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Just Getting Started continued from page 27 all law students( ultimately from at least five different law schools) to careers in the insolvency field. In particular, it provided scholarly analysis on cutting-edge and provocative bankruptcy issues, as well as a platform for frank discussion on ways our profession can better focus on mentorship and sponsorship.
For many students, the event provided their first glimpse of our profession, as well as their first introduction to all-star panelists comprising lawyers, financial advisors, academics, and judges, the vast majority of whom were Fellows. It thus presented enormous educational, career development, and networking opportunities – and was an unqualified success, with more than 100 registrants. Indeed, this first program was so effective that the Committee and the College since have sponsored four additional programs – two at Howard and two at the University of Illinois, each attracting 50-100 participants. We have at least three additional such events planned for 2026( again at Howard; in North Carolina’ s Research Triangle; in the Bay Area of Northern California; and elsewhere).
As described in further detail here, DREAMS has become one of most important, service-oriented components of the College’ s programming – and a critical element of mindfully tending to the future of our profession.
DRIVE. In 2023, the College implemented its Developing Restructuring & Insolvency Volunteer Effectiveness( DRIVE)program, which was designed to create a professional development network with and for mid-level professionals in the insolvency arena.The program facilitates interaction between Fellows and mid-level professionals in a manner that encourages dialogue about enhancing one’ s career in bankruptcy and
insolvency, and all Fellows are given the opportunity to pledge to participate in the program and connect with younger professionals, again enhancing our goal of serving as mindful guardians of our profession’ s future health and vitality. To date, more than 100 Fellows have agreed to participate. We thank the External Subcommittee members and Chair Jane Kim for their steadfast efforts in promoting DRIVE.
Carrying the Message. Finally, the DEI Committee, especially through its Communications Subcommittee, under the leadership of Co-Chairs Judge Sheri Bluebond and Omar Alaniz, has worked tirelessly to provide our Fellows and the larger restructuring community with timely and detailed information about the implementation of our DEI mission, both to support the College’ s other DEI-related initiatives and to advance that mission substantively and materially. It has undertaken multiple video production projects, for example, including to feature our ACB Scholars and to highlight the vital importance of mindful mentorship( through our“ Someone Believed in Me” series of filmed interviews with senior Fellows). And critically, it undertook and completed a complete overhaul of the Committee’ s multiple pages on the College’ s website, which now provide extensive resources for our Fellows and others to understand, support, and enhance our mindfulness and inclusion efforts generally.
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Acknowledgements. From the very outset of its work and then throughout the course of the last four years, it has been clear to the members of the DEI Committee that the Commission’ s work in 2020 and 2021 was both seminal and groundbreaking, laying the foundation for fundamental, positive change in the College and our professional community at large. We remain enormously