Alexandria, Va.— ABI announces the honorees of its “40 Under 40” initiative, which identifies 40 top industry professionals under age 40. The honorees will be recognized at a special ceremony during ABI’s 2019 Winter Leadership Conference, taking place Dec. 5-7 at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. ABI’s 2019 class of “40 Under 40” honorees are:

• Michael Addeo of GSO Capital Partners (New York)
• Michael Balistreri of Alvarez & Marsal (New York)
• Camille C. Bent of BakerHostetler LLP (New York)
• Kimberly A. Brown of Landis Rath & Cobb LLP (Wilmington, Del.)
• Jose Carles of Carles Cuesta Abogados (Madrid, Spain)
• Justin F. Carroll of Guggenheim Partners Investment Management (New York)
• Bradley Cosman of Perkins Coie LLP (Phoenix, Ariz.)
• Julie A. Cvek Curley of Kirby Aisner & Curley LLP (Scarsdale, N.Y.)
• Ryan J. Dattilo of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Washington, D.C.)
• Monique B. DiSabatino of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr (Wilmington, Del.)
• Ashley A. Edwards of Parker Poe (Charlotte, N.C.)
• Prof. Pamela Foohey of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law (Bloomington, Ind.)
• Gregory W. Fox of Goodwin Procter LLP (New York)
• Michael Fuller of OlsenDaines (Portland, Ore.)
• Prof. Brook E. Gotberg of the University of Missouri Law School (Columbia, Mo.)
• Christopher T. Greco of Kirkland & Ellis LLP (New York)
• Amy Denton Harris of Stichter, Riedel, Blain & Postler, P.A. (Tampa, Fla.)
• Andrew C. Helman of Murray, Plumb & Murray (Portland, Maine)
• Adam D. Herring of the U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for U.S. Trustees (Washington, D.C.)
• George R. Howard of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (New York)
• Robert Klamser of Stretto (Denver)
• Angela M. Libby of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (New York)
• Jessica H. Liou of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (New York)
• David A. Mawhinney of K&L Gates LLP (Boston)
• Ashley McDow of Foley & Lardner LLP (Los Angeles)
• Megan W. Murray of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney (Tampa, Fla.)
• Edward E. Neiger of ASK LLP (New York)
• Russell A. Perry of Ankura (Dallas)
• Charissa Potts of Freedom Law, PC (Eastpointe, Mich.)
• Brandy M. Rapp of Whiteford Taylor Preston, LLP (Roanoke, Va.)
• Ivan J. Romo Valdovinos of SOELI Consulting (Mexico City, Mexico)   
• Tara J. Schellhorn of Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti, LLP (Morristown, N.J.)
• Alexandra R. Schnapp of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (N.D. Ga.; Atlanta)
• Marc N. Swanson of Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, PLC (Detroit)
• Jennifer M. Taylor of O'Melveny & Myers LLP (San Francisco)
• Spencer M. Ware of AlixPartners LLP (New York)
• Matthew L. Warren of King & Spalding LLP (Chicago)
• Lindsi M. Weber of Polsinelli PC (Phoenix)
• Nicholas J. Zluticky of Stinson LLP (Kansas City, Mo.)
• Evan J. Zucker of Blank Rome LLP (New York)

“This 2019 class of honorees is incredibly accomplished and diverse, and well representative of the multidisciplinary nature of our community,” said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “We look forward to engaging these young leaders in the full range of ABI's activities, in service to the profession.”

Honorees were chosen from both large and small firms from every region of the country, and represent diverse practice areas such as law, finance, consulting, academia, government and more. The age range of this year’s class is between 34 and 40 years old, with 26 of the honorees having applied previously to ABI’s “40 under 40” initiative. Twenty-two members of the 2019 “40 under 40” class are male and 18 are female, and six of the honorees are minorities. Every circuit has two members represented in this year's class, other than the Fifth Circuit, which has one. For the first time in ABI’s “40 under 40” initiative, two honorees are located outside the U.S. (Mexico and Spain).

Nominations were submitted earlier this year by the candidates themselves or by colleagues via the initiative’s website, http://abi40under40.org. More than 350 candidates, each with outstanding records of professional achievement and community leadership, were evaluated by 12 judges. Eighty percent of the applicants were partners, directors or managing directors at their firms.

A steering committee of experienced professionals from ABI’s current leadership established the criteria for selection and chose the honorees. Members of the steering committee are Jennifer Meyerowitz of Summit Investment Management LLC (Atlanta) (chair), John Bollinger of Boleman Law (Hampton, Va.), Chief Bankruptcy Judge Daniel P. Collins (D. Ariz., Phoenix), Paul H. Deutch of Omni Agent Solutions (New York), James R. Irving of Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP (Louisville, Ky.), Eric L. Johnson of Spencer Fane LLP (Kansas City, Mo.), Ericka F. Johnson of Womble Bond Dickinson LLP (Wilmington, Del.), Kristina M. Johnson of Jones Walker LLP (Jackson, Miss.), Melissa S. Kibler of Mackinac Partners (Chicago), Douglas L. Lutz of Frost Brown Todd LLC (Cincinnati), Kimberly A. Posin of Latham & Watkins LLP (Los Angeles) and Adrienne Walker of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. (Boston).

The goal of ABI’s “40 under 40” initiative is not simply to create a one-time ceremony, but to fully engage those selected as future leaders in the insolvency profession and to build on the initiative each year. ABI staff have created a year-round promotional campaign in the ABI Journal and at all of its CLE programs in consultation with the steering committee.

For more information about ABI’s “40 under 40” initiative, visit http://abi40under40.org/.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes nearly 11,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abi.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abi.org/calendar-of-events.