The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation elected the officers of its board of trustees for 2022, naming Nancy Pistorio, president of Madison Capital, to the role of chair, making her and the first woman to hold the position. In addition, the ELFF named Zack Marsh, CFO of Orion First Financial, vice chair; Jeffrey Berg, global business unit president – advanced solutions at DLL, secretary/treasurer; and Ralph Petta, president and CEO of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, president. Scott Thacker, CEO of Ivory Consulting, is immediate past chair. The officer elections were held following the board’s annual meeting.

Additionally, Peter Bullen, executive vice president of Key Equipment Finance; Mark Loken, vice president of credit at Farm Credit Leasing; and Nancy Robles, chief operating officer/compliance officer at Eastern Funding were among the new members appointed to the ELFF’s board of trustees.

“The foundation’s 2022 board brings a wealth of leadership and industry experience to their roles as trustees,” Pistorio said. “We are privileged to have such talent, commitment and expertise serving the foundation and its mission for the advancement of the equipment finance industry.”

Trustees continuing on the board for 2022 include:

• Katie Emmel, Chief Operating Officer, Solifi
• Christopher Enbom, CEO and Chairman, AP Equipment Financing
• Valerie Gerard, Co-CEO, The Alta Group
• Miles Herman, President and COO, LEAF Commercial Capital
• Shari Lipski, Principal, ECS Financial Services
• Brian Madison, President, TrinityRail Leasing and Management Services
• William Tefft, Senior Vice President of Asset Management, Pacific Western Bank
• Thomas Ware, President, Tom Ware Advisory Services
• Bonnie Wright
• Donna Yanuzzi, Senior Vice President and Equipment Finance Officer, First National Community Bank

Additionally, Kelli Nienaber will continue to serve as executive director.

Beyond the new board elections, at its annual meeting, the ELFF honored James M. Johnson, a foundation trustee for more than 25 years and a prolific contributor to the body of knowledge of the equipment finance industry, with the Steven R. LeBarron Award for Principled Research.

Throughout his 40-year-long involvement with the ELFF, the ELFA and the ELFA’s precursors, Johnson cofounded the Journal of Equipment Lease Finance, contributed 25 articles and continuously served on the publication’s editorial review board since its inception. He developed and delivered the first Principles of Leasing workshops and authored two books on “Fundamentals of Finance for Equipment Lessors” with the ELFA.

Th Steven R. LeBarron Award for Principled Research award is presented annually in memory of LeBarron to the ELFF research committee member who demonstrates the insight, fortitude and dedication LeBarron exemplified.