The GW Law Association for Women and the GW Law Alumni Association honored Caroline D. Pham, JD '11, as the 2024 Belva Ann Lockwood Award recipient.
The award is named for Belva Lockwood, who graduated from the National University School of Law (now GW Law) at a time when few women worked in the field. A towering historical figure, Ms. Lockwood was a lifelong suffragist and the first woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ms. Lockwood's award is given each year to a successful and inspiring alumna who is considered a trailblazer in her field—all apt descriptions of Caroline Pham.
"This year’s winner, Commissioner Caroline Pham, faced very stiff competition in the selection process and she emerged victorious because she is the best of the best. The amazing Caroline Pham, who graduated from our law school in 2011, truly exemplifies the ideals of Belva Lockwood, whose life and legacy we celebrate through the award that bears her name."
Dayna Bowen Matthew
Dean and Harold H. Greene Professor of Law
Caroline D. Pham was sworn in as a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner on April 14, 2022, after being nominated by President Biden and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate. Commissioner Pham is an internationally recognized leader in financial services compliance and regulatory strategy and policy, with deep expertise in derivatives and capital markets and emerging issues such as digital innovation. Her substantial experience spans key international issues such as prudential regulation and systemic risk, financial markets including currencies and commodities, fintech and digital assets, ESG, and the impact of major disruptions like the savings and loan crisis, the 2008 great financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Commissioner Pham is the sponsor of the CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee.
Before her appointment, Commissioner Pham advised boards of directors, executive and senior management, policymakers and regulators, and industry leaders on changes to the regulatory landscape and implications and risks of emerging issues, trends, and economic and market developments to the global financial system, markets, and banking. Her engagement includes international standard setters such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB), International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), and Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as well as central banks, government ministries, regulators, and other stakeholders across North America, Latin America, United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions.
Commissioner Pham has a BA from UCLA and was a recipient of the Manatt-Phelps Scholarship for excellence in banking law and the Vietnamese American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, DC Area Scholarship. Among other professional awards, Commissioner Pham received the National Conference of Vietnamese American Attorneys Cornerstone Award for lifetime achievement as the first Vietnamese-American woman appointed by the President to a Senate-confirmed executive branch position.
