Professional Pipeline Grants from the American College of Bankruptcy Foundation

The Foundation remains committed to fostering the next generation of bankruptcy professionals. To help expand access to the field, the Foundation has awarded $58,500 in Professional Pipeline Grants to five organizations that provide students with opportunities to attend conferences, gain hands-on experience through internships, and develop cultural competency skills to better serve bankruptcy clients.

Grants 

DEI Articles in College Columns

December 2025:  Just Getting Started: The College's DEI Mission at Five Years Young
December 2024: DREAMS Really Do Come True

December 2023: Achieving Tangible DEI Results

May 2023: Looking to the Future

December 2022: The College and DEI: Whither from Here?

December 2022: DEI Committee Collaborates with Focus on Gender Equity

May 2022: The Hard Work Yet to be Done

May 2022: DEI Committee Update

December 2021: The DEI Commission: Moving Forward

View College Columns 

ACB Scholars

The American College of Bankruptcy partners with Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization (JTB) to provide stipends to six law students participating in JTB’s Summer Judicial Internship Project (Project). The Project, a collaboration between JTB and the Judicial Resources Committee of the United States Judicial Conference, provides highly qualified law students, from socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds underrepresented in the legal profession, with summer judicial internships in the chambers of federal appellate, district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges, as well as select state appellate judges

Click here to see the impact this program has had on the lives of one of our scholars.

2025 ACB Scholars
Mitchel Floding: University of Minnesota Law School
Erica Glover: Lincoln Memorial University – Duncan School of Law
Matilda Koduah: University of Notre Dame Law School
Gabriella “Gabbie” Pettijohn: Chicago Kent College of Law
Brynna Smith: University of Missouri School of Law
Tyler “Ty” Yee: University of San Diego School of Law

2024 ACB Scholars
Joshua Bedoya: George Washington University Law School
Marianna Gonzalez: Nova Southeastern Shepard Broad College of Law
Darwin Perry: Howard University School of Law
Victoria AndersonL University of Arizona
Yanan Tang: University of Minnesota
Hongmei Hu:University of Illinois College of Law

2023 ACB Scholars
Tanner Bowen: Harvard Law School
Hans Brownstein: University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
Vasily (Vas)Levin: University of Florida School of Law
Joseph Ulloa: University of North Texas Dallas College of Law
Kemberly Viveros: Temple University Beasley School of Law
Qingqing (Kris) Zhang: Drexel University Thomas Kline School of Law

2022 ACB Scholars      
Cameron Love: Emory Law School
Brian Lozano: City University of New York School of Law
Yuree Nam: Syracuse University College of Law
Myoungin Isaac Oh: Washington University School of Law
Sequra Washington: Nova Southeastern Shepard Broad College of Law
Deiona Camargo: University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law

ACB Scholar Video 

Howard DREAMS
On November 6th, 2024, the College, in collaboration with the ABI, presented the second annual Discovering Restructuring Expertise and Mentorship Symposium (DREAMS) program at the Howard University School of Law. The program informed students from at least five different law schools about careers in the insolvency field. It also 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, this event provided the first glimpse of our insolvency profession. Click the button below for more details.

Illinois DREAMS:

On November 7 2025, the College, in collaboration with the ABI, presented the second Discovering Restructuring Expertise and Mentorship Symposium (DREAMS) program at the the University of Illinois School of Law. The program began with a book launch for Debt’s Grip written by Professors Robert Lawless, Pamela Foohey and Deborah Thorne.  The discussion focused both the empirical data collected by the professors and anecdotal accounts of experiences consumers faced before and after filing in chapters 7 and 13.  This discussion was followed by a panel of business lawyers, financial advisors and judges discussing the interesting issues faced in business cases.  The third panel featured former law clerks, externs, lawyers and one judge discussing opportunities for clerking and externing in bankruptcy court chambers.  Each of the panels included a law student facilitator. The final session provided roundtable discussions with many of the speakers, other College Fellows and the students. 

The program informed law and undergraduate students from the University of Illinois and at least one other law school about careers in the insolvency field. It also 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, this event provided the first glimpse of our insolvency profession.

While all of the panel presentations were stellar and positively received, a highlight was the interaction and discussion with the participants at breaks and during the evening reception. The students were overwhelmingly appreciative of the time spent by our professional community to listen, encourage and provide individual advice. Many of the practitioners, judges and professors and Dean Jamelle Sharpe echoed the impactful nature of the program.  

DREAMS

MENTORSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS:
D.R.I.V.E.

In 2023, the College implemented  a Developing Restructuring & Insolvency Volunteer Effectiveness (DRIVE) program designed to create a professional development network with/for mid-level professionals in the insolvency arena. The program is designed to facilitate interaction between Fellows and mid-level professionals in a manner that encourages dialogue about enhancing one’s career in the insolvency arena, and all Fellows will be given the opportunity to pledge to participate in the program and connect with mid-level bankruptcy and insolvency professionals.  At the All Fellows Luncheon in 2023 over 90 ACB Fellows pledged to participate in DRIVE (over 100 Fellows are now in the program).  Click here start your DRIVE with us.

DRIVE WITH US! 

Many of our Fellows have inspiring stories to tell about how their journey to a career in bankruptcy was inspired or encouraged by someone who believed in them or how they helped to advance the career of another bankruptcy professional. View the videos, linked below, for inspiration on how you may inspire and encourage the next generation of insolvency professionals. View our Sizzle Reel!

Someone Believed in Me:
Omar Alaniz
Michael Baxter
Hon. Joan N. Feeney (ret.)
Hon. Michelle Harner
Marc Levinson
Hon. Enrique Lamoutte-Inclan
Hon. Erithe Smith
Hon. Kathy Surratt-States

I Believed in Someone
Richard Carmody

ACB Scholarship Award Winners:
2025 ACB Scholarship Award Recipients
2024 ACB Scholarship Award Recipients
2023 ACB Scholarship Interview: Tanner Bowen
2023 ACB Scholar Interview: Hans Brownstein
2023 ACB Scholar Interview: Vas Levin
2023 ACB Scholar Interview: Qinging (Kris) Zhang

The DEI Excellence Award

At its September 2024 meetings in Seattle, Washington, the College presented its annual DEI Excellence Award to the City Bar Justice Center (Justice Center), a pro bono legal services adjunct of the Bar Association of the City of New York.

The Justice Center is engaged in myriad bankruptcy-related DEI initiatives, including the provision of pro bono legal services to a number of diverse constituencies participating in the bankruptcy system, as well as a major new DEI educational program for bankruptcy professionals practicing at New York-area firms.  In its award citation, the College and its Standing Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion noted in particular the multi-dimensional nature of the Justice Center’s efforts and its DEI advocacy in our industry.  Likewise, the DEI Committee emphasized that the Justice Center’s leadership, which includes representatives from virtually every major law firm in New York, has been steadfastly diligent  in the face of recent DEI “pushback” in the larger political environment.

The College and the DEI Committee believe not only that Justice Center is a more than worthy recipient of the DEI Excellence Award, but that it has adopted and is pursuing a model program.

DEI Awards

Other DEI Initiatives

Focus on Gender: New York Women's Initiative

The DEI Committee partnered with the New York Women's Initiative and the University of California’s Equality Action Center to conduct a wide-scale survey with member firms to examine how bias based on race and gender play out in bankruptcy and restructuring workplaces. These results were presented at an "Interrupting Gender Bias in the Restructuring Industry" event on November 14, 2024 at Kirkland & Ellis in New York. Click here for more details.

IDEA Consortium

The DEI Committee is a member of the Bankruptcy Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility Consortium, which comprises about a dozen insolvency organizations. The Consortium acts as a repository of resources relevant to the member organizations’ efforts to promote and foster diversity in the insolvency community.

 IDEA Consortium

NCBJ Blackshear Presidential Fellows

The National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges sponsors fellowships to enable up and coming diverse bankruptcy attorneys to attend its annual conference.  For additional information and nomination/application procedures, please click the button below. Click here for more details

Further Reading

DEI Initiatives Raise Standards

Gymnastics reached new heights (literally) with Simone Biles. Dr. Arin Reeves explains the role that DEI initiatives played in setting higher standards at the Paris Olympics in this must-read article.

(Shared with permission by Nextions)

Click here to read