ACTEC Elects 29 New Fellows to the College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, DC–March 12, 2026: The Board of Regents of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) convened during the College’s 2026 Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida, to consider nominations for a new class of ACTEC Fellows. The College is pleased to announce that 29 individuals were elected: three Academic Fellows; two International Fellows (one from Canada and one from China); one Fiduciary Counsel Fellow and 23 private practice Fellows. Ten New Fellows are graduates of an ACTEC Fellows Institute.

ACTEC President Margaret (Meg) G. Lodise states, “On behalf of the College, I am delighted to welcome these 29 highly regarded trust and estate lawyers and professors to the College. Their professional achievements and dedication to the field will enhance ACTEC’s collective efforts, strengthening the continued advancement and future of the trust and estate profession. I look forward to their contributions.”

To qualify for membership, a nominee 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.

The following 29 individuals were elected as New Fellows: 

• Brandy Baxter‑Thompson of Dallas, Texas
• Luke C. Bean of Natick, Massachusetts (2022 New England Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Jamie K. Blair of Bethesda, Maryland
• Alexander Antonio Boni‑Saenz of Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Sarah J. Brownlow of Richmond, Virginia
• Leanne Fryer Broyles of Baltimore, Maryland (2022 Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Daniel P. Buckley of Milford, Connecticut
• Michael R. Crowder of Knoxville, Tennessee (2023 Southeast Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Aejaz A. Dar of Fairfax, Virginia (2024 Southeast Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Livia K. DeMarchis of Colchester, Vermont (2022 New England Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Paul DePasquale of New York, New York
• Jessica Suzanne Forrest of Cleveland, Ohio
• Deborah S. Gordon of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jessica Stetler Grover of Birmingham, Alabama
• Jonathan Haskell of Greenwood Village, Colorado (2024 Rocky Mountain Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Alice M. Haseltine of Overland Park, Kansas (2019 Heart of America Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Erin E. Kriksciun of New Orleans, Louisiana
• Gregory Eric Martin of Fort Worth, Texas (2024 Rocky Mountain Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Carl A. Merino of New York, New York
• Marty L. Oblasser of Laramie, Wyoming
• Andrew T. Peebles of Springfield, Missouri (2019 Heart of America Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Rebecca S. Luster Radford of Shreveport, Louisiana
• Wenxia (Jane) Ren of Shanghai, China
• Scott E. Swenson of Wilmington, Delaware (2022 Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute Graduate)
• Emily S. Taylor Poppe of Irvine, California
• Christopher John Walker of Juneau, Alaska
• Kimberly Ann Whaley of Toronto, Canada
• Kirsten Wolff of San Francisco, California
• Peter J. Wyant of Racine, Wisconsin

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 2,300 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.

About the ACTEC Fellows Institutes: The Institutes of the College are intensive, multi-day programs focused on advanced professional development for trust and estate lawyers at a formative stage of specialization. Supported and managed by ACTEC Fellows and staff, the Institutes are open to lawyers who concentrate, or seek to concentrate, in trusts and estates law, generally those with two to seven years of experience, and who are nominated by an ACTEC Fellow.  The Institutes are one-year programs designed to foster professional growth, technical excellence, and leadership within the trust and estate profession and may serve as a pathway to election to ACTEC. As of March 10, 2026, 610 lawyers have graduated from an Institute, and 70 graduates have been elected as ACTEC Fellows.

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