Valerie Szczepanik

Valerie A. Szczepanik is a leading authority at the intersection of financial regulation and emerging technology in the United States. Szczepanik joined the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1997, building a career that spans enforcement, innovation, and digital asset policy. She clerked for federal judges on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Before her clerkships, Szczepanik practiced patent law. She holds a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Szczepanik's work at the SEC has focused on the legal implications of blockchain technology and digital assets. She has held several positions within the SEC's Division of Enforcement, including assistant director and senior trial counsel, and served as a special assistant United States attorney at the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. Her enforcement experience informed her approach as she moved into digital asset policy. As senior advisor for digital assets and innovation, Szczepanik coordinated efforts across all SEC divisions and offices regarding the application of U.S. securities laws to digital asset technologies and innovations, including initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies.

Szczepanik led the SEC's Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology, known as FinHub, within the Division of Corporation Finance, and was the first to hold that office. She continued as director when FinHub became a stand-alone office reporting to the SEC chairman. Under her direction, FinHub served as a bridge between regulators and innovators in the fintech and blockchain sectors. Szczepanik also served as head of the SEC's Distributed Ledger Technology Working Group, co-head of its Dark Web Working Group, and as a member of its FinTech Working Group. Her public appearances at major industry events, including panels at SXSW, have established her as a regulatory voice on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Szczepanik was named the SEC's chief AI officer and leads a task force on artificial intelligence created by the SEC to advance the agency's efforts in innovation and operational efficiency through AI. The AI Task Force centralizes and aligns initiatives to promote AI-enabled transformation across the Commission, with Szczepanik focused on building enterprise capacity for AI innovation and implementing trustworthy, effective AI solutions. Her career trajectory—from patent law and federal clerkships to enforcement, digital assets, and artificial intelligence—positions her as a versatile regulator and a key figure for audiences navigating technology, finance, and law.