Climbing Above the Culture Clash

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for what you got back,” said Schell. “If you want to have a school the quality of BU Law — and that’s important to me — then you need alumni and parents who are willing to contribute, not just financially but also with their time.” Throughout Schell’s long and successful career, he has continued to foster strong ties to his law school alma mater. As one of his many contributions, he serves as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, an activity he sees both as a way to give back to the school and to enrich his own life. “Being a lawyer is, among other things, about developing networks around the country,” he said, noting that the board is made up of “highly successful, intelligent and diverse” graduates of the school. In addition to his board work, Schell has volunteered his time to help secure graduation speakers, meet with firstyear students to talk about his career, and even teach a class or two along the way. He believes this type of personal participation is an excellent way for alumni to help the current generation of students find their niche in such a wideranging profession. “As you get older, you realize that things come to you by dint of hard work and talent, but also because other people have made sacrifices and contributions,” he said. “All of the selfless contributions from the alumni and board members are what make it possible for BU to continue as one of the top law schools nationally. If I can be useful by re-contributing some of the benefit that came my way, I believe that it is a good thing to do.” “The things that I have done through BU have been interesting, enjoyable and enriching,” he concluded. “I believe that participating in your school is a combination of obligation, interest and old-fashioned fun.” • Schell Cites BU Law as the Catalyst for His Career Michael Schell’s career trajectory since graduating from BU School of Law in 1976 has been a steady upward flight. Based on an internship following his first year, Schell landed a position in the corporate law department of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft for two years, moved on to the mergers and acquisitions department at Skadden Arps, and became a partner in 1984. “Coming out of BU, I found that I was well equipped wherever I went and whatever challenges I had to deal with as a young lawyer,” he said. “I had great teachers, particularly in my first year. Every teacher I had that year made an enormous intellectual impact on me. They showed me a new way to think about things and approach problems that I still use to this day.” After 19 years as a Wall Street lawyer, Schell decided to try his hand at investment banking, serving as vice chairman of Global Banking for Citigroup. Last year Alcoa, one of his long-term clients at Skadden Arps, persuaded him to come aboard to run the aluminum giant’s business development efforts. “My job is to survey industries worldwide to identify business opportunities for Alcoa,” said Schell. The scope of his search is enormous, since aluminum is used in a wide range of items, from commercial airplane wings and armored personnel carriers for the military to automobile engines and litho plates for printing newspapers and magazines — and of course, the production of beverage cans. With the recent economic downturn, much of Schell’s efforts have focused on improving the efficiency and environmental sustainability of aluminum production. He noted that it takes a great deal of energy to extract aluminum from the ground and refine it into a useable form. “Because a large chunk of the industry is energy, we have to face up to the whole carbon footprint issue,” he said. “A large part of my business development efforts is looking for green energy opportunities. The cleanest source of energy is hydroelectric, and we have a number of smelters around the world that run on hydro. The newest one is in Iceland. We are also investing in substantial hydro operations in Greenland, Brazil and Western China.” 32 | Boston University School of Law | www.bu.edu/law
BU Law Honors 2009 Silver Shingle Award Winners The Silver Shingle Awards are presented each year to outstanding alumni and friends of Boston University School of Law. Recognizing remarkable members of our community, awards are given in the categories of “Distinguished Service to the Profession,” “Distinguished Service to the School of Law,” “Distinguished Service to the Community” and “The Young Lawyer’s Chair.” A separate honor is presented to a Boston University School of Law administrative staff member, the “Gerard H. Cohen Award for Distinguished Service to the School.” In celebration of these accomplished individuals, Boston University School of Law is proud to announce the 2009 recipients of the Silver Shingle and Gerard H. Cohen awards. Cheryl Constantine The Gerard H. Cohen Award for Distinguished Service to the School Cheryl Constantine joined BU Law in 1996 as the assistant director of financial aid, and in 2001 was promoted to associate director. Constantine is active in state, regional and national financial aid associations, including as a member of the Graduate and Professional Concerns Committee for both the state and eastern regional associations. On the state level she served as co-chair for this committee. In 2009, she was elected to the executive council for the Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Prior to BU Law, Constantine worked for Knight College Resource Group (now Key Education Resources, a division of Key Bank), an education loan provider. She spent five years at Knight, becoming the supervisor for the department that originated the federal and private loans for medical and dental students. Constantine received her B.A. from Trinity College and her M.P.A. from Suffolk University. Carolina Trujillo (’01) Young Lawyer’s Chair Carolina Trujillo serves as the director of homeownership counseling for the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), located in East Boston. NOAH is a community development corporation structured to collaborate with and support residents and communities in their pursuit of affordable housing strategies, environmental justice, community planning, leadership development and economic development opportunities. At NOAH, she teaches first-time homebuyer classes and works individually with customers in the areas of credit, financial fitness and mortgage counseling. In 2007, she started a foreclosure prevention unit that helped more than 700 families negotiate with their lenders to retain their homes. Trujillo is also on the board of directors of the Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce and the advisory board of Veritas Bank (the first Latino bank of New England). Prior to coming to the United States, the Venezuelan native worked in corporate and banking law for a private law firm, but also volunteered her time as a legal counselor in government and nonprofit organizations, focusing her efforts on abandoned and abused children. In 1999, Trujillo received her law degree at Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Venezuela and her LL.M. in banking and financial law from BU Law in 2001. She is pursuing a Master’s Degree in finance and economics at Boston University. Jacqueline Jacobs Caster (’83) For Distinguished Service to the Community Jacqueline Jacobs Caster is the founder and president of the Everychild Foundation, a women’s nonprofit organization dedicated to combating childhood disease, abuse, neglect, poverty and disability in the Los Angeles area. This organization is comprised of approximately 200 Los Angeles–based women who, in lieu of fundraisers, each annually donate $5,000 in dues. With this money, the organization makes a single $1 million community grant each year to a project serving a critical unmet need of local children. In 2004, the Association of Fundraising Professionals selected Everychild Foundation as the Outstanding Private Foundation in Los Angeles. To date, Everychild Foundation has served as the template for at least six new charitable groups in the United States. Prior to founding the nonprofit, Caster practiced real estate law with Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s, and later left the field of law for a career in urban redevelopment. After several years with Disney Development Company, she headed her own consulting firm Fall 2009 | The Record | 33
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Page 23 and 24: School Mourns Passing of Margaret d
Page 25 and 26: Q&A with Professors Linda McClain a
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Page 39 and 40: 1998 Kimberly Atkins received her M
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Page 43 and 44: ANNUAL REPORT OF GIVING FISCAL YEAR
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Page 49 and 50: Emilio D. Iannuccillo Robert A. Kal
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Page 55 and 56: Trishka Waterbury Joshua J. Wells M
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