Valerie A. Szczepanik is the Director of the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) Office at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Ms. Szczepanik also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. She clerked for federal judges on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and, prior to clerking, practiced patent law. Ms. Szczepanik received her Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University and her Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.