Key Pelosi adviser and career SEC attorney pegged.
President Joe Biden recently made two nominations to the SEC, identifying Jaime Lizárraga and Mark Uyeda as potential commissioners. Lizárraga currently serves as senior advisor to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, overseeing issues related to the financial markets, housing, international financial institutions, immigration and small business. In his position, Lizárraga also serves as Pelosi's liaison to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Over his 30-plus years of public service, he has served on the Democratic staff of the House Financial Services Committee as well as the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
After graduating from the University of California, San Diego, and earning a master's degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Lizárraga played roles in the crafting of several pieces of major legislation, including the Build Back Better Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Economic Emergency and Stabilization Act of 2008. Lizárraga is set to replace Commissioner Allison Herren Lee, who announced in March 2022 her plans to step down from the commissionership.
Uyeda boasts a lengthy career as an SEC attorney, currently on detail to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, where he serves as securities counsel on the committee's minority staff. Since joining the SEC in 2006, Uyeda has worked for the oversight agency in several capacities, including senior advisor to chairman Jay Clayton and acting Chairman Michael S. Piwowar and assistant director and senior special counsel in the division of investment management. A recipient of the SEC Chairman's Award for Excellence, Uyeda served as past chair of the SEC Asian Pacific American Employees Committee.
Prior to his time at the SEC, Uyeda was chief advisor to the California Corporations Commissioner. After earning an undergraduate degree in business administration from Georgetown University and a law degree from Duke University, Uyeda was president of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C., area. Uyeda's nomination was announced to fill the vacancy created by Commissioner Elad Roisman's January 2022 departure.
Lizárraga and Uyeda's nominations to the SEC must be approved by the Senate.