Leah Szarek is the Chief External Relations Officer for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), where she oversees the organization's corporate communications, stakeholder engagement initiatives and government relations.

Previously, Leah has held various communications roles and has led the MSRB’s flagship market transparency program, the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website, as Director, Market Transparency. Prior to joining the MSRB, Leah was manager of communications and investor education for the North American Securities Administrators Association, an international group of state and provincial securities regulators. Leah began her career as a political reporter and freelance writer.

Leah received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in media and public affairs from the George Washington University. She earned the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America.