Regulatory, Policy, and ESG Consulting & Governance Services for Companies and Boards
Materiality’s Advisory Services
ESG Advisory and Reporting. ESG reporting provides transparency for investors and allows them to make informed business decisions. Businesses increasingly must internally analyze and evaluate their global impact as they work towards setting and achieving their ESG goals. Environmental & sustainability data, social data, and governance disclosures provide insight into company leadership, operations and value; capitalizing on the ability to realize business value in this process is essential. Materiality brings an SEC-sharpened lens to analyzing, designing and implementing a compelling purpose and approach to cutting-edge sustainability issues, including preparing for and ensuring readiness for the impact of SEC’s climate disclosure rule.
Policy & Regulatory. The regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving. Materiality Strategies is uniquely positioned to advise private and public companies on a broad range of policy and regulatory priorities impacting financial markets. Materiality’s extensive experience in public policy development and congressional hearings & investigations enables clients to anticipate and proactively design an impactful government relations strategy, managing risk in this unique forum. Policy, regulation and communications intersect in today’s public discourse; Materiality animates that intersection for clients with insight and candor.
Board Governance. Boards of Directors must anticipate, not simply react to, emerging issues. Highly functioning boards don’t overfocus merely on the technicalities of compliance but rather actively partner with management to strategically optimize performance while managing risk mindful of shareholder interest. To be effective in this partnership, boards must regularly assess their governance structure and process as well as the talents and abilities of directors. Materiality’s depth of experience and perspective on corporate governance issues enhances all board effectiveness assessments, viewing the board as a human capital asset. Using both qualitative board interviews, quantitative metrics and benchmarking against peers, Materiality furthers a talent development culture to help clients achieve best-in-class boards.
Social Impact Business Strategy. Founded by an attorney active in the social impact for-profit space, Materiality partners with clients to position and launch, focusing on scalable operational and gold standard compliance practices for early stage social impact companies, including those anticipating a public offering within a foreseeable time horizon. Decisions such as whether to seek B corp status significantly impact performance and can potentially attract investor capital. Materiality partners with clients to design a compelling social impact strategy and achieve meaningful results.
Drawing on extensive legal, government, and policy expertise, Materiality Strategies advises companies across all developmental stages, bringing an SEC-sharpened lens to navigating a dynamic regulatory landscape, partnering with boards to enhance good governance while optimizing for ESG and sustainability goals.
Contact Us
Suzanne E. Ashley, Esq.
Founder & Managing Principal
sashley@materialitystrategies.com
About Our Founder
Suzanne E. Ashley is an attorney and former senior official at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C. As Special Advisor and Senior Counsel to the SEC’s Director of Enforcement, Suzanne led oversight of national priority investigations of securities law violations; all policy and legislative matters related to the enforcement of the federal securities laws, including Dodd-Frank, the STOCK Act and all agency rulemaking impacting Enforcement; as well as the Division’s response to extensive congressional hearings. She also led Enforcement’s interagency coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the federal banking regulators and President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Prior to this role, Suzanne served the SEC as an Enforcement staff attorney, investigating a breadth of potential securities laws violations.
During her government service, Suzanne also was Deputy Chief Investigative Counsel at SIGTARP within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, leading investigations of potential fraud and abuse under the financial crisis-era TARP program. Previously, Suzanne was in private practice at Akin Gump in Washington, D.C., focusing on white collar criminal and congressional investigations defense.
After leaving the SEC, Suzanne founded CrowdFair, Inc., seeking to democratize access to capital for social impact startups and advising on good governance practices scalable to all stages of corporate growth. Her policy work has focused on the regulatory aspects of climate change including advising on the potential impact of the SEC’s proposed rule to enhance and standardize climate change disclosure.
Suzanne is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with highest honors of the Johns Hopkins University and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She is licensed to practice law in Washington D.C. and Maryland. Suzanne was the recipient of the SEC’s Chairman’s Award for Excellence and Division of Enforcement Director Award, SIGTARP’s Award of Distinction, and the Councils of Inspector General’s Award for Excellence.
Suzanne has joined the 2023-2024 cohort for Yale University’s Climate Change and Health certificate program, offered through Yale School of Public Health.
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
– Socrates