Steven Brown Harris

Steve’s professional achievements were extraordinary, and his unwavering ethics and strong character coupled with his warmth, thoughtfulness, and generosity endeared him to others. He inherently sensed the joy and pain of those around him and readily joined his family, friends, and colleagues in celebrating the highs and navigating the lows of life. He was as reliable, steady, and trustworthy as they come and, to his daughters, he hung the moon.

Born and raised in New York City, Steve was the proud son of Madelyn and Sam Harris and brother of Jack Harris. His father, a widely respected and admired corporate attorney, served as a U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Trials.

Steve attended Choate Rosemary Hall high school, graduated from Dartmouth College with honors and earned his law degree from George Washington University Law School. He began his career at Time, Inc. and, after law school, worked in the Office of the General Counsel at the Office of Economic Opportunity. There, he was honored for his Dedicated Service to the Disadvantaged of the Nation. He later served as an Attorney at the Legal Services Corporation and as Assistant General Counsel for the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

Steve’s career on Capitol Hill began in 1978, when he served as Counsel to Congresswoman Barbara Jordan (D. TX) and as her representative to the National Commission for the Review of Antitrust Laws and Procedures. He then served as Counsel to U.S. Senator Donald W. Riegle, Jr., (D.MI) from 1979-1981. There, he met his future wife, Cynthia Jurciukonis, who became his lifelong companion and confidante.

In 1981, he joined the U.S. Senate Banking Committee as Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the Securities Subcommittee where he oversaw Wall Street and financial services regulation and coordinated legislative responses to the 1987 stock market crash. He later became Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the full U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

Steve is recognized as one of the most consequential Staff Directors in the history of the Senate Banking Committee, having served under the Chairmanships of both Senator Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D.MI) and Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D.MD). He was the architect of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Act of 1994, and he was instrumental in the development of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. That law, which President George W. Bush referred to as, “the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt,” created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

Steve was appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Board of the PCAOB in 2008 and was reappointed to a second term in 2013. Christopher Cox, Republican SEC Chairman in 2008, recognized him as, “an expert in financial services regulation” and a “thoughtful and knowledgeable champion of investors’ interests.”

During his decade as a Board Member of the PCAOB, Steve pushed for stronger investor protections and oversight of public accounting firms. He was considered by many to be the most powerful advocate for investors. He founded and chaired the PCAOB Investor Advisory Group to formally include the perspective of investors in audit report content and quality. Additionally, he advocated for a more informative auditor’s report and for new disclosures to strengthen auditor accountability and independence. Steve also founded and chaired the Investor and Other Stakeholders Working Group of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR) to strengthen international accounting standards and promote greater cooperation with foreign standard setters.

Steve will be remembered for his love and devotion to his family, his unmatched integrity, class, and character, as well as for his love of chocolate and affinity for stories where the underdog comes out on top.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Cynthia J. Harris, their cherished daughters, Jacqueline and Meredith, his dear brother Jack and sister-in-law Frances, and a loving extended family who adored him.

A celebration of Steve’s life will be held on Sunday, December 6 at 2:00 pm at Temple Micah, 2829 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Steven Harris to the Let’s Win Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. https://letswinpc.org/in-memory-of-steven-brown-harris/

If you would like to send a check, please mail it to:

Let’s Win Pancreatic Cancer

422 East 72nd Street

Suite 9F

New York, NY 10021