2024 Compliance Outreach Program

National Seminar Speaker Biographies

November 7, 2024

Seminar Chairpersons

Vanessa Horton

Vanessa L. Horton is the National Associate - IA/IC Program, Associate Regional Director in the IA/IC examination Program in Chicago and oversees the Private Funds Unit.  Prior to joining the SEC, Vanessa spent over 13 years in the private sector where she most recently served as the Chief Compliance Officer to a dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser. Vanessa’s background is specifically in trading, operations, and compliance. Vanessa has held several FINRA securities licenses including the Series 7, 24, 55, 65, and 63. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Gies School of Business for undergraduate studies and DePaul University in Chicago for graduate studies. In addition to her specialized industry experience, Vanessa participates in multiple national examination program and Commission-wide initiatives including acting as a subject matter expert in the SEC’s National Exam Training program, Professional Development Co-Chair, People Advisory Committee Co-Chair, Executive Committee, the Diversity Council, and the Private Fund Special Working Group, among others.

Marshall Gandy

Marshall Gandy is a Senior Officer and the National Investment Adviser/Investment Company Program Director in the SEC’s Division of Examinations. Along with Vanessa Horton, they oversee over 600 attorneys, accountants, and examiners responsible for the examinations of SEC-registered investment advisers and investment companies.  Mr. Gandy also continues to serve as the Associate Regional Director for Examinations in the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office where, since 2012, he has led a staff of forty-five accountants, examiners, attorneys, and support personnel responsible for examining broker-dealers, investment companies, investment advisers, hedge fund managers, private equity firms, municipal advisers, and transfer agents in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.  In addition, he serves in various senior leadership roles in the Division of Examinations, including sitting on the Management Committee. In 2014, Mr. Gandy received the SEC’s Excellence in Leadership Award from Chair Mary Jo White; in 2020 he received the SEC’s Irving M. Pollack Award from Chair Jay Clayton; and in 2021 he received the Chair’s Award for Investor Protection from Chair Gary Gensler.  Mr. Gandy joined the SEC’s Fort Worth office in 1999 where he spent eight years as a staff attorney and trial counsel in the Division of Enforcement. Beginning 2008, he served as the Senior Regional Counsel in Dallas District Office of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority before returning to the SEC in 2012.  Mr. Gandy began his legal career in Dallas County as Criminal Court Judge and an Assistant District Attorney. He obtained his J.D. from Southern Methodist University.

Welcoming Remarks

Chair Gary Gensler

Gary Gensler was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden to serve as Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 3, 2021, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 14, 2021, and sworn into office on April 17, 2021.

Before joining the SEC, Gensler was professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, co-director of MIT’s Fintech@CSAIL, and senior advisor to the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative. From 2017-2019, he served as chair of the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission.

Gensler was formerly chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, leading the Obama Administration’s reform of the $400 trillion swaps market. He also was senior advisor to U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes in writing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002), and was undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance and assistant secretary of the Treasury from 1997-2001.

In recognition for his service, he was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Award, the U.S. Treasury’s highest honor. He is a recipient of the 2014 Frankel Fiduciary Prize.

Prior to his public service, Gensler worked at Goldman Sachs, where he became a partner in the Mergers & Acquisition department, headed the firm’s Media Group, led fixed income & currency trading in Asia, and was co-head of Finance, responsible for the firm's worldwide Controllers and Treasury efforts.

A native of Baltimore, Md., Gensler earned his undergraduate degree in economics in 1978 and his MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1979. He has three daughters.

SEC Directors Panel

Keith Cassidy (Division of Examination Remarks; Directors Panel Moderator)

Keith Cassidy is the Acting Director in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations.  Prior to being named Acting Director, Mr. Cassidy served as the Division’s Deputy Director and National Associate Director of the Technology Controls Program.

Before joining the Division of Examinations, Mr. Cassidy was the Director of the SEC’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, where he worked directly for three separate Chairs. Before coming to the Commission in 2010, Mr. Cassidy was Chief of Staff and Counsel at the Department of Justice’s Office of Legislative Affairs. Prior to his time at the Department of Justice, Mr. Cassidy worked as an attorney in the United States Senate.

Mr. Cassidy received his law degree from the George Washington University Law School and his LL. M. in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown Law Center. He holds a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Virginia and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Mr. Cassidy is also an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, where he serves as the Commanding Officer of 4th Reconnaissance Battalion. 

Natasha Vij Greiner

Natasha Vij Greiner is Director of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Immediately before joining the Division of Investment Management, Natasha was Deputy Director, National Associate Director for the Investment Adviser/Investment Company Examination Program, which includes the Private Funds Unit, and Associate Director of the Home Office IA/IC Examination Program SEC’s Division of Examinations. She began her SEC career in the Division of Examinations (formerly OCIE) as a broker-dealer examiner and has served in a variety of roles across the agency for more than 23 years, including Acting Chief Counsel and Assistant Chief Counsel in the Division of Trading and Markets, where she provided legal and policy advice to the Commission on rules affecting market participants and the operation of the securities markets. Ms. Greiner also worked in the Division of Enforcement, including in its Asset Management Unit, where she investigated possible violations of the federal securities laws and litigated matters in federal district court and administrative proceedings.  Ms. Greiner earned a J.D. from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and a B.S., cum laude, from James Madison University.

Samuel (Sam) Waldon

Sam Waldon is the Acting Deputy Director and Chief Counsel for the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. He joined the SEC as Chief Counsel in March 2022. Prior to joining the SEC, he was a Partner at the law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP. He was also previously Assistant Chief Counsel for the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, and earlier in his career, he was a Staff Attorney in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. He received a B.A. in Economics from Virginia Tech and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

Panel I: Information Security & Operational Resiliency

Alexis Hall (Moderator)

Alexis Hall serves as an Assistant Director and Acting Associate Director of the Technology Controls Program of the Division of Examinations. In these roles, she leads the Technology Controls program and oversees examination teams in connection to the Division’s examination oversight of the use of technology in the U.S. securities markets. Prior to this role, she served as a Senior Regulatory Counsel in the Technology Controls program for approximately eight years.  Alexis received her J.D. from Howard University School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Maryland.

David Joire

David Joire is a Senior Special Counsel in the Chief Counsel’s Office of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Joire worked in private practice advising investment advisers and investment companies on a variety of regulatory, compliance, and transactional matters. He received his law degree from The Catholic University of America Columbus School Law, where he was a member of the Law Review, and his undergraduate degree from The George Washington University.

Michael Khalil

Michael Khalil is a Senior Counsel in the Investment Company Regulation Office in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Before joining the SEC, Mr. Khalil was a Litigation Counsel with the US Department of Labor, where he was responsible for overseeing a portfolio of ERISA litigation.  Mr. Khalil also spent a significant amount of time in private practice, most recently as a Member at Miller & Chevalier Chartered in Washington DC. He received a B.A. from Gettysburg College and a J.D. from the University of Michigan.

Salvatore (Sal) Montemarano

Salvatore Montemarano is a Senior Specialized Examiner (SSE) focusing on information technology and cybersecurity within the SEC’s Division of Examinations. As an SSE, Mr. Montemarano provides direct support and guidance for TCP staff in performing examinations on registrants subject to Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity (SCI), Regulation S-P, and Regulation S-ID.

Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Montemarano was the Chief Information Security Officer for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Mr. Montemarano has worked in the information technology field for over 20 years, 12 years focused on cybersecurity. Mr. Montemarano has a degree from George Mason University and a Masters in Information Security from the University of Maryland University College.

Nikolay Vydashenko

Nikolay Vydashenko is an Assistant Director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, based in the Fort Worth Regional Office. As a member of the Division’s Asset Management Unit, he supervises investigations concerning the conduct of investment advisers. Previously, Mr. Vydashenko served as Senior Trial Counsel and as a Staff Attorney in the Enforcement Division, as well as an in-house counsel at a financial services company. Mr. Vydashenko began his career as a litigation associate in the New York office of Vinson & Elkins LLP. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Cheryl Zabala

Cheryl Zabala is Chief Compliance Officer and Regulatory Counsel at Pretium Partners.  Prior to joining Pretium in June 2021, Ms. Zabala was Deputy Chief Compliance Officer and Regulatory Counsel at MSD Partners, LP (2013-2021) where she managed MSD’s compliance program and provided regulatory advice to Michael Dell’s family office, MSD Capital, LP.  Previously, Ms. Zabala was Chief Compliance Officer for the Emerging Sovereign Group at The Carlyle Group (2012-2013) and was a Compliance Officer and Regulatory Counsel at Fortress Investment Group (2006-2012).  Ms. Zabala received a BBA in Finance from The George Washington University where she was a Presidential Scholar and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.

Panel II: Registered Investment Company Topics

Rachel Loko (Moderator)

Chris Chase

Chris re-joined the SEC in 2022 and is currently a senior counsel in the Division of Investment Management’s Chief Counsel’s Office. For nearly a decade prior to returning to the Commission, Mr. Chase was Vice President, Securities Counsel at MissionSquare Retirement, where he led the legal team responsible for supporting investment adviser, broker-dealer, contracts, private fund, and investment management activities. Earlier in his career Mr. Chase was a senior attorney in the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, and the Division of Examinations. He was also a Counsel at a major international law firm where his practice focused on investment adviser, private fund, and broker-dealer regulatory issues, and SEC and FINRA enforcement matters. Mr. Chase began his career as the Chief Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel of a regional investment banking and private fund firm. Mr. Chase earned his J.D. cum laude from The American University Washington College of Law, and his B.S. from the University of Utah.

Luisa Lewis

Luisa Lewis is a Supervisory Attorney Adviser in the Investment Adviser/Investment Company examination program in the SEC’s Division of Examinations. Prior to joining the SEC, Ms. Lewis was an associate in the Chicago and New York offices of Vedder Price P.C. where she counseled registered investment companies and the independent board members of registered investment companies on regulatory, compliance, governance and transactional matters arising under federal securities laws. Ms. Lewis received her B.A. from Butler University and her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Salvatore Massa

Salvatore Massa is a Senior Advisor in the Asset Management Unit of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Mr. Massa joined the Commission in 2004 as a Staff Attorney in the Enforcement Division’s Miami Regional Office. In 2010, he joined the Asset Management Unit as Senior Counsel, and in 2017 joined the New York Regional Office in that role. Previously, Mr. Massa was a Trial Attorney for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Massa graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Economics and Political Science from Marquette University. He graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin where received his law degree and later obtained an LLM at Georgetown University with distinction focusing on Securities and Financial Regulation. 

Michael Spratt

Michael Spratt is an Assistant Director in the Division of Investment Management. In this role, he leads a team responsible for reviewing investment company filings, including filings by exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, closed-end funds, business development companies, and unit investment trusts. He also participates in rulemakings and other policy initiatives related to fund disclosure. Michael joined the Commission in IM’s rulemaking office. He also served as counsel to Commissioners Elisse Walter and Kara Stein, where he provided advice on all aspects of asset management issues, including rulemakings, enforcement actions, and policy. Before working at the Commission, Michael was an associate in the asset management group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP. He received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Stephanie Hui

Stephanie Hui is Lead Counsel for Public Policy at Dimensional Fund Advisors, where she manages the firm’s response to global regulatory and public policy developments. Before joining Dimensional, Ms. Hui was a Branch Chief in the Division of Investment Management at the Securities and Exchange Commission and an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. She earned her JD from The University of Texas School of Law and her BSFS from Georgetown University.

Panel III: Private Fund Adviser Topics

Jennifer Duggins (Moderator)

Jennifer Duggins is Assistant Director and Co-Head of the Private Funds Unit within the SEC’s Division of Examinations. Prior to joining the SEC, Ms. Duggins was a Director in Regulatory Risk Consulting within the Advisory Practice of KPMG. Prior to joining KPMG, Ms. Duggins was Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of Chilton Investment Company. Prior to Chilton, Jennifer was Vice President, Legal and Compliance at Andor Capital Management.

Ms. Duggins has a B.A. in History from New York University and a M.S. in Human Resource Management from Sacred Heart University John F. Welch College of Business.  Ms. Duggins is an Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional, IACCP® and a FINRA Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional, CRCP®. Ms. Duggins is also an Adjunct Professor within Fordham Law School’s MSL Compliance Program where she currently teaches Introduction to Corporate Compliance and Compliance Risk Assessment.

Shane Cox

Shane Cox is Regulatory Counsel within the Private Funds Unit (PFU) of the SEC’s Division of Examinations (EXAMS).  In that role, Mr. Cox provides legal advice to examiners and attorneys during complex examinations of private fund advisers.  Before that, he worked as a Senior Counsel in the Private Funds Branch of the Division of Investment Management’s Investment Adviser Regulation Office. Mr. Cox also previously served for several years as a Senior Attorney-Adviser within the PFU, leading examinations of various types of private fund advisers.  Before the SEC, he worked as an attorney, focused on securities litigation and shareholder rights law. During law school, Mr. Cox also worked several years for a Big 4 accounting firm.  He graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law.  Mr. Cox holds a Bachelor of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of North Dakota. He has also received his Certificate in Securities & Financial Law through Georgetown Law. Mr. Cox has his CPA license (inactive status) and is licensed to practice law in California.

Lee A. Greenwood

Lee Greenwood is an Assistant Regional Director in the SEC’s New York Regional Office in the Division of Enforcement’s Asset Management Unit, a position he has held since January 2023.  Mr. Greenwood started his career in the SEC’s New York Regional Office in 2014, working first as a Staff Attorney and then later as a Senior Trial Counsel.  Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Greenwood worked as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and as a law clerk for a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Greenwood received his B.A. from Columbia University and his J.D. from Georgetown Law School.

Adele Kittredge Murray

Adele Kittredge Murray is the Private Funds Attorney Fellow in the Investment Adviser Rulemaking Office of the Division of Investment Management. Ms. Murray joined the Commission in 2022 from Assured Investment Management LLC, a subsidiary of Assured Guaranty Ltd., where she was the Chief Compliance Officer.  Prior to Assured Investment Management, Ms. Murray was the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Caspian Capital LP; Managing Director, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of XE Capital Management, LLC; and General Counsel of Aisling Capital LLC, a spin-out of Perseus-Soros Management LLC.  She received her J.D., cum laude, from New York Law School, and her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.

Michael Neus

Prior to his position as the Chief Administrative Office at Brevan Howard, Mr. Neus was the Private Funds Attorney Fellow in the Investment Adviser Regulation Office in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Prior to the SEC, he was a member of the Management Committee, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Exodus Point Capital Management, LP. Prior to Exodus Point, Mr. Neus was on the faculty of the New York University School of Law as Senior Fellow in the Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement; Managing Partner, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Perry Capital, LLC; Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at RHG Capital, L.P.; Chief General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Andro Capital Management, L.L.C.; and General Counsel of Soros Private Funds Management LLC. He began his professional career as an associate at the law firm Couverte Brothers, in both the Singapore and New York offices. He received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, and his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Neus teaches courses entitled “Investment Management Regulation and Compliance” and “Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal Institutions” as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School and is the co-author with Terrance J. O’Malley of the 2018 book "Insiders’ Guide to Hedge Funds: Successfully Managing the Middle and Back Office."

In addition, Mr. Neus was previously Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Sub-Committee on Institutional Investors; Senior Fellow of the Regulatory Compliance Association; Director, and Chairman of the Investment Advisory Subcommittee, of the Managed Funds Association; and member of the US Legal & Compliance Group of the Alternative Investment Management Association.

Panel IV: Marketing Rule

Karen Stevenson (Moderator)

Karen Stevenson is a Senior Program Adviser in the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations (EXAMS). She serves in the EXAMS’ National Exam Program Office and assists in the administration of the investment adviser and investment company examination program. Since joining the SEC in 1999, Ms. Stevenson has conducted or overseen hundreds of examinations of investment advisers. She has also been directly involved in many national initiatives that focused on a broad array of topics.

Melissa Roverts Harke

Melissa Roverts Harke is a Senior Special Counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel in the U.S. SEC’s Division of Examinations. In this role, she primarily consults on various examination initiatives and priorities involving investment advisers. Ms. Harke spent her first 16 years at the SEC in the Division of Investment Management, where she served most recently as the Assistant Director of the Investment Adviser Regulation Office. Prior to joining the SEC in 2008, Ms. Harke was an Associate in the Washington, DC and Wilmington, DE offices of two law firms. She received her undergraduate degree from Bucknell University, her law degree from American University, and she is admitted to the bar in both Delaware and the District of Columbia.

Scott Jameson

Scott Jameson is a senior counsel in the Chief Counsel’s Office of the Investment Management Division. Prior to joining the SEC in 2023, he was an associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel and then Linklaters, where he focused his practice on counselling private funds and their advisers on regulatory compliance issues. Mr. Jameson received his J.D., cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center and received a B.A. in History and Economics from the University of Texas.

Brianna Ripa

Brianna Ripa is an Assistant Director in the SEC Division of Enforcement’s Asset Management Unit. Ms. Ripa joined the Commission’s Division of Enforcement in 2014 where she has conducted or supervised investigations into a variety of securities law violations, including recently supervising over 23 settled actions enforcing the Marketing Rule. Prior to joining the Commission, she was an associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. She received her law degree from The George Washington University Law School and her bachelor’s degree in Government from Georgetown University.

Karyn Vincent

Karyn D. Vincent, CFA, CIPM, is Senior Head, Global Industry Standards at CFA Institute and is also the GIPS Standards Executive Director. Previously, she was managing partner for client services at ACA Performance Services. Ms. Vincent founded Vincent Performance Services LLC, which subsequently merged with ACA. She also was the global practice leader for investment performance services at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to joining CFA Institute in 2018, Ms. Vincent was an active volunteer, serving on numerous GIPS standards committees. She co‐authored with Bruce J. Feibel Complying with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012). Ms. Vincent holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Panel V: Registered Investment Advisers

Ryan Hinson (Moderator)

Ryan Hinson has served at the Regulatory Counsel for the examination program in the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office since 2016. In this role, Mr. Hinson provides legal and procedural guidance to the examination staff and serves as the liaison between the Los Angeles Regional Office’s examination program and the various SEC policy divisions, Enforcement, and other regulatory and law enforcement agencies. Mr. Hinson joined the SEC in 2008 as an attorney-examiner and later was named an attorney-adviser, conducting and leading numerous teams in the examination of investment advisers and investment companies. As an examiner, Mr. Hinson was an integral member of many successful exam teams, which led to significant enforcement referrals and actions, including a Santa Monica-based investment adviser that had breached its fiduciary duty by engaging in undisclosed conflicted transactions. Mr. Hinson graduated from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Whittier College School of Law, and has earned a certificate in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University.

Aaron D. De Angelis

Prior to joining the Philadelphia Regional Office of the SEC, in November 2020, Mr. De Angelis was the Chief Compliance officer and Bond Trader back up at Spring Mountain Capital, LP. Prior to joining SMC, Mr. De Angelis was the Managing Partner for KPMG for one year, responsible for developing and leading the firm’s 1940 Act consulting practice. Prior to joining KPMG, Mr. De Angelis was the Chief Compliance Officer at Brandywine Global Asset Management, LLC for over two years. Prior to joining Brandywine, Mr. De Angelis served as the Vice President–Director of Compliance at Rorer Asset Management, LLC where, for seven years, Mr. De Angelis was responsible for building the firm’s Compliance Program, which included working on the automation of the new account opening process, new account investing process, account maintenance process, account trading process and marketing material review process. Prior to Rorer, Mr. De Angelis was employed by the Securities and Exchange Commission as a Senior Securities Compliance Examiner/Staff Accountant for 7 years in the Philadelphia District Office. Mr. De Angelis has conducted over 100 investment adviser and 25 mutual fund examinations, and has participated in 5 enforcement referrals.

Mr. De Angelis served a full term on the board of the National Society of Compliance Professionals, and is a member of the NSCP’s Seminar Facility and serves on the NSCP’s Investment Adviser Resource Team. Mr. De Angelis currently serves as a facility member for industry regulation seminars hosted by National Regulatory Services.

Mr. De Angelis is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the Philadelphia Compliance Roundtable.

Colin Forbes

Colin Forbes is an Assistant Director in the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit and in the Boston Regional Office. He supervises investigations concerning investment advisers’ undisclosed conflicts of interest, violations of the Marketing Rule and the Custody Rule, crypto asset securities, cherry picking, misappropriation of client assets, and other compliance issues. He also supervises investigations concerning misstatements by public companies, insider trading, Regulation FD violations, and offering frauds. Prior to becoming an Assistant Director, Mr. Forbes served as a staff attorney and worked on a number of significant enforcement actions. Before joining the SEC in 2014, Mr. Forbes practiced in the White Collar Defense and Investigations and Securities Enforcement groups at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Mr. Forbes received his bachelor’s degree from New York University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Anna Sandor

Anna Sandor is a Senior Counsel in the Chief Counsel’s Office of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Prior to joining the SEC in 2022, Ms. Sandor served as Securities Counsel for MissionSquare Retirement and as an associate in the investment management practice group at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. She received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

James (Jim) D’Sidocky

Jim D’Sidocky is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Sanders Capital, LLC. Mr. D’Sidocky joined Sanders Capital in 2022. Prior to Sanders Capital, Mr. D’Sidocky was the U.S. General Counsel at Insight Investment, a BNY Mellon Company (2015 - 2022). Prior to that, he held the position of Associate General Counsel at Neuberger Berman (2009 - 2015). Prior to that, he joined J.P. Morgan Investment Management (2008 - 2009) as a Managing Director in connection with the firm’s acquisition of Bear Stearns Asset Management.  Mr. D’Sidocky began his career at Bear Stearns Asset Management in 1999 and held various positions, including Managing Director/Principal (2006 - 2008).  Mr. D’Sidocky graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Communications and received his law degree with honors from New York Law School, where he was an editor on the NYLS Journal of Human Rights.

Panel VI: Hot Topics Lightning Round

Steven Levine (Moderator)

Steven Levine is a Senior Special Counsel in the SEC’s Division of Examinations. Steven joined the CHRO in 2001. He spent most of his first 10 years as a Trial Counsel in CHRO’s Enforcement Division. In 2011, he joined the CHRO’s Investment Management Examination Program as a Senior Special Counsel. From 2013 to 2020 Mr. Levine was the Associate Regional Director for that program, and has since returned to his Senior Special Counsel role.  Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Levine was a trial attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Chicago for six years, and spent three years before that in private practice. Mr. Levine received his J.D. from Yale Law School (1991) and his B.A. from Cornell University (1986).

Nadia Brannon

Nadia Brannon is a Branch Chief of the Crypto Assets Specialized Examinations (“CASE”)  unit within Technology Control Program in the  SEC’s Division of Examination. CASE was created in October 2023 to conduct complex examinations of crypto entities and provide technical assistance related to crypto assets and blockchain technology within the Division.

Ms. Brannon joined SEC in 2016 as examiner in the San Francisco regional office after twenty-year career in consulting and public accounting. During her career Ms. Brannon held various leadership positions in litigation consulting and forensic accounting including Executive Director at EY, Managing Director at FTI and Principal at LECG. Ms. Brannon is a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional.

Matthew Cook

Matt Cook is a senior counsel in the Division of Investment Management’s Chief Counsel’s Office (CCO). He has worked at the SEC since 2017 and in CCO since 2022. Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Cook was an associate in the asset management group at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from Colgate University.

Virginia (Gin) Rosado Desilets

Virginia Rosado Desilets is an Assistant Director in Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. The Asset Management Unit investigates potential violations of the securities laws, focusing in particular on violations of the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act, and on industry participants such as investment advisers, registered funds, and private funds. Ms. Rosado Desilets is based in the SEC’s Washington, DC headquarters, and supervises teams of attorneys, industry experts, accountants, and others in DC and throughout the SEC’s nationwide offices. Ms. Rosado Desilets joined the SEC in 2013; prior to that, she spent eleven years in private practice at the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP. She is a graduate of NYU Law and Yale University and is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Roberto Grasso

Roberto Grasso is the Branch Chief of the Branch of Surveillance and Reporting in the Office of Risk and Strategy (ORS) leading a team researching, analyzing, and advising the EXAMS program on developing areas of risk in the securities industry. Previously, Mr. Grasso was an Investigations Case Analyst in the Division of Enforcement, the founder of a Bay Area regulatory consulting firm specializing in FinTech startups, an Examiner with the San Francisco Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and a Supervisor of Examiners at the NASD. Mr. Grasso holds a Juris Doctor from the DePaul College of Law, an M.B.A. from the American University, a B.A. from the George Washington University, and post-bachelor certificate in Information Systems Management from the University of California - Berkeley. He is a member of the Illinois and Washington D.C. Bars and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.

Maurya Crawford Keating

Maurya Crawford Keating is an Associate Regional Director in the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She joined the SEC’s Division of Examinations in 2018 as co-head of the NYRO Investment Adviser/ Investment Company unit. She also served as acting head of the NYRO Broker-Dealer/Exchange unit in 2020, and as Co-Acting Regional Director of NYRO in 2022.

 Before joining the SEC, she was a Lead Director and Associate General Counsel in the National Compliance Office of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company. Her work for AXA Equitable included advising on a wide range of securities, insurance and investment advisory compliance, product and distribution issues, including international legal and compliance issues associated with AXA Equitable’s affiliation with AXA Group, a global financial services organization. Ms. Keating was also Vice President, Chief Broker-Dealer Counsel & Investment Advisor Chief Compliance Officer of AXA Advisors, LLC, a full-service broker-dealer and investment adviser. Prior to AXA Equitable, she was an Associate General Counsel at New York Life Insurance Company and Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.

Ms. Keating received her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law, and her B.A. and M.A. from The Catholic University of America. She is admitted to practice as an attorney in New York state, and is on the Roll of Solicitors of the Law Society of England & Wales.

Sirimal Mukerjee

Sirimal Mukerjee is a Senior Special Counsel in the Investment Adviser Regulation Office in the Division of Investment Management’s Rulemaking Office, where he works on the development of policy and rulemakings relating to investment advisers, private funds and investment companies. Mr. Mukerjee joined the Commission in 2010 and has served in a number of roles throughout the agency, including as Policy Counsel to Chair Gary Gensler, Counsel to Commissioner Kara M. Stein, Branch Chief in the Investment Adviser Regulation Office and Senior Counsel in both the Office of Capital Markets Trends and Disclosure Review Office in the Division of Corporation Finance. Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Mukerjee worked in the New York offices of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Paul Hastings LLP. Mr. Mukerjee received a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, where he was an Articles Editor of the Brooklyn Law Review, and a B.A., with distinction, from the University of Pennsylvania.

Lindsay Topolosky

Lindsay Topolosky is a Regulatory Counsel in the National Exam Program Office within the SEC’s Division of Examinations. In this role, Ms. Topolosky provides legal analysis and procedural guidance to examination staff in the Investment Adviser and Investment Company program and serves as an internal liaison between SEC divisions and an external point of contact for other regulators. She previously held roles in the Division of Examinations Office of Chief Counsel and the Broker-Dealer and Exchange Program. She gained international regulatory experience while seconded to the Supervision Division of the Financial Conduct Authority, one of the UK’s main financial services regulatory bodies. Prior to joining the staff, Ms. Topolosky worked in counsel and examiner roles at FINRA and a large financial services firm. She received her B.A. from Miami University of Ohio, her J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and a Securities and Financial Regulation certificate from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of the bar in New York and the District of Columbia.