Looking to the Future continued from page 9
all of our Fellows to greet and become acquainted with these wonderful young people at our meetings in Austin .
DRIVE – Diversity in Restructuring & Insolvency Volunteer Effectiveness
As part of the programming at the All Fellows Luncheon at our March 2023 meetings in Washington , D . C ., the Committee launched its Diversity in Restructuring & Insolvency Volunteer Effectiveness ( DRIVE ) program to facilitate interaction between Fellows and diverse , mid-level professionals in a manner that encourages dialogue about enhancing one ’ s career in the insolvency arena . DRIVE is designed to create a professional development network with and for diverse , mid-level professionals in our industry .
The rollout of the DRIVE program , which was developed jointly by the External and Communications Subcommittees and presented by Committee members Paula Beran , Jane Kim , and Omar Alaniz , included the premiere of a video montage featuring several of our Fellows . After viewing the video , nearly 100 Fellows made initial commitments ( at varying levels representing increasing numbers of calls to be made to young professionals on a quarterly basis ) to reach out to participating mentees and initiate conversations about our career experiences , our industry and professional development . We are now in the process of inviting a select number of up-and-coming diverse professionals to participate in the program and are excited about this unique opportunity for our Fellows to give back to the next generation .
These are but two concrete examples of the work being undertaken by the Committee , particularly in its efforts to enhance the College ’ s outreach to the younger , diverse professionals ( and even future academics and judges ) who one day will be among the leaders in our field . And there are any number of other “ works in process .” Our External Subcommittee is , among other things , evaluating other potential “ pipeline ” programs and developing various educational and outreach opportunities . Our Communications Subcommittee is developing additional mentorship and other similar programs and , in the near future , will be revamping the DEI section of the College ’ s website and evaluating potentially appropriate uses of social media . Finally , our Internal Subcommittee , working closely with the Board of Regents , is finalizing “ working principles ” regarding improvements to our already well-developed processes for identifying , nominating and electing new Fellows .
On these and all topics , we welcome your questions and input . We also thank all of you for your continued enthusiastic support .
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Students in JTB ’ s Summer Judicial Internship Diversity Project undergo extensive vetting and training . Those who clear the initial application review process and a telephone interview with an attorney are then referred to a judge who interviews the JTB candidate and makes the final decision . Students who are hired must then commit to two mandatory trainings as well as a legal writing assignment in preparation for the internship .
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