Sarah Hammer, Esq.

Sarah Hammer is Managing Director of the Center for Innovation in Finance and Senior Director of the Alternative Investments Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In these roles, she focuses her efforts on private capital investments and financial technology. Ms. Hammer also leads Cypher Blockchain Accelerator, Cypher NFT Incubator, and The Blockchain Laboratory at the Wharton School, as well as an Initiative on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. She is also Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, teaching an upper-level juris doctor course on financial regulation. Previously, Ms. Hammer was Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions and Director of the Office of Financial Institutions Policy at the United States Department of the Treasury. In this role, she led and directed the Department’s policy responsibilities involving financial institutions, as well as oversaw the Federal Insurance Office and the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy (cybersecurity). Ms. Hammer also served on the board of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and assisted the U.S. Treasury Secretary in fulfilling responsibilities on the board of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). Ms. Hammer has held various leadership positions throughout financial services in general management, portfolio management, trading, marketing, research, and analytics at the Vanguard Group, PIMCO, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Tudor Investments. Ms. Hammer is also a board member of the Independent Management Advisory Committee of the International Telecommunications Union at the United Nations (ITU). The ITU is the UN specialized agency responsible for all matters related to information and communication technology, including broadband internet, wireless technology, satellite, and television. Ms. Hammer earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Studies from Oxford University. She is a Harry S. Truman Scholar and a Member of the American Law Institute.