Mario Sierras

Graduated: 1997
Field: Management/Entrepreneurship

Mario Sierras(opens in new window), who graduated with a BA in Economics and a BS in Business Administration in 1997, is chief benefits officer at Sacramento County Employees Retirement System (SCERS). After graduation Mario took a job as a compliance specialist with E*Trade(opens in new window) where he “Performed various financial services duties including trading, trade reconciliation, customer service, and training,” according to his LinkedIn(opens in new window) page.

After four years with E*Trade Mario took a job as mortgage consultant with Prime Equity Lending where he worked for 5 years before moving on to CalSTRS(opens in new window) as a quality assurance manager in West Sacramento, California. Mario “led and managed a team responsible for developing and implementing Quality Assurance (QA) programming” and “developed quality standards, policies, risk management and internal control framework.”

In 2014 after 8 years with CalSTRS Mario took a job as manager with ScholarShare(opens in new window) Investment Board that manages college savings plans under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue code that allows deductions from the federal income tax for savings toward college education. Mario worked for ScholarShare for three and one-half years before joining the Sacramento County Employees Retirement System(opens in new window) (SCERS) as a retirement services manager. In 2019 SCERS promoted Mario to his current position as chief benefits officer in charge of managing benefits for SCERS.

“A degree in economics helped provide many great opportunities throughout my career,” Mario stated in a LinkedIn message. “In the 23 years since graduating from Chico State, I have been fortunate to experience the private and public sectors as well as self-employed business ownership. Economics is what makes the world go round and an education in Economics gave me a well-rounded view of business, finance, and behavior. The value of my economics degree has provided me a diverse and fulfilling professional experience; it has also helped me make informed financial decisions for me and my family.”

(Last Updated 1/1/21)