Pistachio Confections and Plan Commitment: Behavioral Science Meets Chapter 13

Kara K. Gendron is a bankruptcy attorney and co-owner of Mott & Gendron Law in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She has practiced exclusively in bankruptcy law since 2001 and is board-certified in Consumer Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification. Kara also serves as a certified bankruptcy court mediator. In 2021, she was appointed by the U.S. Trustee, Department of Justice, as a Chapter 7 and Chapter 12 Bankruptcy Trustee for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.  In 2025, Kara was invited to join the American College of Bankruptcy, a national honorary association recognizing exceptional bankruptcy professionals.

Kara earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law. She is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

An active leader in the national bankruptcy community, Kara serves as Secretary of the Executive Board of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) and Chairs NACBA’s Circuit Leader Committee. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Certification (ABC), sits on the Board of the Association of Chapter 12 Trustees (ACT12/ACT2), and is a long-standing board member of the Middle District Bankruptcy Bar Association (MDBBA). In 2023, she was appointed to the Advisory Board of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal (ABLJ), published by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ), and was reappointed in 2025.

Committed to advancing legal education, Kara frequently organizes and presents continuing legal education programs for NACBA, the National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees (NABT), the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT), the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI), and the MDBBA. She has also taught Bankruptcy Law as an adjunct professor at Widener School of Law while maintaining her full-time practice.

Outside of her professional work, Kara enjoys being outdoors—especially snorkeling—and spending time with her husband and four children at Hershey Park or supporting their many academic and athletic pursuits. At home, she’s happily outnumbered by her three Labradors, who keep life joyful and just a little chaotic.