The Center for Excellence in Elder Law at
Stetson University College of Law presents:

SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS X
THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Oct. 16-17, 2008
Don CeSar Beach Resort
St. Pete Beach, Fla.

REBECCA C. MORGAN
Director, Center for Excellence in Elder Law
Boston Asset Management Faculty Chair in Elder Law
Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, Fla.

Professor Rebecca C. Morgan is the director of Stetson's Center for Excellence in Elder Law and the holder of the Boston Asset Management Faculty Chair in Elder Law, the first chair in elder law in the country. Professor Morgan is a past president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). She is a NAELA fellow and an academic fellow in the American College of Trusts and Estates Council (ACTEC). She is on the faculty of the National Judicial College. She was a special adviser to the ABA Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly and is the past president of the board of directors of the National Senior Citizens Law Center. She served as the reporter for the Uniform Law Commissioners for the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act and directs Stetson's Elder Consumer Protection Project.

In recognition of her contributions to the field of elder law, Morgan received the 2004 NAELA Unaward, as well as, the 2003 Florida Bar Faculty Award for Professionalism. Professor Morgan has been the chair of The Florida Bar Elder Law Section, the American Association of Law Schools Section on Aging and the Law, and was a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging. She served on the Florida Attorney General's Task Force on Elder Abuse and on the Legislative Guardianship Study Commission.

Morgan is the successor co-author of Matthew Bender's Tax, Estate and Financial Planning for the Elderly, its companion forms book, and is also a co-author of LexisNexis' Planning for the Elderly in Florida. She has written a number of law review articles dealing with legal issues affecting the elderly and frequently presents on various subjects of elder law.

ANDREW K. CUDDY
Attorney at Law
Littman Krooks
White Plains, N.Y.

Andrew K. Cuddy, originally from Auburn, N.Y., is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross where he received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Cuddy attended Holy Cross on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Upon graduation, he was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps. He attained the rank of captain and is a combat veteran of the Gulf War and Somalia.

He graduated from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1996 and was admitted to practice that same year. He practiced criminal defense law for a number of years, until a criminal case with overlapping special education issues pulled him into the special education arena. Cuddy’s practice is now almost entirely devoted to special education law. The firm only represents parents and guardians in their attempts to obtain appropriate services for their children.

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STEPHEN W. DALE
Attorney at Law
The Dale Law Firm, P.C.
Walnut Creek, Calif.

Stephen W. Dale received his law degree from Armstrong Law School and his LL.M. in taxation from Golden Gate University. His law firm is dedicated to providing top quality estate planning to clients by working cooperatively with the client’s tax, financial and insurance professionals.

Dale is a disability rights advocate and spends much of his time attending disability rights activities, including legislative hearings and serving on boards and committees of disability-rights organizations. He is a frequent speaker on disability-related topics across the country and is the recipient of the 2007 NAELA Powley Award. Dale regularly teaches courses to the general public, financial professionals and other attorneys on special needs trusts and trust administration with a special emphasis on achieving independence while maintaining essential governmental benefits. He also offers trustee classes to his clients and professional trustees on how to administer special needs trusts.

Dale regularly teaches continuing education classes accredited by the California Department of Insurance and the California Bar on estate planning, special needs trusts, pooled trusts and tax planning.

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RICHARD E. DAVIS
Attorney at Law
Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., L.P.A.
Canton, Ohio

Richard E. Davis is a principal of the law firm of Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., L.P.A., where he chairs the estate planning and elder law practice groups. His focus is primarily in elder law, estate planning, special needs planning, probate and trust administration. Davis graduated from the College of Wooster and received his J.D. and master’s degrees from the University of Southern California.

Davis is admitted to practice in Ohio and Florida. He is listed in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America, both for the estate planning and elder law practice areas and is listed as an Ohio "super lawyer" for both practice areas. Davis is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law, and is a certified elder law attorney.

Davis is a co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Long Term Care, Medicaid and Special Needs Trust Committee. He serves on the elder law committees of the Ohio State Bar Association, The Florida Bar, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the Stark County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Special Needs Alliance and is active in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Davis was a member of Ohio’s Uniform Trust Code committee and was the primary architect of Ohio’s new statutory Wholly Discretionary Trust.

Davis has spoken on the relationship between the UTC and SNTs for the University of Miami’s Heckerling Estate Planning Institute, NAELA, ACTEC, the first two National UTC conferences, the Fratcher Estate and Trust Symposium, and the OSBA Pliskin Advanced Estate Planning Conference. His materials on the UTC and SNTs have been published in Trusts & Estates, Estate Planning, The NAELA Journal and The Probate Law Journal of Ohio.

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KATE DUSSAULT
President
Mobility Support Systems, LLC
Seattle, Wash.

Kate Dussault began her career working with individuals with disabilities 20 years ago when her brother suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. She has a bachelor’s degree in biological psychology from the University of Colorado, a paralegal certificate and attended the College for Certified Financial Planning. She has 16 years experience in settlement planning and private resource/public benefit coordination as a trustee, case manager and collateral source benefit compliance consultant. She has spoken at several continuing education seminars for personal injury attorneys including the National Brain Injury Association Conference for Attorneys and several state trial lawyers’ conferences. She has presented at the National Life Care Planning Conference and various state-sponsored programs.

Dussault has served on several boards during her career including Colorado Citizens’ for Accountability, Colorado Brain Injury Fund Raising and Legislative Committee, Jefferson County Department of Social Services Single Entry Point Advisory Board, and Living from the Heart, a non-profit agency providing recreational opportunities for individuals who experience disabilities. She acts as a consultant to attorneys, trustees and individuals who experience disabilities and their families regarding public benefit planning, special needs trusts implementation and management and other issues that affect persons with disabilities and their family members.

In May 2007, in an effort to resolve the problems associated with obtaining safe and affordable accessible transportation, she established Mobility Support Systems, LLC (MSS™). Additionally, as an effort to begin educating professionals and consumers on the safety issues related to accessible transportation, she has begun speaking at several professional and consumer conferences including the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, and various disability advocacy consumer groups. Her goals with MSS™ are to provide safe, affordable and easy Individual Transportation Services (ITS™) to individuals who experience disability. ITS™ includes full evaluation of safety and appropriate recommendations for accessible vehicles and products, accessible vehicles provided on a lease basis, 24/7 emergency road-side assistance, full-maintenance program and a unique national insurance program.

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WILLIAM L. E. DUSSAULT
Attorney at Law
Dussault Law Group
Seattle, Wash.

William L. E. Dussault received his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1972. He is a member of the American Bar Association, Washington State Bar Association, Colorado State Bar Association and Seattle-King County Bar Association, and has been admitted to practice in the state of Washington, United States Federal District Court, United States Supreme Court and the state of Colorado. He maintains a private practice in Seattle, Wash., with an emphasis on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Dussault was the originating author of special needs trusts for use in personal injury settlements (known as “Dussault Trusts”) in 1976 and the originating author of “42 U.S.C. §1396p(d)(4)(A),” the federal legislation authorizing use of special needs settlement/judgment trusts in conjunction with continuation or establishment of eligibility for certain federal benefit programs. He is actively involved with numerous state and national groups concerned with legal issues impacting persons with disabilities; he incorporated and served as counsel to the Association for the Severely Handicapped (TASH) and a vice-chair of the American Bar Association Family Law Committee on Mental Disability. He is a counsel to the Washington Association for Persons with Disabilities and is the founding president of the Washington Chapter of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).

Dussault was an adjunct professor at the University of Washington School of Law and the University of Washington School of Nursing on Nursing, Law and Ethics. He has just completed two terms as a member of Washington State Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct Committee. He was an initial developer and contributing editor to the National Structured Settlement Trade Association White Paper quarterly, a member of the board of directors and vice president of finance for the Brain Injury Association of America from 1996 through 2001. He was a member of the faculty of the International Institute on Head Injury and the Law at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. He was selected as one of Washington’s “super lawyers” by Washington Law & Politics each year from 1999 through 2006, and was chosen by Washington Law & Politics as one of the four best lawyers in Washington state in 2003.

Dussault makes frequent presentations on catastrophic personal injury case settlements, ethics and management devices throughout the United States, including presentations for the National AAJ, and the Washington, California, Utah, Texas, Ohio, Montana, Colorado and Louisiana trial lawyers’ associations. He is also a frequent presenter at local and national seminars and symposiums on issues related to the coordination of public benefits and private assets. Dussault is the founder and senior shareholder of William L. E. Dussault, P.S., dba Dussault Law Group in Seattle, Wash.

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ROBERT B. FLEMING
Attorney at Law
Fleming & Curti, PLC
Tucson, Ariz.

Robert B. Fleming is a partner in the Tucson law firm of Fleming & Curti, PLC, with a practice limited to guardianship, conservatorship, estate planning and probate. He has been selected as a fellow for the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is a past chair of the mental health and elder law and probate and trust sections of the state bar of Arizona, and he served as director of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. At different times, he served as president of the Pima County Bar Association (he is now a member of the board of directors of that association) and the young lawyers’ section of the state bar of Arizona. Fleming served as a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging.

He currently serves as a member of the Special Needs Alliance (www.specialneedsalliance.com), the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, the Pima County Bar Association and the state bar of Arizona. Fleming is a husband, father, pilot and martial-arts practitioner.

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BRADLEY J. FRIGON
Attorney at Law
Law Offices of Bradley J. Frigon
Englewood, Colo.

Bradley J. Frigon is in private practice in Denver, Colo. Frigon received his J.D. in 1981 from Washburn University and his master’s degree in taxation in 1982 from the University of Denver. He is a certified elder law attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation. Frigon is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), Colorado Bar Association, the Special Needs Trust Alliance, and is a fellow in the Kansas Bar Association. Frigon serves on the board of directors of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is the past chairman of the Tax Special Interest Group and Member Discount Committee for NAELA and the chair of the 2008 Advanced Elder Law Institute.

In addition to his practice, Frigon is a frequent presenter to attorneys, certified public accountants and financial planners on elder law, estate planning, special needs trusts, individual tax planning, and public benefit and tax issues related to workers’ compensation and personal injury settlements. He is the author of the following published articles: “Taxation of Damage Award,” Colorado Personal Injury Practice Series; “Taxation of Disability Trusts,” “New Proposed Regulations on Sale of Principal Residence,” Elder’s Advisor, The Journal of Elder Law and Post-Retirement Planning; “New Case Limits Government Recovery under the Medicare Secondary Payer Statute,” AELA E-Bulletin; “Another Arrow in the Quiver: Understanding the New Tax Rules That Apply to Capital Gains and Qualifying Dividends,” NAELA Quarterly; and “Amendments to Medicare Secondary Payer Statute Broader Authority for Government Recovery,” Colorado Lawyer.

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LEO J. GOVONI
Co-founder and Director
The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration Inc.
Clearwater, Fla.

Leo J. Govoni is the president and founder of Boston Asset Management. Founded in 1992, Boston Asset Management is a federally registered investment adviser which has evolved to become the recognized leader in providing fiduciary investment management. Throughout his tenure, Govoni has developed and implemented programs specifically designed to assist attorneys. Whether a structured settlement, special needs trust or an alternative public benefits planning solution is needed, Boston Asset Management has the experience and network of professionals to provide and implement a solution. Govoni has more than 25 years of investment industry experience, and is an expert in the field of financial planning for the elderly and the disability community.

More recently, he has focused his energies on a collaborative effort to create a commercially-viable pooled trust in Florida, aptly named the Florida Pooled Trust. Due to its overwhelming success and the need to expand beyond the state, Govoni co-founded the first National Pooled Trust and is the co-founder of the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the disability community.

Govoni is very active in the legal community and serves as a member of the Eagle Team of Trial Lawyers and an affiliate member of the elder law section of The Florida Bar. In addition, Govoni served as the only non-attorney member of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee and is currently a member of the Special Commission on Lawyer Regulations Committee. He is also involved in the guardianship arena. His memberships include: the National Guardianship Association, the Foundation for Indigent Guardianship Inc., the Florida State Guardianship Association and all local Florida guardianship chapters. He speaks locally and nationally on special needs trust and other financial topics related to disabled individuals.

Govoni serves on the Stetson University College of Law board of overseers and board of trustees committees, and is a member of their executive committee. He was also recently appointed to the Trustee Athletic Committee at Stetson University. He has made a leadership commitment to Western Kentucky University in support of their Kelly Autism Program Endowment, demonstrating his firm belief in the importance of education. As part of that commitment, he believes in athletics as a venue for achievement. As such, he has volunteered for many years as a coach for the Countryside High School football team.

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ANDREW H. HOOK
Attorney at Law
Oast & Hook, P.C.
Portsmouth, Va.

Andrew H. "Andy" Hook is an officer in the Virginia Beach law firm of Oast & Hook, P.C., where he practices in the areas of elder law, estate administration, estate planning, Medicaid asset protection planning and special needs trusts. A 1975 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Hook is a fellow of both the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). He is certified as an elder law attorney (CELA), and he is a member of the board of directors of the National Elder Law Foundation, the only organization accredited by the American Bar Association to offer certification in the area of elder law. Hook is also a certified financial planner professional.

Hook is a member of the board of managers of the Special Needs Alliance, a nationwide network of disability attorneys. He is also a member of the Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council and the advisory committee of the Hampton Roads Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Hook is the author of the BNA Tax Management Portfolio on Durable Powers of Attorney, the co-author of Representing the Elderly and Disabled Client, the co-author of Estate Planning for Lawyers and the co-author of the elder law column for Estate Planning magazine. Hook is a frequent lecturer for the Virginia State Bar Committee on Continuing Legal Education.

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MARY ALICE JACKSON
Attorney at Law
Boyer & Jackson, P.A.
Sarasota, Fla.

Mary Alice Jackson is a Florida Bar certified elder law attorney and a partner in the firm of Boyer & Jackson, P.A., in Sarasota, Fla. She is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell and was named as one of Florida’s legal elite by Florida Trend in 2006. She practices exclusively in the area of elder law, with an emphasis on public benefits, long-term care and incapacity planning, special needs trusts, advance directives, probate and end-of-life issues. She frequently lectures on these topics.

Jackson serves on the board of directors for the Pines of Sarasota, a long-term care facility, and on the board of governors for Senior Friendship Centers Inc. She has served as a professional president or chair of the following organizations: the elder law section of the Florida Bar; the Sarasota County Bar Association; the board of trustees of Tidwell Hospice of Southwest Florida Inc.; Senior Solutions of Southwest Florida, an area agency on aging; the board of directors of Legal Aid of Minnesota Inc.; and the founding board of the NAELA (National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys) Senior Rights PAC, an organization dedicated to supporting national political candidates with a commitment to aging Americans. Jackson also serves as vice chair of the Public Policy Committee for NAELA.

A member of the NAELA since 1993, she is also a member of The Florida Bar elder law section, the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys, the Sarasota County Aging Network and the Florida Council on Aging. She is the recipient of the 2003 NAELA Powley Award for public service and the 2004 William Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award given by Stetson University College of Law. Jackson received the 1998 Florida Bar Pro Bono Service Award for the 12th Circuit and is an adjunct professor at Stetson University College of Law, teaching interviewing, counseling and negotiations and law practice management in LL.M.

Jackson received a bachelor’s degree in government and a master’s degree in public administration from Florida State University, and a J.D., cum laude, from Stetson University College of Law. She now lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband Bob, who is Texas state director for AARP and an attorney. She continues her practice in Sarasota by commuting and telecommuting, and with the assistance of a top-notch staff. Jackson is the proud mother of the inimitable Andrew Ferrell, who died in 2001 after a battle with leukemia. She is a native of Winter Park, Fla.

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BERNARD A. KROOKS
Attorney at Law
Littman Krooks, LLP
New York, N.Y.

Bernard A. Krooks is a founding partner of the law firm Littman Krooks, LLP, with offices in New York City, N.Y., and White Plains, Kan.

Krooks is past president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), a fellow of NAELA, past chair of the NAELA Tax Special Interest Group, and past editor-in-chief of the NAELA News. In addition, he is certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. He is a founding member and president of the New York chapter of NAELA.

Krooks is past chair of the elder law section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), chair of its Legal Education Committee and past editor-in-chief of Elder Law Attorney, the newsletter of the NYSBA elder law section. Krooks is a member of the trusts and estates law section and tax section of the NYSBA. In addition, he is a former member of the NYSBA House of Delegates and he served on the NYSBA special committee on multi-disciplinary practice. Krooks co-authored a chapter in the NYSBA publication Guardianship Practice in New York State entitled “Creative Advocacy in Guardianship Settings: Medicaid and Estate Planning, Including Transfer of Assets, Supplemental Needs Trusts & Protection of Disabled Family Members.” He is also a co-author of the NYSBA publication Elder Law and Will Drafting.

Krooks is a widely quoted expert on elder law, special needs planning and estate planning matters and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsweek, Money Magazine, Smart Money, Kiplinger’s, Bloomberg Wealth Manager, CBS Marketwatch.com, Lawyer’s Weekly USA, Reader’s Digest, Bottom Line, The Journal of Financial Planning, The New York Law Journal, Dow Jones, A.M. Bestwire, The Daily News, New York Post and Newsday, among others. He has testified before the United States House of Representatives and the New York City Council on long-term care issues. He also has appeared on National Public Radio, CNN, PBS, NBC, and CBS, as well as numerous other television and radio shows.

Krooks is a member of the estate planning councils of New York and Westchester County, a member of the real property, probate and trust law section and tax section of the American Bar Association, a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, a member of the American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants, and a member of the American Institute of CPAs. Krooks also is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and serves on its Elder Law Committee. He is an adjunct assistant professor at the NYU Center for Finance, Law and Taxation and is a member of the NYU Institute on Federal Taxation advisory board. He also serves on the editorial advisory boards of Trusts & Estates magazine and Leimberg Information Services. Krooks is the New York member of the Special Needs Alliance (www.specialneedsalliance.com), a national network of attorneys dedicated to assisting families with special needs planning.

Krooks has served on the board of directors of the Alzheimer’s Association Westchester/Putnam chapter and the Bioethics Advisory Committee of New York Hospital. He is a board member of Westchester ARC, a member of the Blythedale Children’s Hospital planned giving professional advisory board, a member of the trusts and estates group of the lawyer’s division of the UJA-Federation of New York and a member of the legal advisory committee of the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program of Selfhelp Community Services Inc. He has made presentations to numerous professional organizations, including ALI-ABA, Alzheimer’s Association, American Bar Association, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Brookdale Center on Aging, Brooklyn Bar Association, Financial Planning Association, The Florida Bar, MS Society, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, National College of Probate Judges, National Law Foundation, New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging, New York City Bar, New York County Lawyers Association, New York State Bar Association, New York State Judicial Institute, NYU Institute of Federal Taxation, Pace University Law School, Queens County Bar Association, School for Exceptional Children, St. Johns University School of Law and Westchester County Bar Association, as well as other professional, civic and community groups.

Krooks is married and has four children. He is an AYSO-certified soccer coach and an NYSCA-certified baseball coach

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DAVID J. LILLESAND
Attorney at Law
Lillesand & Associates, P.A.
Miami, Fla.

David J. Lillesand is a founding partner of Lillesand & Associates, P.A., which has offices in Gainesville and Miami. The firm represents disabled children, adults and their families in Social Security/SSI disability claims, Medicaid, special needs trusts, guardianship and estate planning matters. Lillesand graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1966 with a degree in political behavior and the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1972. He began representing individuals with SSI disability claims federal administrative hearings in 1974. He has been a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia and South America and a full-time domestic volunteer in the VISTA program working with migrant farm worker families in Laredo, Texas. Thereafter, Lillesand spent seven years in legal services programs in New Jersey and Florida, including two years as executive director of Florida Rural Legal Services.

Since beginning private practice in 1979, he has been a frequent lecturer for NOSSCR, NAELA, the Florida State Guardianship Association, and The Florida Bar’s continuing legal education programs in the areas of Social Security disability, SSI, special needs trusts, guardianship and legal and financial planning for disabled children and adults. As part of his practice, Lillesand has authored and presented in-service training on administration of special needs trusts to trust officers of some of the country’s largest banks. He received the ARC Plotkin Outstanding Legal Service Award for service to mentally retarded citizens, is a three-time recipient of the Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award from the South-Miami Kendall Bar Association, and received The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the 11th Judicial Circuit. He has been president of his two local bar associations, chairman of the South Florida Council on Divorce Mediation, and president of Guardianship and Case Management Services Inc. Lillesand is trilingual ¬–– he speaks English, Spanish and POMS. He is serving his second term as chair of the Special Needs Trust Committee of The Florida Bar’s elder law section.

Lillesand has been married for 38 years to Dr. Diane V. Lillesand, a recently retired clinical and forensic psychologist who is now a full-time second Ph.D. graduate student in Tibetan Buddhism at the University of Florida. They have one daughter, Jessica, a graduate of Duke University and a 2008 graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

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JANET L. LOWDER
Attorney at Law
Hickman & Lowder Co., L.P.A.
Cleveland, Ohio

Janet L. Lowder is a principal with the firm of Hickman & Lowder Co., L.P.A., which provides a broad range of legal services to individuals with disabilities and elderly persons, their families, and the public and private agencies which provide services to them. Lowder is certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Special Needs Alliance and serves on the Bioethics Committee of the Hattie Larlham Foundation, a residential provider for profoundly disabled children.

Lowder is founder of and counsel to the Community Fund Management Foundation, a non-profit organization which manages the largest first-party and third-party pooled trusts for individuals with disabilities in Ohio. She was chosen as an Ohio “super lawyer” by her peers each year from 2004 to the present, and was named as one of the top 50 female lawyers in Ohio in 2005 and 2006. She is also named in Best Lawyers in America in elder law and trusts and estates.

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PI-YI G. MAYO
Attorney at Law
Law Office of Pi-Yi G. Mayo
Baytown, Texas

Pi-Yi G. Mayo is certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. He received his bachelor’s degree in finance, magna cum laude, from the University of Houston in 1980 and his J.D. from the Bates College of Law at University of Houston in 1983.

Currently, Mayo serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston’s Bates College of Law, where he teaches in the area of elder law. He taught real estate law, finance and mathematics at the Lee College of Baytown for eight years. He is a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, Houston Bar Association and East Harris County Bar Association. He was a past chairman of the Houston Bar Association Elder Law Committee and past vice chairman of the American Bar Association’s Elder Law Committee.

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CRAIG C. REAVES
Attorney at Law
Reaves Law Firm, P.C.
Kansas City, Mo.

Craig C. Reaves is an attorney with Reaves Law Firm, P.C., in Kansas City, Mo. He practices law in Kansas and Missouri with major emphasis in the areas of estate planning, elder law and planning for persons with disabilities. Since 1995, he has been certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation as part of its charter class.

Reaves is a fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and is currently serving as its president-elect. He is a charter member of the Council of Advanced Practitioners of NAELA, a founding board member and a past president of the Missouri Chapter of NAELA and a member of the Kansas Chapter of NAELA. He is also a member of the Special Needs Alliance, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Wealth Counsel, Estate Planning Society of Kansas City, USB Attorney Network, Christian Legal Society and Kansas City-metropolitan, Kansas, Missouri and American bar associations.

Reaves is an adjunct professor teaching an elder law course at the law schools for the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is a past president of the Brain Injury Association of Kansas and Greater Kansas City, and is the president of Life Care Planning Inc.

He is admitted to practice law in the federal and state courts in Kansas, Missouri (Western District-Federal) and the United States Tax Court. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and his J.D. degree from the University of Kansas. He also holds the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designations from the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

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ARTURO R. RIOS
Attorney at Law
Arturo M. Rios, P.A.
St. Petersburg, Fla.

Arturo "Art" Rios was born in Puerto Rico, but grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla. Rios graduated from Eckerd College, summa cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. While at Stetson, he was a member of both the Trial Team and Moot Court, and graduated cum laude in 2006, receiving both the Dean’s Award and the Stallworth Trial Team Award at graduation. He went on to obtain an LL.M. in trial advocacy at Temple University.

Rios practices law in St. Petersburg with his father; he specializes in immigration law litigation and in serving as trial counsel on select civil and criminal cases. Married with two children, Rios enjoys spending his free time with his family and staying active in the Stetson community.

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VINCENT J. RUSSO
Attorney at Law
Vincent J. Russo & Associates, P.C.
Westbury, N.Y.

Vincent J. Russo is a managing shareholder of Vincent J. Russo & Associates, P.C., which is Long Island’s signature elder law, special needs and estate planning law firm with offices in Westbury, Islandia, Lido Beach and Woodbury, N.Y. He has championed the rights of seniors and people with disabilities since 1985.

Russo is a co-founder of the Academy of Special Needs Planners, a past board member and president of United Cerebral Palsy Nassau Guardianship Corporation, and a co-founder and officer of the Theresa Alessandra Russo Foundation for children with special needs.

He is a founding member, fellow and past president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is a founding member and past president of the New York Chapter of NAELA. He is also a member of the prestigious Council of Advanced Practitioners (CAP) of NAELA. Russo is a founding member and past chair of the elder law section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). He is also the past chair and founder of the Legal Advisory Committee to the Alzheimer’s Association Long Island Chapter and a board member of the Arthritis Foundation Long Island Chapter.

Russo is a nationally-recognized author, lecturer and authority in elder law, special needs and estate planning. He is a certified elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. He is admitted to the New York, Massachusetts and Florida state bars and is the co-author of New York Elder Law Practice (West Thompson).

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NELL GRAHAM SALE
Attorney at Law
Miller Stratvert, P.A.
Albuquerque, N.M.

Nell Graham Sale is a partner in Miller Stratvert, P.A., practicing in Albuquerque, N.M. She is admitted to practice law in state and federal courts in New Mexico, Delaware, Pennsylvania, the U. S. Tax Court and the U. S. Supreme Court. Her law practice concentrates on taxation, estate planning, estate administration, business succession, disability planning and elder law. The law firm also provides legal services in fiduciary litigation and business management consultation. She has an AV-rating from LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell and was listed in Super Lawyers of the Southwest in 2007 and 2008. She is a certified elder law attorney as designated by the National Elder Law Foundation. She is a member of The Group, a national tax practitioners study group.

Sale graduated Phi Beta Kappa from DePauw University and earned her law degree with honors from Widener University School of Law, winning six American Jurisprudence awards. During law school, she served as a Wolcott Fellow law clerk for the late Chief Justice Andrew D. Christie of the Delaware Supreme Court.

Sale is a member of the New Mexico Bar Association and the Delaware State Bar Association. She is a member of the board of directors of the Special Needs Alliance, a national network of disability trust lawyers. She is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, of which she is past co-chair of the Tax Special Interest Group. She is a founding member and president of NAELA New Mexico, the state chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; a member of the New Mexico Estate Planning Council; past chair of the New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair; and past president of the board of directors of the First Unitarian Church. She is an avid tennis player.

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G. MARK SHALLOWAY
Attorney at Law
Shalloway & Shalloway, P.A.
West Palm Beach, Fla.

G. Mark Shalloway specializes in elder law in West Palm Beach, Fla. He is among the first 135 certified elder law attorneys in the nation certified by the National Elder Law Foundation and is a member of the charter class of attorneys board certified in elder law by The Florida Bar. In addition, he holds an AV-rating with Martindale-Hubble. Nationally, Shalloway served as president and is a fellow for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). He has served as chair of the NAELA Advanced Educational Insitute in Colorado and has received the Outstanding Achievement Award from NAELA for his work with the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys.

In addition, Shalloway lectured for Stetson University College of Law on special needs trusts and in Las Vegas at the national Absolute Litigators Conference on Special Needs Trusts. At the state level, Shalloway has served as the president of the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys and serves as a chairman of The Florida Bar Elder Law Section Medicaid Committee. As part of his committee work, he provides technical assistance to the Florida Legislature on elder legislation.

Locally, he is the founding chair of the Palm Beach County Bar Association's Elder Law Committee. In addition, the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and Gov. Jeb Bush have appointed Shalloway to serve as the attorney on the state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Council, Palm Beach District. As an educator, Shalloway is a member of the adjunct faculty at Palm Beach Community College lecturing on estates and administration and teaches the Palm Beach County guardian education course. He is proud to serve as chairman of the board for Alzheimer's Community Care. Among many elder advocacy organizations, Shalloway is a member of the state and Treasure Coast chapters of the Florida State Guardianship Association and the Palm Beach County Partnership for Aging. Shalloway practices as president and shareholder with his father in the firm of Shalloway & Shalloway, P.A.

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PATRICIA F. SITCHLER
Attorney at Law
Schoenbaum, Curphy & Scanlan, P.C.
San Antonio, Texas

Patricia "Patty" Flora Sitchler is a shareholder in the law firm of Schoenbaum, Curphy & Scanlan, P.C. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Sitchler is certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Trinity University and a J.D. with high honors from St. Mary's University School of Law. She served as an adjunct professor at St. Mary's University School of Law, and she is a frequent author and lecturer on elder law, estate planning, trust and estate administration issues and legal ethics issues at programs such as the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Symposium, the University of Texas Elder law courses and State Bar of Texas elder law seminars and San Antonio Young Lawyer's Docket Call in Probate Court.

Sitchler is a member of the San Antonio Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, American Bar Association, College of the State Bar of Texas and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, where she serves on the state board of directors and is the past president (2005-06). She is also a member of the Department of Human Services Long Term Care Services Advisory Council, Region 8, and was a consultant and faculty member of the South, West and Panhandle Consortium Geriatric Education Centers Grant education project at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (2002-03). Her practice includes elder law, estate planning and administration and litigation support. She is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Sitchler is the first attorney in the state of Texas to be both certified as an elder law attorney and be a fellow in ACTEC.

She is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell, and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2007), in San Antonio Monthly as one of San Antonio’s best lawyers in the field of trust and estate law and in Texas Monthly’s “super lawyers” 2004-07 under the category of elder law. Sitchler is co-author of Save My Home! Saving Your Home, Farm or Ranch from Medicaid Estate Recovery in Texas.

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NEAL A. WINSTON
Attorney at Law
Moschella & Winston, LLP
Somerville, Mass.

Neal A. Winston is a partner of Moschella & Winston, LLP, a Boston firm with its practice limited to elder and disability law. In 1975, Winston wrote the first edition of the Social Security Manual for the Community Worker. A frequent lecturer, Winston has trained and written widely on benefits programs and represented hundreds of claimants before state and federal agencies. He is past president of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and has been certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation.

Winston serves on the public policy committee of NAELA and is a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives and the American Bar Association Social Security committee. He is the author of the Social Security insurance benefits section of the Elder Law Portfolio Series. Winston is also active in legislative issues affecting disabled and elder citizens on a state and federal level. He is a graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University and received his law degree at Suffolk University Law School.

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