COLLEEN A. BROWN

     Colleen A. Brown serves as the U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Vermont. Judge Brown received a B.A., cum laude, with honors in philosophy, from Colgate University in 1979, and a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Buffalo Law School in 1983.

     Immediately before taking the bench, Judge Brown worked in the private sector in upstate New York. She had a legal practice focused on bankruptcy, both debtors' and creditor's rights, as well as foreclosure, workouts, and matrimonial/bankruptcy issues; and had been in house counsel to The Canandaigua National Bank and Trust Company. Prior to that, Judge Brown was in government service: She served first as Law Clerk to Hon. Beryl E. McGuire, Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court, Western District of New York, then as the Estate Administrator for that Court, and then as the Assistant United States Trustee for the Western District of New York.

     Judge Brown served as a member of the First Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, for a year, was a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges. Legislative Committee, for three years, and currently serves as Chair of the NCBJ - UST Liaison Committee. She also serves on the Bankruptcy Judges Advisory Group for the Administrative Office, which advises the Administrative Office on matters pertaining to the operation of the bankruptcy court system.

     Judge Brown has been active in state and local bar associations, was the recipient of the New York State Bar Association's President's Pro Bono Service Award in 1992 and the Vermont Bar Association's Pro Bono Service Award in 2006, and frequently lectures and writes on consumer bankruptcy issues. She and her family reside in Middlebury, Vermont.

02/06