Alexandra Villarreal O’Rourke

Alex has spent the last decade working on legal, risk, and compliance issues at the intersection of consumer financial services and emerging technology, including artificial intelligence. She began this work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where she served as Senior Counsel in the office of Law and Policy and led the legal department’s work on Artificial Intelligence. She advised Senior Leadership, including the Director, on establishing guidance for governing AI models in a way that facilitated their use to enhance access to credit and consumer protection.

Alex’s work led to the Bureau’s first ever No Action Letter, in favor of a company using AI models to enhance underwriting for non-traditional loan applicants. Alexandra was also the Bureau’s lead attorney on FinTech, regularly engaging with some of the county’s leading fintech companies on novel regulatory questions.  She also specialized in Fair Lending and issues relating to customers with Limited English Proficiency. As part of that work, Alex led the legal department’s work on Spanish-language financial services.

Following her work at the Bureau, Alex was a partner at two national law firms, where she led the FinTech groups and advised a variety of banks, leading fintech companies, fintech trade organizations, and Artificial Intelligence clients on regulatory issues, litigation, and product development. She also helped several of the country’s largest banks expand their Spanish language offerings and expand their language strategies.  
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Alex then joined Bank of America, where she led the Bank’s Digital Banking legal work and advised the Head of Digital on the full range of legal and regulatory issues. Alex worked closely with Digital on expanding and refining the Erica artificial intelligence tool, the banking app, the Zelle product, and the Bank’s Spanish language offerings, among many other issues. Alex also represented the Bank in several trade groups of the largest banks in the country, helping to set the groups’ strategies on issues related to novel technology and regulation.
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In addition to her work at Vectari, Alex also serves as General Counsel at Valon Technologies, a Series B startup focusing on improving Mortgage Servicing through technology.
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Alex graduated from Harvard Law School and the University of Texas. She is originally from Monterrey, Mexico and lives in Charlotte, NC, with her three daughters and her husband.