The National Creditors Bar Association Elects New Officers and Board Members, Yale Levy Sworn in As President

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Last week the National Creditors Bar Association elected a new Secretary, Treasurer and Six Board of Directors Members last week at the NARCA 2017 Fall Conference in Washington, DC. Yale Levy was also sworn in as President of The National Creditors Bar Association after serving the past year as President-elect. 

President 

Yale Levy is owner of Levy & Associates, LLC in Columbus, OH, where he represents clients in creditor rights matters. He served on the The National Creditors Bar Association Board of Directors prior to his election to President. As a NARCA member, he has been actively involved in a number of committees, including co-chairing the 2016 Spring Conference Committee and the Professional Standards and Grievance Committee. In 2016, he was invited by the CFPB and SBA to serve as a Small Entity Representative on the Debt Collection SBREFA Panel. 

Newly Elected Board Officers 

Burton “Chip” Stacy, Jr. is with the firm Hood & Stacy, P.A. in Bentonville, Arkansas. He is licensed to practice law in the states of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and the Federal courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of Oklahoma and the Western District of Missouri. Mr. Stacy is a co-chair of NARCA’s Government and Regulatory Affairs Committee. He is a member of the Receivables Management Association, the National List of Attorneys, the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute and American Lawyers Quarterly. Areas of practice include: Collection, Foreclosure, Commercial Litigation and Bankruptcy. 

Michele Gagnon is with the firm Lyons Doughty & Veldhuis, P.C. in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. She is a Co-Chair of the NARCA Membership Committee and recently served three terms on the The National Creditors Bar Association Board of Directors. She chairs the SCBA Forum and chaired the Fall 2015 Collection Conference Committee and is a member of the Professional Standards and Grievance Committee, which she previously served as its Chair. Michele has also served as chair of the Nominating/Elections Committee and is a member of the Budget Committee. In addition to her more than 20 years of consumer debt collection experience, she has presented at NARCA conferences and was the president of the Maryland/DC Creditors Bar Association. 

Newly Elected Board of Directors Members 

Thomas (Tom) L. Canary, Jr. is a Senior Attorney with the firm Reimer Law Co., in Solon, Ohio. Tom concentrates his practice in the areas of bankruptcy, replevin and creditors’ rights. He admitted to practice law in the states of Kentucky, Indiana West Virginia and Ohio, the federal district courts in all those states as well as the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Canary was the recipient of NARCA’s President’s Award in 2009. Tom previously served as Secretary to the Board of Directors. He is the current author and editor of Kentucky Collections published by Thompson-Reuters. Tom is a frequent writer and lecturer on bankruptcy and creditor’s rights. 

Marvin Dang is with the firm Law Offices of Marvin S.C. Dang, LLLC in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the former NARCA Parliamentarian and has served NARCA in a number of committees and task forces including the Charter Task Force and SCBA Forum. He also serves as a leader with the American Bar Association as Chair-elect of the 63,000 member Senior Lawyers Division for 2017-2018. 

Mark Groves is with the firm Glasser and Glasser, P.L.C. in Norfolk, Virginia. He is a past Treasurer and member of the NARCA Board of Directors. In addition, he has served as the Grievance Committee Chair, as a NARCA Conference chair, a chair of a task force to create and implement the process that would make CLE credits widely available to conference attendees, and in various capacities including Education, Advocacy, Finance and Grievance. Mark is also the co-recipient of the 2017 NARCA President’s Award for his service to the association. 

Re-Elected Board of Directors Members 

Steven A. Markoff is a principal member of the firm Markoff Law LLC in Chicago, Illinois. He concentrates his practice on creditors rights and debt collection. He represents numerous creditors including financial institutions, debt purchasers, finance companies, municipalities, medical providers, and small businesses. Steve was a co-recipient of NARCA’s 2015 President’s Award in recognition of his outstanding service to the Association. He has served as Co-Chair of the Education Committee. This is his second term as a member of the NARCA Board of Directors. 

Ronald C. Miller is with the firm Miller & Steeno, P.C. in St. Louis, Missouri. This is his third term as a Member of the NARCA Board of Directors. He is a founding member of the Missouri Creditors Bar and has been treasurer since its inception. As an active creditors advocate, he has testified before a Missouri senate committee against the reduction of post judgement interest rates and has lobbied the Missouri legislature. His involvement in NARCA includes past Chair of the Professional Standards Committee, Co-Chair of the Amicus Briefs Committee, spearheaded the drafting of the NARCA continuing legal education requirements, and played a central role in rewriting the Grievance Committee procedures.

Barbara Nilsen is with the firm Blitt & Gaines, P.C. in Wheeling, Illinois. This is her second term as a member of the NARCA Board of Directors. She has been an active participant in NARCA, serving on numerous Conference, Membership and Education committees and sub-committees.

About NARCA – The National Creditors Bar Association

NARCA – The National Creditors Bar Association is a nationwide professional trade association of over 600 creditors rights law firms and in‐house counsel of creditors.  NARCA members are committed to being professional, responsible and ethical in their practice of creditors rights law.