uscrapresident@gmail.com
8449 East Culver St, Mesa, AZ
Join / Renew
P.O. Box 1154, Chicago, IL 60690
USCRA Leadership

Leadership

Meet the dedicated officers and representatives who guide USCRA
2025–2026 Term

Officers

Sonja Reeves

President
Washington, DC
sonja.uscra@gmail.com
Serving as USCRA President for the 2025–2026 term, Sonja brings years of dedication to the federal court reporting profession.

Amy Walker

Senior Vice President
Brooklyn, New York
amy.uscra@gmail.com
As Senior Vice President, Amy supports the President and helps guide USCRA's strategic direction.

Paul Brandell

Junior Vice President
Grand Rapids, Michigan
paulb.uscra@gmail.com
Paul serves as Junior Vice President, contributing to USCRA's mission of supporting federal court reporters.

Amanda Longmore

Secretary
Baltimore, Maryland
amanda.longmore.uscra@gmail.com
Amanda maintains USCRA's records and ensures smooth organizational operations as Secretary.

Nikki Peters

Immediate Past President
Orlando, FL
nikkiuscra@gmail.com
Nikki provides support and guidance to the current President gained from her years of experience on the board.

Kendra Steppler

Treasurer
Oakland, CA
kendrasteppleruscra@gmail.com
Kendra keeps the books for the organization and provides necessary documentation to the audit committee.

Candy Potter

Executive Assistant
Mesa, AZ
candypotter@me.com
Representation

Circuit Representatives

USCRA is organized by federal judicial circuits. Each circuit has a representative who serves as a liaison between members and the USCRA board.

Kristin Kelley

kmob929@gmail.com
1st Circuit
Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island

Johanna Masse

802transcripts@gmail.com
2nd Circuit
Connecticut, New York, Vermont

Laurie Engemann

laurieengemann@gmail.com
3rd Circuit
Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virgin Islands

Amanda Longmore

amanda.longmore.uscra@gmail.com
4th Circuit
Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

Teri Norton

nortonrmr@gmail.com
5th Circuit
Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas

Linda Mullen

lindam.uscra@gmail.com
6th Circuit
Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee

Sandra Tennis

sandra.uscra@gmail.com
7th Circuit
Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin

Janell Gruber

jgruber2@live.com
8th Circuit
Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Rachael Lundy

rlundy.csr@gmail.com
9th Circuit Northern
Alaska, California North and East, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington

Ann B. Matsumoto

ann.uscra@gmail.com
9th Circuit Southern
Arizona, California Central and South, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and Northern Mariana Islands

Laura Griffin

laurag.uscra@gmail.com
10th Circuit
Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming

Christina Decker

christinadecker.uscra@gmail.com
11th Circuit
Alabama, Florida, Georgia

Jan Dickman

januscra17@gmail.com
D.C. Circuit
District of Columbia

Lori Cecil-Vollmer

lori@vollmerreporting.com
Associates
Organization

Committees

AUDIT COMMITTEE
Laura Robinson – Chair
Inspect the books of the Treasurer annually and report their findings at the annual Board of Directors meeting of the Association.
  • Laura Robinson – Chair
  • Darlene Fuller
  • Hannah Cavanaugh
  • Lori Vollmer
AO COMMITTEE
Paul Brandell – Chair
Track rules and policy changes that may affect federal officials and provide advice to the Executive Committee and Board in addressing those with potential impact on members; for example, J-Net, CRAG, Judicial Conference proceedings, the court reporter manual.
  • Paul Brandell – Chair
  • Shirley Hall
  • Kelli Mulcahy
  • Jan Davis
    BYLAWS COMMITTEE
    Paul Brandell – Chair
    Review requests for amendments to the Constitution & Bylaws and propose wording for any suggested changes.
    • Paul Brandell – Chair
    • Kelli Mulcahy
    • Laura Griffin
    • Brenda Fauber
    CONVENTION COMMITTEE
    Nikki Peters & Candy Potter – Co-Chair
    Provide site selection and speaker planning for the Midyear and Annual USCRA conventions, complete NCRA continuing education submission following events.
    • Nikki Peters – Co-Chair
    • Candy Potter – Co-Chair
    • Lori Vollmer
    • Amie First
    • Lance Steinbeisser
    • Maryann Casale
    • April Kurtz
    • James Pence Aviles
    • Sharon Pell Velazco
    MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
    Paul Brandell – Chair
    Recruit members to join, communicate with current members regarding renewals, maintain membership database, manage website Private Library passwords, monitor USCRA Facebook page, disseminate electronic communications with members, create and manage electronic registration forms.
    Membership Retention and Renewal
    • Paul Brandell – Chair
    • Jill Wells
    • Kristin Kelley
    • Laura Melton
    • Jean Ann Hamlin
    Membership Database/Private Library Candy Potter Facebook/USCRA Messenger Brenda Fauber – Chair Laura Robinson Laura Griffin Electronic Communication/ Forms Candy Potter, Lead Megan Hague Amy Walker Nikki Peters
    NOMINATING COMMITTEE
    Laura Griffin - Chair
    Formulate a slate consisting of nominees for each of the offices of the Association.
    • Laura Griffin - Chair
    • Nikki Peters
    • Jan Davis
    • Amie First
    • Alternates: Carol Harrison and Hannah Cavanaugh
    REPORTER TESTING COMMITTEE
    Anne Bowline – Chair
    Create dictation materials, administer all aspects of Federal Certified Realtime Reporter Examination and Tunheim Annual Realtime Speed Contest.
    • Anne Bowline – Chair
    • Shirley Hall
    • Laura Renke
    • Linda Mullen
    • Amanda Longmore
    • Kelli Mulcahy
    • Brenda Fauber
    • Cassy Kerr
    OTHER APPOINTMENTS
    • USCRA HISTORIAN
      Brenda Fauber
    • USCRA CRAG Representative
      Sonja Reeves beginning 12/2024
    THE CIRCUIT RIDER
    Create and edit content for publication of The Circuit Rider magazine.
    • Sharon Velazco – Managing Editor
    • Christine Decker
    • Amy Walker
    • Nancy Meyer
    • Lance Steinbeisser
    • Cindie Bragg
    • Carol Naughton
    • Candy Potter
    • ADVERTISING Amie First
    Organization

    Past Presidents

    1965-66 Gerald J. Popelka
    1966-67 Earl G. Anderson
    1967-68 E. Alfred Kaufman
    1968-69 Odell Oliver
    1969-70 Gerry R. Yates
    1970-71 Samuel M. Blumberg, Jr.
    1971-72 Samuel M. Blumberg, Jr.
    1972-73 Earl V. Halvorson
    1973-74 George E. Ahern
    1974-75 Charles E. Barnes
    1975-76 Richard Smith
    1976-77 Melvin P. Kusibab
    1977-78 Gilbert Frank Halasz
    1978-79 Richard H. Dagdigian
    1979-80 Richard H. Dagdigian
    1980-81 Gerald J. Popelka
    1981-82 Gerald J. Popelka
    1982-83 Dale A. Ray
    1983-84 Roberta L. Rogers
    1984-85 Roberta L. Rogers

    1985-86 Joseph Barbella
    1986-87 Joseph Barbella
    1987-88 Joe Belton
    1988-89 Joe Belton
    1989-90 Jim D. Harper
    1990-91 Jim D. Harper
    1991-92 Charles A. Howard
    1992-93 D. Joan King
    1993-94 Jennifer Vail-Kirkbride
    1994-95 K. Joseph Snyder
    1995-96 Donald E. Womack
    1996-97 Carol Jacobs
    1997-98 Carol Shell Sapala
    1998-99 Charyse C. Crawford
    1999-2000 Charyse C. Crawford
    2000-01 Maellen Pittman
    2001-02 Dennis Dinkel
    2002-03 Katie Wirt
    2003-04 Cheryl Daniel
    2004-05 Brenda Fauber

    2005-06 JoAnn Bacheller
    2006-07 Sharon Borden
    2007-08 Katie Wirt
    2008-09 Dominick M. Tursi
    2009-10 Andrea Wabeke
    2010-11 Jan Davis
    2011-12 Terri Martin
    2012-13 Shirley Hall
    2013-14 Shirley Hall
    2014-2015 Barbara Barnard
    2015-2016 Kristine Mousseau
    2016-2017 Brenda Fauber
    2017-2018 Laura Robinson
    2018-2019 Cindy Nirenberg
    2019-2020 Kelli Mulcahy
    2020-2021 Kelli Mulcahy
    2021-2022 Kathy Fennell
    2022-2023 Jana McKinney
    2023-2024 Becky Sabo
    2024-2025 Nikki Peters

    Contact Leadership

    Have questions or want to get involved? Reach out to USCRA leadership.
    Email USCRA President
    The United States Court Reporters Association is the premier professional organization for federal official court reporters, dedicated to advancing the profession since its founding.
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    WANTED: FINGERS THAT ARE FAST AND ACCURATE!!

    THE HONORABLE JOHN R. TUNHEIM ANNUAL REALTIME SPEED CONTEST

    It’s time to cross one of the items off your bucket list!  It’s time to set aside your fears and trepidations and make the decision that this is the year you are going for it!  Or, it may be time to focus on some writing time before you are sitting for the FCRR examination – especially since there is prize money involved!  Whatever your reasons, we would love for you to help us kick off the USCRA Annual Convention by participating in USCRA’s annual realtime speed contest.

    The USCRA Board of Directors has approved a prize of $300 for the highest scoring test that qualifies with the requisite score. The first place qualifier will also take home the contest’s traveling trophy to display in your home or office for one year.

    The Realtime Speed Contest is five minutes of recorded two-voice Q&A material at 230 words per minute. A score of 96% accuracy is required to qualify. Candidates who qualify may be eligible to receive .25 PDCs from NCRA (allowed once per three-year CEU cycle). The top three contestants are recognized on Saturday.

    Entry fee is $75. USCRA membership and convention registration are required to compete. A minimum of seven registrants are required for the contest to be held. For more information, e-mail Anne Bowline, Reporter Testing Committee Chair, at fcrr.uscra@gmail.com.