Attorney appointed to UT Board of Trustees

September 1, 2015 | News, UToday
By Meghan Cunningham



A corporate attorney active in the Toledo community has been appointed the newest member of The University of Toledo Board of Trustees.

Mary Ellen Pisanelli, a partner in the law firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, was named by Ohio Gov. John Kasich to a term beginning Aug. 12 and ending July 1, 2023.

Pisanelli

Pisanelli

“This is an exciting time for The University of Toledo with new leadership committed to building UT to be the best it can be, and I look forward to joining those efforts,” Pisanelli said. “UT has long been a leader in the community, and the president’s goals to recruit more students and faculty and increase externally funded research and philanthropic support will not only enhance the University, but also Toledo, our region and beyond.”

Pisanelli serves as outside counsel for Health Care REIT and manages the team of professionals who service legal matters for the publicly traded real estate investment trust. She joined Shumaker in 1982, has been a partner since 1990, and served on the firm’s management committee.

Her areas of practice are corporate finance, Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. Since 2005, she has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America and was named Toledo Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year in 2014.

Pisanelli serves on the Board of Directors for the Toledo Museum of Art and the Toledo Zoo.

She is a member of the Toledo Bar Association, Ohio Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts and Rotary Club of Toledo.

“Mary Ellen has long been an active member of the Toledo community generous with her time and talents, and I know she will bring that enthusiasm and experience to the board to guide the future of UT,” said Sharon Speyer, chair of the UT Board of Trustees.

Pisanelli earned her law degree from Temple University, a master’s degree in comparative Western European studies from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Vermont.

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