Mary S. Head
Deputy Director, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Deputy Director, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Seth Elan joined the Federal Research Division in December 2002 as a senior research analyst and became a member of the permanent staff of FRD in September 2004. Prior to coming to the Library, Elan worked as an analyst at the National Security Agency from 1979 to 1990, as a computer specialist at the National Library of Medicine from 1990 to 1996, and as a financial analyst at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, Inc., from 1996 to 2001. Elan holds an AB in German literature from Princeton University, an MS in computer science from the Johns Hopkins University, and an MBA in international business from George Washington University. His area specialties include European studies and finance, and he is a foreign-language specialist in Russian and German. He is certified by the American Translators Association for German-to-English translation. He has written articles for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and Community Banker Magazine.
The Office of Investor Education and Advocacy serves individual investors, ensuring that their problems and concerns are known throughout the SEC and are considered when the agency takes action. Investor assistance specialists within the Office answer questions, analyze complaints, and seek informal resolution of investors’ problems. The Office also publishes free brochures and other educational materials on numerous investing topics. Mary joined the Commission in 2000 and served as counsel to three successive SEC Commissioners. She joined the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy in 2008 as Assistant Director and became Deputy Director of the office in 2009. In that capacity, she focuses primarily on policy matters relating to investor protection. Before joining the Commission, Mary practiced securities law at three law firms. She received her J.D. from Catholic University Law School and her B.A. from Yale University.