Shivon Kershaw is being honored in Category 3: Using Innovation, Data, and Breaking Down Organizational Barriers for transforming how innovators, businesses, and the public engage with financial regulators. Through her leadership at LabCFTC, she created accessible, public-facing programs that brought regulators directly to communities and made complex issues involving fintech, blockchain, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence easier to understand. By expanding engagement beyond Washington, D.C., Shivon helped create a more open, responsive, and collaborative approach to financial regulation and emerging technology.

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Shivon designed and launched initiatives including Fintech Forward, Empower Innovation, Meet the Regulator sessions, office hours, and innovation roundtables, engaging more than 700 U.S. businesses and thousands of participants. She expanded regulatory engagement to communities across the country and pioneered the CFTC's first AI Prize Competition, Project Streetlamp, which brought together more than 100 fintech innovators to develop AI-powered tools aimed at strengthening anti-fraud resources. Her work also fostered collaboration with organizations including the FBI, Secret Service, and private-sector partners to advance consumer protection and market integrity.

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The impact of Shivon's leadership extends across government, industry, and the public. Her initiatives created direct pathways for people and businesses to engage with regulators, improved understanding of rapidly evolving financial technologies, and provided regulators with new insights to inform policy and oversight. She also expanded U.S. regulatory education internationally, sharing best practices with stakeholders around the world. By breaking down geographic, organizational, and technical barriers, Shivon has demonstrated how innovation and collaboration can make government more accessible while supporting responsible technological advancement and stronger public protections.