Gerri Walsh

Gerri Walsh is Senior Vice President of Investor Education at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) where she leads efforts to educate and protect investors. Her role encompasses developing and overseeing initiatives designed to enhance financial literacy and empower investors with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed financial decisions. She is also President of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, where she manages the Foundation’s strategic initiatives to educate and protect investors and to benchmark and foster financial capability for all Americans, especially underserved audiences.

Walsh was the founding executive sponsor of FINRA’s Military Community Employee Resource Group. She represents FINRA on the Federal Trade Commission’s Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group, IOSCO’s standing policy committee on retail investor education, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, NASAA’s Senior Investor Advisory Council and the Wharton Pension Research Council.

Prior to joining FINRA in May 2006, Walsh had an extensive career focused on consumer protection and financial education. She was Deputy Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Assistance (OIEA) and, before that, Special Counsel to the Director of OIEA. She also served as a senior attorney in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, investigating and prosecuting violators of the federal securities laws. Before that, she practiced law as an associate with Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C.

Walsh received her JD from New York University School of Law and her BA, magna cum laude, from Amherst College. She is a member of the New York and District of Columbia bars.