State Treasurer Tobias Read will talk about how his office affects Oregon's economy in a virtual appearance at a Friday Forum of the City Club of Portland.

His appearance is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, April 9. To RSVP for the Friday Forum event, go to mailchi.mp/pdxcityclub/stateofeconomy2.

The forum is cosponsored by Pamplin Media Group.

Read, 45, was a Democratic state representative from Beaverton from 2007 until he was elected state treasurer in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. He once worked for Nike.

As treasurer, he sits on the Oregon Investment Council, whose five members oversee billions of dollars in state investments, the largest of which is the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System fund currently at $86 billion. Among other investment funds are the Common School Fund, the Oregon Short Term Fund and the State Accident Insurance Fund.

The Oregon State Treasury also handles banking services for state government and oversees public debt, including bonds.

The state treasurer also oversees the Oregon Savings Network, which consists of the Oregon College Savings Plan, organized under Section 529 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code; Oregon Saves, which helps businesses set up workers' savings plans for retirement, and Oregon ABLE Savings Plan, which helps people with disabilities.