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NEW OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS ELECTED AT ABI’S 25^TH ANNIVERSARY ANNUAL SPRING MEETING

April 25, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — The following officers and members of the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) were elected to leadership positions at ABI’s 25^th Anniversary Annual Spring Meeting, held April 12 – 15 in Washington, D.C.:

New members of the Executive Committee and new officers include: Reggie Jackson of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP (Columbus, Ohio) becomes President for a one-year term, succeeding Judge Wesley Steen of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas (Houston), who now assumes the position of Immediate-Past President. John W. Ames of Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald PLLC (Louisville, Ky.) was named President-Elect, to become President in April 2008. John Penn of Haynes and Boone LLP (Fort Worth, Texas) succeeds Michael P. Richman of Foley & Lardner LLP (New York) as Chairman of the Board for a one-year term. Geoffrey L. Berman of Development Specialists, Inc. (Los Angeles) was named to a two-year term as Vice President-Publications, succeeding Ames. Josefina Fernandez McEvoy of K&L Gates LLP (Los Angeles) was named Vice President-International, succeeding George Kelakos of Kelakos Advisors LLC (Greenwich, Conn.). Dillon E. Jackson of Foster Pepper PLLC (Seattle) is succeeded as Secretary by Judge Eugene R. Wedoff of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Northern Illinois (Chicago).

Eight new members were elected to the ABI Board of Directors: Chip Bowles of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC (Louisville, Ky.), Howard Brod Brownstein of NachmanHaysBrownstein Inc. (Narberth, Pa.),  Judge Dennis Dow of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri (Kansas City), Bruce Harwood of Sheehan, Phinney, Bass & Green (Manchester, N.H.), Jean Maess of Thomson West (Rochester, N.Y.),  Lynn Tavennerof Tavenner & Beran, PLC (Richmond, Va.), Deborah Thorne of Barnes & Thornburg LLP (Chicago) and  R. Scott Williamsof Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker LLC (Birmingham, Ala.). 

Directors reappointed for another three-year term are: John W. Ames of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC (Louisville, Ky.), Peter Antoszyk of Proskauer Rose LLP (Bsoton), Matt Bordwin of Keen Consultants, LLC (Great Neck, N.Y.), Prof. Ralph Brubaker of the University of Illinois College of Law (Champaign, Ill.), Melyssa Barrett of Visa USA Inc. (San Francisco), Francis Conway of Mercer Management Consulting (New York), Reggie Jackson of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP (Columbus, Ohio), Peter Kaufman of Gordian Group LLC (New York), Melissa Knoll of Mesirow Financial Consulting LLC (Chicago), Bruce Nathan of Lowenstein Sandler PC (New York), Nancy Peterman of Greenberg Taurig, LLP (Chicago) and Chester Salomon of Stevens & Lee PC (New York). The ABI Board of Directors has 60 members.

The complete list of directors and officers is available at http://www.abiworld.org/Content/NavigationMenu/About_ABI/Board_of_Directors/Board_of_Directors.htm

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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 more than 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.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.