Lecturer Bios
Cynthia Friedlander
Cynthia Friedlander is the Director of Fixed Income Regulation within FINRA Member Regulation. Ms. Friedlander is responsible for directing FINRA’s policies and national programs related to fixed income securities, including related regulatory matters in FINRA District Offices. Specifically, she is responsible for the design, development and delivery of fixed income policy guidance to staff throughout FINRA, as well as to member firms, and is one of FINRA’s primary representatives in fixed income regulatory matters with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Ms. Friedlander represents FINRA at government agency, SRO, and industry and advisory meetings, and is a staff liaison to FINRA’s Fixed Income Committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a master of business administration from George Mason University.
John Saxton, Esq.
John Saxton is Senior Director in FINRA’s Division of Market Regulation. He joined
FINRA/New York Stock Exchange in 1997 and currently leads the Trading and
Execution Fixed Income Examination team. This specialized team is responsible for
conducting trading and execution reviews in fixed income securities within FIRNA’s
cycle examination program.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Saxton was a Senior Director
in FINRA’s Division of Market Regulation supervising several surveillance teams and
was a Trial Counsel in NYSE’s Division of Enforcement. Mr. Saxton earned his J.D.
from New York Law School and a B.S. in Business Administration from St. Michael’s
College.
William Downey Esq.
William Downey is a Specialist Manager for the Fixed Income Specialist team within FINRA Member Supervision. Mr. Downey leads a team focused on examining fixed income business lines at member firms to ensure compliance with relevant MSRB, FINRA and SEC rules. He has worked as a trader on both the sell side of the municipal market with Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and on the buy side with AllianceBernstein LP. Mr. Downey holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wake Forest University.
Bri Joiner, Esq.
Bri Joiner is Director of Regulatory Compliance at the Municipal Securities
Rulemaking Board (MSRB), in which she oversees a portfolio of programs under the
MSRB’s Market Regulation department, maintaining responsibility for strategic
planning and execution of long-term objectives. Ms. Joiner is directly responsible for
the MSRB’s professional qualifications program, examiner training program and
regulatory compliance program initiatives.
Prior to assuming her current role, Ms.
Joiner managed the MSRB’s regulatory education program leading the development
and delivery of content for regulated entities and market stakeholders in support of a
fair and efficient municipal securities market. Prior to joining the MSRB, Ms. Joiner spent 10 years at the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). She served as Senior Regulatory Policy Analyst in FINRA’s
Office of General Counsel, where she worked on rulemaking initiatives and researched legal and compliance
matters.
She also held the position of Senior Manager in FINRA’s Member Education and Training
department, where she advised on initiatives having a market impact and served as a subject matter expert
on various topics. Ms. Joiner began her career at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Joiner
earned a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Spelman College and a juris doctor from the Walter F.
George School of Law, Mercer University. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, Golden Key
International Honour Society and Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity.
