On Thursday, as reported by Thomson Reuters, the Senate unanimously confirmed Jaime E. Lizárraga and Mark Toshiro Uyeda to serve as SEC Commissioners. Lizárraga will fill the seat of departing Democratic Commissioner Allison Herren Lee (see this PubCo post), whose term ended June 5 (but who continued to serve until her successor's confirmation), and Uyeda will fill the seat vacated in January by former Republican Commissioner Elad Roisman (see this PubCo post). In this statement, the current Commissioners congratulate Lizárraga and Uyeda on their confirmations. The SEC will now have a full complement of five Commissioners.
According to an earlier White House statement, Lizárraga previously served as a Senior Advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, where he oversaw "issues relating to financial markets, housing, international financial institutions, immigration, and small business policy." Uyeda has been a career attorney at the SEC for 15 years, but has most recently been detailed to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where he served as Securities Counsel on the Committee's Minority Staff.
In his role as Senior Advisor, Lizárraga reportedly played key roles in the Build Back Better Act, the American Rescue Plan, COVID relief legislation, Dodd-Frank, omnibus appropriations bills, the Economic Emergency and Stabilization Act of 2008, and many others. He also served as the Speaker's liaison to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He has had a 31-year career in public service, advising Congressional leaders and heads of executive agencies on policy and legislative strategy. He previously served on the Democratic staff of the House Financial Services Committee and as a presidential appointee at the Treasury Department and the SEC. He graduated from the UC San Diego with high honors, and earned a master's degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Lizárraga is the son of immigrant farm workers.
Uyeda has over 25 years of experience in corporate and securities law, including 18 years of public service working in federal and state government, preceded by a number of years in private practice. At the SEC, Uyeda served as Senior Advisor to former Chair Jay Clayton and former Acting Chair Michael Piwowar, and as Counsel to former Commissioner Paul Atkins. He has also served as Assistant Director and Senior Special Counsel in the SEC's Division of Investment Management. He is a past Chair of the SEC Asian Pacific American Employees Committee. From 2004 to 2006, Uyeda served as Chief Advisor to the California Corporations Commissioner. Uyeda received his law degree with honors from Duke University and his undergraduate degree in business administration from Georgetown University.
According to Bloomberg, Lee will be an adjunct professor and senior fellow at NYU law school's Institute for Corporate Governance and Finance.
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