COURTOOLS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Manager / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Management Consultant With the National Center for State Courts
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
has been a Principal Court Management Consultant with the National Center for State Courts since 2010. Since 2017, Alicia has directed the Mark S. Cady Initiative for Family Justice Reform, a partnership with IAALS, NCJFCJ and AFCC, to guide courts towards improved outcomes for families while managing costs and controlling delays. She currently oversees Automating Family Justice Triage, a special initiative supported by the State Justice Institute. This project brings together experts in family law, domestic violence and dispute resolution to innovate working prototypes to assist courts across the country. Alicia oversaw CCJ/COSCA's Rapid Response Team Committee on Children, Families and Elders, the Domestic Violence Implementation Lab, the Case Management Lab, and the Build-a-(Backlog)-Dashboard Series to provide guidance to courts post-pandemic and beyond. Alicia was a child and family law attorney before entering court administration.
Job Titles:
- Court Consulting Services
- Court Management Consultant
Alisa S. Kim is a Court Management Consultant focusing on access to justice initiatives including eviction diversion, remote and virtual hearings, self-represented litigants and racial justice initiatives.
Job Titles:
- Associate at the National Center for State Courts
- Program Specialist / Project Associate / Court Consulting Services
Allissia Bandin is a Project Associate at the National Center for State Courts. Prior to joining NCSC, she worked as a student trainee analyst at the U.S Government Accountability Office working on project management and data analysis. In her role alongside a team of analysts she assisted in oversight of government agency operations to improve performance and support Congress to ensure federal government accountability. She obtained her B.A. from Arizona State University in Philosophy (Morality, Politics and Law) and is currently obtaining her master's in public policy and administration at American University.
Job Titles:
- Benefits and Payroll Manager / Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Project Management Administrator / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Chief Legal Officer
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- Chief Legal Officer / Executive Office
- Chief Legal Officer at the National Center for State Courts
Amy McDowell is Chief Legal Officer at the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). She is co-director of the Election Law Program (a joint initiative between NCSC and the William and Mary Law School) and oversees the Center for Judicial Ethics. Amy previously served in the Institute for Court Management and Knowledge & Information Services Divisions at NCSC. Prior to joining NCSC in 2007, Amy provided legal services for federal and local governments. Amy earned a bachelor's degree from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Richmond Law School and a master's degree in Public Administration from Old Dominion University. Amy is a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management.
Job Titles:
- Data Scientist / Research
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership & Staff
- Senior Court Research Associate at the National Center for State Courts
Andrea L. Miller, Ph.D., J.D., is a Senior Court Research Associate at the National Center for State Courts. She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and she sits on the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Equality. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Minnesota and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Dr. Miller's research focuses on the social-psychological foundations of prejudice, discrimination, and inequity, particularly as they operate in the courts. Her research questions include: 1) How does social cognition-including social identities and normal human imperfections in social perception, memory, and information processing-affect the implementation of the law? 2) In what ways does the law successfully address social injustices related to inequality and discrimination? In what ways does the law fail as a result of insufficiently accounting for human psychology?
Recent projects involve helping courts conduct internal assessments of racial and other forms of equity, developing training materials for court personnel about systemic racism and equity issues, and developing performance measures for Allied Legal Professional and other regulatory reform programs designed to promote access to justice.
Job Titles:
- Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
- Management Consultant With the National Center for State Courts
Andy Wirkus J.D. (he/him) is a Court Management Consultant with the National Center for State Courts where he works on creating greater access to justice through authoring toolkits, creating trainings, providing technical assistance, crafting innovative ways of presenting information, and supporting court initiatives. Prior to joining NCSC, Andy worked with The Disability Law Center of Utah, the ACLU of Utah, Michigan Indian Legal Services, Catholic Community Services, and the Salt Lake County Criminal Justice Services Division. He received his JD from the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the capacity of President of the Conference of Chief Justices. She became Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in March 2017. She has served on the Court of Appeals since 2006 and on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia from 2000-2006. Chief Judge Blackburne-Rigsby joined the Board of Directors in August 2021.
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Conference Education Planning Manager
Job Titles:
- Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
- Management Consultant at the National Center for State Courts
Aubrie Souza is a Court Management Consultant at the National Center for State Courts. She works on a variety of projects related to court access through technology. She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School. Prior to joining NCSC, Aubrie held numerous roles at the law school's Legal Innovation and Technology Lab to develop guided online interviews to assist self-represented litigants in creation of narrative pleadings and filings. She also served as a student defense attorney in the Suffolk Juvenile Defenders Clinic representing juveniles in the Boston Juvenile Court in delinquency cases. Aubrie currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Barry P. Barbash serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. He has retired from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP where he was Senior Counsel and a senior member of the firm's Asset Management Group. Mr. Barbash has been a practitioner in asset management for over 40 years and served as the Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Investment Management. Mr. Barbash joined the Board of Directors in August 2018.
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Web Architect / Application Developer / Information Technology
Job Titles:
- Court Research Analyst / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Data Visualization Manager / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- Information Technology Specialist / Information Technology
Job Titles:
- Management Consultant
- Principal
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Briana Stone is a Principal Court Management Consultant focusing on advancing language and disability access in state and local courts. Before joining NCSC, she spent 17 years working to expand access to justice in Texas. Most recently, she worked at the Texas Access to Justice Commission on a wide range of initiatives, from drafting language access legislation and shepherding it through the process to become law to serving as a subject matter expert for the Supreme Court of Texas, Office of Court Administration, and the Texas Legislature on issues such as language access, evictions, COVID Emergency Orders, debt collection proceedings, self-represented litigants, and remote proceedings, to name a few. Before leaving her litigation practice, Briana was Director of the Texas Civil Rights Project in El Paso, serving over 25 counties in West Texas and Southern New Mexico. She was also a staff attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in Austin, where she worked to expand services in rural areas on top of her caseload. As a litigator, her practice focused on civil and disability rights, wage theft, immigration relief for survivors of domestic violence, special education, and juvenile justice. Briana holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Northeastern University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Women's Studies from Smith College.
Job Titles:
- Manager of the Language Access Services Section With the National Center for State Courts
- Manager, Language Access Court Interpreter / Court Consulting Services
Brooke Bogue is the Manager of the Language Access Services Section with the National Center for State Courts. Ms. Bogue's work is focused on language access and access to justice issues and the state court interpreter testing program. Prior to joining the NCSC she served as the Manager of the Office of Language Access Services with the North Carolina Judicial Branch where she was devoted to expanding and improving language access services for LEP court users in the North Carolina state courts and elevating the credentialed court interpreter as an integral part of the full and fair administration of justice. Prior to her work at the North Carolina Judicial Branch, she served as an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Tazewell and Fauquier counties. She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science from James Madison University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Publication Specialist / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- IT Specialist - Security / Information Technology
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Knowledge and Information Services
Job Titles:
- Instructional Designer / Curriculum Developer / Institute for Court Management
Ambassador (ret.) Christopher W. Dell serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. He is the Senior Advisor to Fieldstone Africa and has served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo from 2009 to 2012. In addition, Ambassador Dell served as Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy in Kabul, 2007 to 2009, then Ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe, 2004 to 2007, and to the Republic of Angola, 2001 to 2004. He joined the Board of Directors in August 2022.
Job Titles:
- Director, Government Relations
joined the National Center for State Courts as a Principal Court Management Consultant in 2019. He consults with state courts and their partners at all levels around the country on best practices with a focus on families and children in the courts. Mr. Wu also manages state and federal government relations on family and children's policies affecting state courts. His subject areas of expertise include child welfare, juvenile justice, family law, child support, mental health, elder law, and domestic violence.
Prior to joining NCSC, Mr. Wu was the Senior Director for Judicial Engagement at Casey Family Programs. There, his work focused on using a team of judicial and attorney consultants to work with juvenile courts and their partners in key jurisdictions around the country to improve court practices, primarily working to reduce the need for foster care. Before his service Casey Family Programs, Mr. Wu served the Judicial Council of California in various positions for over 18 years, as Attorney, Supervising Attorney, Executive Director of the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care, and Co-Counsel to the Judicial Council Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee.
Job Titles:
- Payroll Specialist / Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to the Vice President, External Affairs / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Project Associate / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- State Court Administrator
Corey R. Steel serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the capacity of Vice-President of the Conference of State Court Administrators. He became the State Court Administrator for the Nebraska Supreme Court in 2014 after serving as the Deputy Administrator of the Court. He joined the Board of Directors in August 2023.
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Vice President and General Counsel / ExxonMobil
Craig S. Morford serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. Mr. Morford has been Vice President and General Counsel of ExxonMobil Corporation since November 1, 2020. He was appointed as Deputy General Counsel when he joined ExxonMobil in 2019, after working with the United States Department of Justice and in private industry. In 2007, he was appointed as Acting Deputy Attorney General by President George W. Bush, and from 2008 until joining ExxonMobil, he served as the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer for Cardinal Health. Mr. Morford joined the Board of Directors in August 2022.
Job Titles:
- Director Emeritus / Executive Staff
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Managing Director Court Services / Court Consulting Services
- Managing Director of the Court Consulting Division at the National Center for State Courts
is the Managing Director of the Court Consulting Division at the National Center for State Courts. In that capacity, Danielle is working to develop, guide and implement policies and procedures of court consulting operations to ensure success, high-quality work. In addition, Danielle has a professional focus on access to justice initiatives. She leads several large national access to justice projects for NCSC and serves as lead staff for the new $11M Eviction Diversion Initiative, and the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators' Access and Fairness Committee, the Post-Pandemic Planning Technology Supergroup, and the Blueprint for Racial Justice's Improving Diversity of the Bench, Bar and Workforce Working Group. In addition, Danielle is the co-creator and a co-host of Tiny Chats.
Before joining NCSC, Danielle was the Assistant Director of Civil Justice Division of the Administrative Office of Illinois, where Danielle was responsible for leading and managing the judicial branch's work to promote, facilitate and enhance access to justice in Illinois with a particular emphasis on efforts to remove barriers and increase the ease of interacting with courts by persons who cannot afford lawyers to represent their interests and needs. Before joining the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts, Danielle served as the Executive Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice and the Director of Advocacy at The Chicago Bar Foundation. Among many highlights of her work, Danielle developed and managed an innovative new program, Illinois JusticeCorps, which places college and law students in courthouses to provide procedural assistance to people without lawyers. At the beginning of her career, Danielle clerked for the Honorable William Wayne Justice of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas and Justice ZM Yacoob of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Danielle brings a broad range of relevant experience to the NCSC. Danielle has authored numerous articles in law reviews, bar journals and other publications and frequently is called upon to speak at legal, academic, and nonprofit meetings and events.
Job Titles:
- Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
- Management Consultant With the National Center for State Courts
Danielle Reier is a Court Management Consultant with the National Center for State Courts, where she works on access to justice initiatives focusing on helping limited English proficient and self-represented litigants to access and navigate the courts. Prior to her work with the NCSC, Ms. Reier served as the Director of Sales and Marketing for a leading commercial language-testing firm and developed content for language proficiency and formative assessments. Ms. Reier holds her bachelor's degree in marketing from Florida State University and has completed coursework in copy editing and plain language writing. Danielle lives with her family in Atlanta, Georgia.
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Center for Judicial Ethics / Executive Office
Job Titles:
- Chief Administrative Officer
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- Vice President
- Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer / Human Resources
- Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at the National Center for State Courts
Deborah Mason is vice president and chief administrative officer at the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). She has been with NCSC since 1998 providing leadership for the human resources office and serving as faculty for the Institute for Court Management. Deborah has also been an instructor at the University of Richmond's School of Professional and Continuing Studies. Prior to joining NCSC, Deborah worked for the Commonwealth of Virginia for 22 years in both the executive and judicial branches. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Deborah holds a Master's degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor's degree in Business Education.
Job Titles:
- Trial Court Administrator
Deirdre Dunham serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large member. She is the Trial Court Administrator for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida in Miami-Dade County. Prior to holding this position, she was the Court's Assistant General Counsel, and before that, the Chief Personnel Officer. Ms. Dunham joined the Board of Directors in August 2023.
Job Titles:
- Director, Creative Learning Services ( CLS ) Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Multimedia Designer / Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership & Staff
- Principal Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Knowledge and Information Services Analyst / Knowledge and Information Services
- Knowledge and Information Services Analyst With the National Center for State Courts
Dimarie Alicea-Lozada is a Knowledge and Information Services Analyst with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). Her current work includes research on current events in state courts, drafting articles for Trending Topics, and responding to court technical assistance queries. She also supports working groups for NCSC's Blueprint for Racial Justice initiative. Dimarie manages the Judicial Salary Survey, a biannual publication that collects state court salary data.
Job Titles:
- Interim CFO / Executive Office
Job Titles:
- Director of Racial Justice, Equity and Inclusion / Executive Office
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist
- Program Specialist / Research
Eleni Snyder is a Program Specialist in the Research Division. Since joining the NCSC in 2022, her project work has focused on internal projects ranging from Court Statistics to the Future of the Courts. She has ten years of administrative experience in Environmental Services and Education. She earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Vermont.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Liz Barnhart, MS, is a Principal Court Management Consultant for the National Center for State Courts with over 30 years of justice, child welfare, and human service experience. Her consulting portfolio consists of a diverse set of federal, state, and local projects that explore the intersection of justice and well-being, and the court's role in leading system change. Ms. Barnhart's experience spans all intercepts and encompasses criminal and civil court, juveniles, families, and adults. Her primary areas of focus include justice collaboratives such as diversion programs, treatment courts, pretrial, probation, and coordinating councils.
Prior to joining NCSC, Ms. Barnhart worked with members of her local Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to develop and fund programs responsive to community needs. She provided leadership and quality assurance for initiatives such as Crisis Intervention Team training, domestic violence multidisciplinary teams, family violence coordinating councils, court navigators, treatment courts, and juvenile and adult redeploy programs, and worked closely with specialized law enforcement, prosecution, pretrial, and probation units on training and implementing best practices. Ms. Barnhart also has extensive experience working directly with justice-involved individuals and individuals at risk of justice involvement.
Ms. Barnhart has been recognized nationally as an expert in grant writing and management. She serves on NCSC's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Adult Redeploy Illinois Performance Measurement Committee and has a certificate in DEI from the University of South Florida. Ms. Barnhart graduated from Adams State University with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Sociology, and she earned a Master of Science degree in Sociology at Illinois State University.
Elizabeth N. Mulvey serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. She is a partner at Libby Hoopes Brooks & Mulvey. Ms. Mulvey has a special interest in personal injury law pertaining to patient safety and electronic health records. Ms. Mulvey is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, elected as an Advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Ms. Mulvey joined the Board of Directors in August 2021.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Associate / International
Erica R. Yew serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large member. She is a general jurisdiction trial court judge serving on the Santa Clara County, California Superior Court since 2001 presiding over a dependency drug treatment court and problem-solving courts. Judge Yew joined the Board of Directors in August 2021.
Job Titles:
- Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Association Manager / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Program Manager / International
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / International
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
- Senior Court Management Consultant With the National Center for State Courts
Grace Spulak, JD, is a Senior Court Management Consultant with the National Center for State Courts where she works on a variety of access to justice issues, including the use of remote hearings, rural justice, process simplification, user-testing, and regulatory reform. Grace is the author of the Remote Proceedings Toolkit, a remote proceeding resource for courts.
Prior to NCSC, Grace was the Director of the New Mexico Commission on Access to Justice where they worked on a number of innovative court projects aimed at improving the civil justice system for self-represented litigants, including overseeing New Mexico's eviction diversion program, developing court navigator pilots, providing training and technical assistance to self-help centers across the state, implementing equity initiatives for the Commission, and designing stakeholder and court user feedback mechanisms for the judiciary and the Commission. Prior to working with the NM Access to Justice Commission, Grace did child welfare and child advocacy work for ten years and was an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and was a Skadden Fellow.
Greg Sattizahn serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the capacity of President of the Conference of State Court Administrators. He became the State Court Administrator for South Dakota in 2013 after being in private practice and serving as Staff Attorney, Legal and Legislative Counsel, and Director of Policy and Legal Services for the South Dakota Unified Judicial System. He joined the Board in August 2021.
Job Titles:
- Online Engagement & Social Media Manager / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Program Manager / International
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Multimedia Development Manager / Institute for Court Management
J.D. Smith serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. He is with the Law Office of J.D. Smith PLLC and is a personal injury attorney where the focus is on serious personal injury, wrongful death cases, and risk management. Mr. Smith joined the Board of Directors in August 2023.
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Management Consultant With the National Center for State Courts
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Jannet Okazaki has been a Principal Court Management Consultant with the National Center for State Courts since 2017. She has a depth of knowledge in court technology solutions, policy development, and governance. She also works on education development for the biannual technology conferences, eCourts and CTC. Her projects focus on court technology, innovation, and business process. Jannet currently oversees a DOT/FMCSA grant portfolio that studies various aspects of data collection, data quality, reporting and compliance related to traffic court and commercial driving cases.
Her work at NCSC includes projects involving digital evidence, evidence-based public access policy guidance, Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP), studies related to emerging technologies, data exchanges, technology assessments, courtroom technology, cybersecurity in the courts, and Artificial Intelligence. Jannet is a certified Public Management Professional (PMP).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- Vice President
- Vice President, NCSC International
Jeffrey Apperson, vice president for International Relations, works all over the world to help courts establish and improve judicial administration. He directs dozens of programs in 25 or so nations at any given time. He has had leadership roles in projects in Mongolia, Iraq, Brazil, Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago, to name just a handful. He co-founded the International Association for Court Administration, helped establish the International Journal for Court Administration and is a founding board member of the International Institute for Justice Excellence in The Hague. Before working at NCSC, Apperson served as a clerk of court for U.S. Courts and attorney advisor to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts for 27 years. He also served as chief of court management for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 2006, and as president of the Federal Court Clerks Association and National Conference of Bankruptcy Clerks. He is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership & Staff
- Director of Association & Conference Services / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Manager / Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- Vice President of External Affairs
- Vice President, Public Affairs
Jesse Rutledge has spent more than two decades fighting to keep America's state courts fair, impartial, independent and accountable. As Vice President of Public Affairs for the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), he is a national leader who relies on empirical data to build messages and strategies that instill public trust and confidence. His additional areas of interest include the impact of new media and disinformation on the courts, and the politicization of the judiciary by partisans and special interests. In addition to serving as the project lead on NCSC's State of the State Courts annual public opinion survey, Rutledge supports three committees of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators. Rutledge's commentary appears in national and legal media, and he frequently speaks at conferences. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cited his original research in her 2015 opinion in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar. Before joining NCSC, he served as Deputy Director of the Justice at Stake Campaign in Washington, D.C. Rutledge holds bachelor's and a master's degrees in political science.
Job Titles:
- National Center for State Courts As a Technology Consultant
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Jim Harris joined the National Center for State Courts as a Technology Consultant in January, 2006. Prior to joining the Center, Jim served in public- and private-sector roles specializing in development and implementation of court case management systems. He is knowledgeable in trial and appellate court business processes and the application of technology supporting those processes. He has developed expertise in many different areas of court technology, including electronic court filing, courtroom technology, judicial dashboards, enterprise architectures, services oriented architecture, and integrated justice systems. He has also been an active participant and contributor to national standards for case management systems, electronic court filing, and justice information sharing initiatives.
Job Titles:
- Accounts Payable Specialist
- Finance
Job Titles:
- Deputy Managing Director / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Principal Program Manager / International
Job Titles:
- Librarian / Knowledge and Information Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- Vice President of Institute for Court Management
- Vice President of the Institute for Court Management
John Meeks, vice president of the Institute for Court Management at the National Center for State Courts, speaks at national and international conferences about leadership and management in courts, adult education, faculty development, and curriculum development. Before he joined NCSC in 2006, he was director of the Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial College from 1996-2006 and a senior attorney at the Supreme Court of Florida Office of the State Courts Administrator from 1989-1996. A member of the Florida Bar, he practiced law in Pensacola from 1985-1989. Meeks earned a bachelor's degree from the University of the South, a law degree from the Stetson University College of Law, and a certificate of Art and Practice of Leadership Development from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
John T. Nockleby serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. He is the founding Director of the Civil Justice Program and the Journalist Law School at Loyola Law School. Professor Nockleby received his J.D. from Harvard Law School where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. From 1993-95, and again in 2000, Professor Nockleby served as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School. He has also taught at the Northeastern University School of Law, and the Southwest Institute of Law and Political Science in Chongqing, China. Professor Nockleby joined the Board of Directors in August 2020.
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
- Senior Court Management Consultant
John W. Douglas, Senior Court Management Consultant, has expertise in resource allocation, judicial and clerk resource needs, and workflow analysis.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Director of Knowledge Management for the National Center for State Courts
- Director, Knowledge and Information Services / Knowledge and Information Services
Joy M. Keller became the Director of Knowledge Management for the National Center for State Courts in August 2021. She manages staff, projects, budget, and strategic planning. She coedits signature products such as Trends in State Courts, the Judicial Salary Survey, and Trending Topics.
Joy served in various capacities in the Maryland Judiciary since 2004. Joy was the Court Administrator for the First Judicial Circuit of Maryland from January 2017 to August 2021. She was responsible for human resource management, overseeing grants and security projects, and improving court operations. She was active on multiple AOC committees including: the Conference of Circuit Court Administrators; Court Operations; Court Technology; and the MDEC (Odyssey Case Management) User Group. Joy was a Court Business Analyst for the Administrative Office of the Courts from 2013-2017, where she was the lead coordinator for Odyssey rollouts to the appellate and trial level courts. She was the Case Management and Dispute Resolution Administrator for the Circuit Court for Baltimore County from 2004-2013. She started her legal career in law firms, specializing in complex civil litigation, medical malpractice, international child abduction, and EEO matters.
Joy is a Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management (MAACM) Past President (2019). She is still an active MAACM member leading and serving on committees since 2004, including Communications, Professional Development, and Business Practices. She has held many positions, including all positions of the Executive Board, Editor of The Beacon; Co-Chair of the Communications Committee; and the Advisory Board.
Joy obtained her Certified Court Executive certificate from NCSC's Institute for Court Management. She received her Master of Science degree in conflict management from the University of Baltimore and a Bachelor of Science in prelaw from Stevenson University.
Joy has a passion for mentoring, technology, access to justice, process improvement and strategic planning. She enjoys almost any activity outside in warm weather and learning new things.
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Judge Emily Miskel serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large member. She serves as a judge of the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas, Texas. She is the Chair of Civil Justice for the Texas Judicial Council and serves on the Supreme Court Advisory Committee. Judge Miskel joined the Board of Directors in August 2022.
Job Titles:
- Judge
- Member of the Leadership & Staff
- Fellow at the National Center for State Courts
- Judge Gregory E. Mize NCSC.Org
Judge Mize is a judicial fellow at the National Center for State Courts. As part of NCSC's Center for Jury Studies, he works to help state courts improve their jury trial systems. He was project director of "Jury Trial Management for the 21st Century" which features a set of judicial education curricula focusing on jury selection and jury deliberations.
Judge Mize served on a US Justice Department project to help the Republic of Georgia initiate criminal jury trials. His tasks included running mock jury selection exercises for judges and lawyers in anticipation of the first homicide trials in late 2010.
President George H.W. Bush appointed Judge Mize to the trial bench in 1990. In that capacity, he presided over hundreds of civil and criminal jury trials in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He is now a senior judge. From 1997 to 1998, he co-chaired the D.C. Jury Project, resulting in issuance of "Juries for the Year 2000 and Beyond" containing proposals to improve jury practices in the Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Judge Morris Silberman serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large member. He has been Judge at Florida's Second District Court of Appeal since 2001, and he is the Past President of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal. Judge Silberman joined the Board of Directors in August 2023.
Judge Toko Serita serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large member. She is currently the Statewide Coordinating Judge for Problem Solving Courts in New York and is the Acting Supreme Court Justice for the New York State Unified Court System. Judge Serita joined the Board of Directors in August 2018.
Job Titles:
- Instructional Designer / Curriculum Developer / Institute for Court Management
Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the capacity of Past President of the Conference of Chief Justices. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Indiana in 2012 and became Chief Justice in 2014. Before her appointment, she was a Superior Court Judge for 14 years and spent 15 years in private practice. Chief Justice Rush joined the Board of Directors in February 2020.
Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the capacity of President-Elect of the Conference of Chief Justices. He was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court in January 2000 and began his tenure as Chief Justice in 2012. Previously, he clerked with the U.S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit under Judge Monroe G. McKay, and was an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School. Chief Justice Durrant joined the Board of Directors in August 2022.
Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the capacity of First Vice President of the Conference of Chief Justices. He became Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2018, previously serving as Justice of the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Robinson joined the Board of Directors in August 2023.
Karl R. Hade serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the capacity of Past President of the Conference of State Court Administrators. He became the Executive Secretary for the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2005 after serving as Director of the Department of Judicial Information Technology. He joined the Board of Directors in August 2020.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Manager / Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Kathleen Flynn Peterson serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. She is Partner with Ciresi Conlin LLP. Her practice focuses on medical negligence cases. She serves as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Attorneys, the International Society of Barristers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the American Bar Foundation. She is Past President of the American Association for Justice, the nation's largest plaintiffs' trial bar association. Ms. Peterson joined the Board of Directors in August 2019.
Job Titles:
- Research Associate in the Research Division of the National Center for State Courts
- Senior Court Research Associate / Research
Kathryn J. Genthon is a Senior Court Research Associate in the Research Division of the National Center for State Courts. She received her B.A. in psychology from the College of William and Mary and her M.S. in criminal justice and her Ph.D. in public policy and administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. Since joining the National Center for State Courts in 2014, she has worked on or directed treatment court evaluations in several states, including statewide drug court and mental health court evaluations and the development of statewide treatment court performance measures. She is an advisor on the Court Statistics Project, after serving as a state liaison for a decade. She also conducts project work in the subject areas of racial justice, rural access to justice, domestic violence and protection orders, procedural fairness, and data standards.
Job Titles:
- Association Manager / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership & Staff
- Program Specialist / Research
- Program Specialist in the Research Division
Keeley Daye, MPA, is a Program Specialist in the Research Division. Since joining the NCSC in 2022, her project work has focused on the State Justice Institute. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia State University and a Masters of Public Administration from Regent University.
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Assistant / Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Language Access Court Interpreter Specialist / Court Consulting Services
- Specialist With the National Center for State Courts
Kimberly Brooke is a Language Access Court Interpreter Specialist with the National Center for State Courts, where she assists with state court interpreter testing programs, test development maintenance projects, and rater training. Prior to her current position with the National Center for State Courts, she worked as a Program Manager with Comprehensive Language Center Inc., as the Language Center Supervisor at Northern Virginia Community College, and as an International Trade Analyst with Broker Power Inc. She holds a bachelor's degree in French from the State University of New York at Oswego and a master's degree in international affairs from American University.
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Instructional Designer / Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Managing Director Court Services
- NCSC 's Court Consulting Services Division As a Managing Director
Kristen Trebil-Halbersma works for the NCSC's Court Consulting Services Division as a Managing Director. Her work is focused primarily in the following areas: court governance, leadership, coaching and development, case flow and workload management, court space and security and technology.
Ms. Trebil-Halbersma previously served as the Minnesota Judicial Branch's Court Services Director. In this role Kristen oversaw the Court Services Division of the State Court Administrator's Office, including the areas of Business Process and Education, Research and Evaluation, Self-Represented Litigant Program, Child Support Magistrates, Court Payment Center Call Center and Citation Entry, Programs and Ancillary Services including Court Interpreter Programs, Psychological Services, Jury Management, and the Children's Justice Initiative.
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Project Associate / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Project Accountant / Finance
Job Titles:
- Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Project Associate / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- Vice President of Court Consulting Services at the National Center for State Courts
- Vice President, Court Consulting Services
Laurie K. Givens is Vice President of Court Consulting Services at the National Center for State Courts. She previously served as Director of the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts for 15 years. During that time, Laurie served as President of the Conference of State Court Administrators as well as co-chair of the National Task Force on Fines, Fees and Bail Practices. In 2018, Laurie received the Mary C. McQueen Award for Excellence and Leadership in Justice System Improvement. She previously practiced law and was executive director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy and a staff attorney in the Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet. Laurie earned both her bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Kentucky, and she is an alumna of the Toll Fellowship Program of the Council of State Governments.
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Specialist / Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Online Media Manager / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- Program Manager / International
Lewis R. Sifford serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. He is the founder of Sifford, Anderson & Company, P.C., where his practice includes complex commercial litigation and catastrophic personal injury and death cases, where he has represented both plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Sifford joined the Board of Directors in August 2023.
Job Titles:
- Project Specialist / Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Management Consultant With the National Center for State Courts
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Lonni Kyhos Summers is a Senior Court Management Consultant with the National Center for State Courts. She works on a variety of projects related to court access including plain language, clear communication, language access, signage and wayfinding, and regulatory reform. She created NCSC's Plain Language Glossary and Forms Camp.
Before joining NCSC, Lonni worked in the Maryland Judiciary's access to justice group, where she developed resources for self-represented litigants, served on the Forms Subcommittee, and directed Maryland's statewide network of court help centers. Lonni began her legal career in legal services. She managed the consumer and foreclosure unit at Maryland Volunteer Lawyer's Service, represented tenants in rent court at D.C. Law Students in Court (Rising for Justice), and was a staff attorney at Maryland Legal Aid. A graduate of Drexel University's Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Lonni lives in Annapolis with her family.
Lynne Halbrooks serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. She is a Partner for the firm Nichols Liu. Her practice focuses on helping government contractors manage compliance and enforcement risks and solve business problems. Ms. Halbrooks joined the Board of Directors in August 2023.
Job Titles:
- Paralegal / Executive Staff
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Education Program Manager / Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Director, National Programs / Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Initiative for Family Justice Reform, National Project Director
Job Titles:
- Facilities Director / Facilities
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- President
- Member of the NCSC 's Board of Directors
- President / Executive Office
- President / National Center for State Courts / Williamsburg, VA
Mary McQueen has led NCSC as its president since August 2004. As president, she also coordinates major national initiatives for the Conference of Chief Justices. McQueen served as Washington's state court administrator from 1987 to 2004 and as director of Judicial Services for the Washington State Office of the Administrator for the Courts from 1979 to 1987. In 1995, she was elected president of the Conference of State Court Administrators, and she was chair of the Lawyer's Committee of the American Bar Association's Judicial Division. She has won numerous awards, including the American Judicature Society's Herbert Harley Award, the NCSC Innovation in Jury Management Award, and the John Marshall Award, presented by the ABA's Judicial Division in recognition of her contributions to the improvement of the administration of justice, judicial independence, justice reform and public awareness. McQueen also received the ABA Judicial Division's Lawyers Conference 2016 Robert B. Yegge Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Judicial Administration. She has served on numerous ABA committees and task forces and serves as secretary general of the International Organization on Judicial Training, consisting of 80 nations. She is a member of the Washington and U.S. Supreme Court bars. She earned a bachelor's of arts degree from the University of Georgia and a law degree from Seattle University Law School.
Mary C. McQueen serves ex officio as a non-voting member of the NCSC's Board of Directors in her capacity as President of the National Center for State Courts. Ms. McQueen served for over 18 years as the State Court Administrator of Washington. She assumed the position of President of the National Center for State Courts in August 2004.
Job Titles:
- Accounting Manager
- Finance
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist
- Program Specialist / Research
Matilde Cantero is a Program Specialist in the Research division working under Department of Justice related projects with the National Center for State Courts.
Before joining NCSC, Matilde worked in a variety of social service agencies delivering case management services for almost 10 years. Matilde worked in emergency shelters and community-based sites with individuals experiencing domestic abuse. Matilde also has experience overseeing the day-to-day operations of a grant funded re-entry program through the Department of Labor for individuals being released from prison and jail. Matilde has vast experience accompanying clients through different courts and other related systems.
Matilde holds a Master of Science in Applied Criminology from Northern Arizona University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Administrative Assistant / Executive Staff
Job Titles:
- Graphic Design Manager / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- Office Services Coordinator / Receptionist / International
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Executive Vice President
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President & General Counsel / Selective Insurance Company of America / Branchville, NJ
Michael H. Lanza serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. He is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Selective Insurance Company of America, with oversight of the legal department, as well as the regulatory, ethics and compliance, and legislative and government affairs functions. He also serves as Selective's Chief Compliance Officer. Mr. Lanza joined the Board of Directors in August 2021.
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Research Analyst / Research
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications and Marketing / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Analyst / Research
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership & Staff
- Principal Program Manager / International
Ms. JoAnne Richardson is a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She has more than 15 years experience in the criminal justice sector as a former prosecutor, defense attorney and international legal expert. She prosecuted war crimes as a Legal Officer in the Office of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. She spearheaded critical judicial and legal reforms as the Head of Field Office - Brcko District of the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, implementing the Dayton Peace Accords and the Final Award. She held the position of Deputy Chief of Party for the National Center for State Courts - Kosovo Justice Support Program and served as an adjunct professor with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, N.Y., and as a faculty member of the Intense Trial Advocacy Program at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership & Staff
- Project Assistant
- Program Associate / International
Ms. Marta Hernandez, Project Assistant, has extensive experience in international program administration and human resources management for the Foreign Service. She joined NCSC after relocating from Caracas, Venezuela, where she served for several years as the Human Resources Advisor to the HR Director at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. Her expertise includes local labor law, employment contracts, legal translation and interpretation, and records management. She is fluent in English and Spanish. She has a B.A. in Liberal Arts and a Certificate of Legal Translation from the Metropolitan University, Caracas, Venezuela.
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Research
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Research Services / Research
Job Titles:
- Association Manager / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Managing Director Court Services / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Principal Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Web Content Editor / Manager / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Leadership Team
- Vice President, Research Division
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Manager / Executive Staff
Job Titles:
- Project Management Administrator / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Chief Information Officer / Information Technology
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Accounting & Administrative Assistant / Finance
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Accounting Manager
- Finance
Job Titles:
- Program Manager / International
Richard " Rick" J. Pierce serves on the NCSC Board of Directors representing the National Association for Court Management. He is the Judicial Programs Administrator of the Judicial District Operations and Programs Department at the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. He served as the President of the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management from 2005-2006 and previously served on the MAACM Advisory Board from 1997-2005. Mr. Pierce joined the Board of Directors in August 2022.
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Financial Accounting Manager / Finance
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Court Research Associate / Research
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Institute for Court Management
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Program Specialist / Project Associate / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Data Scientist / Research
Job Titles:
- Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Accounting Director
- Finance
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Project Management Administrator / Research
Job Titles:
- Managing Director Court Services / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Association Manager / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to the President / Executive Staff
Job Titles:
- Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Advancement Associate / Executive Office
Job Titles:
- Chairman in Civil Advocacy / Director, Civil Justice Program & Journalist Law School / Los Angeles, CA
Job Titles:
- Principal Court Management Consultant / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- Deputy Managing Director / Court Consulting Services
Job Titles:
- President ( Ret. ) Volcker Alliance, Inc. New York, NY
Thomas W. Ross serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. He is retired, having worked as the President of the Volcker Alliance, and previously served as President of the University of North Carolina and Davidson College. He also served as a North Carolina Superior Court Judge for 17 years and as the North Carolina Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. Mr. Ross joined the Board of Directors in August 2018.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Senior Legal Counsel and Program Director / International
Job Titles:
- Executive Administrative Assistant / Executive Staff
Job Titles:
- Facilities Management Technician / Facilities
Job Titles:
- Marketing Manager / External Affairs & Communications
Job Titles:
- Conference Services Manager / Association and Conference Services
Job Titles:
- Program Manager / International
Job Titles:
- Principal Program Associate / International
Job Titles:
- Distribution Center Assistant / Facilities
Job Titles:
- Senior Knowledge and Information Services Analyst / Knowledge and Information Services
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Senior Court Management Consultant
Job Titles:
- Project Accountant / Finance
Job Titles:
- Executive Director / Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute / Dallas, TX
Yolanda L. Lewis serves on the NCSC Board of Directors in the category reserved for an at-large, non-judicial branch member. Ms. Lewis is the Executive Vice President for Justice & Health and Executive Director, Center for Justice & Health, with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. Most recently, Ms. Lewis was Senior Director, Safety and Justice with The Pew Charitable Trusts. Before joining Pew, she served as the district court administrator for the Atlanta Judicial Circuit. Ms. Lewis joined the Board of Directors in August 2022.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Managing Director / Court Consulting Services