President Barack Obama has nominated an alumna of The College of William & Mary to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mary Jo White, a 1970 graduate of the college, is a former U.S. attorney known for her expertise in prosecuting white-collar crimes. The Securities and Exchange Commission has an instrumental role in implementing Wall Street reform.
White, the first woman to serve as a U.S. attorney in Manhattan, spent nearly a decade handling cases concerning complex securities, financial fraud, drug trafficking and international terrorists. One of her most notable cases was the conviction of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1994 World Trade Center bombing.
In 2000, she led the criminal prosecution of more than 100 people, including members of New York’s five crime families, accused of manipulating the prices of penny stocks and intimidating brokers. She also played a role in the conviction of mob boss John Gotti in 2002. When listing her accomplishments during a ceremony in the State Dining Room, Obama said, “You don’t want to mess with Mary Jo.”
She is a partner at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton in New York. If she is confirmed by the Senate, she will replace Elisse Walter, who took over as chair in December when Mary Schapiro stepped down.
While at William & Mary, White studied psychology and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She graduated from Columbia Law School in 1974.
