Current Roles and Career History

Director, Securities, and Exchange Commission

Her tenure at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was marked by 24 years of robust regulatory oversight For nine years, she served as an attorney and later Associate Regional Director, investigating and prosecuting securities fraud cases in the Division of Enforcement in Los Angeles. She subsequently served as Chief of Staff to SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt Then named the first Director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), she led the SEC’s nationwide examination oversight program for advisers, mutual funds, hedge funds, broker-dealers, stock exchanges and other industry firms for 14 years Her work resulted in significant improvements in compliance by all types of regulated firms, and led to many new reforms for the protection of investors.

Principal, PwC

After the SEC, She transitioned to the private sector and became a Principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers. There, she specialized in regulatory compliance matters and helped a wide variety of financial services clients implement risk management programs, understand and prepare for new regulatory requirements, and be in compliance with federal securities laws

Chief Compliance Officer, JPMorgan

Joining JPMorgan Chase & Co in November 2013, She became the first Chief Compliance Officer for the Asset and Wealth Management global lines of business. She led its e global compliance program - - identifying and advising business leaders on compliance issues, overseeing risk assessment, monitoring, testing and training, and maintaining regulatory relationships She also served concurrently as Conflicts of Interest Officer for the firm, implementing a protocol for the identification and resolution of conflicts of interest across the company.

Board Roles

She has served and is serving as a board member of companies in emerging industries (including as Chair of a strategy, finance and audit committee); on the board of a rural Appalachian community college and its finance committee; on FINRA’s National Adjudicatory

Council (as Vice-Chair and Chair); on the board and Secretary of the SEC Historical Society; and in various roles of political advocacy organizations.

Academic Background

Richards holds a law degree from American University's Washington College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, which included a semester at Oxford University

Involvement in Community

Her commitment to community service is deeply held and based on a simple desire to make a difference.

She is committed to migrant and immigrant well-being, including directly through a Catholic mission in Texas, and by establishing a University scholarship program for Hispanic and Black first-generation college students at Northern Illinois University

She is passionate about helping create opportunities for people in rural areas In Mountain Maryland, she established a non-profit program providing free transportation for seniors to local senior centers, called “Seniors on the Move ” She also established and runs a non-profit program providing scholarships for students with financial need to learn to drive and better access life opportunities, called “Garrett County New Drivers: Lets Drive.” Believing that education creates paths to success, She serves on the Foundation board of Garrett College, which provides academic education and vocational training

Professional Accomplishments and Awards

She has been at the forefront of securities regulatory compliance and her articles and speeches have been widely published. She has received numerous SEC and federal government awards, including the Sporkin Enforcement Attorney Award, Chairman’s Awards of Excellence, and the Presidential Rank Award, as well the National Society of Compliance Professionals’ Hinchman Award…

She was the first Director of the SEC’s Exam program, pioneering the focus on problem solving and compliance as a profession, and leading to significant improvements in industry compliance for the protection of investors She was the first e Chief Compliance Officer of one of the largest global asset and wealth management firms in the world.