Lecturer Bios
Ira Gluck
Ira Gluck is a manager in FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department. In this role, he works on policy and investigative issues involving complex products and novel regulatory concerns. Mr. Gluck’s previous positions within FINRA included managing the Emerging Regulatory Issues team within the Risk and Strategy Department, as well as heading the Strategic Initiatives Group in FINRA’s Enforcement Department.
He also served in various investigative and management roles in the Enforcement and Member Regulation Departments of NASD before its 2007 consolidation with NYSE Member Regulation, which resulted in the formation of FINRA. Mr. Gluck received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed both a master’s degree and M.B.A. at the University of California, Irvine.
Joan Adler, Esq.
Joan Adler is a partner at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP and she specializes in broker dealer regulation and blue sky compliance. Ms. Adler’s broker dealer practice encompasses FINRA membership applications for broker-dealers and funding portals and a wide range of compliance issues. Ms. Adler also works with public and private companies and underwriters and placement agents on state law registration and exemptions for a variety of public and private offerings. In addition, she has advised investment advisors on exemptions at both the federal and state levels. As a core member of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole’s crowdfunding team, she has been on the forefront of the JOBS Act initiatives guiding all market participants. Ms. Adler has participated on several FINRA panels related to membership and corporate financing issues and has worked proactively with the SEC, FINRA and state regulators to establish guidelines for the JOBS Act initiatives, particularly in regard to funding platforms and portals.
Rebecca Knutson
Rebecca Knutson is the senior principal analyst in FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department. She came to NASD/FINRA in 1998 after spending more than a dozen years with a regional broker dealer, Johnston, Lemon & Co. Incorporated, as a registered representative and member of the firm’s municipal trading desk. Ms. Knutson is a CPA, and has an MBA from Johns Hopkins University, with a concentration in information systems management.
Lisa Robinson
Lisa Robinson serves as Director of the Membership Application Program (MAP) group at FINRA where she interacts with industry professionals on a wide range of topics including unique, novel, and/or complex products, platforms, large scale restructuring and other material changes in business operations. She offers insight to both internal and external constituents and provides practical solutions to business needs. In addition, Ms. Robinson directs the review of applications submitted by SEC-registered funding portals seeking FINRA membership pursuant to the crowdfunding provisions of Title III of the JOBS Act and SEC’s Regulation Crowdfunding. She also oversees FINRA’s funding portal surveillance and examination program. She often liaises with various regulatory agencies on issues related to Regulation Crowdfunding, and the requirements contained therein, impacting proposed and existing funding portals. Prior to joining MAP, Ms. Robinson was an Associate Director in FINRA’s Member Regulation, Sales Practice Department, where she was responsible for the oversight and execution of the District 10 examination plan, including cycle, cause and branch examinations, for many member firms. She has participated on several FINRA initiatives, most recently FINRA’s Retrospective Review of the MAP rules. She proposed and now administers MAP’s “Triage/Fast track” program, which takes a risk-based approach to processing full FINRA member applications. Ms. Robinson has served as a panelist at numerous industry events on topics such as crowdfunding, examinations, supervisory controls, and ethics. Before joining FINRA, Ms. Robinson worked at a large mutual fund company. She is a Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional™ (CRCP™) and holds a bachelor’s degree from Nova Southeastern University.