Lubin, Shaw, Solov, and Hopkins each presented with NASAA’s Highest Honor; Seidt received Patricia D. Struck Award for her tireless advocacy on behalf of investors, Egan posthumously recognized for her work as an Investor Champion in support of Whistleblowers, Senior Investors, and Investor Education.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (September 21, 2022) – The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced 2022 award recipients during its Fall Annual Meeting held in Nashville, September 18-20. Awardees were recognized for their outstanding contributions to investor protection and state securities regulation.

NASAA’s Blue Sky Cube Award is the organization’s highest honor that recognizes career achievement and distinguished service to securities regulation. It is named for Kansas’ Blue Sky Law, which was enacted in 1911 and has served as a model for securities regulation following its enactment.

The four 2022 Blue Sky Cube Awards were presented to:

• Lisa Hopkins, 2020-2021 NASAA President and West Virginia Senior Deputy Securities Commissioner
• Melanie Senter Lubin, 2021-2022 NASAA President and Maryland Securities Commissioner.
• Judith Shaw, 2015-2016 NASAA President and retired Securities Administrator, Maine Office of Securities.
• Tanya Solov, retired Director, Illinois Securities Department.

“Because of COVID-19, NASAA members were not able to see Lisa Hopkins receive her Blue Sky Cube award during the 2021 NASAA Annual Meeting,” said NASAA President Andrew Hartnett. “We wanted to properly thank Lisa this year for her remarkable work two years ago as NASAA President, live and in front of the NASAA membership.”

Hopkins’ award read, in part: “Over the course of your work with NASAA and your time as President, investors throughout North America have come to know what those in West Virginia have long known – that you are a fighter – a powerful and passionate advocate for the right of all investors, especially those in underrepresented communities, to be treated with honesty, fairness, and respect.”

The Blue Sky Cube Award presented to Lubin, upon completion of her term as NASAA President read, in part: “NASAA’s many achievements during your term touched on all aspects of NASAA’s mission. On the policy front, NASAA acted on numerous important model rules and policies to strengthen investor protection. These include addressing unpaid arbitration awards and updates to long-standing statements of policy. With regard to enforcement, NASAA’s members tackled new and emerging threats and were first on the scene to deal with new frauds and scams involving cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Importantly, NASAA’s U.S. members reached a precedent-setting resolution of a multi-state enforcement action involving cryptocurrencies, a case you highlighted in your testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.”

Lubin’s one-year term as NASAA president concluded on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. She received her first Blue Sky Cube Award in 2006.

The Blue Sky Cube Award presented to Shaw read, in part: “While your achievements are many, your fellow NASAA members are perhaps most indebted to you for your leadership and devotion to protecting older investors from financial exploitation. Your exemplary work in this area has garnered the attention of the national media and the respect of regulators, advocates, industry, and lawmakers across North America.”

The Blue Sky Cube presented to Solov read, in part: “In the more than twenty-three years of remarkable service to the North American Securities Administrators Association, you have been a driving force in bolstering NASAA’s investor protection mission. Your work with NASAA and on behalf of investors in Illinois has been fueled by your steadfast commitment to hardworking women and men striving to build secure financial futures.”

Lynne Egan, former Deputy Securities Commissioner, Montana Securities Department, was posthumously honored with the 2022 NASAA Investor Champion Award. Her award read, in part: “Lynne Egan embodied what it means to be a champion on behalf of investors. She worked tirelessly in seeking justice not only for defrauded Montanans but investors everywhere, advocated for policies to strengthen the remedies available to harmed investors, and led the way for her colleagues at NASAA on investor education initiatives.”

Additional 2022 NASAA award recipients included:

• Andrea Seidt, Ohio Securities Commissioner – Patricia D. Struck Award for mentoring NASAA members and embodying the diplomacy, courage, respect, and intellect of the award’s namesake.
• William Carrigan, former Deputy Commissioner, Vermont Department of Financial Regulation – Outstanding Service Award.
• Michael Pieciak, former Commissioner, Vermont Department of Financial Regulation and 2018-2019 NASAA President – Outstanding Service Award.
• Kristen Standifer, former Licensing and Examinations Supervisor for the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions – Distinguished Service Award.

NASAA also presented Outstanding Team Service Awards to the nine members of the Enforcement Section Committee’s Safeguard Metals Team Investigation Unit for helping ensure the successful filing of a multi-state, civil enforcement action against Safeguard Metals that defrauded elderly individuals across the United States out of $68 million in assets by selling fraudulently overpriced coins:

• Max Brauer, Assistant Attorney General, Maryland Division of Securities.
• Andrew Cole, Assistant Attorney General, South Carolina Securities Division.
• Anne Gunter, Associate Counsel, Alabama Securities Commission.
• Steven Kretzer, Enforcement Counsel, Missouri Securities Division.
• Elizabeth Planer, Special Agent, Enforcement, Alabama Securities Commission.
• Jennifer Rood, Assistant General Counsel, Vermont Department of Financial Regulation.
• Danielle Stoumbos, Senior Counsel, California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
• Kelly Suk, Senior Counsel, California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
• Jonathan Williams, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, South Carolina Securities Division.

– NASAA–

About NASAA:

Organized in 1919, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. NASAA is a voluntary association whose membership consists of securities regulators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the 13 provincial and territorial securities regulators in Canada, and the securities regulator in México. For more information, visit www.nasaa.org. 

For More Information:
Jeanne Hamrick | Director of Communications
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Karen Grajales | Communications & Investor Outreach Manager
202-737-0900