Former Commissioners

Commissioner Sharon Brown-Hruska

Photo of Commissioner Sharon Brown-Hruska

Sharon Brown-Hruska was designated by President Bush to serve as Acting Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on July 26, 2004, and served as Acting Chairman until July 10, 2005.  She was first nominated to the Commission on April 9, 2002, confirmed by the Senate on August 2, 2002, and sworn in on August 7, 2002.  On July 22, 2004, Dr. Brown-Hruska was nominated by President Bush to a second term as a Commissioner, and confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 2004, to a term expiring April 13, 2009.

Brown-Hruska served as a member of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, is a member of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, and is the Chairman of the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee.

She holds a Ph.D. in economics (1994) from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.  Dr. Brown-Hruska has authored numerous scholarly and applied papers based on her research in the areas of derivatives and market microstructure. She recently published articles in The Euromoney Derivatives and The Risk Management Handbook, the Swiss Derivatives Review, and the Futures and Derivatives Law Report. She was awarded the Key Women in Energy's Global Leadership Award in 2004.

Prior to coming to the CFTC, Dr. Brown-Hruska was an Assistant Professor of Finance at George Mason University’s School of Management (1998 – 2002) and the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University (1995-1998).  Courses taught by Professor Brown-Hruska included Risk Management and Financial Innovation, International Finance, Venture Capital and Private Finance, Investments, and Financial Markets.

A native of Winchester, Virginia, she lives with her husband Donald Hruska and their seven-year-year old son, Jacob, in Burke, Virginia.

Public Statements & Remarks by Commissioner Brown-Hruska