By Yvette Elledge-Rhodes
PERS Deputy Director
As I prepare to retire at the end of this month, I’ve found myself reflecting on what these past 36 years at PERS have meant to me. When I started working at PERS, things looked very different — both inside the agency and in the way we served our members.
Back then, everything was on paper. Every transaction, every communication, every record was written, printed, mailed or filed by hand. There was no website to click through, no Online Member Services (OMS) to log into. If you had a question, you either mailed us a letter, came to the office, or picked up the phone.
And on the other side of that phone? Just a handful of staff answering calls — nothing like the bustling, 30-person call center we have today.
Employers, too, submitted all their reports and documents on paper. The stacks of files were impressive, if not daunting.
Fast forward to the mid-2000s, and everything began to change. The launch of our first website and OMS opened new doors for members, allowing you to access your accounts and information without waiting for the mail.
Since then, digital communication has only grown. Today, PERS shares updates not only through letters but also through email newsletters, our website, our annual PERS Expo, and, of course, the annual statement that every member receives.
The way we connect with you has become faster, clearer, and more accessible than ever before.
It hasn’t just been the technology that has changed — our agency itself has grown tremendously.
When I joined PERS in 1989, we had fewer than 100 employees. Today, we have more than 440 dedicated professionals, each one focused on serving our members and employers with care and accuracy.
Together, we now support more than 422,000 members and more than 900 employers across the state. That scale of service would have been hard to imagine when I first walked through the doors.
Looking ahead, I know PERS will continue to evolve.
We’ve already taken important steps in our modernization journey, such as implementing a new call center system to improve the member experience.
Even bigger changes are on the horizon as part of our modernization program. These efforts will upgrade our online systems, improve efficiency, and create more tools for members to manage their retirement journey with confidence.
The pace of change may be faster than ever, but it’s all moving in the right direction.
For me, the most rewarding part of my career has been the people — both the members we serve and the colleagues I’ve had the privilege to work alongside. Our staff are talented, hardworking and deeply committed to public service. I’m confident that as I step into retirement, our members are in excellent hands.
And speaking of retirement, I’m proud to say I’ll soon be joining the ranks of PERS retirees myself. I take comfort knowing that the same system I’ve worked to support all these years will now support me, just as it does for more than 168,000 retired members who came before me.
It has truly been an honor to spend my public service career here.
Thank you for allowing me to serve you, to witness the changes, and to help PERS grow into the strong, modern organization it is today.
While I may be turning the page into a new chapter of life, I leave with gratitude and confidence that the best is still ahead — for both PERS and all its members.
Editor's note: Kai Turner will succeed Elledge-Rhodes as PERS deputy director. Turner previously served as assistant superintendent of finance and information technology for the Oregon Department of Education. He joins PERS in early December and will work with Elledge-Rhodes on this leadership transition until she retires at the end of 2025.
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