Ms. Celli has served as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of New York in Albany since 1995.  Her office currently administers approximately 6,000 pending Chapter 13 cases and disburses approximately $30 Million to creditors each year.  She is an attorney, licensed in the State of New York, and received a J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University and an LL.M. in American Banking Law Studies from Boston University School of Law.  Ms. Celli is a frequent lecturer for the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Capital Region Bankruptcy Bar Association, the Capital District Women’s Bar Association, and the Albany Law School of Union University.  Ms. Celli has served on the board of directors of a number of charitable and non-profit organizations including the Capital District Community Land Trust and EBA Center for Dance and Movement.  She brings to the Academy the experience of a nationally respected expert on consumer bankruptcy, and an experienced leader of tax exempt and charitable organizations.

Mr. Bekofske has served as Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of Michigan since 1985. He is an experienced educator, having been an adjunct professor of law at Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan from 1992-1994. Mr. Bekofske currently serves as the Genesee County (Michigan) Public Administrator, serving as fiduciary in the administration of estates with unknown heirs. He has served on the boards of directors of the Community Foundation in Flint and the Michigan Prospect for Renewed Citizenship in Lansing. He has been a board member and president of the Genesee County Bar Association and currently serves as the president of the Genesee County Bar Foundation. Mr. Bekofske brings to the Academy Board of Directors long experience in the training and evaluation of attorneys, the operations of bar associations, and the educational training programs utilized by such groups.

Henry E. Hildebrand, III has served as Standing Trustee for Chapter 13 matters in the Middle District of Tennessee since 1982 and as Standing Chapter 12 Trustee for that district since 1986.  He also is of counsel to the Nashville law firm of Lassiter, Tidwell, Davis, Keller & Hogan, PLLC. Mr. Hildebrand graduated from Vanderbilt University and received his J.D. from the National Law Center of George Washington University.  He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and serves on its Education Committee.  He is Board Certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification.  He is Chairman of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee for the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT). In addition, he is on the Board of Directors for the NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, Inc. Mr. Hildebrand has served as case notes author for The Quarterly, a newsletter dealing with consumer bankruptcy issues and Chapter 13 practice in particular, since 1991.  He is a regular contributor to the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal.  He is an adjunct faculty member for the Nashville School of Law and St. Johns University School of Law.

Mr. Johnson served as a Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Puerto Rico from 1989 to 1998 when he was appointed as Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division. Mr. Johnson retired from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard in 1995 with the rank of Brigadier General. He was a founding member of the National Guard Association of Puerto Rico and has served as its president. Mr. Johnson is an active national speaker on consumer bankruptcy issues, and currently serves as a member of the Liaison Committee of NACTT.

Ms. Leavitt has served as a Standing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee for the District of Nevada since 1981. She has served as editor of The Quarterly, a publication dealing with Chapter 13 bankruptcy and consumer bankruptcy matters for over ten years. She was president of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees in 1997 and currently chairs its Bankruptcy Rules Committee. She also serves on the NACTT IRS Liaison Committee and Publication Editorial Board. From 1995 through 2005, Ms. Leavitt served on the Executive Board of Consumer Credit Counseling of Southern Nevada. She has prepared and presented educational programs for the American Bankruptcy Institute, the State Bar of Nevada, and the Southern Nevada Association of Bankruptcy Attorneys, and the Department of Justice – U.S. Trustee Program.

M. Regina Thomas joined the law firm of McCalla Raymer, LLC after a three-year appointment as Assistant United States Trustee for the Southern District of Florida. Prior to this service with the Department of Justice, Ms. Thomas was the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Northern District of Georgia for almost 12 years. Ms. Thomas was President of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees for the 2000-2001 year and was chair of its Annual Educational Seminar in New York City in 1999. Since 1992, she has been a frequent speaker at bankruptcy and business seminars, including presentations for the USFN, National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, United States Trustee Program, State Bar of Georgia, The Florida Bar, University of Miami School of Law, Stetson School of Law, National Labor Relations Board, Internal Revenue Service, and various other state and federal agencies. Ms. Thomas is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and The Florida Bar. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of the NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, she is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, Atlanta Bar Association, American Bar Association, Georgia Association for Women Lawyers and IWRIC. Ms. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Alabama and the University of Florida Holland Law Center.

THOMAS F. WALDRON was appointed as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of Ohio, at Dayton, in 1985 and  served as Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court and the first Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Sixth Circuit. He retired after 22 years of judicial service in October of 2007. He has been a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Dayton law schools. He is a member of the American College of Bankruptcy, his contributions to publications include the American Bankruptcy Law Journal and he is a managing editor for Norton’s Bankruptcy Advisor. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and is a frequent speaker at national, regional and local bankruptcy education programs. He is currently the Advisor for the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustee’s Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education.