The longtime executive director of the Westmoreland County Bar Association has announced plans to retire.
Diane Krivoniak, 62, of Latrobe, has since 1989 served as head of the Greensburg-based organization that serves as the professional association for 500 county lawyers.
“For an unprecedented stretch of 30 years, Diane’s enthusiasm and energy have propelled our association forward,” said bar association President Joyce Novotny-Prettiman. “Among a very long list of accomplishments, Diane is known for her dedicated service to our members and for developing excellent relationships. Diane also has managed a calendar packed with activities that includes continuing legal education sessions as well as numerous board and committee meetings – all with the highest level of professionalism.”
Krivoniak organized the founding in 1991 of the Westmoreland Bar Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization that works to improve public awareness of the legal system, to enhance the administration of justice and to provide funding supporting the delivery of legal services to low-income county residents, Novotny-Prettiman said.
Krivoniak and her three-member staff oversee continuing education for attorneys, social gatherings, publication of a legal journal and coordination of its office and meeting space in downtown Greensburg
Novotny-Prettiman said that Krivoniak has not announced a specific retirement date and will assist the association’s board of directors in its search for her replacement.
Krivoniak in 2017 survived an attempt to oust her from the job after an internal audit discovered financial irregularities within the organization. Bar association President John Noble attempted to have Krivoniak fired but the effort was rejected by a majority of the organization’s board of directors. Noble and another board member subsequently resigned.
Krivoniak, a former teacher, defended her leadership of the bar association and claimed the attempt to remove her was a personal vendetta. Her supporters in the bar association rallied to her defense and said there was no evidence of any wrongdoing.
Officials said they will seek applicants for Krivoniak’s replacement through Aug. 23.
