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 federal legislative matters related to the enforcement of the federal securities laws, including Dodd-Frank, and financial markets regulation as well as the agency’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.

During her government service, Suzanne also served as 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. Prior to her government service, 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 (proposed rule issued by the SEC March 21, 2022; final rule forthcoming).

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. Suzanne was selected to join the 2023-2024 cohort for Yale University’s Climate Change and Health program, offered jointly through Yale School for Public Health and Yale School for the Environment. Based on the latest research, Yale’s program delves into the health impact of climate change and adaptation strategies to enhance resilience, motivate positive climate-related behaviors and enhance equity.