Participants, all women, come from firm’s Louisville and Houston markets
Three Frost Brown Todd (FBT) attorneys will participate in Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) highly sought-after leadership development programs. Houston Senior Associate Michelle Xu was named a 2023 LCLD Fellow. Louisville Associate Kristen Cody and Louisville Managing Associate Maria Kroeger were selected to participate in LCLD’s Pathfinder Program. Click here for more information on FBT’s inclusion, diversity, equity, and belonging efforts.
“LCLD recognizes that its participants come to the legal profession through different avenues and that many times, they face unique challenges along the path to advancement,” said FBT Chief Diversity Officer Chris Johnson. “These challenges require dedicated programming and structures designed to speak to the kind of support necessary to live up to our commitment to ensure our leaders look like the clients and communities we are privileged to serve. To that end, LCLD programming is among the top in the nation and designed specifically for attorneys of color, with leadership, development and networking opportunities that quite simply are table stakes for us. Having sponsored our attorneys’ participation in LCLD programs for more than a decade, we continue to believe in the value of this experience, and we know that coupled with clear, intentional and transparent action on our part, they can do wonders to propel the careers of LCLD alums forward.”
LCLD’s Pathfinder Program focuses on the professional development of attorneys in the early stage of their careers who show exceptional promise. Those selected go through training, online courses, and networking events to build their leadership skills. The Fellows Program is a year-long program focused on the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. Since 2012, approximately 20 FBT attorneys have completed either the LCLD Fellows or Pathfinders programs. Many of them now serve in leadership positions, including a member of FBT’s Executive Committee and the current co-chair of the firm’s 16-member Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Belonging Committee.
All three FBT attorneys selected in 2023 bring a different lens and set of qualifications to the LCLD program experiences. Xu is part of the firm’s labor and employment practice group, and provides sophisticated, strategic advice for companies and individuals and helps clients navigate through the complex U.S. immigration processes, drawing on her own experiences as an immigrant. Cody advises developers and lenders on a wide range of commercial real estate transactions and governmental compliance matters. Kroeger, who focuses on commercial real estate finance, helps clients structure complex financings that leverage tax credits, tax-exempt bonds and other subsidies for affordable housing and community development projects.
In addition to their daily work, both Xu and Cody already serve in a leadership capacity at FBT. Xu is a Women’s Initiative Committee member, and Cody is a member of both the Women’s Initiative and Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Belonging Committees.