The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the appointment of Cristina Martin Firvida as Director of the Office of the Investor Advocate, effective Jan. 17, 2023. Ms. Martin Firvida was most recently the Vice President of Financial Security and Livable Communities for Government Affairs at AARP.

As the Investor Advocate, Ms. Martin Firvida will lead an office that assists retail investors in interactions with the Commission and with self-regulatory organizations (SROs), analyzing the impact on investors of proposed rules and regulations, identifying problems that investors have with financial service providers and investment products, and proposing legislative or regulatory changes to promote the interests of investors.

“Cristina Martin Firvida brings deep experience to the role of Investor Advocate, and I am pleased she is joining the SEC,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “I look forward to working with her. I’d also like to thank Marc Sharma for helping advance the Office of the Investor Advocate’s important work over the last six months.”

“I’m proud to join the SEC in this critical role,” Ms. Martin Firvida said. “Investor protection is core to the SEC’s mission, and Congress reaffirmed that commitment by ensuring that the agency has an office exclusively dedicated to representing the needs of investors. I look forward to working closely with my new colleagues to serve investors in America’s capital markets.”

At AARP, Ms. Martin Firvida most recently oversaw federal and state advocacy on Social Security, pensions, retirement savings, financial services and other aspects of retirement financial security, as well as the federal budget, taxes, labor, housing, telecommunications, utilities, transportation and fraud. She was previously AARP’s Director of Financial Security and Consumer Affairs from 2008 to 2018 after starting as its Senior Legislative Representative in early 2008.

Prior to joining AARP, Ms. Martin Firvida was Director of Government Relations and Senior Counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, a leading research and advocacy organization for women’s equality and economic independence. She also worked at the Children’s Defense Fund as a Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Martin Firvida earned a J.D. from Cornell Law School and a B.A. from Yale University.