PEBP Board

About the Board

The Board of the Public Employees' Benefits Program helps make decisions regarding the program, with the ultimate goal of helping PEBP best serve Nevada public employees and their benefit-plan needs.

The PEBP Board consists of nine members appointed by the Governor, one member appointed by the Senate Majority Leader and one member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. Each appointee represents a specific class of public employees and retirees — these include the Nevada System of Higher Education, retired public employees, current public employees, including one serving in a managerial capacity. Additionally, two members must have substantial and demonstrated experience in risk management, health care administration or employee benefits programs. One member must be the Director of the Department of Administration or his or her designee. NRS 287.041.

Board Members

JOY GRIMMER, BOARD CHAIR

Joy Grimmer was appointed Director of the Department of Administration in July 2024. Prior to being appointed Director, Joy served as the Deputy Director of the Division for 3 months. She served for over four years as Administrative Services Officer IV for the Department of Taxation and acted as the Department's Chief Financial Officer.

Joy started her career with the Nevada System of Higher Education in 2009 and transferred to the State of Nevada in 2010. She began working in fiscal management for the state in 2010 and has encountered many unique financial/budget situations as a result. Joy has participated as Fiscal Staff for five Departments which has allowed her to learn different funding sources, complete budget build and implementation, Accounts Payable, Payroll, distribution of funds to other government entities, document management retention, contract and lease functions, and facility management.

Joy is a native Nevadan raised in rural Nevada and attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Lee Business School where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business with an emphasis in Management. She also has two associate degrees from College of Southern Nevada and is a Certified Public Manager.

JANELL WOODWARD

Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, Ms. Woodward moved to Nevada in 2001 and is currently the State Hazard Mitigation Officer at the Division of Emergency Management. She came to the Division of Emergency Management in 2012. Prior to joining state service, she spent 28 years in healthcare working with insurance, transcription, training, and direct patient care. Woodward currently manages the state’s Hazard Mitigation Program, where she has developed and managed multimillion-dollar budgets, performed benefit-cost analysis, created grant applications, as well as managing the grants for five different mitigation programs.

Woodward received both a BS in Business Administration as well as AA in Management Information Systems from Liberty University. She also earned a certification as a Medical Assistant.

JIM BARNES

Governor Sisolak appointed Jim Barnes to the PEBP Board in August, 2021. Jim has had a lengthy career in law and State government administration.

After graduating from Columbia University School of Law in 1972, Jim began practicing
law in Reno. In 1975 he began a career in State service as Deputy Attorney General
and Chief Deputy Attorney General at several State departments, including the Department
of Commerce, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety. He also served as Director of the Nevada Department of Industrial Relations and as Director of the Nevada Department of Energy. Jim also served as Deputy District Attorney for Washoe County.

Jim has also served as chairman of the Nevada Deferred Compensation Committee, the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Review Board, the Washoe County Planning Commission, and the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Commission.

DR. JENNIFER MCCLENDON

Jennifer McClendon is Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. She served as Director of the Human Services Network (HSN) from 2018-2021, a collective organization of non-profits and government agencies in the human service sector across Northern Nevada. Prior to her work with HSN, Jennifer was Board Chair for Crisis Support Services of Nevada, a statewide organization providing crisis/suicide intervention and sexual assault advocacy services. As a consultant, she has worked on community-based projects in Nevada’s rural and urban areas, most recently with Nevada’s Department of Education Office of Safe and Respectful Learning to expand access to mental health care for underserved children. She has a child with a serious chronic health condition and a spouse who survived a traumatic brain injury; these experiences have led to a depth and breadth of understanding around the healthcare and disability needs for state employees.

Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Wellesley College, and has an M.S.W. and Ph.D. in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. 

LAURA RICH

Laura spent almost 15 years as a public servant for the State of Nevada. She spent several years in Aging and Disability Services and a brief time in Nevada Medicaid before joining the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange in 2013. At SSHIX, she participated in the original launch of Nevada’s State Based Exchange and subsequently helped transition it into one of the first hybrid exchanges. In 2015, she joined the Public Employees’ Benefits Program and was subsequently appointed by Governor Sisolak as the Executive Director prior to the start of the global pandemic in 2020. Since leaving the public sector, Laura has continued to work in the healthcare, tech and legislative spaces helping to advance and improve health care coverage policies and solutions.

Laura has a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, San Marcos, an MBA from Western Governors University and is also a Certified Public Manager. During her spare time, Laura loves to travel the world, but luckily one of her favorite spots on the planet, Yosemite, is close to home.

JIM WELLS

Jim Wells retired from the State of Nevada for the second time on January 3rd, 2025 after coming out of retirement to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Joe Lombardo for the first two years of his term. Jim started his career with the State in 1992 as an accountant for the Nevada Housing Division and retired in 2018 from his position as Governor Brian Sandoval’s Director of Finance and State Budget Director.

Jim has over 35 years of government experience and 15 years in executive management positions. Jim served in a variety of roles, including as the Executive Officer for the Public Employees’ Benefits Program from 2010 to 2015 and the Chief Financial Officer of PEBP from 2003 to 2006. Jim also served as the Director of Administration, the Deputy Superintendent for Administration and Finance for the Nevada Department of Education, and the Chief Deputy State Controller. During his career, Jim also held positions with Deloitte, the University of Nevada and the City of Roanoke, Virginia.

Jim received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Nevada.