Kara Ward is a Washington, D.C., attorney and member of Holland & Knight's Public Policy & Regulation Group. Ms. Ward focuses her practice on financial services and the housing finance market. She has experience with issues related to housing finance reform, servicing, insurance, consumer financial services, blockchain and community economic development. Combining federal and private practice experience, Ms. Ward provides various financial service companies and trade group clients with policy analysis and strategic advice to advance their business objectives on Capitol Hill and in the Executive branch. Ms. Ward frequently works on issues involving the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, U.S. Senate Banking Committee, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the U.S. Federal Reserve System. Ms. Ward also is involved in emerging issues around the use of blockchain in financial services contexts. From cryptocurrency, initial coin offerings and the theory of utility tokens, Ms. Ward is active in the public policy space relating to the future regulatory structures related to this asset class. Ms. Ward has worked extensively on efforts to reform the single-family residential housing system, representing a number of client interests in recent legislative proposals. She also has broad experience with consumer financial issues and helps clients provide input into rule-making by the CFPB. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Ward was an attorney with the Treasury Department during the economic crisis. She focused on, among other topics, community development financial institutions, tax credit programs, the creation of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), funding for small business development and other federal grant programs.