02 May Derek Kreifels
At-Large SFOF Co-Founder
Derek Kreifels is the co-founder and first CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), the only nonprofit in the U.S. that combines ground-breaking free-market research with a strong network of states’ treasurers, auditors, and other financial officers, to actively sustain the health of each state’s economic outlook.
Before co-founding SFOF in 2012, Kreifels spent five years as Assistant State Treasurer of Kansas, where he oversaw the state’s college savings plan, ABLE plan, debt and bond management, and pension investments. During his tenure, his office processed over $21B annually, and he managed 42 employees with an annual budget of over $3.5M.
In 2022 under Derek’s leadership SFOF launched an educational campaign called “Our Money Our Values” that was able to reach 32 Million Americans in a concentrated 10 week digital campaign. Kreifels has spent the past year speaking at numerous conferences about the dangers of ESG investing and has appeared on numerous national television, radio, and podcasts including most recently on Dr. Jordan B. Peterson’s internationally acclaimed podcast.
On July 1, 2023, Kreifels was appointed by the Kansas Speaker of the House to the board of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), a $30 billion pension fund.
Kreifels attended Kansas State University, received his undergraduate degree from Wichita State University, and his Master’s degree from Friends University in Wichita. He lends his leadership to several boards and nonprofits. He and his wife Melanie are diehard Kansas City Chiefs fans, enjoy excellent Kansas City BBQ, and love spending time with family.