TEXAS MUNICIPAL COURTS EDUCATION CENTER FACULTY ROSTER Traffic Safety Initiatives Conference March 26 28, 2018

Transcription

1 TEXAS MUNICIPAL COURTS EDUCATION CENTER FACULTY ROSTER Traffic Safety Initiatives Conference March 26 28, 2018 Hon. Michael Acuña Municipal Judge City of Dallas 2014 Main Street, Suite 331 Dallas, TX Hon. Jason A. Ashford State Court Judge Houston County, Georgia 202 Carl Vinson Pkwy Warner Robins, GA ext. 266 Steven Casstevens Chief of Police Buffalo Grove Illinois Police Department 46 Raupp Blvd. Buffalo Grove, IL Michelle Chewning Court Services Coordinator City of Irving 305 N O'Connor Rd Irving, TX mchewnin@cityofirving.org Terry Fain Recovery Healthcare Corporation 9090 N. Stemmons Fwy, Suite A Dallas, TX terryf@recoveryhealthcare.com Michael Gershe Founder The Magic of Life gershe_m@msn.com Renée Hawkins Forensic Scientist, Toxicology DPS Crime Laboratory, Austin Renee.Hawkins@DPS.Texas.Gov Erin Holmes Director, Traffic Safety The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility 2345 Crystal Drive, Suite 710 Arlington, VA erin.holmes@responsibility.org Nicole Holt CEO Texans Standing Tall 2211 S. IH-35, Suite 201 Austin, TX nholt@texansstandingtall.org Joseph O. Jones Laboratory Supervisor PinPoint Testing, LLC Arkansas Children s Hospital Research Institute 13 Children s Way Little Rock, AR joseph.jones@pinpointtesting.com Jennifer Tibbitts Knudsen Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Colorado District Attorneys Council 3600 S. Yosemite St., Ste. 200 Denver, CO Jen@cdac.state.co.us Yolanda Kvaal Senior Deputy Clerk City of Frisco 4220, 6865 W Main St Frisco, TX ykvaal@friscotexas.gov Arthur B. Markman Director Human Dimensions of Organizations University of Texas Austin markman@utexas.edu Sheli Masterson Court Operations Manager City of Irving 305 N O'Connor Rd Irving, TX smasterson@cityofirving.org Charles Mathias Associate Professor Division of Neurobehavioral Research Department of Pschiatry University of Texas Health San Antonio mathias@uthscsa.edu Terri Miller Traffic Safety Specialist Texas Department of Transportation Austin District Office 7901 N. I-35 Austin, TX Terri.Miller@txdot.gov Pat Riffel Court Administrator City of Friendswood 1600 Whitaker Drive Friendswood, TX priffel@ci.friendswood.tx.us Hon. Danny Rodgers Chief Judge City of Fort Worth 1000 Throckmorton Danny.Rodgers@fortworthgov.org Mark Stodola National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Probation Fellow m_stodola@hotmail.com

2 2210 Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas fax MICHAEL ACUÑA Michael Acuña has been a full-time judge for the City of Dallas Municipal Court since August He received his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and was admitted to the Bar in He began his legal career at the City of Houston in 1993 as a municipal court prosecutor. In April 1997, Judge Acuña moved to the Land Use Division where he litigated nuisance abatement and sexually oriented business cases in state and federal courts. In November 1999, he was recruited by the City of Dallas which created the position of Assistant Chief Prosecutor for him. He served in that capacity until he was first appointed to the bench. Since then, Judge Acuña has presided over various dockets including traffic, penal code, animal control, bond forfeitures, environmental pollution, substandard buildings, and gambling machine cases. Judge Acuña represents the City of Dallas on the Dallas County Bail Bond Board. Judge Acuña was the region III representative on TMCEC/TMCA board of directors from the Fall of 2013 to September He is the chair for the board s Education Committees. He also serves on the Budget & Finance Committee. He has been a regular speaker for TMCEC and other entities on many subjects since 1994 including municipal court complaints, bail bond forfeitures, pretrial hearings, court interpreters, crossexamination, Chapter 54 and 125 cases, attorney general opinions, sexting, bullying, online impersonation, jury charges and legislative updates. In July of 2017, Judge Acuña was elected President of the TMCA. JASON E. ASHFORD Jason E. Ashford is the State Court Judge for Houston County, Georgia, where he was elected in November, 2010 and re-elected without opposition in As State Court Judge, he presides over civil and criminal jury trials and is a vocal advocate for mediation, court technology, and docket efficiency. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Ashford was a felony prosecutor for over a decade. He was the District Attorney and Chief Assistant District Attorney in Houston County, where he was responsible for prosecuting serious violent felonies and homicides. Prior to being named Chief Assistant, he helped create and was the first head of the Houston County Special Victims Unit, where he specialized in prosecuting both crimes against children and domestic violence. He was an adjunct professor for 17 years for Middle Georgia State University specializing in Computer Law and taught a Government Contracting at the graduate-level for several years at Georgia College and State University. The author of many articles in academic and practitioner publications, he travels regularly to speak on issues of prosecution and judicial ethics and technology in and out of the courtroom. He is on the faculty for many organizations, including the American Law Institute, the American Institute for Justice, and the National Judicial College. Prior to becoming a prosecutor, Judge Ashford was an active duty officer in the U.S. Air Force, and served as Comptroller and Support Flight Commander for the 5th Combat Communications Group at Robins Air Force Base. While in the 5th, he was responsible for group logistics, civil engineering, supply, equipment issue, and transportation. After serving as an active duty officer, he then joined the Georgia Air National Guard, where he was the Squadron Commander of the 116th Security Forces for the 116th Air Control Wing, heading a 60-person unit. Judge Ashford holds a Bachelor of Science in economics and a Juris Doctorate, both from Florida State University. He is a former President of both the Warner Robins Optimist Club and the Houston County Bar Association, and is a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. Judge Ashford joined the faculty of the National Judicial College in 2014.

3 STEVEN CASSTEVENS Steven Casstevens is the Chief of Police with the Buffalo Grove, Illinois Police Department. He retired in 2011 as an Assistant Chief with the Hoffman Estates, Illinois Police Department, where he served for nearly 30 years. He then served as Chief of Police with the Cary, Illinois Police Department for 2 and a half years prior to being hired in Buffalo Grove June of He began his law enforcement career in the Military Police with the U.S. Army s 101st Airborne Division in Casstevens is a Past President of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP). He is also Vice President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and will serve as the Association s President in He serves on the Executive Committee of Fight Crime-Invest in Kids as well as their National Leadership Council. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. He has authored numerous articles for Police Chief Magazine, Command Magazine and Law and Order. His 2011 keynote speech to a basic law enforcement academy class was featured in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. He served as an adjunct instructor for Northwestern University Center for Public Safety for over 20 years. He has been a guest speaker for WYCC Chicago TV, as well as several state and national law enforcement conferences. He has been a consultant for Ford Motor Company and Technical Advisor on traffic safety for Allstate Insurance and the National Safety Council. He has been the recipient of numerous local, state, and national awards, including the two highest awards in the nation for highway safety: In 1997 he was the national law enforcement recipient of the J. Stannard Baker Award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for lifetime achievement in highway safety. In 2004 he received the National Public Service Award from NHTSA for his contributions and achievements in traffic and highway safety in Illinois and throughout the nation. In 2015 he received the ILACP Highway Safety Leadership Award. Chief Casstevens served as a squad supervisor for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. He has worked on numerous special projects on a state and national level. In 2012, he began an unprecedented project with a select team of law enforcement professionals and Northwestern University Center for Public Safety to develop a Highway Patrol agency and training academy for the Arab State of Qatar. Casstevens is a graduate of the 51st class of Northwestern University s School of Police Staff & Command (1991), the Executive Management Program and a member of the 216th session of the FBI National Academy (2004). He received his Bachelor s Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Judson University, and is a Certified Police Chief through the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. MICHELLE CHEWING Michelle Chewning has been employed with the City of Irving Municipal Court for the last 25 years. She has always worked in the court and started as the telephone operator. She currently is the Court Services Coordinator and oversee our data entry and downloading citations, scanning, docketing, correspondence, our community service program, jail desk and attorney correspondence. Mrs. Chewning is currently Level 2 certified and working her way towards Level III. She believes that the certification program is highly important to our chosen profession and would love to help other clerks attain this goal.

4 TERRY FAIN Terry Fain currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Recovery Healthcare Corporation. Mr. Fain was formerly the Vice President and General Manager with Alcohol Monitoring Systems (AMS), Incorporated, for the Western United States. Mr. Fain worked in the field of community corrections and offender supervision for more than 10 years in the State of Texas. He developed and supervised electronic monitoring, GPS, and domestic violence programs while a program manager in Dallas County. Mr. Fain worked for a leading electronic monitoring company assisting agencies in establishing and operating offender monitoring programs using technology innovation for supervision and case management. A presenter to local, state, and national legal and corrections associations on technology programs for offender management, Mr. Fain has served as faculty and lecturer for the Texas Center for the Judiciary and the National Judicial College. His publications include the Journal of Offender Monitoring on the use of electronic monitoring in domestic violence cases. Mr. Fain is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees. MICHAEL GERSHE Michael Gershe is the founder/director of The Magic of Life Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides impaired driving prevention programs to schools, colleges, military bases, and courts. As a survivor of a drunk driving crash that killed his mother and nearly himself as an infant, he has dedicated his life TO educating others about impaired driving. Speaking for over 20 years, The Magic of Life program combines humor, audience participation, and his powerful story for an educational and inspirational message. Despite breaking almost all his bones in that fatal crash, Mr. Gershe was a collegiate swimmer and went on to become a comedian, author, college educator, and professional speaker. Oh, and he has seen the rock band KISS over 50 times! RENÉE HAWKINS Renée Hawkins graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. She has worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory in Austin for almost eighteen years, more than ten as a Forensic Scientist in the Toxicology Section. She is currently a Lead Forensic Scientist who analyzes biological specimens for the presence or absence of alcohol or drugs for cases that include DWI, intoxication manslaughter, sexual assault, and homicide investigations. She has testified over 100 times in misdemeanor, felony, state, and military courts on the potential intoxication of subjects by alcohol and/or drugs. Renée Hawkins is certified as a diplomate in Forensic Toxicology by the American Board of Forensic Toxicology. ERIN HOLMES Erin Holmes is the Director of Traffic Safety at the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org). She is responsible for managing Responsibility.org s traffic safety portfolio and partnerships, and is involved in the development of traffic safety and criminal justice policy. In this role, Ms. Holmes endeavors to translate research into practice and provide thought leadership on impaired driving issues. Prior to joining Responsibility.org in September of 2014, she was a Research Scientist at the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). During her tenure at TIRF, Ms. Holmes published more than 40 reports and articles and delivered in excess of 50 presentations internationally on impaired driving,

5 criminal justice system improvements, alcohol monitoring technologies, remedial programs, risk assessment, and drug policy. She also conducted process evaluations, developed online curricula, education programs, and primers. Ms. Holmes was involved in TIRF s international symposia series on interlocks and served as the co-coordinator of the Working Group on DWI System Improvements, a U.S. criminal justice coalition on impaired driving. In addition, she provided NHTSA-funded training and technical assistance to jurisdictions to improve the delivery of interlock programs across the United States. She has extensive professional experience working with practitioners and offender populations. Ms. Holmes graduated summa cum laude with both an Honours and Master s degree in Criminology from the University of Ottawa and is a Junior Fellow at the Drug Policy Institute in the College of Medicine at the University of Florida. She routinely serves as National Judicial College faculty on traffic safety issues. NICOLE HOLT Nicole Holt has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Texans Standing Tall (TST) for 10 years. Ms. Holt has more than a decade of experience with non-profit organizations, developing programs, grassroots organizing, coalition building, and advocating for policy change at the national, state, and local level. Before becoming Executive Director, she served TST in several capacities: as one of six state project directors for the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY); as TST field coordinator assisting local coalitions throughout Texas to develop strategic goals and plans; and as media liaison to promote the statewide coalition s advocacy initiatives. She serves on the Texas Summit Committee for Prevention, the Texas State PTA Advisory Council, the Department of State Health Services Tobacco Collaborative, and was appointed by the Governor s office to the Texas State Incentive Program Advisory Committee while it was active. She also serves on the Coalition Advisory Board of the Evaluating Community Driven Strategies to Prevent Underage Drinking Parties research study funded by NIAAA. In 2012, Nicole was one of seven U.S. speakers at the Global Alcohol Policy Conference in Thailand as well as an invited speaker of the Pan American Network on Alcohol and Public Health s first regional meeting, both co-hosted by the World Health Organization. Nicole spoke on civic engagement, community based organizations, and alcohol policy. Nicole is married to Geronimo Rodriguez. JOSEPH O. JONES Mr. Jones has been working in forensic toxicology since 2006, and today he manages laboratory operations for PinPoint Testing at the Arkansas Children s Hospital Research Institute (ACH-RI) in Little Rock, Arkansas. Prior to his current position, he served as the Director of Toxicology for the Ohio State Highway Patrol Crime Lab in Columbus, Ohio. He is currently an adjunct instructor for the Ohio Drug Recognition Expert/Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DRE/DECP), a committee member of the National Safety Council - Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driving (NSC-ADID) division, and a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT). Mr. Jones received his Master of Science in Forensic Medicine from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2007 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Science from Baylor University in He has presented at many national and regional conferences addressing topics of drugs, alcohol, and laboratory validation practices. More recently his focus has been on developing high-throughput analytical methods and cost-saving solutions for forensic and clinical labs.

6 JENNIFER KNUDSEN Jennifer Knudsen is Colorado s Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) for the Colorado District Attorneys Council. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Denver. She then went to the University of Colorado School of Law where she earned a juris doctorate and certificate in taxation. Ms. Knudsen started as a law clerk to the Honorable Stephen M. Munsinger (retired) and Brian D. Boatright. She first became a prosecutor in the Eighteenth Judicial District. As an Assistant Attorney General, she represented the Directors of Tax Compliance and Enforcement; the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board; Liquor Enforcement, Division of Motor Vehicles; and Port of Entry at the Colorado Department of Revenue. She has handled other traffic safety matters on a state and local level in private practice and legal counsel to law enforcement. As TSRP, she produces training for prosecutors, law enforcement, and other prosecutorial partners on traffic safety matters. She acts as a resource to traffic safety professionals in-state and nationwide, and produces the Colorado s Prosecutors DUI Manual. She is also a member of the Colorado DRE Advisory Committee. Ms. Knudsen is a co-author of Strategies for Prosecuting DWI Cases, which was published during the summer of 2016 by Aspatore (a division of Thomson Reuters). YOLANDA KVAAL Yolanda Kvaal graduated from Wichita State University in 2006 and has worked for the Frisco Municipal Court as a Senior Deputy Court Clerk since She obtained her Level 2 Clerk Certification in 2013 and has served as the North Texas Chapter Director at Large Education since When she is not at work she enjoys spending time with her husband of 11 years and her two kids, Dax and Ricky. ARTHUR B. MARKMAN Art Markman is the Anabel Irion Worsham Centennial Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas at Austin and Founding Director of the Program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations. He has written over 150 scholarly papers on topics including reasoning, decision making, and motivation. Art brings insights from cognitive science to a broader audience through his blogs at Psychology Today and Fast Company as well as his radio show/podcast Two Guys on Your Head. He is the author of several books including Smart Thinking, Smart Change, and Brain Briefs. When Art isn't working or spending time with his family, he can be found playing saxophone in a the ska band Phineas Gage. SHELI MASTERSON Sheli Masterson is employed with the City of Irving Municipal Court. She has been with the Court for over 20 years. Ms. Masterson is currently the Court Services Coordinator and oversees the Customer Service Department. Over the past ten years, she has been given the opportunity to conduct in-house training and loves being involved in this capacity. Ms. Masterson has achieved Level 1 Certification, believes the certification program to be extremely important, and loves to help others attain the goal of certification.

7 CHARLES MATHIAS Dr. Charles Mathias is an Associate Professor at UT Health San Antonio. Dr. Mathias administers a county SBIRT project addressing alcohol misuse among recently arrested DWI offenders; he is part of a consortium developing transdermal alcohol monitoring methodologies for clinical care, and serves on the Texas Impaired Driver Task Force. TERRI MILLER Terri Miller has influenced many lives throughout her life with humor and passion about alcohol s consequences. As a Texas Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Specialist, she has been about the business of saving lives through education on all sorts of traffic safety topics. But, in her presentations alcohol impairment nearly always sneaks in. Her night gig is teaching Alcohol Education for Minors and Driving While Intoxicated offenders. She has developed an incredible gift for not judging offenders while allowing them to tell their stories. She graduated from two prominent beer drinking universities Sam Houston State and Texas A&M. 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. Ms. Riffel 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. DANNY RODGERS Danny Rodgers was born and reared in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas. He is a Graduate of Eastern Hills High School, Baylor University, and Baylor School of Law. Mr. Rodgers currently serves as Deputy Chief Judge of the Fort Worth Municipal Court. He is the husband of Jill Rodgers and the proud father of son, Matthew, 30, a 2007 and 2012 graduate of Baylor University who is married to Sarah, (Baylor 2007) and daughter, Caitlin, 27, a 2010 graduate of Baylor University and a 2012 graduate of the American University of Paris, France. Judge Rodgers is also the proud grandfather of Grayson Matthew Rodgers and Rhett William Rodgers and a member of the Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth, where he has maintained perfect attendance for 28 years. Judge Rodgers served as the President of Optimist International, and his hobbies including reading, backpacking in the wilderness, and yoga. Judge Rodgers and Jill Rodgers are active members of Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas. MARK STODOLA As NHTSA s Probation Fellow, Mark Stodola brings over 30 years of experience working in the field of court management and adult probation in Arizona. Mr. Stodola worked at the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department for 18 years serving in a number of capacities including field supervisor and division director overseeing drug and alcohol treatment programs, problem solving courts and services for the mentally ill. He later became the Court Administrator of the Tempe Municipal Court where he served for eight years managing the day to day activities of the court including budget, case processing, program development (including the establishment of Arizona s first municipal mental health court) and managing personnel. Most recently Mr. Stodola served as Program Services Manager in the Adult Probation

8 Services Division of the Arizona Supreme Court where he had oversight of treatment programs for Arizona s Adult Probation Departments. He has presented training on topics surrounding high risk drunk drivers at national, regional, and state conferences throughout the country. Mr. Stodola received his undergraduate degree in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Master s Degree in Education from Northern Arizona University. He is a Graduate Fellow through the National Council of State Courts Institute of Court Management. In his spare time Mr. Stodola serves on a number of boards and is actively involved in community activities with his wife Susan.