Tamela Merriweather is an experienced legal and regulatory advisor in the finance industry. As Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel for The Northern Trust Company, Tamela advises on complex global securities finance, derivatives, and banking regulations and serves as a member of the Legal Department leadership team. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Securities Lending Association Americas (ISLA Americas) and on the Executive Committee of the SIFMA Compliance & Legal Society.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Tamela practiced in the Chicago and London offices of Mayer Brown LLP, and served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Alan C. Page and the Honorable Helen M. Meyer of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Tamela’s awards and recognitions include receiving Markets Media Group’s 2023 Women in Finance Award for Excellence in Legal, and NAWL’s Virginia S. Mueller Outstanding Member Award. Tamela has also completed McKinsey & Company’s Black Executive Leadership Program, and Corporate Leadership Center’s Leading Women Executives program.

Tamela grew up in San Diego and lives in Chicago. She received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Spelman College and her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School. Tamela is admitted to practice law in Illinois.