Biographies of Washington State Department of Financial Institutions division directors and executives.
Charles E. Clark, Agency Director
Charles E. Clark: Charlie Clark has served as the Director of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) since April 1, 2019. He first joined DFI in 2012 and served in the roles of Division of Consumer Services Enforcement Program Manager and Division Director before serving as the agency Deputy Director beginning in November 2016.
Prior to joining the DFI, Charlie represented the DFI as its lead litigation counsel as an Assistant Attorney General from 2005 through 2011. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, he worked as an attorney in private practice. Charlie sat on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators from 2014 to 2023, serving as its President from 2018 to 2020.
He also currently sits on the Board of Directors and serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, having previously served as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect and ultimately Chair for the 2024/2025 term. He received his undergraduate degree in Accounting and an M.B.A. from California State University, Sacramento. He received a J.D. degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.
William M. Beatty, Acting Deputy Director
William M. Beatty is the acting Deputy Director for DFI. Mr. Beatty's career at DFI began in 1986, and he has since served in numerous roles, including Securities Administrator, staff attorney, general counsel, and program manager.
He has served on various North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) project groups, task forces, and committees since 1990.
He received a BA from the University of Puget Sound and a JD from Seattle University School of Law.
Matt Harvey, Director of Banks
Matt Harvey served as the Chief of Supervision in the Division of Banks since 2018. He joined the Department of Financial Institutions in 2007 as a financial examiner. Harvey received a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Washington State University.
Ali Higgs, Director of Consumer Services
Ali Higgs is the Director of Consumer Services, and formally served as the Director of Regulatory and Legal Affairs for DFI from 2021 to 2023. Ali has extensive experience working in financial regulation and the financial services industry. Ali began her career at DFI in 2002 as a bank regulator and has worked for DFI in several capacities over her 20+ year tenure. She is also a lawyer, former compliance consultant, and adjunct professor.
Ali received both her B.A. in Business Administration and JD from Seattle University. She is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.
Amy B. Hunter, Director of Credit Unions
Amy B. Hunter was appointed as Director of Credit Unions on November 1, 2018. The Division supervises state chartered credit unions. Amy is also a member of the Financial Education Public-Private Partnership (FEPPP), which brings together individuals from both the public and private sector in an effort to provide quality financial education for students in the public school system.
Amy has been a regulator for over 20 years. Prior to DFI, she was the Deputy Director for the Washington State Gambling Commission, a regulatory, licensing and law enforcement agency. Amy began her career at the Gambling Commission as a staff attorney and then promoted to Administrator, where she led the agency’s legal department, rulemaking, communications, and media work. In addition, she worked on legislative issues for 17 sessions.
Amy has a B.S. in Sociology/Criminal Justice from Kansas State University. She earned her J.D. from the Seattle University School of Law, where she graduated cum laude.
Faith Anderson, Acting Director of Securities
Faith L. Anderson is the Acting Director of the Securities Division of the Department of Financial Institutions. She began her career as a financial examiner with DFI in 1999 and after earning her law degree, served as staff attorney and Chief of Registration & Regulatory Affairs. In her tenure with the Securities Division, she has facilitated the adoption of numerous rules and drafted multiple agency request legislative packages, including Washington’s Whistleblower Award and Protection Act, chapter 21.40 RCW.
Faith has served on various committees and project groups of the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”). She currently serves as Chair of NASAA’s Electronic Filing Depository Steering Committee, Chair of the Direct Participation Programs Policy Project Group, and as a member of the Corporation Finance Section Committee, Federal Legislation Committee, and Small Business/Limited Offerings Project Group.
Ms. Anderson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, as well as the Certificate of International Studies in Business, from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. She also earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Washington.
Erin Klika, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director
Erin Klika is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Director for the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). This role was established in the fall of 2021 to support equity, for all who call Washington home, in the financial system we regulate.
Erin brings more than 20 years of experience in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). She started her career in community lending and education. She later ran a statewide program where she had the opportunity to work in all regions of our state. Most recently she led supplier diversity programs at the state, which included working across multiple agencies, co-creating statewide policies, and establishing an advisory group to include a DEI lens in how work happens.
Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, with an accounting concentration and a minor in Dance, from the University of Washington.
