Babylon HS Alum Stepping Down from SEC Chair

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro will leave the agency next month after taking her position following the beginning of the Wall Street collapse and global recession in 2009, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Schapiro, now 57, will leave the agency on December 14th after a long four-years at the helm. The SEC has been constantly criticized for the recession's beginnings, signs of fraud from Bernie Madoff and the bankruptcy of the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008.

“It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to work with so many dedicated SEC staff who strive every day to protect investors and ensure our markets operate with integrity,” Schapiro said in a statement. “We have brought a record number of enforcement actions, engaged in one of the busiest rulemaking periods, and gained greater authority from Congress to better fulfill our mission.”

Schapiro was the first woman to hold the chairman role on a permanent basis.

Shapiro will be replaced by Commissioner Elisse Walter.

“When Mary agreed to serve nearly four years ago, she was fully aware of the difficulties facing the SEC and our economy as a whole,” President Barack Obama said in a statement to Bloomberg. “But she accepted the challenge, and today, the SEC is stronger and our financial system is safer and better able to serve the American people – thanks in large part to Mary’s hard work.”

Schapiro, who graduated from Babylon Junior-Senior High School in 1973, lived in the village throughout much of her childhood.