Acting Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell today announced new appointments to DFS’s Executive staff.

“We welcome these talented, dedicated, and diverse individuals, with their invaluable government and industry experience, to the Executive Team at DFS,” said Acting Superintendent Lacewell. "I am proud to work together with our new team members as we work to accomplish the mission and goals of the Department and continue to move New York forward."

Wendy Erdly has been appointed Chief of Staff for the New York State Department of Financial Services.  Ms. Erdly was most recently Special Counsel for Ethics, Risk, and Compliance for the New York State Liquor Authority, Department of Agriculture and Markets and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.  Prior to her Special Counsel appointment, Ms. Erdly was counsel to many companies through Axiom Legal, including United Technologies, Unilever, and Kraft.  She served as a Litigation Associate at Bernstein, Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP and at Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP. Ms. Erdly was named one of the “Best Under 40” lawyers by the National LGBT Law Association and holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and a B.A. from Lafayette College.

Sumit Sud has been appointed Special Counsel to the Superintendent of Financial Services. Sumit was most recently Deputy Chief Special Counsel for Ethics, Risk and Compliance across dozens of state agencies and directly covered the Department of Labor and the New York State Insurance Fund. Prior, Mr. Sud served as Senior Counsel at the New York City Law Department for almost ten years where he also served on the New York City Law Department Diversity Committee. He holds a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio and a B.S. from the University of Washington, Seattle. 

Gareth Rhodes has been appointed Special Assistant to the Superintendent of Financial Services, where he will be working on cross-agency initiatives that implicate policy, law, communications, and intergovernmental issues, and other special projects. Mr. Rhodes most recently earned a J.D. at Harvard Law School, during which he served as a law clerk on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and interned for Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV on the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. Prior, Mr. Rhodes served as Deputy Press Secretary to Governor Cuomo as part of his five-year tenure in the Executive Chamber. Mr. Rhodes holds a B.A. from The City College of New York (CUNY), where he was a recipient of a Harry S. Truman Scholarship and served as a White House intern. 

Shaunik R. Panse has been appointed Special Counsel for Ethics, Risk and Compliance for the New York State Department of Financial Services.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Panse was an Associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, with a focus on internal investigations, criminal defense, complex civil litigation, and cross-border regulatory and enforcement matters.  In that role, he completed a secondment to a global financial institution where he advised on anti-money laundering, sanctions, compliance, and data privacy issues arising from investigations conducted by an independent compliance monitor across multiple jurisdictions in the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East.  Previously, Mr. Panse served as a law clerk to the Honorable James L. Cott of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and a foreign law clerk to the Honorable Justice Johann van der Westhuizen of the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Johannesburg.  Mr. Panse serves as a reserve attorney in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the United States Air Force at the rank of Captain.  He holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. from Tufts University, and has completed coursework at The London School of Economics. 

Raquel Gonzalez has been appointed Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Department of Financial Services. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Gonzalez was Deputy Commissioner for Administration at the Department of Civil Service and Director of Policy at the Department of Agriculture and Markets. Previously, she served in various roles as a Presidential appointee during the Obama Administration in executive offices at four federal agencies and the White House. Ms. Gonzalez is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Academy for Public Administration. She is also a 40 Under 40 Rising Latino Star in NY and a New Leaders Council Capital District Fellow. Ms. Gonzalez holds a M.S. and a B.A. from George Mason University and a M.A. from the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies.

Cheyenne Aguayo has been appointed Director of Scheduling for the Superintendent of Financial Services. Cheyenne was formerly an assistant in the Governor’s Office and previously served as Deputy Director of Constituent Services and Director of Scheduling for the New York City Council.

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