The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Ronald Crawford will become the agency's first chief counsel for Diversity and Policy Initiatives, effective in August. The new position in the agency's Office of Human Resources reflects the SEC's ongoing commitment to recruiting and retaining a highly qualified and broadly diverse workforce with different backgrounds, experiences, and views.

Crawford, currently the senior associate regional director in the SEC's Atlanta Regional Office, will advocate diversity in recruitment, training, leadership, and employee relations. Crawford also will work collaboratively with the SEC's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity to develop strategic plans and coalitions to advance the SEC's diversity and inclusion efforts.

Crawford, who began working at the SEC in 1980 as a staff attorney in the Division of Enforcement, has worked in three regional offices and has had supervisory responsibilities for enforcement and examination programs. Since joining the SEC, Crawford has supervised and played an important role in the resolution of numerous high-profile enforcement cases.