As the premier advocacy group for women in restructuring, IWIRC recognizes the value in recruiting and promoting women throughout their careers. To that end, the IWIRC Board of Directors established its Founders Awards in recognition of members and networks which have made exceptional contributions to the organization, their clients, and profession overall.
This past year's winners for our Melnik Award, Fetner Award, Ryan Award, Woman of the Year in Restructuring Award, Women of Restructuring Hall of Fame Award, Women of Restructuring Hall of Fame Award (Asia), and Rising Star Award.
The Melnik Award, named for IWIRC founding Chair Selinda Melnik, is awarded to a member whose contributions to IWIRC, over an extended period of time, have been exceptional. By her efforts, she has made a lasting impact on the mission of IWIRC.
The Fetner Award, named in honor of our founding Vice Chair, Martha Fetner, is awarded to a member for exemplary service to IWIRC, through efforts over the past year or several years, specially aimed at bringing members together through regional and international conferences, efforts and relationships. This award is given to a member whose contributions to IWIRC have helped to fuel growth and expansion of IWIRC’s mission globally.
The Ryan Award was founded in honor of IWIRC founding Secretary/Treasurer, Laureen Ryan. The Ryan is awarded to the IWIRC Network that best exemplified IWIRC in the past calendar year. All chartered IWIRC Networks are eligible. While each Network will be asked to submit a report to be considered for the award, we welcome nominations from members as well.
Each year, IWIRC honors a woman for her recent contributions (12-24 months) as part of the insolvency and restructuring industry with the Woman of the Year in Restructuring (WOYR) award. She may be an attorney, judge, banker, turnaround manager, academic or other restructuring industry professional. She is actively engaged or recently retired from the restructuring industry - and from anywhere in the world. IWIRC membership is not a requirement to make a nomination, nor to be honored.
Importantly, achievements do not have to be in nationally renowned cases or result in landmark decisions, only exceptional. IWIRC welcomes all entries and is not seeking the most senior woman or the most important case.
Beginning in 2022, IWIRC is honoring a woman for her career contributions to the insolvency and restructuring industry with the Women of Restructuring Hall of Fame award. She may be an attorney, judge, banker, turnaround manager, academic or other restructuring industry professional. She is actively engaged or recently retired from the restructuring industry - and from anywhere in the world. IWIRC membership is not a requirement to make a nomination, nor to be honored.
Importantly, achievements do not have to be in nationally renowned cases or result in landmark decisions, only exceptional. IWIRC welcomes all entries for women who have made a difference.
The Annual Asia Woman of the Year in Restructuring Award (WOYR Asia) honors a woman in Asia for her recent contributions to or lifetime achievements as part of the restructuring and insolvency industry.
The WOYR Asia complements the pre-existing award programme called “Woman of the Year in Restructuring Award (WOYR)” which has been administered by IWIRC internationally since 2006. Winners of that award are typically announced at one of the IWIRC conferences in the United States. While the WOYR award is open to anyone across the globe, the WOYR Asia is designed specifically to recognize practitioners based in Asia.
The award is open to any female professional in the restructuring and insolvency industry based in Asia - including, lawyers, judges, bankers, accountants, turnaround managers, restructuring advisers and academician. She could be actively engaged in or recently retired from the restructuring and insolvency industry. IWIRC membership is neither a requirement to make a nomination, nor to be honored. Self-nominations are permitted.
The WOYR Asia award for the years 2018 and 2019 were presented at the 2nd IWIRC Asia Restructuring and Insolvency Conference (held in Hong Kong on 8 November 2018) and at the INSOL International Hong Kong One Day Seminar (held in Hong Kong on Friday 18 October 2019) respectively. The WOYR Asia award for the year 2020 was presented at an IWIRC-hosted virtual event on Tuesday, 20 October 2020. The WOYR Asia award for the year 2021 was presented at the 3rd IWIRC Asia Restructuring and Insolvency Conference which was a hybrid event held on 15 September 2021 and was anchored by the IWIRC Singapore Network. The WOYR Asia award for the year 2022 was presented in Hong Kong as part of a hybrid panel event hosted by the IWIRC DIB Sub-Committee on the subject of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging on 15 November 2022. The WOYR Asia award for 2023 was presented at the IWIRC@INSOL 23 Tokyo conference (13 and 14 September 2023). The WOYR Asia award for 2024 was presented at the 2024 Leadership Summit in Singapore, and was kindly sponsored by Red Intelligence.
The 2025 edition of the award will be awarded at the annual IWIRC China event in Shanghai on 29 August 2025. We will communicate with the winner in advance of the presentation to ensure they can be appropriately represented and honored.
Nominations should be sent by email to [email protected] to be received by 5pm Singapore/Hong Kong time, on 7 July 2025.
In furtherance of IWIRC’s mission, which is devoted to enhancing the professional status of women in the insolvency and restructuring profession, IWIRC has established an award for individuals who are the “Rising Stars” of IWIRC. IWIRC wants to recognize and honor the “Rising Stars” of the organization for their contributions to IWIRC. The Rising Star nominees may be attorneys, bankers, turnaround advisors, claims and noticing agents, academics or other restructuring industry professionals who are actively engaged in the restructuring industry, are located anywhere in the world, and who have shown dedication and commitment to IWIRC on the local, national and/or international level.
All nominees for the IWIRC Rising Star Award must be members of IWIRC. However, IWIRC membership is NOT a requirement to make a nomination. Nominations may be received from firms, companies, partners, associates, IWIRC Networks, IWIRC members, organizations or otherwise.
The IWIRC Rising Star Award will be presented to the woman who:
We are looking for individuals that are relatively new to the restructuring industry who have made a marked difference with their involvement and achievements in IWIRC at the local, national and/or international level. Please feel free to think out of the box on this. We welcome all entries. Please consider those women who have consistently demonstrated a commitment to enhancing IWIRC and your local Network.
Five Finalists will be announced in early September of each year. All five Finalists will be invited to attend the Annual IWIRC Fall Conference where the winner of that year’s IWIRC Rising Star Award will be announced. The IWIRC Rising Star award recipient and all of the other Finalists (along with their supporting firms, companies, partners, organizations) will be recognized and presented with awards honoring their contributions and support of IWIRC.
Finalists: Natalie Lam, Tanner De Witt, Hong Kong Network, Katelin Morales, Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP, Delaware Network, Mehreen Siddiqui, Maples and Calder (Cayman), Cayman Islands Network, Georgie Stuart, FTI Consulting, London Network
Finalists: Irene Byela, B Riley Advisory Services, Georgia Network, Amita Chohan, Locke Lorde LLP, Europe Network, Yolanda Lau, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, Hong Kong Network, Kasia Lorenc, Clifford Chance LLP, London Network
Finalists: Leona Healey, Allen & Overy, Hong Kong Network, Martha Kallenou, Grant Thornton Specialist Services (Cayman) Limited, Cyprus Network, Lauren Michaels, PA Office of Attorney General, Western Pennsylvania Network, Angela Scott, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee, Florida Network
Finalists: Radha Gordon, Georgia Network, Brittany Michael, Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones, Minnesota Network, Annabel Philip, Alvarez and Marsal, London Network, Amelia Tan, Carey Olsen Singapore LLP, Singapore Network
Finalists: Tayyibah Arif, Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London), London Network, Kelly McCauley, Whiteford Taylor and Preston, Western PA Network, Krystal Mikkileneni, Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C., Midwest Network, Rebecca Oliveira Pereira da Silva, Galdino e Coelho Advogados, Brazil
Finalists: Isabel Arana de Uriarte, AlixPartners, New York Network, Veronica Chan, Tanner DeWitt, Hong Kong Network, Elizabeth Tramm Dechant, Roberts & Stevens, Carolinas Network, Beatriz Fanceca, Faneca Advogados, Brazil Network
Finalists: Rachel Biblo Block, Akin Gump, Dallas/Fort Worth Network, Stephanie Clark, AlixPartners, London Network, Alexis Leventhal, Reed Smith, Western Pennsylvania Network, Jo Tay, Allen & Gledhill LLP, Singapore Network
Finalists: Corinne Adams, Yumpkas, Vidmar, Sweeney & Mulrenin, LLC, Maryland, Rachel Bengino, Thornton Grout Finnigan, LLP, Ontario, Veronica Brown-Moseley, The Boleman Law Firm, Virginia, Bodie Colwell, Preti Flaherty, Maine
Finalists: Alexia Adda, Walkers, Singapore Network, Kimberly Brown, Landis Rath & Cobb LLP, Delaware Network, Jeannie Kim, Buchalter, Northern California Network, Helen Sevenoaks, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, Europe Network
Finalists: Valerie Bantner Peo, Buchalter Nemer P.C., Northern California Network, Cara M. Porter, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern California Network, Alexandra "CC" Schnapp, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Georgia Network, Amanda Steele, Richards, Layton & Finger, Delaware Network
Finalists: Camille Bent, Stevens and Lee, P.C., New York Network, Emily Ladky, Hahn Loser & Parks, Northeast Ohio Network, Catherine Read, Walkers, Hong Kong Network, Gillian Scarlett, Gowling Lafluer Henderson LLP, Western Canada Network
Finalists: Kathryn Harrison, Campbell & Levine, LLC, Co-Chair Western Pennsylvania Network, Rebecca Petereit, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Co-Chair Events/Fundraising Dallas-Fort Worth Network, Tara Schellhorn, Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP, Secretary New Jersey Network, Jennifer Taylor, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Co-Chair Northern California Network
Finalists: Kara Casteel, ASK LLP, Eagan, MN, Co-Chair Minneosta Network, Jodi Daniel Cooke, Beggs & Lane RLLP, Pensacola, FL, Co-Chair Florida Network, Leigh-Anne Raport, Ashby & Geddes, PA, Wilmington, DE, Vice-Chair Delaware Network, Charla Smith, Grant Thornton Limited, Calgary, Alberta, Western Canada Network
Finalists: Kimberly Bacher, Shaw Gussis Fishman Glantz Wolfson & Towbin LLC, Secretary, Chicago IWIRC Network, Rachel Lao, Hogan Lovells, Founder & Chair, Japan IWIRC Network, Christy Prince, Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter LPA, Former Chair, Central OH IWIRC Network, Sage Sigler, Alston & Bird LLP, Co-Chair, Georgia IWIRC Network
Finalists: Megan Adeyemo, Gordon & Rees LLP, Mountain Desert Network, Bess M. Parrish Creswell, Burr & Forman LLP, Gulf Coast Network, Alison Elko Franklin, McKenna Long & Aldridge, Georgia Network, Jennifer Kimble, Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, LLC, Gulf Coast Network, Joyce Ka Yee Lau, PricewaterhouseCoopers Business Recovery Services Group, Hong Kong Network
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