Tanisha Cole Edmonds
Chief Diversity Officer, CFTC
Tanisha Cole Edmonds is the first Chief Diversity Officer at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In this role, Ms. Edmonds is responsible for providing leadership and executive direction on the CFTC's efforts to integrate and promote diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) at all levels of the agency's workforce, and its talent and business operations. She will oversee the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. Prior to joining the CFTC, Ms. Edmonds served most recently as a senior executive at the U.S. Department of Interior as the Deputy Director for the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights and Deputy Chief Diversity Officer. Ms. Edmonds has over 20 years of combined experience in labor and employment law litigation and implementing equal employment opportunity and diversity, equity & inclusion workplace strategies and solutions. She joined the Department of Interior’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights (ODICR) in September 2011 where she served as a Division Director for ODICR’s Complaints and Adjudication Division. In 2019, Ms. Edmonds completed the Department of Interior’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Class #20 and was honored to be selected by her peers to deliver the graduation speech for her class. In 2021, she was appointed to the SES. Prior to joining ODICR, Ms. Edmonds served as a Labor and Employment Law Attorney for the U.S. Postal Service and as a Technical Advisor for the U.S. Secret Service, where she served as the first ever technical consultant to senior leadership and as a liaison between the Office of Chief Counsel, Office of Human Resources and the Office of Equal Opportunity. Ms. Edmonds began her career as an attorney at Passman & Kaplan, P.C., a boutique law firm in Washington, D.C. where she litigated employment discrimination complaints before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Merit Systems Protection Board, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. Edmonds was also a contributing author to Passman & Kaplan’s 1st edition of the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide. She is a member of both the Maryland and District of Columbia bars. Education B.A. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis J.D. from Washington University’s School of Law.
Pamela Gibbs
Director, OMWI, SEC
Pamela Gibbs was named Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion in January 2012. Prior to the SEC, Ms. Gibbs was Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Before that, Ms. Gibbs spent 18 years at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she started as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division and was later Acting Deputy Director for Program Operation in the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, and Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Unit in the Employment Standards Administration. Ms. Gibbs is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and holds a master’s degree in public administration from George Mason University.
Nikita Pearson
Deputy to the Chairman for External Affairs, Director, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, FDIC
Nikita serves as Deputy to the Chairman for External Affairs and Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI). As Deputy to the Chairman she manages the FDIC’s broader engagement mission, including oversight of the FDIC’s Office of Communications and Office of the Ombudsman. As OMWI Director, she is responsible for: promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility among the FDIC’s 6,000 employees; assessing diversity policies and practices of approximately 3,200 banks supervised by the FDIC; and increasing participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the FDIC’s operations. Nikita has testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee to discuss the agency’s efforts to enhance diversity and inclusion in the FDIC’s workforce and contracting, and to promote financial inclusion. She has been featured in Minority Business Entrepreneur Magazine, Diversity Professional Magazine, and Federal News Network. Nikita serves as co-Chair of the Economic Development Cluster for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black College and Universities. She also serves as the FDIC’s representative on the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics. Nikita is an experienced executive, serving on several of the FDIC’s executive committees, including being a voting member of the Audit Committee and Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Executive Advisory Council. She is a commissioned bank examiner that has held progressively more responsible positions in three of the FDIC’s six regions and Washington Office since joining the agency in 1998. Nikita holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia, where she graduated magna cum laude and joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She also completed the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and holds an Executive Education Certificate from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Jennifer W. Han
Executive Vice President, Chief Counsel & Head of Regulatory Affairs, Managed Funds Association
Jennifer Han is Chief Counsel and Head of Regulatory Affairs at Managed Funds Association (MFA). Jennifer is responsible for strategy and execution of the Association’s U.S. and international regulatory advocacy and leads MFA’s regulatory engagement. She advises MFA members on legal, regulatory and compliance changes and/or guidance impacting the alternative investment industry, including investment advisers, commodity trading advisors and commodity pool operators. She has extensive experience working with policy makers and regulators, such as throughout the 2008 financial crisis, post-crisis and to refinement of today’s regulatory framework. She engages regularly with legislative policy makers and regulators, including the SEC, CFTC, Department of Treasury, Federal Reserve, NFA, ESMA, UK FCA and IOSCO, among many others. Jennifer joined MFA in 2006 as legal counsel and has served in a few different capacities before joining MFA’s executive leadership team. Prior to joining MFA, Jennifer was a staff attorney in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations at the SEC, where she conducted inspections and examinations, and advised on legal and compliance matters relating to developments in securities regulations and industry practices. Jennifer began her legal career as an associate with Pickard and Djinis LLP, a boutique securities law firm in Washington, D.C. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and her Juris Doctor from American University. While in law school, she was an Editor of the American University International Law Review. Jennifer is a member in good standing of the DC Bar. Jennifer serves on the Washington D.C. Committee of 100 Women in Finance, and on the Board of Directors for the YWCA National Capital Area.
