TEXAS MUNICIPAL COURTS EDUCATION CENTER FACULTY ROSTER

Transcription

1 TEXAS MUNICIPAL COURTS EDUCATION CENTER FACULTY ROSTER Regional Clerks Seminar Tyler October 26 28, 2015 Katie Chancia Chancia Staff Attorney Harris County Justice Courts Harris Co. Justice Court 1201 Franklin St., 7th Floor Houston, TX (o) Robby Chapman Chapman Director of Clerk Education and Program Attorney TMCEC 2210 Hancock Drive Austin, TX (o) Hilda Cuthbertson Cuthbertson Consultant Bojorquez Law Firm, PLLC 1005 Skrivanek Drive Bryan, TX (o) Peter DeLeef DeLeef Associate Judge El Lago 98 Lakeshore Drive El Lago, TX (o) Mark Goodner Goodner Deputy Counsel and Director of Judicial Education TMCEC 2210 Hancock Drive Austin, TX (o) Andrew Hagen Hagen Judge Uvalde PO Box 799 Uvalde, TX (o) Leah Huff Huff Former Court Admin City of Southlake 4120 Broken Bend Blvd. Keller, TX (o) Sandra Mabbett Mabbett Judicial Information Analyst Office of Court Administration P205 W. 14th St. Austin, TX (o) Ashley McSwain McSwain Court Administrator Van Alstyne PO Box 247 Van Alstyne, TX (o) Ned Minevitz Minevitz TxDOT Grant Administrator & Program Attorney TMCEC 2210 Hancock Drive Austin, TX (o) Leandra Moore Moore CID Administrative Assistant Property/Evidence Custodian Boerne Police Department ext.1206 (o) Tammy Odom Odom Court Administrator Texas City th Ave N Texas City, TX (o) todom@texas-city-tx.org Harvey Perriott Perriott Protective Security Advisor North Texas District U.S. Department of Homeland Security (o) harvey.perriott@hq.dhs.gov Pat Riffel Riffel Court Administrator Friendswood 1600 Whitaker Dr Friendswood, TX (o) priffel@ci.friendswood.tx.us Gary Teeler Teeler Assistant Commander Texas Parks & Wildlife Law Enforcement Field Operations (o) Gary.Teeler@tpwd.texas.gov Bonnie Townsend Townsend Associate Judge Lockhart 1914 W San Antonio St Lockhart, TX (o) btownsend@lockhart-tx.org

2 Constance White White Director of Court Services Burleson 247 Elk Drive #114 Burleson, TX (o) Ted Wood Wood Special Counsel To Trial Courts Office of Court Administration PO Box Austin, TX

3 2210 Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas fax FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES KATIE CHANCIA Katie Chancia (formerly Tefft) is the Staff Attorney for the Harris County Justice Courts, a position that provides legal advice and assistance to the sixteen Justices of the Peace and their court staffs in Harris County. Since her first internship with the Juvenile Crime Intervention Section at the Texas Attorney General s Office while in college at Southwestern University, Ms. Chancia has spent the past 12 years working in some capacity within the criminal and juvenile justice systems. While in law school at Mercer University in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, Ms. Chancia clerked for the District Attorney s Office in the Narcotics Division. Upon returning to Texas, she worked as a guest editor for the former Texas Juvenile Probation Commission on Dawson s Texas Juvenile Law (6 th ed.) and as an Assistant Attorney General in the Open Records Division. She then spent five great years at TMCEC as a Program Attorney and Program Director. Ms. Chancia left TMCEC in October 2013 to get married, relocate to her hometown, and get into the courtroom as an Assistant City Attorney and municipal prosecutor with the City of Houston, before ending up at her current position with the county. ROBBY CHAPMAN Robby Chapman is Director of Clerk Education and Program Attorney for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. Mr. Chapman has served as an Assistant District Attorney for Nueces County and the Municipal Court Prosecutor for the City of Cedar Park. While prosecuting for Cedar Park, Mr. Chapman received the Merit Certification in Municipal Court Prosecution from the Texas City Attorneys Association. Mr. Chapman manages the court clerk education program for the Center, including development of nine annual statewide seminars, the new clerks conferences, and the court administrator conference. In addition, Mr. Chapman oversees and edits TMCEC publications such as the Fine-Only Misdemeanors Green Book and the Clerk Certification Study Guides. Mr. Chapman has a Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Mary s University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in History from The University of Texas at Austin. HILDA CUTHBERTSON Hilda Castillo Cuthbertson graduated from Sul Ross State University located in Alpine, Texas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry in Ms. Cuthbertson taught Science in Texas public schools for five years at three different school districts: Pecos, Yates High School in Houston, and Dublin, Texas. Ms. Cuthbertson went to work for the City of Bryan in March of 1983 in the City Secretary s office and was later promoted to Court Administrator July She served as Court Administrator in Bryan until March 31, 2014, and continues to work in the court as a licensed court interpreter. Ms. Cuthbertson has been very active in this profession as a leader in the field of court administration particularly involved with the Texas Court Clerks Association since l985. As a City of Bryan employee she has been awarded the Division Employee of the Year award in 1989 and 1994 and the Employee of the Year award in Ms. Cuthbertson is now a consultant with the Law Firm of Alan Borjorquez, Inc. offering cities assistance with audits, validations, and training. She was elected Vice President in 1989 through 1992 and was elected President of the Texas Court Clerks Association in 1992 through She was the TML affiliate representative from She has

4 also been very involved with the Gulf Coast Chapter since 1985 and held the position of President twice, and again TCCA has awarded her the Distinguished Service Award in 1995 and the TCCA Extraordinary Achievement Award in 1996 and In 1997, she was awarded the Award of Excellence. She was named the Clerk of the Year by the Texas Municipal Courts Association for the year TCCA awarded her the Board of Directors Award at the 2013 annual conference. She has been a faculty member for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center since 1991 teaching various subjects. She is a member of Texas Municipal Courts Association and is currently serving as Secretary of the board. She is currently a member of the TCCA Education Committee. She is currently a Level II certified court clerk and is also a certified study session facilitator for Level I and Level II. She is a State of Texas Licensed Court Interpreter in Spanish. She is currently working on her Level III certification. She also holds a Certified Court Manager certification through the Institute of Court Management. Ms. Cuthbertson is very active within her community, as well. She has been a presenter, English and Spanish, for the Bryan Police Department Citizens Police Academy. She is a volunteer at the Dispute Resolution Center as a bilingual certified mediator for family law and other types of mediation. She is a Past President of the local Habitat for Humanity Affiliate Board of Directors and has been a volunteer the last eight years. She is Bryan Rotary Club member. Ms. Cuthbertson is a 2013 Fellow, having graduated in May of 2013 from the Institute of Court Management at the National Center for State Courts. PETER DE LEEF Mr. de Leef is a municipal judge with the city of El Lago and also has been practicing criminal law exclusively for the past 16 years. After graduating from law school, he spent more than four years as a Prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney s Office working under Johnny Holmes and Chuck Rosenthal. While at the Harris County District Attorney s Office, he spent time in the felony, Misdemeanor, and JP courts of Harris County. Mr. de Leef has considerable experience in the juvenile division, family violence division, and justice of the peace division. He also has extensive experience in the trial bureau handling felony and misdemeanor cases. Mr. de Leef served as Chief Prosecutor for numerous county courts. 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.

5 ANDREW HAGEN Andrew Hagen is the municipal judge for the city of Uvalde, where he has been presiding since Mr. Hagen received his juris doctorate from the Rutgers University School of Law, Camden. Mr. Hagen previously served the city of Uvalde as an IT administrator. 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, 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. SANDRA MABBETT Ms. Mabbett is the Judicial Information Analyst for the Office of Court Administration s Research and Court Services Division. The Judicial Information Staff are responsible for collecting, analyzing, and publishing court activity statistics and other judicial data. She has served in this position since Prior to her employment with OCA, she was employed by the federal government for 25 years.

6 Ms. Mabbett is a native of upstate New York who moved to Austin in ASHLEY MCSWAIN Ashley McSwain is currently the Court Administrator for the City of Van Alstyne Municipal Court, the Supervisor of the Dispatch Center, and Custodian of Records for the Police Department. She has worked for the city for 9 years and is currently a Level II Clerk and holds a master telecommunicator certificate. Ashley lives in the DFW area and will be graduating from Texas A&M School of Law in December Ashley has received both a distinguished service award and 2 awards of excellence from the Texas Court Clerks Association. 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. LEANDRA MOORE Leandra recently joined the City of Bulverde back in Municipal Court after 9 years with the City of Boerne; 6 ½ years of that was spent in Municipal Court. During that time she completed her Level I and Level II certifications and was beginning her Level III. While studying for the Level II certification, she was asked to assist a neighboring city s municipal court in bringing the court 6 months in arrears to current and training a new court clerk. Ms. Moore s passion for court and the opportunity to assist the neighboring city s Municipal Judge with that project was the driving force for her level II certification and the desire to keep going to Level III. The last 2 years with the City of Boerne were in the Police Department in Criminal Investigations and also acted as the property and evidence room custodian. The Police Department position became available and was a new challenge that gave her the ability to see another side of the Justice System and how cases are compiled to be sent to the various courts for adjudication. Her primary functions were collecting media and evidence and preparing cases for district, county, municipal court, and juvenile probation. In that time she started facilitating for TCCA the clerk prep sessions for level testing to keep her Level II certification current. Since that time she has also started facilitating for TMCEC as well. Leandra has a deep passion for court and the judicial system as a whole which is why she enjoys facilitating classes and is once again embarking on her level III this year. TAMMY ODOM Tammy Odom is the Court Administrator for the City of Texas City. Tammy has been working in the Municipal Courts since She is currently a member of the Texas Municipal Courts Association, Immediate Past President of the Texas Court Clerks Association and Past-President of the TCCA - Gulf Coast Chapter. She has been the recipient of the Texas Court Clerks Association s Distinguished Service Award (2005), Extraordinary Achievement Award (2006) and the Excellence Award (2007). She was also named Clerk of the Year in 2007 by the TCCA Gulf Coast Chapter. In 2002, Ms. Odom earned her Certified Court Clerk Level II.

7 HARVEY PERRIOTT Harvey O. Perriott is the Protective Security Advisor (PSA) for the North Texas District and has served in that capacity for nine years. Mr. Perriott supports homeland security efforts serving as an advisor and reach-back capacity for the state s Homeland Security Advisor, as well as private sector infrastructure owners and operators throughout 65 counties in north Texas. He contributes to the development of the national risk picture by assisting with the identification of critical infrastructure, assessment of vulnerabilities and recommendation of appropriate protective measures to improve security posture and site resiliency. Mr. Perriott facilitates, coordinates, and performs vulnerability assessments and infrastructure surveys for local critical infrastructure assets, and acts as a physical and technical security advisor to private sector partners. He also works closely with regional and/or local emergency managers to ensure all stakeholders are prepared to quickly restore critical infrastructure assets in the event of any disruption. Prior to joining the PSA Program, Mr. Perriott served as the Staff Director for the Office of Infrastructure Protection s Protective Security Coordination Division (PCSD). In this capacity he facilitated the successful daily operations of a division consisting of 130 Federal and contract personnel. His areas of responsibility included budget management, acquisition/procurements, human capital, security, and administrative issues. Mr. Perriott s support to the Director enabled the division to carry out its primary mission of the identification, assessment, and protection of 18 sectors of critical infrastructure across the Nation. Mr. Perriott brings extensive experience and training to the PSA Program in the fields of security, counterterrorism, and special operations. With over 25 years experience in Department of Defense Special Operations, Mr. Perriott has been involved either directly or indirectly in a number of military operations directed at counterterrorism activities. During Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan, he was instrumental in the development of security plans for a U.S. military forward operating base located in the former Soviet Union, as well as two major forward operational support bases in Afghanistan. Mr. Perriott was recognized for his contributions with a Bronze Star medal. Mr. Perriott has extensive experience in performing studies, analyses, and evaluations in a wide variety of areas, including surveying, mission capability, force strategy, force structure options, and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP). He holds a Bachelors Degree in Human Resource Management and a Physical Security Professional certification with the ASIS; he has an in-depth knowledge of technical and physical security, threat and vulnerability assessments, analysis of requirements, and the development of operational plans. 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. GARY TEELER Gary Teeler started his career with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) in He has served in various capacities, including as an Academy Instructor and a Program Manager at the TPWD State

8 Headquarters. Gary currently serves as an adjunct instructor for the Texas Municipal Court Education Center (TMCEC), Texas Justice Court Training Center (TJCTC), and the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA). Gary is an adjunct instructor at South University, teaching Criminal Justice Management and Administration. Mr. Teeler has received criminal investigations training in the following areas: criminal personality profiling, human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, stalking, cyber crimes, digital forensics and Investigative hypnosis. Gary received his TCOLE Instructor Certification in 2001 and his Master Peace Officer license in In 2012, he earned the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential, and in 2013, he earned the Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) credential. He currently serves as the President of the Midwest Association of Fish and Game Law Enforcement Officers (AMFGLEO), along with serving as the Chair of the Technology Committee. He also serves on the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Environmental Crimes Committee. Gary is member of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement s (TCOLE) Curriculum Committee. Gary is a member of the Executive Council of the Texas Interoperable Communications Coalition (TXICC). In 1994, He graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos, TX with a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Law Enforcement. In 2009, he received his LCC Designation from the Leadership Command College at Sam Houston State University. In 2011, he received his Masters of Science in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management, from Sam Houston State University. In 2014, Gary graduated from the 256th Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico Virginia. BONNIE TOWNSEND Bonnie Townsend comes to us with 24 years of court experience. She began her career in the Justice of the Peace Courts as a part time clerk in After 3 years, she was hired on as a full time clerk and served the Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2, in Caldwell County for another 5 years, as the Chief Court Clerk. In 1998, Bonnie was the first woman to be elected to the position of Justice of the Peace in Caldwell County, and served Precinct 3 in that capacity until the end of During her time with the JP Courts, Bonnie was an active member of the Justice of the Peace and Constables Association. She was hired as the Court Administrator for the City of Lockhart in September 2002 and in 2008 was also appointed as the Associate Judge for the court. Bonnie has served on the Merchandise Committee for TCCA and the Membership Committee for TMCA. She remains active in the Freedom Trail Chapter of TCCA in an advisory capacity. She achieved her Level III certification in 2006 and is a Certified Municipal Court Clerk. In 2010, Bonnie successfully completed the Institute for Court Managements Court Manager Program and in 2012; she became a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management, graduating at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. CONSTANCE WHITE Constance R. White is the Director of Court Services at the City of Burelson. Previously she was a Court Administrator in McKinney, Court Supervisor in Plano, Case Manager at CASA of Collin County and Legal Secretary at the Collin County District Attorney Office. Ms. White is a member of the TCCA; North Texas Chapter. TED WOOD Ted Wood is employed as Assistant General Counsel for the Office of Court Administration (OCA). Prior to joining OCA, Mr. Wood served as Randall County Judge from 1995 to He has taught state and federal government classes at Amarillo College and has worked as a briefing attorney for the Seventh

9 Court of Appeals in Amarillo. Mr. Wood is a 1991 graduate of Baylor Law School where he was a Notes and Comments Editor on the Baylor Law Review. He earned an undergraduate degree in Business from the University of Wisconsin.