The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Municipal Securities has added two members to its staff, SEC muni chief John Cross announced Monday.
Rebecca Olsen, formerly of Ballard Spahr LLP, will serve as an attorney-fellow. She has more than 10 years of municipal securities experience working for the firm in both Washington and Philadelphia.
“I am thrilled that Rebecca Olsen just joined us,” Cross said. “Rebecca is extremely smart and has a strong background in municipal securities, with over 10 years’ experience in this area in a broad range of roles at a major municipal bond firm.”
“I also am very pleased to announce that, earlier this spring, Jessica Kane joined our office as a senior special counsel to the director,” Cross continued. “Jessica is a rising star at the SEC, with significant experience in disclosure matters and legislative affairs, based on over six years’ combined experience in the SEC’s corporate finance division and office of legislative and intergovernmental affairs, and Jessica already is providing invaluable contributions on our major municipal advisors project and other current initiatives.”
The two additions bolster the office following the departures of two attorneys earlier this year. John McWilliams, who joined the municipal securities office in late 2010, left in January. Dave Sanchez, another lawyer who came aboard at the same time, departed earlier this month to become general counsel at De La Rosa & Co.
Cross said the new hires will help the office perform its mission of coordinating the SEC’s muni market activities and providing assistance both to other commission divisions and the market participants.
They join Mary Simpkins, another attorney in the office. The newly-independent office was mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act to report directly to the SEC chairman, now Mary Jo White.
“We aim to build a highest caliber group in the new SEC Office of Municipal Securities to serve the important municipal securities market and these two additions are steps towards that,” said Cross.
