Melissa Norcia

Melissa Norcia is the chief administrative officer at CalSTRS, the largest educator-only pension fund in the world.

As CAO, Norcia leads human resources, procurement, facilities management, business continuity and sustainability. She also partners with the chief operating officer and other executives in overseeing multiple mission-critical projects, including the expansion of the CalSTRS Headquarters office in West Sacramento and management of internal resources that support the CalSTRS Collaborative Model, an investment strategy that brings more assets in-house to reduce costs.

Norcia joined CalSTRS in 2009 as the equal employment opportunity officer and was promoted to various leadership roles before being appointed director of human resources in 2015. As director, she led the human resources division and executed CalSTRS’ strategic workforce goals and objectives. Norcia also served as staff support to the Teachers’ Retirement Board Compensation Committee. Her leadership experience includes growing and managing various human resources programs, including talent management, payroll and benefits, equal employment opportunity, workforce development and planning, executive compensation, diversity and inclusion, organizational development and operations.

Norcia is a native of Sacramento and holds certificates in labor-management relations and human resources development and management from the University of California, Davis.