Ritta McLaughlin

Director of Investor Education, Community Outreach
FINRA Investor Education Foundation

Ms. McLaughlin is the director of investor education community outreach at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation. In this capacity, leads the Foundation’s efforts to advance financial inclusion. She is an expert on various personal finance and investor education topics and informs audiences about saving and investing. She cultivates and manages strategic partnerships with organizations to provide financial capability programming in underserved communities. Ms. McLaughlin engages diverse communities and collaborating with the Foundation’s team of researchers on studies to advance the understanding of diverse communities’ financial capabilities, circumstances, and well-being. Also, she a staff liaison to the FINRA Board of Director’s Industry Diversity Advisory Council and day-to-day project lead for FINRA’s Corporate Social Responsibility Working Group and a member of the enterprise-wide ESG Working Group.

Prior to joining the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Ms. McLaughlin was the Chief Education Officer for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). She oversaw the education and outreach activities of the MSRB and facilitated discussion and problem-solving among stakeholders to address challenges in the municipal market, advocate solutions where appropriate, and influence positive market practices. Ms. McLaughlin was responsible for the development and oversight of operations MSRB Podcast and the MSRB’s MuniEdPro®. MuniEdPro®, launched in 2016, is a suite of interactive, online courses about municipal market activities and regulations that provide real-world simulations that allow the learner to understand municipal securities transactions and the related market and regulatory considerations. MuniEdPro® was awarded the 2018 Bronze Brandon Hall Award for Excellence in Technology for MuniEdPro®.

Prior to joining the MSRB, Ms. McLaughlin was associate treasurer for the District of Columbia, where she handled the District’s multi-billion-dollar debt management and federal grants program. During her career, Ms. McLaughlin was also a public finance investment banker at J.P. Morgan, Bear Stearns and RBC serving as a senior banker for several states and local governments and transportation entities.

She is the Immediate Past President of the Board of the National Women in Public Finance and serves as a member of the Race, Equity and Bond Markets Advisory Group of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and an Advisory Board Member of the District of Columbia Other Post-Employment Benefits Trust Fund. Also, she is a Founding Member of the Board of Governors for the Association for Public Finance Professionals of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (APFP) and previously served as an Advisory Board Member for the State of California COVID-19 Taskforce for CEFA and CHFFA.

She received a bachelor’s degree in urban policy from Vassar College, a master’s degree in urban policy and management from The New School for Social Research, and a certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School.

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