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Karen L. Barr is president and chief executive officer of the IAA. Before assuming the role of president and CEO in 2014, she served as the IAA’s general counsel for 17 years, with responsibility for the wide range of legal and regulatory matters affecting the investment adviser industry. Prior to joining the IAA, Barr was in private practice at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale), where she represented clients in SEC investigations, securities class action litigation, internal corporate investigations, and securities regulatory matters. She received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.
Kristy Croushore is vice president of government relations for Fidelity Investments, where she works to align financial services legislative and regulatory policy outcomes with the firm’s strategic objectives. She previously worked at FINRA and its predecessor organization (NASD) in senior roles in government affairs and corporate communications, and began her career at Ernst & Young consulting with clients on international tax and strategy issues. Hailing from the Pittsburgh area, Croushore earned a B.A. in Finance & International Business from The George Washington University and an MBA from the University of Maryland. She also holds the Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional (CRCP®) designation from FINRA.
Langston Emerson is a managing partner at Mindset, a policy advisory and advocacy firm in Washington, DC. Emerson leads the asset management practice, where he advocates on federal policy issues important to clients and their investors and shareholders. He also leads a team to conduct due diligence on behalf of private equity and venture capital investments. Previously, he was the head of government affairs for the American Investment Council, advising large private equity firms, and led the financial service government affairs practice at TIAA during the creation of the Dodd Frank Act. Emerson holds a B.A. from Howard University and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
Jim Himes represents Connecticut’s 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves as ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and on the House Financial Services Committee. Prior to his service in Congress, he ran the New York City branch of The Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing the unique challenges of urban poverty. Himes began his professional career at Goldman Sachs & Co. where he worked his way up to vice president and headed the bank’s telecommunications technology group. He earned his degree from Harvard University. After completing his undergraduate work, Jim earned a Rhodes Scholarship, which enabled him to attend Oxford University in England where he continued his studies of Latin America, including research in El Salvador.
Jonathan Martin is politics bureau chief and senior political columnist at POLITICO. Martin is a dynamic voice in print and broadcast who audiences will recognize as a longtime CNN analyst. His work has been featured in The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and many more of the nation’s leading publications. Prior to his current role, Martin was the senior political correspondent for The New York Times and senior political writer for POLITICO. Martin also worked as a political reporter for National Journal’s “The Hotline” and National Review. He is the co-author of This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future.
Eric May is a director of federal government relations for TIAA – the leading provider of retirement services for those in academic, research, medical, and cultural fields – where he advocates on federal financial services and securities issues before Congress and the Administration. Prior to joining TIAA, May spent more than a decade working for Congress in both the House and Senate, including more than five years working for members of the House Financial Services Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and a Texas native.
Dean R. Sackett III is managing director of government affairs at Franklin Templeton. He represents Franklin Templeton and its specialist investment managers on a variety of U.S. policy matters. Previously, Sackett was with the Investment Company Institute (ICI) for over 20 years, most recently serving as chief government affairs officer. Before joining ICI, Sackett served as vice president and led the government affairs department of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, and worked on Capitol Hill for Congressman Bob Livingston and the House Appropriations Committee. In January 2022, he founded Polaris Capitol Strategies, a boutique lobbying and public policy firm that provides strategic counsel to clients to navigate complex legislative and regulatory policy matters in the Washington, D.C., political environment. Sackett graduated cum laude from West Virginia University and from the National Law Center at the George Washington University.
Neil A. Simon is the IAA’s vice president, government relations. He has a leading role in the formulation and communication of the IAA’s views on legislative and regulatory issues and is responsible for advocacy before the U.S. Congress. Before joining the IAA, he was director of government relations for the Financial Planning Association and served as executive director of the National Franchise Council. Prior to that, he was counsel in the law firm of Hogan & Hartson LLP (now known as Hogan Lovells). He received his B.A. magna cum laude from Clark University, his J.D. from Georgetown University, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Russell W. Sullivan is chair of the National Tax Policy Group for Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP. For Fortune 50 companies, start-ups, and national trade associations alike, Sullivan translates federal policy and the U.S. tax code for clients’ boards and members and identifies untapped opportunities. He offers critical information for developing smart business strategies, and engages the Treasury Department and tax-writing committees on Capitol Hill to advance clients’ domestic and international tax priorities. In addition to advocating on tax policy, Sullivan represents clients’ interests on health care, pension planning, trade, energy, financial services and economic development policies. He worked firsthand on many of these issues during his 14 years of service on the Senate Finance Committee. Sullivan received his BBA from Baylor University, and his JD from the University of Texas School of Law.
Mark T. Uyeda is an SEC Commissioner. Previously, he served as senior advisor to Chairman Jay Clayton, senior advisor to Acting Chairman Michael S. Piwowar, counsel to Commissioner Paul S. Atkins, and in the Division of Investment Management. He most recently served on detail to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs as a securities counsel to the committee’s minority staff. Before the SEC, Uyeda was chief advisor to the California Corporations Commissioner and an attorney at K&L Gates and O’Melveny & Myers LLP. He holds a B.S in business administration from Georgetown University and a J.D. with honors from the Duke University School of Law. Uyeda is the first Asian Pacific American to serve as a commissioner.