BAEC Bulletin | May/June 2022 | 17
Candidates for Director
Elect four
Carmen Smell is Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western and Northeastern New York. In this role, she oversees business strategies, policies, and programs to ensure they comply with all legal requirements and minimize company risk. She evaluates legal risks, assesses the merits of litigation involving the company and directs its overall litigation strategy. She also manages the provision of all legal services to the company and relationships with outside counsel. Carmen joined the company in 1999, and most recently served as Assistant General Counsel. She previously served as an Assistant Attorney General for the New York State Attorney General’s Office and was also in private practice. Licensed to practice law in New York and Connecticut, Carmen received her JD degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, and a BS degree from the University of Dayton.
Carmen is a recipient of the Buffalo Business First “Power 200 Women”, “Who’s Who in the Law, Legal Elite” and “40 Under 40” awards; an Eighth Judicial District Gender and Racial Fairness Committee honoree; a recipient of the Minority Bar Association Attorney of the Year award; and is a 2004 Leadership Buffalo graduate. Carmen is the immediate past President of the Minority Bar Foundation, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Read to Succeed Buffalo and serves on the Diversity & Inclusion Council for the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. She is in her sixth year as the Parliamentarian for the Gamma Phi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Carmen is also a member of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Bar Association of Erie County, American Health Lawyers Association, and the Association of Corporate Counsel. Additionally, she is a past President of the Niagara Frontier Corporate Counsel Association, and the Minority Bar Association of Western New York. carrying these strong traditions forward, while seeking ways to increase outreach and participation in BAEC events and committees to ensure that all members of our community have the chance to benefit from and contribute to our mission. I am extremely grateful to be part of the Western New York legal community and would be honored to serve our community more deeply as BAEC director. I welcome you to read more about my professional background and past service to BAEC in my bio on the website and to reach out to me at ODonnell4Director@gmail.com with questions and ideas. Please vote for me beginning May 23.
Carmen L. Snell Vice President, Deputy General Counsel Highmark Western and Northeastern New York
Dear Colleagues,
I respectfully ask that you support my candidacy for Director. For nearly 20 years, I have practiced law in Courts throughout Erie County and have had the opportunity to serve our community and BAEC in a variety of ways. Through that experience, I have gained an appreciation of the unique challenges and opportunities facing members of our profession and the valuable role BAEC plays in helping us to confront those challenges and opportunities together. At the heart of BAEC’s mission is the elevation of the “standard of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession;” and cherishing the “spirit of camaraderie” among its members. I find it heartening that these values, articulated in 1887, continue to define our local legal community and what we strive for. As Director, l would be committed to
Maura O’Donnell Buffalo Regional Director NYS Office of Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
Sincerely, Maura O’Donnell
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