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and drive the U . S . bankruptcy system in the coming period . For those of you who may have missed it or might benefit from viewing it again , the presentation and excellent accompanying materials are available on the College website
here .
At the March meeting , we also welcomed the new members of our College leadership , including our new Vice President Michael St . Patrick Baxter and a new Director , the Hon . Lisa G . Beckerman , whom we also congratulate on her recent appointment as a bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York . The College will be enriched by the contributions that Michael and Judge Beckerman will continue to make in their new roles , just as our work has been enhanced by the Fellows whose leadership terms expired at the conclusion of that meeting . The full list of our incoming and outgoing leadership members is published elsewhere in this issue .
Of course , that smooth transition would not have been possible without the extensive and detailed work of our 2021 Nominating Committee , for which I thank our President Melissa Kibler , Board of Regents Chair Charlie Beckham , Foundation Chair Paul Harner , and our three at-large members Hon . Lisa Beckerman , Cecily Dumas and Richardo Kilpatrick .
The College remains active on the policy front , having submitted a letter to Congressional leaders on December 17 , 2020 in support of an important reform in the administration of the Paycheck Protection Program to eliminate any blanket prohibition against participation in that Program by debtors in bankruptcy cases . As with all such communications , this letter is posted on our website and available
here .
More recently , on March 3 , 2021 , we sent a
similar letter expressing our support for the extension of bankruptcy relief provisions in the 2020 CARES Act and December 2020 omnibus appropriations bill -- specifically , a one-year extension of the debt limit increase in the Small Business Recovery Act to $ 7.5 million that was slated to sunset in March .
The College is proud of its support for these legislative initiatives that enhance the quality of bankruptcy practice , and grateful for the diligent work of our Policy Committee in preparing the letters for my and Melissa ’ s signatures . In particular , we express our fond appreciation to the Hon . Robert E . Gerber ( ret .), whose second twoyear term as chair of that Committee expired at the close of our March meeting .
And a final word about leadership and involvement : It ’ s never too late for our Fellows , young and ( not-young ), new and ( not-new ), to volunteer for a Committee from the updated list maintained on our website
here . It ’ s really easy : when you click on the red “ Show Members ” language for each Committee on that site , you get a full list of members and can contact the chair or any member by clicking on that person ’ s name to pull up their College biography and contact information . The College is an organization of leaders , and there are so many ways in which to serve -- including many that I ’ m sure we haven ’ t even thought of yet ! We ’ d love for all of you who are able to step up and volunteer .
And , of course , a great way to start is to join us in Indianapolis in October ! Stay safe , stay busy , and we hope to see you then .
Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable summer !
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