The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Kathleen Weiss Hanley, Deputy Chief Economist and Deputy Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, is leaving the agency later this month.

Dr. Hanley has served in her current position since August 2011 and has been a member of the SEC staff on two previous occasions, working as a research economist from 1987 to 1988 and as a senior financial economist from 2005 to 2010.  In her most recent role, she helped to incorporate rigorous economic modeling and analytics into a wide variety of Commission activities.  She also was instrumental in expanding the division and its research activities and highlighting the value of high-quality research to SEC policymakers.

Dr. Hanley will depart to join the faculty at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

“Kathleen joined the division at a pivotal moment in its early growth, providing critical thought leadership and working with staff to integrate economic analysis more fully into the Commission's various activities, particularly rulemaking and risk assessment,” said Craig Lewis, SEC Chief Economist and Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis.  “Her work strengthening the division’s research program leaves an important and lasting legacy.”

Dr. Hanley said, “It has been a great pleasure to work with the many talented and dedicated individuals here at the SEC.  I have been extremely fortunate to have been part of the agency through the years, and have been pleased to have played a role in the expansion and development of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis.”

Dr. Hanley received the SEC’s 2013 Law and Policy Award for her work on a team that drafted guidance on economic analysis in SEC rulemakings and was part of a team that received the SEC’s 2013 Analytical Methods Award for its study of money market mutual funds.

Before joining the SEC staff, Dr. Hanley was a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board and was on the faculty of both the University of Maryland and the University of Michigan.  Her research has been published in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Intermediation, and Financial Management.  She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Florida and her B.S. from Indiana University.