Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is pleased to announce that Michael Bruno, a member of the Blue Cross Board of Directors since 2004, recently was honored with a Community Leadership Award by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) at the organization’s 10th Annual Member Universities Professional Institute and Exhibition in New Orleans.
The TMCF, named for the late United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, was established in 1987 and is the only national organization of its type that provides merit-based scholarships to students attending historically black colleges and universities.
Bruno was selected because of his outstanding community service and involvement. A New Orleans native, he is the founder and managing partner of his firm, Bruno & Tervalon, LLP, the largest African-American-owned accounting firm in Louisiana. He is known for his passion for educating and supporting youth, particularly African-Americans and other minorities in the accounting profession.
“We are proud and honored to have a community leader like Mike Bruno on the Blue Cross Board of Directors,” said President and CEO Mike Reitz. “He sets an example for other business leaders in supporting youth education and development.”
Bruno received his degree in accounting from Southern University in New Orleans. Gloria Moultrie, vice chancellor for community outreach/university advancement, said Bruno’s concern for the education of young people has led him to provide scholarship and mentoring opportunities. “He also established the Careers Exploration Program, which allows high school students to be introduced to the accounting profession and the business world in general,” Moultrie said.
In addition to the Blue Cross Board of Directors, Bruno holds memberships on numerous accounting boards and societies, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and is a recipient of the Young Leadership Council’s 2001 Role Model Award. He is a director on the board of the World Trade Center of New Orleans, Inc., Sisters of the Holy Family and the Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education.
