William E. Brewer, Jr. graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with an A.B. in Economics in 1973, and with a J.D. with honors in 1976. Mr. Brewer served as law clerk to Judge R.A. Hedrick of the North Carolina Court of Appeals before beginning private practice in 1977.  Certified as a specialist in consumer bankruptcy law by the North Carolina State Bar, Mr. Brewer has represented the debtors in the series of "Sears" cases in the Eastern District of North Carolina, dealing with the effect of purchase money security interests in bankruptcy cases.

John Rao is an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, Inc. Mr. Rao focuses on consumer credit and bankruptcy issues and has served as a panelist and instructor at numerous bankruptcy and consumer law trainings and conferences.  He has served as an expert witness in court cases and has testified in Congress on consumer matters. He also participates in the Center’s litigation efforts, which has included serving as co-counsel in the May Department Store reaffirmation abuse class action and the Fairbanks Capital mortgage servicing abuse class action. Mr. Rao serves as a member of the federal Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules, appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts in 2006.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, secretary for the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (and a Director of NACBA since 1998), and former board member for the American Bankruptcy Institute.  He is an adjunct faculty member at Boston College School of Law. He is a graduate of Boston University and received his J.D. from the University of California (Hastings).

Mr. Rao is a contributing author and editor of NCLC's Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice; co-author of NCLC’s Foreclosures; Bankruptcy Basics; Guide to Surviving Debt; and NCLC Reports: Bankruptcy and Foreclosures Edition, and contributing author to NCLC’s Student Loan Law.  He is also a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy (Matthew-Bender) and the Collier Bankruptcy Practice Guide.

Mr. Rao has drafted numerous amicus curiae briefs on behalf of NACBA, including those filed in Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. v. Hood, 124 S.Ct. 1905 (2004); Geiger v. Kawaauhau, 118 S.Ct. 974 (1998); In re Price, 370 F.3d 362 (3d Cir. 2004); In re Lopez, 345 F.3d 701, (9th Cir. 2003), In re Paschen, 296 F.3d 1203 (11th Cir. 2002), In re Su, 290 F.3d 1140 (9th Cir. 2002), In re Weinstein, 164 F.3d 677 (1st Cir. 1999); and In re Boodrow, 126 F.3d 43 (2d. Cir. 1997).

Ike Shulman received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and he received his J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law. Mr. Shulman has practiced bankruptcy law in San Jose, California, since 1986. His practice has been devoted almost entirely to small business and consumer bankruptcy debtors. He is certified as a Specialist in personal and Small Business Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Shulman is a member of the State Bar of California, and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California; and the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Seventh and Ninth Circuits. He served as a delegate to the California State Bar Conference of Delegates from 1987 through 1989. A member of the Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Executive Committee of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, he organized and served as the first Chair of its Chapter 13 Subcommittee in 1989-90. He again served as its Chair for 2002.  In 1996 and 1997, Mr. Shulman testified on consumer bankruptcy issues before the National Bankruptcy Review Commission. In March 1998, he also testified on pending bankruptcy legislation before the House Judiciary Committee.

In 1992, Mr. Shulman led the effort to organize the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys to provide consumer debtors with an effective voice in the legislative process. Mr. Shulman was elected NACBA's first president, and served in that position through 1996. In 1997 he took over as NACBA Treasurer and also currently serves as Chair of NACBA's Legislative Committee. He has served as a panelist at each of NACBA's annual conventions and has appeared as a speaker at numerous other conventions and seminars.

Mr. Boltz is a member of the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, P.C., where he has managed the firm’s office in Durham, North Carolina since 1998, representing clients in not only Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcies, but also in related consumer rights litigation, including fighting abusive mortgage practices.

Mr. Boltz received his B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1993 and his J.D. from George Washington University in 1996. He is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, where he has been certified as a specialist in consumer bankruptcy law. He is admitted to practice before the Districts Courts in both the Eastern and Middle Districts of North Carolina.

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for NACBA, where he is jointly responsible for directing the State Chair program, Mr. Boltz serves on the Bankruptcy Council for the North Carolina Bar Association and previously served as the Bankruptcy Chair for the North Carolina Association of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Boltz moderated the panel, “Military Members Deep in Debt”, at the 2007 NACBA Convention. Mr. Boltz served as the Convention Chair for the 2008 NACBA Convention in Hollywood, as well as moderating a panel on Basic Bankruptcy Issues.

In April 2008, Mr. Boltz testified on behalf of NACBA in Congress regarding the need for changes to the bankruptcy code to protect National Guard and Reservists returning from Iraq and Afghanistan from the harsh results of the Means Test, which was enacted as the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act.