Welcome Remarks

Ritta McLaughlin, Chief Education Officer, MSRB

Ms. McLaughlin is the Chief Education Officer for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). In this position, she oversees education and outreach activities of the MSRB, which seek to inform municipal market stakeholders and others about MSRB initiatives and municipal market issues. Ms. McLaughlin also facilitates discussion and problem-solving among stakeholders to address challenges in the municipal market, advocate solutions where appropriate and influence positive market practices. Prior to joining the MSRB, Ms. McLaughlin was associate treasurer for the District of Columbia, where she handled the District’s multi-billion dollar debt management program. During her career, Ms. McLaughlin was also an executive director of J.P. Morgan, an associate director at Bear Stearns and a senior banker for a number of states and municipalities. Ms. McLaughlin’s extensive market knowledge benefits the MSRB by providing strategic thought leadership for the industry in an effort to understand trends and anticipate future needs. She received a bachelor's degree in urban policy from Vassar College and a master’s degree in urban policy and management from Milano The New School for Social Research.

Section 1: Registration Requirements for the SEC

Ahmed Abonamah, Attorney-Advisor, Office of Municipal Securities, SEC

Mr. Abonamah is an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Municipal Securities. As a member of the Office of Municipal Securities, he works on matters related to municipal advisors, market structure, and disclosure, among other things. Prior to joining the Office of Municipal Securities, Ahmed worked as bond counsel at an international law firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, and worked as an administrator at a large urban public school district. Mr. Abonamah received his B.A. in political science from the University of Dayton and earned his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Section 2: Registration Requirements for the MSRB

Gail Marshall, Associate General Counsel-Enforcement Coordination, MSRB

Ms. Marshall is the Associate General Counsel for Enforcement Coordination. In this role she manages the MSRB’s relationship with regulatory authorities and collaborates on rulemaking and regulatory policy functions and legal projects in connection with market price transparency, trade reporting and uniform practice rules. Prior to this role, Ms. Marshall was the Associate General Counsel at the MSRB where she provided legal expertise and support associated with the development of regulations governing municipal market professionals, including dealers and municipal advisors. Prior to joining the MSRB, Ms. Marshall served as counsel at Bingham McCutchen LLP from 2000-2015 where she advised broker-dealers and investment advisers on compliance with federal and state securities laws and regulations and rules of self-regulatory organizations, such as the MSRB. Prior to 2000, she was an attorney with the SEC where she served as special counsel to Commissioner Isaac C. Hunt, Jr. as well as special counsel in the Division of Trading and Markets and the Division of Enforcement. Ms. Marshall received a bachelor’s degree from Westfield State University, a J.D. from New England School of Law, and a master of laws in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Section 3: SEC and FINRA Examination Findings Relating to MSRB Registration Rules

Robert Miller, Supervisory Attorney/Examination Manager, OCIE, SEC

Mr. Miller is a Supervisory Attorney/Examination Manager in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations broker-dealer examination program. He began his career with the SEC in March 2000. Mr. Miller has led and coordinated a variety of initiatives addressing regulatory issues including indications of potential abusive naked short selling; examinations of broker-dealers involving the sale of 529 plans to out-of-state residents; the activities of municipal advisors; and actions of fixed income alternative trading systems with respect to filtering. Since May 2011, he has supervised a unit of attorneys and examiners that focuses on the examination of municipal advisors. Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Miller was a senior compliance examiner in FINRA’s Enforcement Department in Washington, DC. Previously, he spent a year as a law clerk at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia’s Office of Bar Counsel. Mr. Miller graduated from the George Washington University Law School in 1997, and received his B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in 1990.

Bonnie Bowes, Associate Director, Fixed Income Regulation, FINRA

Ms. Bowes is the Associate Director of Fixed Income Regulation within FINRA Regulatory Operations. She drives key FINRA fixed income initiatives in municipal securities, municipal advisory, corporate and government securities, and securitized products. She focuses on the policy and examination implications of current fixed income regulatory matters in order to provide guidance to FINRA staff and member firms. Prior to joining FINRA in 2013, her career encompassed leadership roles in fixed income compliance, operations, product management, and credit risk. Ms. Bowes has worked at top tier wealth management and capital markets broker-dealers, an alternative trading system and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation. She graduated magma cum laude, Kappa with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from the University of Rochester.

Closing Remarks

Suzanne McGovern, Assistant Director, OCIE, SEC

Ms. McGovern is an Assistant Director in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations broker-dealer examination program. She has served in this capacity for approximately ten years and previously was a branch chief and a staff securities examiner during her twelve year tenure at the SEC. Prior to joining the Commission, Ms. McGovern worked for multiple Wall Street firms, primarily in supervisory and compliance roles, but her experience includes sales, trading, back office operations and recruiting. She has passed and held several securities licenses including the Series 3, 7, 8, 9, 63 and 65. Ms. McGovern earned her B.A. in economics from Denison University.