Fulfilling the Promise of Justice for All through Connection was the theme of the National Association for Court Management’s 2023 annual conference, July 9–13, in Tampa, Florida. The conference focused on racial justice and barriers to equity in the justice system.
Participants participated in many enlightening educational sessions and benefited from the insights of excellent speakers and presenters. The opening plenary session was “Understanding Systemic and Institutional Racism: How to Bring Change to our Courts.” Other topics included court technology, intergenerational collaboration, courts working with communities, and how the NACM CORE® can improve court governance.
The NACM Annual Conference was educational, enlightening, and a lot of plain old fun! See what you think! We hope you can join us next year in New Orleans. Thank you, Tampa Bay, for providing such a terrific venue.
NACM Recognizes Members for Their Accomplishments
Perkins Award
NACM’s Perkins Award is presented annually to an individual who consistently goes above and beyond to make behind-the-scenes contributions to the field of court administration or their court. Congratulations to Mae Swisher. Mae serves as the IT design and development supervisor for the Multnomah Circuit Court, Portland, Oregon. Mae has pioneered automations and procedures to make the court more efficient, has provided better service, improved court appearance rates, and created more accountable recordkeeping. The demonstrated successes of her work products have led to the implementation of her concepts statewide in the Oregon Judicial Department. Mae has developed and led a variety of team-building and morale-boosting events, including the development of an all IT music band called Mae and the Sametimes that performed at court functions!
Colleagues report Mae is known as a data whiz and quick learner. She is dedicated and resourceful.
Mae serves on the NACM Website Committee and works tirelessly to improve the various NACM websites. She was instrumental in overhauling the NACM CORE® website.
Award of Merit
NACM’s Award of Merit is presented annually to recognize distinguished service and outstanding contributions to the profession of court administration on a national basis. Congratulations to the 2023 Award of Merit recipient, Marcus Reinkensmeyer. Marcus is the deputy director and past director of the Court Services Division for the Administrative Office of the Courts, Supreme Court of Arizona. Previously, he served as the court administrator, chief deputy court administrator, and director of judicial information systems for the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County. In the State of Illinois, Marcus served as assistant director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (Court Services Division), court administrator (17th Judicial Circuit), assistant superintendent of juvenile detention, and a probation officer. Marcus serves as a board member for the North American Regional Board of International Association for Court Administration. He is the past president of NACM and the Arizona Courts Association and a former editor of the Court Manager. Marcus serves as faculty for the NCSC’s Institute for Court Management (ICM) and adjunct faculty for the National Judicial College.
Marcus is described as the “nicest man you have ever met.” Marcus is quoted as saying, “Any success in this field is a group effort. This has been my approach through the years. We are in a room to make a difference and NACM has done that.”
Marcus is extremely dedicated to NACM. He has continued to present at NACM conferences and is always helpful in developing curricula.
Outstanding Early Career Professional
NACM’s Outstanding Early Career Professional Award is presented annually to recognize distinguished service and outstanding contributions to the profession of court administration and the judicial system by an early career professional. Congratulations to the 2023 recipient, Katie Hempill.
Katie has been an employee in the judicial branch with the United States Courts for a little over two-and-a-half years, serving first as an executive assistant and currently as office administrator. Katie has chosen to be involved in both the Federal Court Clerks Association and the National Association for Court Management to further her professional development and take full advantage of networking and contributing to the profession of court management. Through her involvement, she has shown interest in being involved, directly contributing to, and finding ways to meet and interact with other court professionals.
Katie is described as very inquisitive and always willing to learn.
Ms. Hempill has served on the NACM ECP Committee, presented at their annual conference, and assisted in revising the CORE® Guide.
The Enhancing Justice Award
The Enhancing Justice Award recognizes outstanding achievement and meritorious projects that enhance the administration of justice. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Superior Court for their E-filing and routing system. This advancement has saved staff time and processing time and enhanced efficiency of the court system (CARES).
NACM sincerely thanks all of the award recipients for their dedication and support of our wonderful organization. We are better because of them.
NACM Committee Member Awards
Each year, NACM committee chairs recognize committee members for their outstanding leadership and dedication to the association through their service on NACM committees. The 2023 award recipients are:
Communications Committee
- Carlene Redmond, Georgia
- Melinda Brooks, Ohio
- Natalie Williams, New Jersey
CORE Committee
- Mae Swisher, Oregon
- Joe Cologero, Oregon
- Tom Hathaway, Oregon
Conference Development Committee
- Tamela Aikens, Michigan
- Zenell Brown, Michigan
- Sarah Brown Clark, Ohio
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee
- Tamela Aikens, Michigan
- Mark Dalton, Pennsylvania
- Creadell Webb, Pennsylvania
Governance Committee
- Nicole Zoe Garcia, Arizona
- Courtney Whiteside, Missouri
Membership Committee
- Samantha Wallis—International Subcommittee
- Raeann Skenandore—Oneida Nation Tribal Court
- Michele Oken —Awards Subcommittee
- Katie Hempill—U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
National Association for Court Management (NACM) Announces New Officers and Board
The National Association for Court Management Board of Directors for 2023-2024 was sworn in at the annual conference.
President: Rick Pierce, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
President Elect: Tina Mattison, Tucson, Arizona
Vice President: Kelly Hutton, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Secretary/Treasurer: Greg Lambard, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Immediate Past President: Jeffrey Tsunekawa, Austin Texas
Director: Brandon Kimura, Honolulu, Hawaii—Governance Committee Chair
Director: Roger Rand, Portland, Oregon—Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Chair
Director: Cheryl Stone, Vancouver, Washington—Membership Committee Chair
Director: Dawn Palermo, Harvey, Louisiana—Communications Committee Chair
Director: Kristie Collier, Union City, Georgia—Membership Committee Vice Chair
New Board Members
Director: Nicole Zoe García—Criminal Department Administrator, Superior Court in Maricopa County, Arizona. Ms. García will serve as Vice Chair of the Governance Committee.
Director: Nathaniel Mingo—Assistant City Manager/Director of Court Services, City of Riverdale, Georgia. Mr. Mingo will serve as Vice Chair of the Communications Committee.
Director: Creadell Webb—Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, First Judicial District, Pennsylvania. Mr. Webb will serve as Vice Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
Standing (l to r): Kristie Collier, Brandon Kimura, Dawn Palermo, Nathaniel Mingo, Roger Rand, Cheryl Stone, Creadell Webb, and Nicole Zoe García. Seated (l to r): Greg Lambard, Kelly Hutton, Rick Pierce, Tina Mattison, and Jeffrey Tsunekawa.
YO HO HO—NACM’s Pirate Party at Armature Works, Tampa
Shiver Me Timbers! The NACM Annual Conference Social Event was fun for all. We were graced with the presence of Jack Sparrow, numerous scallywags, a multitude of seadogs, Davy Jones, Blackbeard, and lots of clothing items with the iconic Jolly Roger.
No one would dare hang the jib that night. Luckily, no one had to walk to plank.
Exhibit Hall
The NACM Conference Exhibit Show was held on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, and was very well attended. Conference participants gained a wealth of information from the vendors.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dawn Palermo is court administrator, Jefferson Parish Juvenile Court, Harvey, Louisiana, and a NACM Board member.
