Every month, CARE publishes a column called the “CARE Corner” in the American Bankruptcy Institute’s “ABI Journal.” This is the January 2018 column republished and lightly edited for the website blog.
Four New Members Elected to the CARE Board of Directors
CARE held its winter Board Meeting at the ABI Winter Leadership Conference and elected four new board members. Congratulations and welcome to the new Board Members:
Chris Lenhart is Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at U.S. Bank where he leads the Commercial Lending, Commercial Workout and Capital Markets legal teams. His background also includes working as a partner at Dorsey & Whitley in the Finance & Restructuring Group. He also served as clerk for the Honorable Peter J. Walsh in the District of Delaware.
Jennifer Mercer is Senior Vice President and Head of the Strategic Communications practice at Epiq Systems. She is a specialist in crisis and corporate communications, employee and financial investor communications, media relations and program development. Her experience includes developing and managing critical communications programs for clients, including MWW Group, Hill & Knowlton and Strick &Company.
Victor Owens is Senior Vice President and Senior Director of Specialty Deposits at East West Bank, the largest independent bank based in Los Angeles CA. He joins the CARE Board with more than 30 years of specialized banking and deposit management experience. A native of Southern California, Victor also has experience in the insurance and nonprofit sectors.
Joe Solmonese is Managing Director & Founding Partner at Gavin/Solmonese, where he specializes in the Corporate Engagement practice. He has significant experience advising political campaigns and developing compelling brands for organizations. Joe also brings significant nonprofit experience having served for several years as the president of the Human Rights Campaign and with EMILY’s List in Washington D.C.
CARE Congratulates the Winners of the 2017 Volunteer Awards
Each year, CARE has honored a volunteer who has exhibited excellence in their volunteer role for the organization through a Volunteer of the Year Award. This year, CARE added two more awards to the fold: Chapter of the Year and Rising Star Award.
The 2017 Volunteer of the Year Award was awarded to Jennifer Pincus (U.S. Trustee Office, Portland, ME), volunteer coordinator for the CARE Maine chapter. Pincus joined the Maine chapter in the 2012-2013 school and worked with Judge Michael Fagone (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Maine) and others to build one of the nation’s most robust and active chapters. Her hard work, dedication, and impressive results leading the chapter all make her deserving of this award. The award was presented at ABI’s Winter Leadership Conference and Judge Michael Fagone accepted the award on her behalf.
The 2017 Chapter of the Year Award goes to the CARE Atlanta Chapter. CARE Atlanta has worked to improve the lives of Atlanta High School students and youth for over 10 years and has shown consistent success and involvement from their local bankruptcy community. Jeff Cavender (Troutman Sanders LLC, Atlanta, GA) accepted the award on behalf of the Chapter at the CARE Holiday Reception on November 30th.
The 2017 Rising Star Award goes to Michael Pantzer (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York) for his work in starting the CARE Long Island Chapter. Starting in February 2017, Michael worked hard to build support from the Bar Association and recruit volunteers for the CARE Long Island chapter. His work and early leadership helped the CARE Long Island Chapter find its bearings and become fully operational in a short time. Michael wasn’t able to attend the award ceremony but was honored at the CARE Holiday Reception on November 30th.
Congratulations to the 6 CARE Volunteers for their ABI 40 Under 40 Awards
CARE congratulates 6 CARE volunteers for their recognition as ABI 40 Under 40 Awardees. Vincent Alexander (Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, LLP) and Monique Hayes (Goldstein & McClintock LLP) in CARE Miami, Jeremy Fischer (Drummond Woodsum) in CARE Maine, Ariane Holtschlag (FactorLaw) in CARE Chicago, James Irving (Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP) in CARE Kentucky, and Sage Sigler (Alston & Bird LLP) in CARE Atlanta were each honored as one of the top 40 professionals in bankruptcy under the age of 40 by the ABI on Friday, December 1st. CARE thanks them for their volunteer service and congratulates them again!
CARE Hits the Road in 2018
Join the CARE National Staff as it travels the country to meet new volunteers and attract donors. You can find CARE at the following American Bankruptcy Institute conferences: Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference (January 25-26, Denver, CO); Annual Spring Meeting (April 19-22, Washington, D.C.); New York Bankruptcy Conference (May 24, New York, NY); Central States Bankruptcy Conference (June 7-9, Lake Geneva, WI); Winter Leadership Conference (December 6-8, Scottsdale, AZ).
CARE will also travel to the following non-ABI Bankruptcy Conferences: The M&A Advisor Distressed Investing Summit (March 20-22, Palm Beach, FL); National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustee Annual Seminar (June 27-30, Miami, FL); National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees Annual Convention (August 16-18, Amelia Island, FL); TMA Annual (September 26-28, Colorado Springs, CO); National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges’ Conference (October 28-31, San Antonio, TX); Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy’s National Educator Conference (November 2-5, Cleveland, OH).
CARE Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities in 2018
Thank you to CARE’s 2017 Donors and Sponsors, including 100 donors and 12 corporate sponsors. CARE looks to hold a number of events in 2018 and is looking for corporate sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring a CARE event, please email Ian Redman at [email protected] or look for more information in the coming weeks.
