Keynote Session: Understanding the Tragedy of Wrongful Convictions
Saturday, June 26 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm | CEU: 0.1
Nan is the Executive Director for The Pennsylvania Innocence Project. She began this role in August of 2019. She began her career in Philadelphia as an attorney with the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Nan graduated from New York University School of Law in 1985. She has taught at Temple Law School, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and the Public Health Program.
Nan served as the Executive Director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania from 1993 until 2000. She developed services focusing on family law and guardianship, immigration, prisoner’s health care and reentry, housing, civil rights, and public benefits. She was selected one of Philadelphia’s top lawyers by Philadelphia Magazine in 1996.
After receiving her Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in 2002, Nan consulted with the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to develop projects to improve health insurance and Medicaid access for low-income Philadelphians, including immigrants, individuals of limited English proficiency, pregnant women, and individuals released from jail in need of drug treatment.
She has served on the boards of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, Nationalities Service Center, the Valentine Foundation, Community Legal Services, and Prevention Point, Philadelphia’s sterile needle exchange program.
Learn more about the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, Chester Hollman III, one of their exonerees, and the connection to the Innocence Project-inspired Netflix docuseries “The Innocence Files”.
Saturday, June 26 | 8:30 - 10:30 am | CEU: 0.1
Bernadette B. Berardinelli, RDR, CRR, CRI, has been an official court reporter for 21 years, 10 of which were in the Philadelphia County Courthouse. Bernadette currently works at Montgomery County Courthouse and is a nontraditional, evening student at Penn State Abington, working towards a B.S. in Information Sciences Technology. Bernadette had the privilege of being the chair of PCRA’s Technology Committee in the early to mid-2000s and being the District 8 Director through June 2021. Bernadette enjoys being outdoors generally, especially when cycling, gardening, and paddle boarding.
Educating the Next Generation of Reporters
Saturday, June 26, 12:30 - 1:30 pm | CEU: 0.1
Chrissy Boggs is Director of Operations and managing partner of Secure Transcription Solutions (STS), the producers of the ASR-based digital reporting application and transcription service, Parrot. A recovering middle school teacher, Chrissy left the classroom in 2014 and has since leveraged her B.A. in history, M.S.Ed. in secondary education, and extensive writing background as a textbook editor and contributor, curriculum developer, high-stakes assessment specialist, and as an artificial intelligence (AI) interaction designer. Chrissy has worked with STS since its inception in 2019. During that time, she has embraced the unique challenges posed by the court reporting industry; namely, the issue of expediently producing qualified reporters using critically needed and thoughtfully designed digital reporting technologies.
Chrissy is a graduate of Penn State University and Duquesne University. She currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, David, and their recently adopted puppy, Rocky. In her spare time, Chrissy enjoys cooking and baking (if you don't have “Dessert Person” by Claire Saffitz, buy it. IMMEDIATELY), traveling (Colorado, I'm looking at you!), reading (recently, lots of titles in the "Raising Puppies for Dummies" genre), and binge watching (...everything).
The Power of the Positive Attitude and the Effect of Motivation
Sunday, June 27 | 9:30 - 10:30 am | CEU: 0.1
Saturday, June 26 | 3:00 - 3:45 pm
Meredith Bonn graduated from Alfred State College in 1990 and has been a working court reporter ever since. Meredith began her career as a freelance court reporter at which she worked from 1990 to 2000. From 2000 to 2007 Meredith worked as an official court reporter in the Family and City Courts of the Seventh Judicial District of the New York State court system. From 2007 to present Meredith has been employed as a senior court reporter for the County and Supreme Courts of the Seventh Judicial District assigned in Rochester, New York.
Meredith Bonn serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the National Court Reporters Association. Meredith is a member of the New York State Court Reporters Association and has in the past served as a Director, President-Elect, President and Immediate Past President of that Association. She is also a member of the StenoCat Users Group.
Meredith Bonn holds the National certifications of Registered Professional Reporter and Certified Realtime Reporter. She is also a Certified Shorthand Reporter in the State of New York and holds the New York Realtime Court Reporter certification.
Meredith Bonn is the leader and coordinator of the NCRA Steno A to Z program in the Western New York area and to date has given the A to Z program more than dozen times in addition to coordinating equipment for participants taking in person and online courses.
Bringing Steno to High Schools
Sunday, June 27 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | CEU: 0.1
Jim DeCrescenzo, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CLVS, President of Project Steno. Jim operated a court reporting agency in the Greater Philadelphia area for three decades before obtaining a patent for Exhibeo, LLC, a paperless deposition solution. Jim has served in countless volunteer capacities, has written many articles and presented several times at the state and national level. He served in every office for PCRA.
Cindy Fleegle is an active court reporter. She has experience as a CAT software trainer for Xscribe, Maestro, TurboCAT, and DigitalCAT, and has also been a teacher at a court reporting school. Cindy is a NCRA certified court reporting instructor and is an official in North Carolina since late 2018.
Sexual Harassment, Abuse, and Assault:
The Impacts on Survivors, Communities,
Saturday, June 26 | 1:45 - 2:45 pm | CEU: 0.1
Karen Galbraith is the Training Projects Coordinator at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). A licensed social worker, Karen has over 20 years of experience in the field of sexual violence, working at both the local and state levels. She has provided direct services to survivors and their families, and has facilitated trainings to a variety of audiences, including victim advocates, criminal justice professionals and the courts, college campuses, and the military. In her role at PCAR, Karen has developed numerous resources and training curricula, with topics ranging from human trafficking to trauma-informed practices and serves on statewide taskforces and working groups. Additionally, Karen is an adjunct professor in the Social Work Department at Shippensburg University and a Social Work Supervisor at Penn State Dickinson School of Law’s Children’s Advocacy Clinic.
Eliza (Lisa) has been doing ProCAT Trainings since 1997. She does in-person training, group training, Association trainings, and now Remote trainings. She also maintains all training materials, including training videos. In addition to Lisa’s ProCAT Training, she provides technical support and file conversion for new clients purchasing ProCAT’s transcription software. Lisa manages a crew of technicians, works with programming to identify priority items for resolution and tests for release to clients. She manages the call center to maintain proper time limits on return calls and helps facilitate other technicians through difficult issues. She maintains documentation, manuals, and training videos for clientele. Lisa sets up and manages social media accounts. Hires and train technicians for proper handling of clients. She is project manager for projects within ProCAT.
Educating the Next Generation of Reporters
Saturday, June 26, 12:30 - 1:30 pm | CEU: 0.1
Susan began her career as an Official Court Reporter in Cambria County, PA on July 9, 1979 and worked there for 17 years. She has a BS in Human Resource Management and a MS in Organizational Leadership. In 1994, Susan began freelancing as an independent contractor. Since then, she has owned a small agency for several years and worked as an employee for Network Deposition Services in Pittsburgh. Susan is now semi-retired and working several days a week as an independent freelance reporter.
She has served as a PCRA District Director for District 5 on two separate occasions and held all offices on the executive board of PCRA, including President. Susan has served on various committees for PCRA, most recently the Notary committee, helping PCRA work to allow reporters in PA who are notaries to swear in witnesses remotely. Susan served several years on the Proofreading Advisory Committee for NCRA and has also attended both Boot Camp and Leadership training through NCRA.
So You Want to be a CART Provider?
Saturday, June 26 | 9:45 - 10:45 am | CEU: 0.1
Amanda Lundberg, RPR, CRC, is a captioner and CART provider who has never been a traditional court reporter. Her passion is providing accessibility for consumers. She has captioned everything from major sporting events to local news and is currently a CART provider working with individuals with accessibility needs as well as providing services for conferences and other events. She currently resides in Houston, Pennsylvania, with her husband and two dogs - Edie and Arthur. She attended AIB College of Business in Des Moines, Iowa, and was given the opportunity to learn captioning while in school through the Training for Realtime Writers grant program.
Minett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Slippery Rock State College in 1973, and his law degree from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law in 1976. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1976 and the Ohio Bar in 1996.Minett has been admitted to the U.S. District Court Western District of PA., 1976; the U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1987; and the U.S. Supreme Court, 1996.
He was appointed an Assistant District Attorney in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, in 1977and served there until 1982. He became an Assistant District Attorney in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, in 1982 and served there through 2020. Throughout his service in the District Attorney offices he tried many criminal cases including approximately one hundred homicide trials to verdict and hundreds more to guilty pleas in homicide cases.
Beginning in 1992 Minett joined, part-time, the plaintiff
personal injury law firm of Dallas W. Hartman, P.C., and remains a part of that firm. With Hartman, he tried major civil cases resulting in verdicts over a million dollars.
Minett is married. He and his wife have three children and six delightful grandchildren.
Grace formed CAT Smart Training Solutions, LLC in March 2018 to fulfill the need in the court reporting industry for qualified software training. Grace currently works as a Stenograph Certified Independent Training Agent training court reporters on Case CATalyst software. Her experience in the industry since 1984 gives her a solid background in all facets of the court reporting profession. Grace’s training platform consists of remote trainings, webinars, as well as one-on-one and group trainings. Trainings range from beginner to advanced material. Scopist and Proofreader – her services include daily copy scoping and proofreading using DropBox and Case CATalyst Software. She is a Certified Transcriber for the State of New Jersey, which involves transcription of Criminal and Civil matters. Grace is also a Notary Public for the State of New Jersey.
Educating the Next Generation of Reporters
Saturday, June 26, 12:30 - 1:30 pm | CEU: 0.1
Kelly Moranz, CRI, is an adjunct faculty member and the Program Director for Cuyahoga Community College’s Captioning and Court Reporting program and is an alumni of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C). Kelly earned her Bachelor of Science in Adult Education from The State University of New York. She has earned Tri-C’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2015, NCRA’s Educator of the Year Award in 2016, and Cuyahoga Community College’s Professional Excellence Award in 2017. She was also recognized with a Journal of Court Reporting Award for Leadership and Teambuilding. Mrs. Moranz has presented numerous seminars for the National Court Reporters Association and other organizations along with serving on a variety of committees including NCRA’s CASE, A to Z, CRI, and Contest Committees. She has worked in a variety of capacities within the court reporting profession for more than 35 years.
Jordan Mucha is a second generation Realtime Captioner/CART Provider working remotely as an independent contractor from his home office in Central Vermont. In his current role, he primarily captions company meetings, presentations, trainings, college classes, and tech conferences, but unique assignments are constantly popping up as the demand for captioning grows. Prior to this, Jordan worked full time as a Broadcast Captioner at VITAC where he covered everything from the local news, entertainment, national breaking news, presidential debates, and several high-profile sporting events including Sunday Night Football and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. With a passion for captioning and all things stenography, he is committed to providing equal access for all consumers while constantly honing his skills and continuing to lean in and saying yes to the new and challenging career opportunities this amazing profession has to offer.
Dave Stanley is a retired Navy Captain who spent 28 years in various assignments, mainly in the Submarine Service. Highlights of his career included tours as Commanding Officer of the nuclear submarine USS Los Angeles and Commanding Officer of the San Diego Submarine Base. Upon retiring from the Navy, he and his wife, Catherine Stanley, a court reporter of 32 years, established Stanley Court Reporting Services in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Dave became a Stenograph certified trainer in 1997, initially on Premier Power and then on Case Catalyst. He became an Advantage Software certified trainer in 2002, starting with Eclipse NT and now on Total Eclipse Version 7.
Dave conducts individual and group trainings along the East Coast, mainly in the Baltimore, Maryland, to Norfolk, Virginia area. He has conducted group seminars for various State Court Reporting Associations, including Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. He has conducted training for the U.S. House of Representatives, District of Columbia Superior Court, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in Pittsburgh, PA., Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia, PA. and Bucks County, PA, Department of Industrial Accidents in Boston MA., Workmens’ Compensation Commission in Providence RI, and the Parliamentary Reporters in Trinidad. He has assisted and proctored the NCRA Realtime Systems Administrator course.
Dave has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT, and a Master’s Degree in Systems Technology from the Navy Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA.
Educating the Next Generation of Reporters
Saturday, June 26, 12:30 - 1:30 pm | CEU: 0.1
Stefanie Sweet is a graduate of Cuyahoga Community College’s Captioning and Court Reporting program, where she is currently part of the adjunct faculty. She is a voice writer working as a CART Captioner and holds a CVR (Certified Verbatim Reporter) certification through NVRA (National Verbatim Reporters Association). Her favorite part of this profession is knowing that she is doing important work by providing access to education and information. Stefanie lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband and two young sons and enjoys exploring the city’s Metroparks through hiking and biking.
Sunday, June 27, 8:30 - 10:30 am | CEU: 0.2
Sunday, June 27 | 12:15 - 1:15 pm | CEU: 0.1
Michael Starkman is a former freelance reporter from Pennsylvania. In 1997 he joined Eclipse as a sales representative and has since moved up to Director of Sales for the Mid-Atlantic Region. His sales duties have expanded to include all aspects of reporter-related technology including writers and laptop computers. Michael is also Assistant National Marketing Manager for Realtime Coach.
He is also a certified advanced Eclipse software trainer with 24 years of experience presenting and teaching Eclipse. During this time, Michael has done countless seminars. They include regular presentations at the ESP Network Meetings (the Eclipse Users’ Group), and for Eclipsewebinars.com, as well as appearances as a speaker at both NCRA’s national conventions and at state conventions. He has also provided many training seminars in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Bringing Steno to High Schools
Sunday, June 27 | 10:45 - 11:45 am | CEU: 0.1
Bill Weber, FAPR, RDR, CRR, RSA, Secretary of Project Steno. Bill has worked for more than 40 years in the court reporting business, working extensively both as an official court reporter and in operation of a reporting agency in Pittsburgh. An innovator, Bill, likewise, is a founder of RevolutionaryText, a company that provides remote real-time court reporters to court systems. Bill is a past president of the National Court Reporters Association and has also served in every office for PCRA.
Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association
908 N 2nd Street | Harrisburg, PA 17102Phone: 717-441-6058 | Fax: 717-236-2046