Bio

Songbird Research was founded by Beth Cross-Wilhelm. Ms. Cross-Wilhelm has more than 25 years of paralegal experience in various areas of law. For over 12 of those years, she worked as senior corporate paralegal with one of Rochester's premier law firms, Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP, where she served as a member of the firm’s Marketing and Investment Committees. Through her extensive paralegal experience, Ms. Cross-Wilhelm has developed the organizational and document review skills necessary to compile and index data into a format which may be easily reviewed by legal and financial professionals.

In addition to her paralegal career, she is the securities law research assistant to University of Rochester President Joel Seligman, who is the co-author of the Securities Regulation treatise and Fundamentals of Securities Regulation, assisting him in researching, cite checking and compiling the text and end materials for the annual supplements to these publications. Ms. Cross-Wilhelm is a graduate of Ohio University, receiving her Bachelor of Business Administration degree cum laude, majoring in finance and economics. She is currently listed in Metropolitan Who’s Who of Executives and Professionals, is an Affiliate Member of the Monroe County Bar Association (MCBA), a member of the Rochester Small Business Council and a member of the Rochester Rotary Club. She is a former member of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA) and the Paralegal Association of Rochester (for which she served as the Association's liaison to the MCBA’s Business Law Council).

Ms. Cross-Wilhelm is actively involved in the Rochester community. She is a member of Asbury First United Methodist Church; has served as a member of the Board of Directors and Publicity Coordinator for the Rochester Oratorio Society; has served as Treasurer for Concentus Women’s Chorus and Musica Spei; and is actively involved with many other community organizations. As a member of the Rochester Rotary Club, Ms. Cross-Wilhelm serves as Chair of the Adopt-a-School Committee, which provides a variety of opportunities for tutoring and mentoring students at Roberto Clemente School #8. Additionally, for the Rotary year 2011-2012, she will be serving on the Rochester Rotary’s Board of Directors and acting as Sergeant-at-Arms.

Ms. Cross-Wilhelm has many personal interests and hobbies, including gardening, yoga and travelling. In fact, Songbird is derived from her love of choral music and flying private aircraft. She is a member of Williamson Flying Club, pursuing completion of requirements for her private pilot license. Ms. Cross-Wilhelm has been a resident of the Rochester community for over 18 years, is married and resides with her husband Roger in Pittsford.