Stanger Honored with American Bankruptcy Institute’s Service to Veterans Award

The American Bankruptcy Institute honored Nyemaster Goode attorney and Army Lt. Col. Kristina Stanger with its 2020 Service to Veterans Award on November 11, 2020. The award is presented annually to an outstanding individual who has contributed to the betterment of the lives of Veterans during the past year.

Kristina was honored for her efforts on behalf of the Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need (HAVEN)  Act of 2019.  She was part of an ABI team that worked to change the bankruptcy code to give Veterans and service members equal treatment.  The Act corrected an oversight in the bankruptcy code whereby Veterans’ disability benefits were included as income during consideration for bankruptcy relief, while Social Security disability benefits were exempt. 

Kristina helped design the ABI Task Force’s legislative strategy to get the Act passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2019.  As a bankruptcy attorney and a 20-year active duty member of the Iowa Army National Guard, she brought a unique perspective to the issue.

In accepting the award, Kristina said, “This recognition today and what we do in this industry is about serving. It is about giving folks a chance to break the cycles of financial distress. To empower their humanity, give them hope and restore an ability to obtain the American dream.  I can think of no subset of our country more deserving of this opportunity for freedom and justice than our disabled servicemembers and their families.” 

The award was presented virtually during the Consumer Bankruptcy Forum, a national event hosted each year by the ABI, National Association of Bankruptcy Judges, National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, National Association of Chapter Thirteen Trustees, and National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.