[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S347-S348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                       TRIBUTE TO JENNIFER BARBER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, very few people find the time to lead 
their city's largest law firm, serve on a university's board of 
trustees, represent their country at the United Nations, and remain 
active in civic life in their hometown. Even fewer can accomplish these 
things before the age of 40. But Jennifer Barber of Louisville, KY, has 
managed to do all this--and more. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me 
in honoring Jennifer for her recent career milestone and for her years 
of service to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
  Jennifer, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, grew up working 
alongside her parents in the family's restaurant, learning to value 
sacrifice, ambition, and effort. She became the first member of her 
family to graduate college, earning both her bachelor's degree and 
juris doctorate from the University of Kentucky. From there, she 
developed a specialty in tax law, taking her expertise to Frost Brown 
Todd in 2013 and working her way up the corporate ladder.

[[Page S348]]

  Jennifer's professional and academic successes only tell half the 
story of her remarkable career. She has also dedicated her time, 
energy, and talent to a range of important Kentucky organizations, from 
the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, to the Kentucky State 
Fair Board, to the Kentucky Bar Foundation. In 2020, she took a brief 
break from her law firm to take her talents to the global stage, 
serving as a special adviser to the U.S. Ambassador to the United 
Nations and a U.S. Delegate to the United Nations where she helped 
advance American priorities on human rights and foreign aid.
  Jennifer's professional accomplishments are so exciting because she 
achieved them at such a remarkably young age. Jennifer has done 
incredible work to improve Kentucky and serve our Nation, and I am 
confident her recent promotion is just the first in a long list of 
successes yet to come.
  Louisville Business First highlighted Jennifer Barber's new role in a 
recent article. I ask unanimous consent the article be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            [From Louisville Business First, Jan. 18, 2022]

        Louisville's Largest Law Firm Names New Member-In-Charge

       Jennifer Barber was the first in her family to graduate 
     high school. Now, she's stepping into the member-in-charge 
     role at Frost Brown Todd LLC, the largest law firm in 
     Louisville.
       In an interview with Business First last week, Barber, the 
     daughter of Chinese immigrants, recalled working alongside 
     her parents in the restaurant they owned, attributing her 
     belief in the value of sacrifice and hard work to them. She 
     said she saw their determination to provide a greater 
     opportunity for her and her sisters.
       ``I'm very proud to be the first in my family to graduate 
     from high school and then college and law school, and I say 
     that very humbly. It's not something that I feel is something 
     to pat myself on the back for,'' she said. ``I feel very much 
     like, if not for our great country, which has endless 
     opportunities for people who live here, and my parents being 
     able to immigrate here and to make sacrifices and work hard . 
     . . I wouldn't be able to be now the member-in-charge.''
       She's been with Frost Brown Todd since 2013. Her focus 
     there has been on tax law, economic incentives and government 
     affairs. She's also taken the lead on the firm's civic and 
     charitable engagement. She took a brief break from her 
     practice to serve as a United States delegate to the United 
     Nations and as a special adviser to U.S. ambassador to Canada 
     Kelly Craft for the 2020 session.
       As Barber spoke about each of these roles: the UN, the law 
     firm, the charitable work, and her parents, she kept coming 
     back to the concept of wanting to give back to her community.
       As a young attorney, she said she sought opportunities 
     where she'd be able to help people, and she ultimately landed 
     on tax law. She said her work with companies in this field 
     allows her to assist with the city's economic development.
       ``Part of my civic engagement is to help these companies 
     thrive, because when they thrive, we see that our communities 
     are thriving,'' she said. ``Our citizens, our residents are 
     employed and through taxes, we fund schools, and we fund fire 
     departments, and we fund libraries . . . I think to the 
     extent that we can spur stronger economic growth in our 
     communities, everything else tends to rise as well.''
       She completed both her undergraduate and law degrees from 
     the University of Kentucky. She served on the university's 
     board of trustees, as well as its athletic committee. (Plus, 
     she's an avid sports fan--specifically cheering for the 
     Wildcats.)
       She's also served on the Kentucky State Fair Board, U.S. 
     Bank Advisory Board, Louisville Bar Association Board of 
     Directors, Kentucky Bar Foundation, and American Bar 
     Association Tax Section Executive Committee.
       While working with the UN, Barber said her main focus was 
     on foreign policy, human rights and humanitarian assistance. 
     She said it was a humbling experience to serve the country 
     and see firsthand the positive impacts the U.S. has on the 
     rest of the world.
       She said her background as a daughter of immigrants helped 
     her understand and empathize with others during her work at 
     the UN.
       ``My family immigrated here from China . . . for me to be 
     able to sit behind that United States placard and deliver 
     remarks on behalf of the United States, it's really one of 
     the greatest honors,'' Barber said.
       At the time of our conversation, Barber had only held the 
     member-in-charge role for about two weeks. She said her 
     mission within the role was for the firm to continue to 
     provide good client service and give back to its communities.
       ``It's not lost on me that . . . I am minority, and I am a 
     woman, and I'm so pleased to have this role for many 
     reasons,'' she said.'' . . . I just think it's a reflection 
     of our firm and the legal profession as a whole really 
     diversifying leadership and different perspectives.''
       Barber is taking over the member-in-charge role from Geoff 
     White, who held the position for seven years. White is still 
     working for the firm in other leadership roles, according to 
     a news release on the leadership changes.
       The law firm, which has 294 local employees in total and 
     153 local attorneys according to the most recent LBF 
     research, also announced that member Jason Williams will 
     serve on the executive committee, the firm's equivalent of a 
     board of directors.

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