Event Speakers

Ricardo Lopez, CAIA

Ricardo Lopez, CAIA is Business Oregon’s Investment Strategist and runs the Oregon Growth Board, an entity designed to fill capital gaps by investing State Lottery proceeds in private markets. Ricardo is in charge of two private investment portfolios; one return oriented and one prioritizing economic development. Prior to taking on the role, he worked as an investment analyst for the Oregon State Treasury and as investment associate for consulting firm, RVK, Inc. Ricardo is a CAIA charter holder and earned a BBA degree in Finance as well as a MSF from the University of Portland.

Ethan Samson, JD

Ethan Samson, JD is a Principal and Private Markets Consultant at Meketa Investment Group, and serves as a consultant to the Oregon Growth Board. Ethan advises clients on private markets investments, drawing on his prior experience as a transactional lawyer and dedicated legal counsel to both a strategic investor and its portfolio companies. In addition, as Private Markets Counsel to Meketa, Ethan negotiates a broad array of private investment vehicles and transactions for the firm. His prior roles have been at Cambia Health Solutions and Stoel Rives.

Sam Spencer, CAIA

Sam Spencer, CAIA is an Investment Officer for the Oregon State Treasury, covering the Real Estate Portfolio of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (OPERF). She is involved in the day-to-day management of the $9 billion Real Estate Portfolio, including conducting diligence on new investment opportunities as well as providing oversight of the portfolio’s various limited partnerships, separate accounts, and joint ventures. Before joining OST, Sam was a Senior Manager Research Analyst at Pension Consulting Alliance (PCA) covering real estate, timberland, and agriculture asset classes. Sam received her B.A. in Economics and International Business from Whitworth University, graduating magna cum laude. She also holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation and is a member of the CAIA Association. Sam currently serves on the board of the Portland Alternative Investment Association and is a member of Portland Women in Investment Management.