Mr. Boltz is a member of the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, P.C., where he has managed the firm’s office in Durham, North Carolina since 1998, representing clients in not only Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcies, but also in related consumer rights litigation, including fighting abusive mortgage practices.

Mr. Boltz received his B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1993 and his J.D. from George Washington University in 1996. He is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, where he has been certified as a specialist in consumer bankruptcy law. He is admitted to practice before the Districts Courts in both the Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina.

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for NACBA, where he is jointly responsible for directing the State Chair program, Mr. Boltz serves on the Bankruptcy Council for the North Carolina Bar Association and previously served as the Bankruptcy Chair for the North Carolina Association of Trial Lawyers.

William E. Brewer, Jr. graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with an A.B. in Economics in 1973, and with a J.D. with honors in 1976. Mr. Brewer served as law clerk to Judge R.A. Hedrick of the North Carolina Court of Appeals before beginning private practice in 1977.  Certified as a specialist in consumer bankruptcy law by the North Carolina State Bar, Mr. Brewer has represented the debtors in the series of "Sears" cases in the Eastern District of North Carolina, dealing with the effect of purchase money security interests in bankruptcy cases.

Mr. Brewer has been a NACBA member since 1993, a NACBA Director since 1997, and has served as a popular panelist at NACBA's previous conventions

Mr. Colwell maintains his practice at the Law Offices of John C. Colwell, a P.L.C. d/b/a Debt Relief Legal Clinic of San Diego County, where he has worked exclusively in the field of consumer bankruptcy since 1989. He manages a practice averaging 30 Ch. 7 and 10 Ch. 13 consumer bankruptcy cases per month. Under his guidance, his firm filed the first “electronic” Ch. 7 bankruptcy case in San Diego, and his firm is the largest filer of cases filed via the internet in San Diego (over 6300 Ch. 7 and Ch. 13's filed electronically as of 3/06).

Mr. Colwell received his B.A. Degree in Philosophy from Ripon College in Ripon, WI in 1977; and his J. D. degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego, CA in 1984. He is a member of the State Bar of California (1985) and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court (Southern District of CA), the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and
the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr Colwell is a member and a Director on the Board of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, as well as a member of the following: 9th Circuit Information Technology and Telecommunications Committee, National Assoc. of Ch. 13 Trustees, American Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, American Bankruptcy Institute, National
Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, San Diego County Bar Association (Bankruptcy Section), and the California and San Diego Bankruptcy Forums.

Mr. Colwell has participated on many panels regarding the representation of debtors, on a variety of subjects, and venues, including NACBA, NACTT, Visa USA, Inc., Toyota Motor Credit, Mitsubishi Motor Credit, CA Credit Union Collectors Council, S.D. County Bar ‘Free Law Day’, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District visiting Judges panels, and for other MCLE providers. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Hurst, Texas

Ms. Ebert received her B.A. degree from H. Sophie Newcomb College of Tulane University, cum laude in Public Policy in 1982. She received her J.D. in 1985 from Texas Tech University. She has been a member of the firm, Ebert Law Offices, P.C. since 1989, and is a member of the State Bar College. Ms. Ebert is admitted to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas. She also serves as a panel trustee in the Northern District of Texas. She is board certified in Consumer Bankruptcy by the State Bar of Texas and the American Bankruptcy Board of  Certification.

Ms. Ebert is the Secretary and was elected to her second term as a Director for the National Association of Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) in 2002. Ms. Ebert has also served as President of the Northeast Tarrant County Bar Association and is a frequent lecturer at Debtor Bar seminars and has served as a panelist at NACBA conventions since 1998.

Ms. Hammes received her A.B. Communications and Public Policy from the University of California Berkeley in 1972 and received a J.D. from Santa Clara University Law School in 1977. She is certified as a Specialist in Personal and Small Business Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.

Ms. Hammes has represented consumer debtors in bankruptcy since 1978. She is admitted to the California State Bar, U.S. District Court - Northern District of California; U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits; and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ms. Hammes testified on consumer bankruptcy issues before the National Bankruptcy Review Commission (1996-97) and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Economic and Commercial Law (1998). She has been a speaker on consumer bankruptcy topics at various seminars and conventions, including NACBA's.

She is a co-founder of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and has been a Director of NACBA since its formation in 1992 and served as its president from 1997 to 2001.

Mr. Mason is a 1974 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and has practiced in California and Michigan since being admitted to the bar in that same year. As a practicing lawyer, Mr. Mason specialized in bankruptcy and consumer litigation while working in an office of the UAW-Chrysler Legal Services Plan. He is currently an Assistant Director of the UAW-GM Legal Services Plan in Detroit, Michigan. He supervises nineteen Plan offices located in Southeast Michigan; and Buffalo and Lockport, New York. Those offices provide pre-paid legal services including bankruptcy and consumer matters to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers' Union. As part of  his responsibilities, Mr. Mason approves all appellate work originating from the offices he supervises and, in particular, maintains a keen interest in bankruptcy and consumer apapellate issues that affect working people.

Mr. Mason has testified before U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees and the National Bankruptcy Review Commission on proposed bankruptcy legislation. Mr. Mason, a member of NACBA since 1993, became a Director of NACBA in 1996 and now serves as NACBA's President.

Boston, Massachusetts 

Mr. Rao is a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, Inc. He focuses on consumer credit and bankruptcy issues and directs the Center's case consulting services, providing technical assistance and litigation support to attorneys in a wide range of consumer law cases. He also participates in the Center's litigation efforts, which has included serving as co-counsel in the May Department Store reaffirmation abuse class action and the Fairbanks Capital mortgage servicing abuse class action. He has served as a panelist and instructor at numerous bankruptcy and consumer law trainings and conferences, and has served as a trainer for housing counselors and attorneys on predatory mortgage lending issues. Prior to coming to NCLC, Mr. Rao served as head of the consumer law unit at Rhode Island Legal Services. He is a graduate of Boston University and received his J.D. from the University of California (Hastings). He became a Director of NACBA in 1998.

Mr. Rao is editor of NCLC's Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice manual, co-author of NCLC's Repossessions and Foreclosures, and contributing author to NCLC's Student Loan Law and Stop Predatory Lending, and NCLC Reports: Bankruptcy and Foreclosures Edition. He is also a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy (Matthew-Bender) and the Collier Bankruptcy Practice Guide.

Mr. Rao has drafted numerous amicus curiae briefs on behalf of NACBA, including those filed in Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. v. Hood, 124 S.Ct. 1905 (2004); Geiger v. Kawaauhau, 118 S.Ct. 974 (1998); In re Price, 370 F.3d 362 (3d Cir. 2004); In re Lopez, 345 F.3d 701, (9th Cir. 2003), In re Paschen, 296 F.3d 1203 (11th Cir. 2002), In re Su, 290 F.3d 1140 (9th Cir. 2002), In re Weinstein, 164 F.3d 677 (1st Cir. 1999); and In re Boodrow, 126 F.3d 43 (2d. Cir. 1997).

San Jose, California

Ike Shulman received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and he received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law. Mr. Shulman has practiced bankruptcy law in San Jose, California, since 1986. His practice has been devoted almost entirely to small business and consumer bankruptcy debtors. He is certified as a Specialist in personal and Small Business Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Shulman is a member of the State Bar of California, and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; and the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Seventh and Ninth Circuits. He served as a delegate to the California State Bar Conference of Delegates from 1987 through 1989. A member of the Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Executive Committee of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, he organized and served as the first Chair of its Chapter 13 Subcommittee in 1989-90. He again served as its Chair for 2002.  In 1996 and 1997, Mr. Shulman testified on consumer bankruptcy issues before the National Bankruptcy Review Commission. In March 1998, he also testified on pending bankruptcy legislation before the House Judiciary Committee.

In 1992, Mr. Shulman led the effort to organize the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys to provide consumer debtors with an effective voice in the legislative process. Mr. Shulman was elected NACBA's first president, and served in that position through 1996. In 1997 he took over as NACBA Treasurer and also currently serves as Chair of NACBA's Legislative Committee. He has served as a panelist at each of NACBA's annual conventions and has appeared as a speaker at numerous other conventions and seminars.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mr. Sommer, NACBA's President, is Supervising Attorney at the pro bono Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project in Philadelphia.  He has litigated many major cases involving bankruptcy, consumer law, civil rights and other issues.  Previously, he was the head of the Consumer Law Project at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, where he worked for over 21 years.  Mr. Sommer has also served as a Lecturer-in-Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  He received his AB degree from Harvard College, magna cum laude and JD degree from Harvard Law School, cum laude.

Recently appointed. Bio coming soon.