Nekia Hackworth Jones serves as the Director of the Atlanta Regional Office (ARO) for the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. The Atlanta Regional Office covers five Southeastern states – Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee – with a population of over 38 million people. The office is home to a dynamic team of over 100 professionals working in the Enforcement Division, Examinations Division, and Business Operations. The ARO’s Enforcement Division conducts investigations into possible violations of the federal securities laws and prosecutes the agency’s administrative proceedings and civil suits in federal courts. The ARO’s Examinations Division conducts the SEC’s National Exam Program, with the goal of protecting investors, ensuring market integrity, and supporting responsible capital formation through risk-focused strategies. The results of the Division's examinations are used by the SEC to inform rule-making initiatives, identify and monitor risks, improve industry practices, and pursue misconduct. Finally, the ARO’s Business Operations unit provides mission-critical support in the areas of investor outreach, information technology, litigation support, budgeting, and human resources.
Ms. Jones joined the Commission from the Atlanta office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, where she was a litigation partner specializing in government investigations, internal investigations, and white-collar criminal defense. Prior to joining Nelson Mullins, Ms. Jones spent nearly a decade in government service. Ms. Jones worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, where she investigated and prosecuted complex fraud cases, including securities and investment fraud, mortgage fraud, tax fraud, healthcare fraud, and public corruption. She also served in the Department of Justice’s Office of the Deputy Attorney General in Washington, D.C., first as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, and then as Associate Deputy Attorney General and Executive Director of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Jones worked as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, NY, and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Atlanta, GA. Ms. Jones also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sterling Johnson, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Ms. Jones received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (cum laude) from Emory University in 1999, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard University in 2004.