2024 Compliance Workshops

Jeremy Bergsman is head of cybersecurity advisory at ACA Group, where he co-leads Aponix, ACA’s cybersecurity division, ensuring clients receive the advice they need to manage risk and compliance responsibilities. Previously, he worked as a managing vice president with Gartner leading an internal innovation “skunkworks” that revamped the research methodology and supporting technology behind key Gartner research. He also worked as a managing director with CEB, serving as the product owner and research team leader for several projects. Bergsman earned his B.A. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego, and his Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the Stanford University Medical School. He has also been a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale University School of Medicine. Bergsman will speak at the San Francisco Compliance Workshop. 

Gail C. Bernstein is general counsel and head of public policy at the Investment Adviser Association (IAA), the leading association advancing the interests of fiduciary investment adviser firms. Bernstein has responsibility for legal matters affecting the IAA and for the development and execution of the IAA’s regulatory advocacy and engagement on behalf of its members. She is also responsible for working with IAA members on legal, regulatory, and compliance issues affecting investment advisers. She joined the IAA in 2017 from the law firm of WilmerHale in Washington, D.C., where she had been both a special counsel and a partner in the Securities Department. She earned her law degree from Harvard Law School and, after law school, clerked for the Honorable Douglas P. Woodlock of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Bernstein will speak at the San Francisco Compliance Workshop.

Peter Bogdasarian is a partner at Stradley Ronon in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the firm’s Securities Litigation and Enforcement Practice and serves as the firm’s chief privacy officer. Bogdasarian counsels investment advisers and investment companies in connection with SEC examinations and investigations. He also regularly advises clients with regard to their cybersecurity and data privacy obligations, including SEC requirements and state law obligations. Prior to joining Stradley Ronon in 2015, Bogdasarian worked at another law firm. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Cornell Law School. Bogdasarian will speak at the Chicago Compliance Workshop.

Sarah Buescher is special counsel of the IAA. Before joining the IAA, Buescher served as a branch chief in the Investment Adviser Regulation Office in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. She also worked in the SEC’s Office of the General Counsel and started her legal career in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. She also previously worked at Vanguard, first in the Legal Department as associate counsel and senior counsel, and later in the Compliance Department as manager of international compliance. She earned her B.S. in Communication Studies from Northwestern University and her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School. Buescher will speak at the New York Compliance Workshop.

Charu A. Chandrasekhar is a litigation partner in Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s New York office and a member of the firm’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense and Data Strategy & Security Groups. She has substantial experience in counseling clients on the SEC’s cybersecurity regulations, recordkeeping requirements, and artificial intelligence examinations and enforcement. Previously, Chandrasekhar served as an assistant regional director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement and as the founding chief of the Division’s Retail Strategy Task Force. She also served in the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit and clerked for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor when she sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Chandrasekhar will speak at the Virtual Compliance Workshop. 

Ezra D. Church is a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, where he counsels and defends companies in privacy, cybersecurity, and other consumer protection matters. He helps clients manage data security and other crisis incidents and represents them in high-profile privacy and other class actions. Focused particularly on retail, ecommerce, and other consumer-facing firms, his practice is at the forefront of issues such as biometrics, artificial intelligence, location tracking, ad tech, and blockchain. Church is leader of the firm’s privacy and cybersecurity litigation practice and co-chair of the firm’s Class Action Working Group. Church will speak at the Virtual Compliance Workshop. 

Carlo di Florio is the global advisory leader of ACA Group. Previously, di Florio worked for more than 25 years in executive leadership roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, and FINRA. He also serves as governor of the Risk Management Association NY Chapter and as adjunct professor at Columbia University, where he teaches strategic risk management. He also serves on the Regulatory Advisory Committee of the National Association of Compliance Professionals and on the Board of Advisors of the Private Equity CFO Association NY Chapter. di Florio will speak at the Virtual and New York Compliance Workshops.

Austin Fiala joined ACA in August 2021 and is a senior principal consultant with ACA Aponix, bringing more than a decade of information security experience working in the financial and insurance industries. Fiala acts as a trusted advisor on information security to many firms and leads the AWS security review and information security audit services for ACA Aponix. He earned his B.S. in management information from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Fiala will speak at the New York Compliance Workshop.

Aaron Gilbride is a partner at Latham & Watkins, LLC, where he advises clients on complex legal issues arising under the Advisers Act, 1940 Act, and other securities laws. Before joining Latham, he served as branch chief in the Chief Counsel’s Office of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management and as senior counsel to the director of the Division of Investment Management and as a principal staff member on the Volcker Rule Interagency Group. He also served on the staff of three Members of Congress, where he focused on a variety of regulatory matters including financial services, economic policy, budget, and trade. Gilbride earned a B.S. from Miami University and a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. Gilbride will speak at the New York Compliance Workshop.

Louis Gracia is an associate regional director in the Investment Adviser – Investment Company Examination Program in the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office. He has been with the SEC for over 30 years, during which time he has led and supervised numerous examinations of investment advisory firms and mutual fund complexes. Gracia has spoken at several previous SEC Compliance Outreach events, NASAA conferences, NSCP conferences, IAA workshops and National Examination Program training courses. He has also represented the SEC at numerous staff recruitment and investor outreach events. Gracia holds a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago, as well as a CPA license in the state of Illinois and the CFE designation. Gracia will speak at the Chicago Compliance Workshop.

Laura L. Grossman is associate general counsel of the IAA. She has more than 20 years of experience as an investment management attorney. Prior to joining the IAA in 2012, she was in private practice for over 10 years in the New York office of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. (now Norton Rose Fulbright), where she advised registered investment adviser, mutual fund and private fund clients on matters arising under the Investment Advisers Act, the Investment Company Act and other federal securities laws, the Commodity Exchange Act and associated regulations, and a wide range of compliance issues. Grossman received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Rutgers College, and she received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Grossman will speak at the Chicago Compliance Workshop.

Issa Hanna is a partner at Eversheds Sutherland. He helps broker-dealers, investment advisers, investment funds, insurance companies and insurance distributors in navigating the regulatory requirements applicable to their businesses. His experience includes registration and compliance issues and representing clients before federal and state regulators and self-regulatory organizations. Hanna also has deep experience on the evolving standards of conduct in the financial services space, and closely follows developments relating to SEC Regulation Best Interest, fiduciary duty, and state securities and insurance laws. He earned a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D., cum laude, from University of Florida Levin College of Law. Hanna will speak at the Boston Compliance Workshop.

Kelley Howes is co-chair of Morrison Foerster’s Investment Management Group and has experience in a wide range of legal, regulatory, compliance, corporate governance, insurance, and other matters relating to the representation of registered and unregistered investment companies, investment advisers, transfer agents, and broker-dealers. Howes counsels independent fund directors on governance issues and advises registered investment companies on mergers, reorganizations, compliance, and regulatory matters, including examinations and enforcement matters. She regularly counsels U.S. and non-U.S. domiciled investment advisers on compliance with the Investment Advisers Act and its related regulations. Prior to Morrison Foerster, she was executive vice president and general counsel of Janus Capital Group Inc. Howes will speak at the Denver Compliance Workshop.

Todd Humphrey is a managing director in the compliance advisory group at ACA. In this role, he leads mock SEC inspections and compliance program reviews and also helps clients develop, implement, and maintain customized policies and procedures and provides regulatory compliance. Humphrey has over 25 years of experience in the investment regulatory and investment management industries, including at the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office, where he worked as an examiner. He earned his B.S degree in Finance from California State University Fresno and his MBA from the University of Southern California. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst® designation. Humphrey will speak at the Denver Compliance Workshop.

Casey J. Jennings is a partner in Seward & Kissel’s Investment Management Group and is located in Seward & Kissel’s Washington D.C. office. Jennings is a banking regulatory attorney specializing in advising non-bank financial institutions (such as investment managers, funds, broker-dealers, and fintechs) on banking and securities law issues, with areas of expertise in bank deposit funding, Bank Holding Company Act (“BHCA”) and Volcker Rule, data privacy and cybersecurity/incident response, FinTech regulation and licensing/blockchain, anti-money laundering, consumer financial protection and direct foreign investment (CFIUS). Jennings will speak at the New York Compliance Workshop.  

Maurya Crawford Keating is associate regional director of the investment adviser/investment company examination program in the SEC’s New York Regional Office. She joined the Division of Examinations in 2018 as co-head of the NYRO Investment Adviser/Investment Company unit. Keating also served as acting head of the NYRO Broker-Dealer/Exchange unit and as co-acting regional director of NYRO. Previously, she was lead director and associate general counsel in the National Compliance Office of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company; vice president, chief broker-dealer counsel, and investment advisor CCO of AXA Advisors, LLC; and associate general counsel at New York Life Insurance Company and Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. 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. Keating will speak at the New York Compliance Workshop.

Kevin M. Kelcourse is associate regional director for the Division of Examinations in the SEC’s Boston Regional Office. He leads a staff that conducts inspections and examinations of investment advisers, investment companies, hedge funds, private equity funds, broker-dealers, municipal advisers, transfer agents, and other securities firms in New England. He is also currently serving as acting co-regional director for the office. Kelcourse previously worked for the Division of Enforcement, including as assistant director in the Division’s Asset Management Unit. Prior to the SEC, he was a federal prosecutor with the Justice Department and an associate with O’Melveny & Myers. He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and Georgetown University. Kelcourse will speak at the Boston Compliance Workshop.

Clifford Kirsch is a partner at Eversheds Sutherland and leads the firm’s investment services group. He brings more than 30 years of regulatory, in-house and private practice experience to his work counseling financial services clients regarding the comprehensive regulations governing asset managers, broker-dealers, investment advisers and bank fiduciaries. Kirsch works with clients on various types of investment vehicles in the retail and retirement market including managed advisory programs, insurance investment funds, registered investment companies and bank collective investment trusts. He began his career at the SEC, rising to the position of assistant director of the Division of Investment Management, and then served as chief legal officer for more than ten years to one of the county’s largest dual-registrants. Kirsch will speak at the Boston Compliance Workshop.

Michael B. Koffler, a partner at Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, guides investment advisers, broker-dealers and investment funds in their compliance with federal/state securities laws and regulations and SRO rules. advises clients on the full spectrum of business operations, including advertising, portfolio management, trading, internal controls, compliance programs, mergers and acquisitions and other management issues. He also counsels other financial institutions—banks and insurance companies—on securities issues associated with the management and distribution of investment products. Koffler previously worked at the SEC in the Division of Investment Management, where he reviewed registration statements, no-action requests, exemptive applications, and proxy statements and answered interpretive questions concerning the Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act. Koffler will speak at the Boston Compliance Workshop.

Sanjay Lamba is associate general counsel at the IAA. Prior to joining the IAA, Lamba worked at SEC headquarters for 10 years, beginning his service in the rulemaking office of the Division of Investment Management before transferring to the Office of Chief Counsel (Legal Branch) in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations in 2010. Prior to the SEC, he was in private practice advising registered investment adviser and mutual fund clients on a wide range of matters arising under the federal securities laws. He received his B.S. degree in Finance from George Mason University and his law degree from Boston University. Lamba will speak at the Denver Compliance Workshop.

Kris Lau is a managing director with ACA Aponix. He specializes in information security program and policy development, risk management, vulnerability assessments, third-party security assessments, and audits. His career spans the financial services, manufacturing, and broadcast media sectors. Prior to ACA, Lau served as the director of information security for CBS News and as the head of information security for RBC Capital Markets after several years in the Information Security team at Goldman Sachs. Lau earned his B.S. degree in Computer Science from Stony Brook University. He is also a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and has held a Series 99 license. Lau will speak at the Virtual Compliance Workshop.

A. Kristina Littman is a partner in Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP’s Litigation Department, co-chair of the Willkie Digital Works practice, and a member of the Securities Litigation & Enforcement Practice Group. Littman represents corporations, registrants, and individuals in complex disputes, including regulatory enforcement and white-collar defense. She also counsels clients on cryptocurrency and digital assets regulation and cybersecurity matters, including investigations and enforcement actions by financial regulators. She earned a B.S. from Florida State University and an MBA and J.D. from Rutgers University. Littman will speak at the Chicago Compliance Workshop. 

Pablo Man is a partner in K&L Gates LLP’s Asset Management and Investment Funds practice. Man represents primarily investment advisers, registered closed-end funds (including tender offer and interval funds), and private funds (including exchange funds, hedge funds, and funds of one). He focuses his practice on regulatory matters relating to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and counsels investment advisers with respect to registration (including “status” questions), regulation and reporting, SEC examinations, and adviser mergers and acquisitions. Among other things, Man routinely advises investment advisers on regulatory and compliance matters relating to custody, recordkeeping (including electronic records), trading, principal and cross-transactions, best execution, performance advertising, fiduciary duty and conflicts. Man will speak at the Chicago Compliance Workshop. 

Michael W. McGrath is a partner in Dechert’s financial services practice. He focuses on advising global asset managers in the formation and operation of investment funds, regulatory compliance, and securities and commodities law across a wide range of asset classes and fund structures. He has significant experience advising asset managers on regulatory and transactional matters and frequently works with investment advisers, broker-dealers, and commodity trading advisers on regulatory compliance, examinations, the development of novel investment products, and the implementation of strategic transactions. Previously, McGrath was a partner at K&L Gates LLP, as well as vice president and senior counsel with Allianz Global Investors. He received a J.D. from Duke University and an A.B. from Stanford University.  McGrath will speak at the Boston Compliance Workshop.

Edward R. McNicholas is a partner and global leader of Ropes & Gray LLP’s data, privacy & cybersecurity practice, focused on clients facing complex IT, constitutional and privacy issues. Recognized by the National Law Journal as a “Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Trailblazer,” he is the lead editor and co-author of “Cybersecurity: A Practical Guide to the Law of Cyber Risk.” McNicholas previously served as an associate counsel to President Clinton and as a clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and his A.B. from Princeton University. McNicholas will speak at the San Francisco Compliance Conference.

Damian Mencini is the senior cyber advisor in Morrison Foerster’s Privacy + Data Security and Crisis Management practice groups. Mencini draws on his law enforcement experience to help clients navigate cybersecurity and national security matters including cybersecurity incidents and notification obligations, sensitive data privacy and U.S. national security matters, internal investigations, insider threats, responses to law enforcement requests, and issues arising under laws and federal regulatory regimes. Previously, Mencini held multiple positions at the FBI, including as the national security policy advisor to the FBI director and deputy director. At the FBI, he led the agency’s data analytics initiative and provided support for multiple counterterrorism critical incidents. Mencini will speak at the Denver Compliance Workshop. 

Colleen B. Meyer is counsel at Ropes & Gray in the asset management group. She focuses her practice on regulatory and compliance matters for investment advisers, including private equity firms, hedge funds, venture capital firms, digital asset managers, wealth managers, endowments, and other investment advisers. Meyer also has experience representing registered investment companies and their directors as well as other pooled investment vehicles. She joined Ropes & Gray in 2009 in the corporate department. Meyer received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and her B.A. from the University of California Berkeley. Meyer will speak at the San Francisco Compliance Workshop.

A. Valerie Mirko is a partner at Armstrong Teasdale LLP and chairs the firm’s Securities Regulation and Litigation practice. She represents broker-dealers, investment advisers, and private fund advisers in SEC enforcement, examination, and regulatory matters. Her practice focuses on issues related to conflicts of interest, distribution channels and marketing, safeguards and custody, and cybersecurity. Previously, she served as a partner in the financial regulation and enforcement practice of a global law firm; advised broker-dealers and investment advisers in enforcement investigations at a Washington, D.C., law firm; held legal and compliance roles at Oppenheimer & Co. and Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America); and served as general counsel of NASAA. Mirko is a graduate of Wellesley College and George Washington University Law School. Mirko will speak at the San Francisco Compliance Workshop.

Joseph M. Morrissey is a partner in the Investment Management Group at Seward & Kissel LLP. Morrissey works with sponsors and managers of various private investment funds and other pooled investment vehicles, focusing on fund formation and structuring, the offering of interests by private investment funds, and the negotiation and documentation of such investments. He has significant experience in organizing domestic and offshore partnerships and separately managed accounts. Morrissey also represents fund sponsors in connection with seed-capital investments and represents funds of funds and other institutional investors in connection with their investments in private funds. He regularly counsels clients on regulatory and compliance matters, private equity and venture capital transactions, joint ventures and PIPEs transactions. Morrissey will speak at the New York Compliance Workshop.  

Brian Murphy is a partner at Stradley Ronon, where he provides unique insight into the investment management industry as both a former in-house counsel at one of the world’s largest asset management firms and a former lawyer at the SEC. Prior to joining Stradley Ronon, Murphy served as an in-house counsel, where he led multiple legal teams focusing on product development, portfolio management, fund disclosures, federal and state investment limitations, and multiple share class ETF structures. Before his in-house role, Murphy worked at the SEC as senior advisor to the director of the Division of Investment Management (IM), counsel to an SEC commissioner, and senior counsel in IM’s Office of the Chief Counsel. Murphy will speak at the Chicago Compliance Workshop. 

William A. Nelson is director of public policy and associate general counsel at the IAA. Previously, he was assistant general counsel and public policy counsel at CFP Board and chief compliance officer for Mercer Advisors. He has also held roles as an attorney with both the U.S. Departments of Justice and Veterans Affairs. Nelson has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and George Washington University Law School. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tulsa, his J.D. with Honors from the University of Tulsa College of Law, and his LL.M. from the George Washington University Law School. Nelson will speak at the Virtual Compliance Workshop.

Mike Pappacena is a partner at ACA Aponix, ACA Group’s cybersecurity and risk division, where he provides leadership for division initiatives, mentoring and guidance of staff, and vision for future planning and growth. He serves as a team leader in providing cybersecurity risk assessments, vendor due diligence, policy authoring, staff training, and product development. Prior to ACA, Pappacena served as a project manager for Jefferies LLC and worked on several compliance initiatives. He spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs as a vice president in the Technology division, where he managed development teams, as well as the Fundamental Equities and Alternative Investments technology in the GSAM division. He a bachelor degree in electrical engineering from the Pratt Institute and his MBA from Adelphi University. Pappacena will speak at the Virtual, Denver, and Chicago Compliance Workshops.

Thomas M. Piccone is the associate regional director for the examination program in the SEC’s Denver Regional Office (DRO). Piccone previously worked in the SEC’s Enforcement Division as an attorney, branch chief, trial counsel, and special counsel before transitioning into the examination program, where he served as the assistant regional director for the DRO’s investment adviser and investment company examination program until moving into his current position. Prior to joining the SEC, Piccone worked as an attorney with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; served as law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Alfred A. Arraj; and was employed as a member of the management information consulting division of Arthur Andersen & Co. He is a certified public accountant (inactive) and an attorney. Piccone will speak at the Denver Compliance Workshop. 

Aaron Pinnick joined ACA in June 2021 as a research consultant and now serves as a senior manager of thought leadership in ACA’s Risk Practice. His research primarily focuses on cybersecurity, information security, and regulatory issues for investment advisers and the financial services industry. Pinnick has over thirteen years of experience leading research teams and creating products that serve global heads of compliance and ethics programs, as well as government affairs programs. His past roles include leading research teams at Ballast Research and serving as a research director in Gartner’s Compliance and Ethics program. Pinnick will speak at the New York Compliance Workshop. 

Marc Ponchione is a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. He leads the firm’s Investment Management Regulatory practice, counseling a broad range of clients on issues under the federal securities laws, including the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as well as various other regulations affecting investment managers, funds and financial product sponsors. Ponchione received his B.A. from Marietta College in 1996 and his J.D. from Duquesne University in 1999. Ponchione will speak at the Virtual Compliance Workshop. 

Kerry K. Rider is a managing director in ACA’s U.S. regulatory practice, counseling clients and leading a team of consultants. She is also co-lead of ACA Wealth, a practice group specifically tailored to the compliance needs of wealth management firms. Rider has over thirty years’ experience in the securities industry and in all facets of compliance. Prior to joining ACA (then Foreside) in 2018, she owned and operated an independent compliance consulting firm for 19 years, serving investment advisers and broker/dealers nationwide. She also served as in-house chief compliance officer for large national broker/dealers and registered investment advisers. Rider earned a B.A. in history from University of California, Los Angeles and holds the Series 7 and 24 securities licenses. Rider will speak at the San Francisco Compliance Workshop. 

Elena Ro is associate regional director for the Division of Examinations in the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office. She joined the Commission in 2002 as a staff attorney in the Division of Enforcement, and a few years later joined Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit, which focuses on complex insider trading, market manipulation schemes, market structure, and cyber-related trading schemes and abusive practices. In 2014, she moved to the assistant regional director, operations, role in the San Francisco Regional Office until joining the Examinations team in 2022. Prior to the SEC, Ro was a litigation associate with Latham and Watkins. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from Yale University. Ro will speak at the San Francisco Compliance Workshop.

Aaron Russ is an associate at Morrison Foerster and a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group. He previously served as senior counsel for the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, where he drafted rule text and guidance for rulemakings under the Investment Advisers Act, including the Marketing Rule. He also worked in OCIE (now the Division of Examinations) counseling examiners on investment adviser and investment company examinations. Russ served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Chief Judge Phillip Shefferly and the Honorable Judge Walter Shapero of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and as a Judicial Law Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Russ will speak at the Denver Compliance Workshop. 

Christine Ayako Schleppegrell, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, counsels asset managers on legal, regulatory, and compliance matters, focusing on advisers to private funds (private equity, hedge, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate, credit) and separately managed accounts. She spent several years in private practice and more recently served at the SEC, including as senior counsel in the Investment Adviser Regulation Office, Private Funds Branch, where she advised on policy matters and counseled staff of the Divisions of Enforcement and Examinations. Schleppegrell earned her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law and her B.A. from Vassar College and Oxford University. Schleppegrell will speak at the Virtual Compliance Workshop.

Pat Shea is a partner in ACA’s compliance advisory division, leading ACA’s UK Regulatory client service and delivery team. Prior to ACA, Shea was a managing director and partner at Cordium and served on the firm’s U.S. Operational Board. In this role, he was in charge of managing, supporting, staffing, and training consulting team members. He served as assistant counsel for Baring Asset Management, where he was responsible for general compliance oversight and legal support in the areas of product development, marketing and distribution. Pat received a J.D. degree from New England Law Boston and a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross. Shea will speak at the Boston Compliance Workshop.

Matthew Shepherd is a director at ACA Group. He primarily conducts mock SEC examinations and Rule 206(4)-7 reviews of investment advisers, but also provides other consulting services including registrations and compliance manual development. Shepherd also led ACA’s “New Marketing Rule” preparedness efforts and remains a subject matter expert on Rule 206(4)-1. Prior to ACA, he was CCO of Relational Investors, LLC, overseeing the firm’s compliance program and performing general in-house counsel functions. Before Relational, Shepherd worked as an attorney at law firms in the United Kingdom and the United States. He earned his Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law of England and Wales and his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Liverpool. Shepherd will speak at the Chicago Compliance Workshop.

Kristin Snyder is a litigation partner in Debevoise & Plimpton’s San Francisco office and member of the firm’s White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group. Her practice focuses on securities-related regulatory compliance, examinations, and enforcement matters, particularly for private investment firms and other asset managers. Previously, she served at the SEC for 18 years, most recently as deputy director of the Division of Examinations in its San Francisco Regional Office, where she spearheaded development of examination priorities for the national and international examination programs covering a spectrum of SEC registrants. She also served as national associate director of the Investment Adviser/Investment Company (IAIC) Examination Program, and as the San Francisco Regional Office’s associate director for examinations. Snyder will speak at the Virtual Compliance Workshop.

Tracy M. Soehle is associate general counsel at the IAA. Previously, she was managing director and senior counsel at Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. where she was responsible for overseeing AMG’s regulatory affairs and legal and compliance support of the their global operations and its Affiliates. Prior to joining AMG, Tracy was a senior compliance manager at State Street Global Advisors; regulatory compliance manager at Wellington Management Company LLP; and an attorney at the law firm Dechert LLP. She received a B.S. from Boston College and a J.D. from Tulane University Law School. Soehle will speak at the Boston Compliance Workshop.

Steven W. Stone is a partner at Morgan Lewis. He is a securities lawyer who counsels clients on regulations governing broker-dealers, investment advisers and bank fiduciaries, and pooled investment vehicles. As head of the firm’s financial institutions practice, he counsels U.S. broker-dealers, investment banks, investment advisers, and mutual fund organizations. He regularly represents clients before the SEC and FINRA, both in seeking regulatory relief and assisting clients in enforcement or examination matters. He earned a B.A. from Bates College, and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and is a member of the D.C. Bar. Stone will speak at the Virtual Compliance Workshop.

Christine Tetherly-Lewis is the co-head of ACA Aponix, the cybersecurity and IT risk division of ACA Group. In her time with ACA, she has led complex client engagements with a focus on cyber and technology risk assessments, SEC cyber mock exams, and business continuity program development, and served as a trusted advisor to clients on all cybersecurity-related matters. Tetherly-Lewis has over twenty-five years of technology and technology risk experience with the last fifteen years specifically in the financial and banking sectors. She earned her B.S. degree in Communication Studies from Northeastern University and her M.S. degree in Telecommunications from Boston University. Tetherly-Lewis will speak at the Boston Compliance Workshop.

Jamie Lynn Walter is a partner in the Investment Funds Regulatory Strategy group at Latham & Watkins LLP, where she advises clients on a wide range of legal, regulatory, and compliance matters across the asset management industry. Her practice focuses on SEC regulation of investment advisers and private funds. She has successfully counseled clients through numerous complex SEC examinations and enforcement investigations, oftentimes resulting in examinations closed with no deficiencies or comments. As a former regulator, Walter offers valuable insights into the SEC, including its policies, procedures, operations, and processes. She focuses on providing clients creative solutions to navigating the challenging regulatory landscape for investment adviser. Walter will speak at the New York Compliance Workshop.