Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce

Beth Pearce was appointed to the position of Vermont State Treasurer by Governor Peter Shumlin in January 2010 and elected to her first term as Treasurer in November 2012. Previous to assuming the role of State Treasurer, she served for more than seven years as Vermont's Deputy Treasurer. She accepted the appointment to Treasurer following the resignation of then Treasurer Jeb Spaulding, upon his appointment to Secretary of Administration.

Experience and Focus

Treasurer Pearce has more than 30 years of experience in govenment finance at both the state and local levels. As State Treasurer, she has emphasized the importance of maintaining Vermont's bond rating. Vermont has the highest general obligation bond ratings of any New England state. She continues her advocacy for conservative and affordable debt practices, prudent management of the pension systems, and responsible use of reserves.

Under her leadership, Vermont's unclaimed property program marked a historic accomplishment in fiscal year 2012--paying more claims than in any previous year since the program's inception. Pearce also is an advocate of financial literacy. Her office developed and manages the only statewide financial literacy program for Vermont's elementary school children with more than 120 schools participating. As Treasurer she supports financial literacy awareness activites such as the annual statewide Be Money Wi$e poster competition. At left, she is pictured with Salisbury Elementary School student Dominic Beck, an honorable mention winner in the 2012 contest.

National Service

Nationally, Treasurer Pearce serves as President of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators and is the regional Vice President for the National Association of State Treasurers for the northeast region. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers.

She was selected as one of ten notable women featured by The Bond Buyer in a special supplement on trailblazing women in public finance.

Prior to joining the Vermont State Treasurer's Office, Pearce served as Deputy Treasurer for Cash Management at the Massachusetts State Treasurer's Office from 1999-2003; Deputy Comptroller for the Town of Greenburgh, New York; and as the Accounting Manager and Financial Operations Manager for the Town of West Hartford, Connecticut. In addition, she has served as a fiscal officer with the Massachusetts Department of Social Services and as a project director for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Human Services. 

Education

Treasurer Pearce has a B.A. from the University of New Hampshire. She has prepared financial reports that have received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association.

She resides in Barre, Vermont.