Just Getting Started continued from page 13 of discussions, first in the Commission and, soon after, across a broad cross-section of College leadership, about ways to better impart to our new Fellows the organization, workings, and culture of the College( of which its DEI mission is only a part). Our Scholar-in-Residence and Education Committee, moreover, now routinely present DEI-related programming as part of their expansive educational offerings at our Spring and Fall meetings. Indeed, virtually every one of the College’ s many committees undertook at least some work related to our DEI mission within six months after the Commission issued its report – not because the DEI Committee or anyone else in leadership urged them to do so, but because that mission already has become an integral component of our service-oriented culture.
Inclusiveness in the Greater Insolvency Community. Working through its External Subcommittee, the DEI Committee also has embarked on a number of exciting initiatives designed to promote our profession – and ensure that its future is in the best possible hands. We highlight three of those initiatives here.
ACB Scholars Program. Beginning in 2022, the Standing Committee has partnered with“ Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization” to identify six outstanding law students each year, with the goal of them serving as summer judicial externs or interns for bankruptcy judges across the nation. Each of these students is designated an American College of Bankruptcy Scholar and receives a generous stipend from the ACB Foundation to fund their summer experiences, which would otherwise be unpaid. In addition, at our invitation and with additional financial support from the Foundation, ACB Scholars attend the College’ s Fall meeting and the concurrent
annual meeting of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. Judge Erithe Smith, former Co-Chair, and other members of the DEI Committee have chosen the ACB Scholars in prior years and have organized their events and mentorship experiences. These wonderful opportunities not only enhance the recipients’ professional training through educational programs, but also provide them with unique networking and career development opportunities that ultimately build the“ pipeline” for the future of our wonderful profession.
For more on the program and for profiles of our first four classes of ACB Scholars, please visit the Committee’ s page on the College’ s website.
DREAMS. In November 2023, borne of Judge Laurel Isicoff’ s disarmingly simple observation that“ we really should be doing something with the HBCU law schools,” the College developed and sponsored a new Discovering Restructuring Expertise and Mentorship Symposium( DREAMS) program at Howard University School of Law. Under the tireless leadership of Fellows Paula Beran and Lynn Tavenner, the program involved presentations from multiple bankruptcy professionals and judges to expose
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