analyst
Portland, OR

Ms. Ceserani joined PCA in 2008. Ms. Ceserani has worked in the investment consulting industry in various roles over the last 15 years. She has extensive experience in the development, execution and monitoring of investment programs for institutional clients, as well as expertise in performing due diligence on money management firms and their products.

Prior to PCA, Ms. Ceserani was a Consulting Project Manager at Yanni Partners in Pittsburgh, PA for six years. Her responsibilities included quarterly analysis of client portfolios, asset allocation studies, asset transitions, manager selection and monitoring and special research projects. Ms. Ceserani has also served as the Director of Operations at Greycourt & Co., Inc in Pittsburgh, PA, the Director of US Equity Research and Consulting Manager at Ennis, Knupp & Associates, in Chicago, IL. She also spent six years at R.V. Kuhns in Portland, OR.

Ms. Ceserani earned a BS in Political Science at the University of Oregon.

 

Lindsey Sugar, Senior Analyst, Real Estate
Portland, OR

Ms. Sugar joined PCA in 2008 as Senior Analyst of Real Estate Consulting Services.  Ms. Sugar has worked in the investment real estate industry for the past six years. 

Prior to PCA, Ms. Sugar was an Investment Associate at Arch Street Capital Advisors, a private equity company, in Greenwich, CT.  Her responsibilities included analyzing real estate portfolios and development opportunities for acquisitions, supervising due diligence, structuring transactions and modeling financials, and providing asset management services. 

Previously, Ms. Sugar worked as a Leasing Analyst for Foot Locker Realty, Inc., in New York City.  While at Foot Locker, Ms. Sugar oversaw the integration of recently purchased Footaction stores into the Foot Locker portfolio, negotiated leases with the three largest retail owners/managers in the U.S., and supervised special projects for the CFO. 

Ms. Sugar earned a MS in Real Estate Finance from New York University and a BA in Art History from the University of Chicago. 

 

Ahman Dirks, Private Equity Analyst
Portland, OR

Mr. Dirks joined PCA in 2007 and provides analytical support for PCA’s private markets group.  These activities include, but are not limited to, performance reporting and monitoring, partnership due diligence, and special projects.

Prior to joining PCA, Mr. Dirks worked in the operations department for Smith Barney. Mr. Dirks holds a B.S. in Sociology and a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Puget Sound and is currently pursuing a Post-Baccalaureate degree in Economics at Portland State University. Mr. Dirks serves as a board member for EduCongo, a non-profit organization that seeks to enhance and improve the quality of live and education of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

 

Jason Willet, Systems Manager
Portland, OR

Mr. Willet joined PCA in 1998 as an Associate, but has spent most of his time as Systems Manager. He oversees all aspects of PCA's Information Technology infrastructure including servers, clients, communications, security, and office systems. He is also responsible for the oversight of all administrative functions and supervision at the Portland Office with secondary assistance provided company wide. This includes office manager, purchasing, and HR liaison to the Encino Office.

Mr. Willet has 14 years experience in information technology, office systems, purchasing, supervision, human resources, communications, reproduction and almost every aspect of office management. Prior to joining PCA, he was Production Manager for Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., a global engineering firm designing silicon wafer facilities.

He holds a B.A. in Sociology from Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska.

 

Rebecca Wei, Associate
Portland, OR

Ms. Wei joined PCA in 2002 as an administrative assistant and became an associate in 2005. She currently focuses on providing portfolio and investment level performance measurement to general investment consulting clients. Ms. Wei is also involved in custody and securities lending searches and marketing projects.

Before joining PCA, Ms. Wei worked as an executive secretary for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She holds a BA degree in World Arts and Culture/Dance from the University of California, Los Angeles.

 

Laura Daye, Associate
Portland, OR

Ms. Daye joined PCA in 2000, providing editorial and quality control for all documents across all asset classes. In addition, she supplies performance measurement for client portfolios, responds to requests for proposals, and assists with various client and internal projects, including marketing.

Previously, Ms. Daye worked at Beyond Words Publishing. She assisted with acquisitions editing, market research, and developing marketing materials for books in production.

Ms. Daye earned MA degrees in English Literature and Publishing at Portland State University with concentrations in film and 19th Century American and British literature. Previously, she earned a BA degree in English with Honors from Portland State University.

 

Ashley Tamashiro, Administrative Assistant
Portland, OR

Ashley Tamashiro joined PCA in 2007 as Administrative Assistant. Her responsibilities include organizational support, reception, database maintenance, office procedures and compliance, and technical assistance.

Previously, Ms. Tamashiro worked as an account manager and sales support specialist at Symantec Corporation. At Symantec, Ms. Tamashiro held many responsibilities, including professional services project accounting, return merchandise authorizations, and was a specialist of the company's tools and programs to support Symantec's sales force in North America. In 2006 Ms. Tamashiro received Symantec's Director's Award for her contributions to the company.

Ms. Tamashiro earned a BA in Early Childhood and Elementary Education with a Minor in Business Administration at the University of Portland.