FACULTY BIOGRAPHIAES

Transcription

1 2210 Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas fax JAN BLACKLOCK MATTHEWS FACULTY BIOGRAPHIAES Jan Blacklock Matthews is municipal judge for the City of Wilson (appointed 2011). She an attorney and trained mediator in civil, criminal and USDA matters. She served as a Municipal Judge for the City of Lubbock (elected 1994 and 1998, appointed ). Judge Matthews has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Sul Ross State University and her Juris Doctorate from Texas Tech University School of Law. Prior to becoming judge, she held the position of Assistant District Attorney and Misdemeanor Chief for the Lubbock County District Attorney s Office. Matthews is the Region I director for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center and the Texas Municipal Courts Association. JENNIFER BOZORGNIA Jennifer Bozorgnia is a Court Services Coordinator for the City of Irving. Prior to coming to Irving in 2012, she began her career in the City of Kennedale working her way up from Deputy Court Clerk to Court Administrator. Jennifer achieved her Level I Certification in 2007, her Level II Certification in 2009 and her Level III (CMCC) in In 2016, she completed the ICM program through the National Center for State Courts and TMCEC to be designated as one of the few Certified Court Managers (CCM) in the State. She serves the Texas Court Clerks Association (TCCA) as the North Texas Chapter President and the Teen Court Association of Texas (TCAT) as the Association's President. Jennifer is a proud military wife and lives in Midlothian with her husband and three children (ages 9, 8, 2). AMY CALHOUN Amy Calhoun has been employed with the Texas Department of Public Safety for 4 years. Amy s time with DPS has been all in Enforcement and Compliance section, where she is currently a Program Supervisor III for Conviction Reporting I. She has completed training for TMCEC Texas Safety Conference and Statewide Impaired Driving Forum provided by the Center for Transportation Safety. ROBBY CHAPMAN Robby Chapman is Director of Clerk Education and Program Attorney for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. Prior to working for the Center, Mr. Chapman served as an Assistant District Attorney for Nueces County, the Municipal Court Prosecutor for the City of Cedar Park, and as an attorney in private practice. Mr. Chapman is an ICM Certified Court Manager and has been past presenter for organizations including the National Center for State Courts Institute for

2 Court Management, Texas Court Clerks Association, and Texas Municipal Courts Association. He has received Merit Certification in Municipal Prosecution from the Texas City Attorneys Association and the Board of Director s Award from the Texas Court Clerks Association. Mr. Chapman earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Mary s University School of Law and Bachelor of Arts in History from The University of Texas at Austin. JOSHUA CLARK Joshua Clark joined the Records Management Assistance team at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) in August Before becoming a Government Information Analyst, he studied philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin and law at Emory in Atlanta, Georgia. He s often called upon by his coworkers to translate legalese into something a layperson can understand. Recently, he helped revise the Public Safety retention schedule for local governments and co-represented TSLAC on the Juvenile Records Advisory Committee that reported to the 85 th Legislature. ELIZABETH DE LA GARZA Elizabeth De La Garza joined the TMCEC team as a TxDOT Grant Administrator for Driving on the Right Side of the Road in June Ms. De La Garza has spent the last 32 years as a public school teacher in the Round Rock Independent School District, spending most of these years at Chisholm Trail Middle School teaching music and social studies. She has her BME from Baylor University in Waco, and completed her MME at The University of Texas at Austin. Ms. De La Garza is a native of San Antonio. MATT DIXON Matt Dixon is an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Arlington. Prior to joining the City of Arlington in 2010, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for Nueces County and as a municipal prosecutor for the City of Corpus Christi. While prosecuting for the Nueces County District Attorney s Office, Mr. Dixon won a state s appeal concerning double jeopardy and animal cruelty prosecution. State v. Almendarez, 301 S.W.3d 886 (Tex. App. Corpus Christi 2009, no pet.). Mr. Dixon obtained his juris doctorate from Texas Wesleyan School of Law (currently Texas A&M School of Law). While at Texas Wesleyan School of Law, Mr. Dixon was a member of the Law Review. MELISSA EAGER Melissa has been employed with the Texas Department of Public Safety for 18 years. All 18 of those years have been spent filling many different roles within the Enforcement and Compliance Service. Currently, Melissa is a Program Supervisor for the Conviction Reporting Section. She works with Texas courts to ensure compliance with reporting requirements. Melissa has previously provided training on the Conviction Reporting Program for the Texas Municipal Court Education Center s New Clerk Boot Camp, the Municipal Bar Association of Texas and multiple Texas Justices of the Peace and Constable Associations.

3 DIANNA FAULKENBERRY Dianna Faulkenberry began her career with the Texas court system in the Weatherford Municipal Court in In Weatherford, she attained her Level I and II Certification, which helped her as the Court Administrator for the City of Mansfield, where she accomplished her Level III Court Clerk Certification in Ms. Faulkenberry continues to strive to increase her knowledge in Municipal Government and is currently working on her TMRS certification and degree in Adminstrative Management. Ms. Faulkenberry has been honored by TCCA with the Distinguished Service Award and recently in 2012 with the Extraordinary Achievement Award. Dianna now serves as the Administrative Services Manager for the City of Decatur. Dianna has enjoyed serving on the TMCEC faculty since 2008 and feels blessed to be a part of the staff. TRACIE GLAESER Ms. Glaeser began her career in municipal court at the City of Round Rock and remained there as Court Administrator for 21 years. In 2007, she moved to the Dallas area and joined the Municipal Court team at the city of Lewisville as the Court Manager. Tracie retired from Lewisville in March 2012 to move back to the Austin area to be closer to her family. Ms. Glaeser completed her Certified Court Manager s certificate with the National Center for State Courts, Institute for Court Management in February 2010 and was the 11 th clerk in the state of Texas to become a Certified Municipal Court Clerk. Ms. Glaeser achieved her level I certification in 1998, level II certification in 2002 and achieved Level III certification (CMCC) in Additionally, she completed Leading, Educating and Developing (LEAD), a 40 hour program sponsored by Weldon Cooper and held at the University of Virginia Leadership Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia. During her career, Ms. Glaeser has been active in the Texas Court Clerk s Association and the Texas Municipal Courts Association serving in a variety of positions ranging from Chapter President to serving the membership on the Board of Directors as Vice President. She has served the Texas Municipal Courts Association (TMCA) as a member of the TMCEC Education Committee and Texas Court Clerks Association (TCCA) as the Chair of the Certification Program Education Committee from 2006 to Ms. Glaeser is a certified instructor for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center for more than 15 years and has continued to serve as faculty for the New Judges and Clerks, Court Administrators, Level III Assessment Clinic and the ICM program. Additionally, she has been active as an instructor for Citizens Police Academy, a variety of leadership and management classes and has been a regular panel member for software and imaging instruction with MCCI- Laserfiche. Ms. Glaeser is an approved instructor for the Clerk Certification Program for continuing education hours provided by the TCCA chapters. Ms. Glaeser joined the TMCEC team in September of 2016 as Program Coordinator.

4 CAROL GAUNTT Carol Gauntt is the Associate Judge for the City of Weatherford. Prior to becoming judge, Carol spent 11 years in private court related employment after having held the position of Court Administrator for the City of Richland Hills for just under 11 years and the City of Willow Park for 1.5 years. Carol also spent 20 years in the United States Air Force. She holds an Associates Degree in Telecommunications Technology from the Community College of the Air Force and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Education from Wayland Baptist University. Judge Gauntt obtained her Level III Court Clerk Certification in October She has received numerous honors over the years from both the Air Force and court organizations, including the Texas Municipal Court Association Court Clerk of the Year in Originally from Eugene, Oregon, she is married to Earl Gauntt of Ft. Worth and they have a combined total of four children, 3 son-in-laws and five grandchildren. MARK GOODNER Mark Goodner serves as the Presiding Judge for the City of Woodcreek and is the Deputy Counsel and Director of Judicial Education for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. Prior to joining the Center, he worked in civil litigation in Austin. Mr. Goodner graduated from the University of Texas School of Law with a juris doctorate and certification in the Graduate Portfolio Program in Dispute Resolution in May of While in law school, he worked in the mediation clinic, was a finalist in the Thad T. Hutcheson Moot Court Competition, and served on the executive board of Assault & Flattery. LEAH HUFF Ms. Huff began her 15 year career with the Fort Worth/Dallas based, municipal law firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla and Elam, L.L.P. as a paralegal, and promoted to Law Office Administrator. In 2006, she joined the City of Southlake as the Municipal Court Administrator for five years, with major accomplishments including the development of a high-level technological court process with her team through implementation of paper-light, audio/visual court recording, online / kiosk payments and warrant interface with remote dispatch center, while building a quality team through the World Famous Seattle FISH! Program. Tyler Technologies offered her the opportunity to assist other courts through implementation of the paper-light and legal court processes across nine states, and soon afterwards a precious granddaughter was born (The Princess). Ms. Huff achieved her Texas Court Clerk's Certification, Level I certification in 2007, Level II certification in 2008 and began her Level III certification (CMCC) assessment clinic in Currently, she is pursuing completion of her Certified Court Manager s certificate with the National Center for State Courts Institute for Court Management. Additionally, she graduated from Strategic Government Resources Fourth Dimension Leadership Model Academy in 2009 and from nationwide trainer Coach Rick Kolster's Leadership Academy in 2007, as well as numerous paralegal and law office administrative certification and CLE courses. During her career, Ms. Huff has been active in the Texas Court Clerk s Association, North Texas Court Clerk's Association, and the Texas Municipal Courts Association serving in a variety of positions ranging from Director at Large to Conference Committee Chair & Committee Member,

5 as well as on the Education Committee. Ms. Huff is a certified instructor for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center since 2007 and has continued to serve as faculty for the Court Clerk's School, New Judges and Clerks Boot Camp, and Court Administrators. Additionally, she has been active as an instructor for a variety of leadership and management courses across the United States, sharing her passion for court and the law, and has been an active trainer for software and imaging instruction with Tyler Technologies and Laserfiche. Ms. Huff is an approved instructor for the Clerk Certification Program for continuing education hours provided by the TCCA chapters and regularly facilitates training opportunities across the State of Texas to share court and technology knowledge, as well as build court "share communities" to encourage court clerks to support each other in the municipal court profession. Soon after the Princess was born, Ms. Huff joined the Business Development Team at Municipal Services Bureau d/b/a Gila, L.L.C., fulfilling her passion for court and the law by training on court procedures, technological processes and facilitating court collection and cash handling best practices with Municipal Court clients, cities, counties & state agencies across 38 states. CASEY KENNEDY Casey Kennedy joined OCA as the Director of Information Services in His team provides direct IT support for the Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, the 14 intermediate appellate courts and several judicial branch state agencies. Additionally, Casey manages the largest volume efiling system in the known universe. Casey is also the lead OCA staff for the Judicial Committee on Information Technology or JCIT. The committee is appointed by the Supreme Court and makes recommendations and sets standards for court technology in Texas. Casey is currently the vice-chair of the Court Information Technology Officer Consortium, a national organization of Court IT professionals. He holds a BA in Computer Science from The University of Texas at Austin. YOLANDA KVAAL Yolanda Kvall is the deputy clerk with the city of frisco. DEBBIE LANDRUM Debbie Landrum is the Court Administrator for the Town of Little Elm Municipal Court. She currently holds a Court Clerk Level II Certification and is in the process of completing the Level III. Prior to coming to Little Elm, Ms. Landrum was the Court Administrator for the City of Granite Shoals and the City of Seguin. She also served as administrator for the Hearing and Expulsion Office with the Wichita, Kansas School District from ASHLEY MCSWAIN Ashley McSwain is currently an assistant City Attorney and Municipal Court Prosecutor for the City of Van Alstyne. She worked for the City as the Court Administrator for 9 years while she

6 attended law-school as a part-time evening student, and transitioned to the position of Prosecutor after becoming a licensed attorney. Ashley also holds a master telecommunicator license with TCOLE, and oversees the dispatch center for the City. She has a bachelor s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Phoenix and earned her law degree from Texas A&M University School of Law. Ashley has received both a distinguished service award and 2 awards of excellence from the Texas Court Clerks Association, and is currently a level II Court Clerk. NED MINEVITZ Ned Minevitz, a Massachusetts native, has served as TxDOT Grant Administrator and Program Attorney at the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center since November, Mr. Minevitz also serves as General Counsel for Everthin, LLC, a startup company based in Massachusetts. He received his B.A. from Connecticut College in New London, CT where he majored in East Asian Studies. Spending extensive time in China after college, Mr. Minevitz is proficient in Mandarin Chinese. In 2013, Mr. Minevitz earned his J.D. from the Sandra Day O Connor College of Law in Tempe, AZ. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, golf, and squash. MELISSA PACE Melissa Pace was raised in the Texas Panhandle and graduated with Valedictorian honors from Floydada High School. She moved to the metroplex soon thereafter to attend college and learn how to drive in a lot of traffic. She graduated from the University of Texas in Arlington with a Bachelor in Business Administration. The Haltom City Municipal Court was her home for 17 years in which she was employed as the Court Administrator. In addition, she served as the chair for the North Texas Chapter Education committee for several years and on the TCCA board as a director at large and secretary. She is excited to be continuing to learn and teach as well as maintain her Level II certification. She currently works for the Law Firm of Perdue. PAT RIFFEL Pat Riffel, CMCC, is the Court Administrator for the City of Friendswood. She has a Bachelor s Degree in Political Science and is a Licensed Social Worker. She joined the court clerk profession in December She is a Level III, Certified Municipal Court Clerk. She has also achieved status as a Certified Court Manager through the National Institute of Court Management. She currently serves as faculty for both the Texas Municipal Court Education Center and National Center for State Courts. Pat is a member of the Texas Court Clerk s Association and serves as Co-Chair of the Education Committee, and Chair of the Ethics Committee. RYAN KELLUS TURNER Ryan Kellus Turner is General Counsel and Director of Education for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. Prior to joining the Center in 1999, he served as Briefing Attorney for Judge Sharon Keller at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Mr. Turner obtained his juris doctorate from Southern Methodist University School of Law. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with highest honors from St. Edward's University, Austin, Texas, where he now teaches as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

7 In 2004 and 2013, he was the recipient of the School s Adjunct Teaching Excellence Award and a finalist for the University Adjunct Teaching Excellence Award in Mr. Turner previously served as a Special Assistant County Attorney for Kendall County. He is currently Deputy City Attorney for the City of Dripping Springs and also serves as a Substitute Associate Judge on the Austin Municipal Court. In 2011, he was an advisory member on the Texas Judicial Council s Juvenile Justice Committee. In 2012, Mr. Turner was named Co-Chair of the Texas Judicial Council Legislative Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice. He is current an advisory member on the Texas Judicial Council s Pretrial Justice Committee. A native Texan, Mr. Turner was raised in the north Texas town of Vernon. He is the co-author of the books Lone Star Justice: A Comprehensive Overview of the Texas Criminal Justice System and The Municipal Judges Book. ROBIN A. RAMSAY Robin Ramsay is currently a licensed attorney and the Presiding Municipal Judge for the City of Denton. Judge Ramsay received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and his law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Ramsay served as Students Attorney for the University of North Texas and as an Adjunct Professor of Business Law. After leaving the University of North Texas and prior to his current appointment, Judge Ramsay practiced law with the Hammerle Law Firm with offices in Lewisville and Denton. Judge Ramsay has received his accreditation for the American Academy of Attorney mediators and currently acts as a Mediator for both pre-litigation and litigated matters by assignment of court and at the request of the parties or their attorneys. Judge Ramsay also serves as alternate Mental Health Magistrate for Denton County at the assignment of the Denton County Probate Court. Judge Ramsay is a past-president of the Texas Municipal Courts Association and currently serves as the 2 nd Vice President.