The Center for Guardianship Certification

(CGC) awarded Julia Nack, M.Ed., CGCMG,

with the Master Guardian Star

Achievement award at the NGA Conference

held October 6-9, 2007 in San Antonio,

TX. Created in 2002, the Master

Guardian Star Achievement award recognizes

a Master Guardian (MG) who has

demonstrated leadership within the

guardianship community, exemplifies the

NGA Standards of Practice and Model

Code of Ethics, and who contributes to the

larger community.

Nack works in the Central Ohio Area

Agency on Aging/Volunteer Guardian Program

in Columbus, Ohio, and has nearly

30 years of guardianship experience. She

was the Director of Program Services for

Advocacy and Protective Services Inc.

(APSI), a statewide non-profit agency,

which provides guardianship and payeeship

services to individuals with developmental

disabilities, for 11 years. She also

was the Court Investigator for the Franklin

County Probate Court for several years,

and served as the Program Director for the

Volunteer Guardian Program at the Central

Ohio Area Agency on Aging (COAAA), for

nearly 14 years. In addition, Nack has

been instrumental in establishing the Ohio

Guardianship Association (OGA), has

chaired the conference committee for

OGA’s Annual Educational Conference and

is currently the Vice President of OGA. She

also is a participant in the Ohio Association

of Probate Judges Guardianship Forum,

Member of NGA Board of Directors, as well

as chair of the NGA Ethics Committee, and

member of the CGC Board of Trustees

Nack became a Registered Guardian in

1997 and became a Master Guardian in

1999. She exemplifies the NGA Standards

of Practice and Model Code of Ethics as

she believes in and practices “least restrictive

alternatives,” strives to ensure that no

"conflict of interest" or "appearance of impropriety''

is present in her day-to-day

guardianship practice, and in the importance

of “informed consent.” And finally,

Nack demonstrates concern for the larger

community by chairing the COAAA Internal

Ethics Committee. She was nominated by

colleague Linda Proffitt, President of the

Ohio Guardianship Association.

Past recipients of the MG Star Award are

Colleen Colton of Fort Worth, TX; Lexie

Lamborn of Anacortes, WA; Gary Beagle of

Vancouver, WA; Fred Floreth of Litchfield,

IL; and Carolyn Little of Springfield, MO.


with a nomination from the Ohio Guardianship Association ,Julia received the Outstanding Offiliate Member Award, as well.

Julia has been a member

of OGA, previously the

Ohio Volunteer Guardian

Association (OVGA), since

1994. When the individuals

who mentored her during

her Volunteer Guardian

Program’s infancy went on

Perry Patterson

to other endeavors, she recognized the value

of that support and provided mentoring to

others. As this organization has undergone

its metamorphosis into the Ohio Guardianship

Association, an affiliate of NGA, Julia

has been a steadying force. She currently

serves as Vice President of the OGA.

Julia sits on the Board of Directors of both the

NGA and the Center for Guardianship Certification

and brings the insights she gains

there, to guide OGA in its growth. She adheres

to the NGA Standards of Practice on a

daily basis and has served on a statewide Interdisciplinary

Judges Forum on Guardianship

where she advocates for NGA

Standards. She has been largely instrumental

in applying for funds and assisting the

Honorable Thomas A. Swift in establishing

the state-wide Interdisciplinary Guardianship

Committee. This effort has been made possible

through funds from the American Bar Association

Commission on Law and Aging and

the Borchard Foundation Center on Law and

Aging, granted to the Ohio Association of

Probate Judges (OAPJ). This committee has

three work groups which will make recommendations,

on guardianship reform, to the

Ohio Supreme Court. Julia leads the minimum

standards and certification for

guardians work group.