ACTEC Elects 25 New Fellows to The College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, DC–April 3, 2024: The Board of Regents of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) convened during the College’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, to consider nominations for a new class of ACTEC Fellows. The College is pleased to announce that 25 individuals were elected: 22 Fellows, one International Fellow from Australia, and one International Fellow from Mexico. Benjamin Orzeske, Chief Counsel of the Uniform Law Commission, was elected as an Honorary Fellow.

ACTEC President Susan D. Snyder shares, “On behalf of ACTEC, I welcome these experienced trust and estate lawyers to the College, and look forward to their contributions. And I am honored to welcome Benjamin Orzeske as an Honorary Fellow. His leadership, support, and commitment to the development and evolution of trust and estate law are invaluable assets to our community.”

To qualify for membership, a lawyer must have no fewer than ten years of experience in the active practice of trust and estate law, as fiduciary counsel with a fiduciary services company, or a combination thereof. Lawyers and law professors are elected to be Fellows based on their outstanding reputation, exceptional skill, and substantial contributions to the field by lecturing, writing, teaching, and participating in bar leadership or legislative activities. It is their aim to improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures, and professional responsibility.

Honorary Fellow

Chief Counsel of the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), Benjamin Orzeske, supervises a staff of legislative attorneys who work to enact uniform laws in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He provides legislative support for the Uniform Commercial Code and uniform laws in trusts and estates, investment management, and elder law. He also serves as the ULC’s internal Legal Counsel and the ULC’s staff liaison to the Joint Editorial Board for the Uniform Trust and Estate Act. 

The following 24 individuals were elected as New Fellows: ACTEC New Fellows

• Agnieszka K. Adams of Oakland, CA
• Steven M. Bonneau of Chicago, IL
• Sarah B. Bowman of Seattle, WA
• Brian D. Cororve of Houston, TX
• Benjamin Frank Diamond of St. Petersburg, FL
• June M. Wiyrick Flores of Portland, OR
• Alyssa G. Garrigan of Bedford, NH
• Vincent M. Haslam of Albuquerque, NM
• Christopher T. Hodge of San Antonio, TX
• Christian S. Kelso of Dallas TX
• Jason J. Kohout of Milwaukee, WI
• David Hudson Kunes of Charleston, SC
• Jennifer J. McEwen of Birmingham, AL
• Kelly M. Perez of Dallas, TX
• Debra J. Polly of Phoenix, AZ
• Benjamin A. Rubin, Buffalo Grove, IL
• Valerie Sasaki of Portland OR
• Ashley B. Sawyer, Washington, DC
• Benjamin T. Siracusa Hillman, Concord, NH
• Jennifer E. Smith of Wilmington, DE
• Todd I. Steinberg of Washington, DC
• Megan E. Wernke of Washington, DC

International Fellows

• Daniel Appleby of Sydney, Australia
• Ricardo Leon-Santacruz of Nuevo Leon, Mexico

About The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC): Established in 1949, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is a national, nonprofit association of approximately 2,400 lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC members (Fellows) are peer-elected on the basis of professional reputation and expertise in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration and related practice areas. The College’s mission includes the improvement and reform of probate, trust and tax laws and procedures and professional practice standards. ACTEC frequently offers technical comments with regard to legislation and regulations but does not take positions on matters of policy or political objectives.

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