ACTEC Announces Susan D. Snyder as New President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, DC, March 20, 2024: The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) today announced that Susan D. Snyder will serve as the 2024–2025 President. Snyder is a Senior Planner on Northern Trust’s Regional Wealth Advisor Team in Chicago, Illinois. She succeeds 2023–2024 ACTEC President Kurt A. Sommer of Sommer Udall Law Firm, P.A., in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Snyder, who has held various roles within the College since her election in 2004, was officially presented at ACTEC’s “passing of the gavel” ceremony on Friday, March 8, 2024, during the ACTEC Annual Business Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. As an officer of the College since 2020, she previously served as ACTEC’s Region Chair of the Great Lakes Region and as State Chair of Illinois. In addition to serving as a member of numerous ACTEC committees, including the Audit, Digital Property, Financial Management, Fiduciary Litigation, Long Range Planning, New Fellows Steering, Program, Sponsorship Advisory, and State Laws, she served as Editor of the ACTEC Law Journal and is the Founding Executive Producer of ACTEC Trust & Estate Talk, a podcast series launched in 2018.  

“I look forward to guiding ACTEC in our shared mission of advancing the standards of trust and estate law practice,” said Snyder. “I am committed to fostering meaningful engagement with ACTEC Fellows, law students, and practitioners within these vital areas of legal expertise.”

In 2023, Snyder was appointed by Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker for a third term to serve as a Uniform Law Commissioner for the State of Illinois, a role she has held since 2015. Snyder is a frequent speaker on estate planning and administration topics for the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, American Bar Association RPTE Section, American Bankers Association, Delaware Bankers Association, American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education (ALI CLE), Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Midwest-Midsouth Estate Planning Institute, Chicago Estate Planning Council, and Chicago Bar Association.

During the ACTEC 2024 Annual Meeting and 75^th Anniversary, ACTEC’s Board of Regents elected the following 2024–2025 officers, each of whom serve with Snyder on the Executive Committee and the Board of Regents:

• President-Elect: Peter S. Gordon (Wilmington, Delaware) 
• Vice President: Margaret G. Lodise (Los Angeles, California)
• Treasurer: Melissa J. Willms (Houston, Texas)
• Secretary: Elaine M. Bucher (Boca Raton, Florida)

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 2,400 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.

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