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
  • Amy Walker
  • Nikki Peters
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Formulate a slate consisting of nominees for each of the offices of the Association.
  • 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

1965-1966 Gerald J. Popelka
1966-1967 Earl G. Anderson
1967-1968 E. Alfred Kaufman
1968-1969 Odell Oliver
1969-1970 Gerry R. Yates
1970-1971 Samuel M. Blumberg, Jr.
1971-1972 Samuel M. Blumberg, Jr.
1972-1973 Earl V. Halvorson
1973-1974 George E. Ahern
1974-1975 Charles E. Barnes
1975-1976 Richard Smith
1976-1977 Melvin P. Kusibab
1977-1978 Gilbert Frank Halasz
1978-1979 Richard H. Dagdigian
1979-1980 Richard H. Dagdigian
1980-1981 Gerald J. Popelka
1981-1982 Gerald J. Popelka
1982-1983 Dale A. Ray
1983-1984 Roberta L. Rogers
1984-1985 Roberta L. Rogers

1985-1986 Joseph Barbella
1986-1987 Joseph Barbella
1987-1988 Joe Belton
1988-1989 Joe Belton
1989-1990 Jim D. Harper
1990-1991 Jim D. Harper
1991-1992 Charles A. Howard
1992-1993 D. Joan King
1993-1994 Jennifer Vail-Kirkbride
1994-1995 K. Joseph Snyder
1995-1996 Donald E. Womack
1996-1997 Carol Jacobs
1997-1998 Carol Shell Sapala
1998-1999 Charyse C. Crawford
1999-2000 Charyse C. Crawford
2000-2001 Maellen Pittman
2001-2002 Dennis Dinkel
2002-2003 Katie Wirt
2003-2004 Cheryl Daniel
2004-2005 Brenda Fauber

2005-2006 JoAnn Bacheller
2006-2007 Sharon Borden
2007-2008 Katie Wirt
2008-2009 Dominick M. Tursi
2009-2010 Andrea Wabeke
2010-2011 Jan Davis
2011-2012 Terri Martin
2012-2013 Shirley Hall
2013-2014 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.