The owner of the Ekati mine, which opened in 1998, has filed for insolvency protection amid the significant decline in diamond prices.
Judi Powers Takes Over As President of CJDG
She succeeds Julie Bergstein Romanenko, who just completed her three-year term as head of the Contemporary Jewelry Design Group.

New York—The Contemporary Jewelry Design Group announced via Facebook that it has a new president of the executive board, jewelry designer Judi Powers.
Powers was appointed to the post this month, taking over for Julie Bergstein Romanenko of Just Jules Jewelry.
Powers handcrafts her eponymous line in Hudson, New York, drawing inspiration from nature and architecture. She began studying jewelry-making in 2002 and earned her AAS in jewelry design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2013.
As president, she said she wants to deepen communication, provide even greater service to members and build relevant partnerships.
“What I love most about CJDG is our community. Our members are dynamic, engaged, generous and fiercely committed to outstanding jewelry design,” she said. “When I became a member, I felt like I’d found my people, and it’s that feeling that I hope to engender among our membership during my term as president of the CJDG executive board.”
Romanenko served a three-year term that ended June 1.
“When I became president,” she said, “I wanted to do more than self-promote the group’s talents. [I wanted to] figure out a way to also give back to the industry I have loved for many years.”
During her term, she oversaw the launch of the Cindy Edelstein Memorial Auction, the event organized in memory of the late designer advocate and held at Couture in 2017 and 2018.
Romanenko said she hopes the event continues after this year’s hiatus.
The Contemporary Jewelry Design Group is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the craft of creative jewelry design and maintaining the highest standards of integrity and ethics in business and in design.
As president, Powers will work alongside Executive Director Marylouise Sirignano Lugosch, Erika Winters, Dana Bronfman, and Elizabeth and Jack Gualtieri of Zaffiro Jewelry, as well as past executive board members.
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