The New Professionals Advisory Committee (NPAC) is a committee comprised of new professionals in the court reporting profession. Members partner with a Veteran Liaison Committee (VLC) as a resource to draw guidance and expertise from as they work to blaze a path forward for new reporters.
“To those reporters who are new in the field, or to those who are making a change from one discipline to another, we are your voice,” said Mike Hensley, RPR, who chairs the NPAC. “We are here to make sure that your needs are met by NCRA. We also strive to provide helpful information that will build a strong foundation for your future career.”
Hensley is a freelance deposition reporter from Dublin, Calif., who works in the Bay Area. He has been reporting for three years and is a strong proponent of earning certifications and using technology at every opportunity. He also serves on the board of directors for the California Court Reporters Association and has a strong passion for contributing to court reporting by educating and empowering others to achieve their highest potential.
Other NCRA members include:
New Professionals Advisory Committee
Mike Hensley, RDR (Committee Chair)
Mike Hensley is a freelance deposition reporter working in the Bay Area of California. He has been reporting for 3 years and is a strong proponent of earning certifications and using technology at every opportunity. He also serves on the board of directors for the California Court Reporters Association and has a strong passion for contributing to court reporting by educating and empowering others to achieve their highest potential. stenomph@gmail.com
Rachel Barkume, RPR
Rachel Barkume is a freelance reporter in Northern California and the current president of the California Court Reporters Association. She has been reporting since 2011 and has her California CSR and her RPR. She is currently working on obtaining her CRR and Nevada CSR. She was the New Professionals Advisory Committee chair for the first three years of its existence. She has been a freelance reporter, an official, and a CART captioner in her seven years of reporting. She is passionate about the future of our profession and empowering new leaders to embrace their potential. rachel.barkume@gmail.com
Whitney Berndt
Whitney Berndt is a newly hired freelance reporter working with Brown & Jones Reporting out of Milwaukee, Wis. She recently graduated with honors from Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wis. In 2017, Whitney served on the NCRA Student/Teacher Committee. She is a proud member of the Wisconsin Court Reporters Association, where she was awarded a student scholarship in 2017. She loves her job and wants to give back to the associations that have already given her so much. wberndt828@yahoo.com
Jordan Groves
Jordan Groves has been a certified court reporter in Montgomery, Ala., for 3.5 years. In addition to being a full-time mother of two and wife to a wonderful husband, Jordan works full-time with Eagle Court Reporting based out of Mobile and serves Montgomery and the surrounding area. She is an active member of the Alabama Court Reporters Association and the National Court Reporters Association. jgrovescr@gmail.com
Debrina Jones
Debrina Jones graduated from the College of Court Reporting in 2015. After working in freelance for a few years, she became an official with the state of South Carolina. She is currently back to being a freelance reporter with A. William Roberts, Jr. & Associates in the North and South Carolina area. She is currently working on her RPR. She loves to travel, being active, and enjoys spending time with her 10-year-old daughter. jones.debrina@gmail.com
Shelby Neifeld
Shelby Neifeld is one of the newer reporters and has been freelancing for Phipps Reporting in the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area since June 2018. Having obtained her Florida court reporting certification in 2015 while still a student, she has always been eager to learn new ideas, tips, and tricks of the trade. Her next goal is to obtain her RPR and, eventually, her CRR. shelbyneifeld@yahoo.com
Callie Sajdera
Callie Sajdera is a new reporter for the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse in Denver, Colo. She is a very proud graduate from Anoka Technical College in Anoka, Minn. In 2017, Callie was presented with the student-of-the-year award from the Minnesota Association of Verbatim Reporters and Captioners, and in 2018, she was also awarded the Paradigm Scholarship presented by Jan Ballman. While she is currently working on her RPR, Callie loves her job and cannot wait to see where this career can take her. csajdera1@my.anokatech.edu
Selana Scott
Selana Scott is the Program Director for the Court Reporting Program at MacCormac College in Chicago, Ill. She received her B.S. degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in management with a concentration in marketing. She received her J.D. from North Carolina Central University’s School of Law. She previously taught at the Art Institute of Charlotte and Johnson C. Smith University. She also spent ten years at Allstate Insurance Company, where she created a series of state by state communications initiatives and taught within their Education Department. sscott@maccormac.edu
Ashley Stahl
Ashley Stahl is a new reporter in the Phoenix, Ariz., area. She graduated from court reporting school at Gateway Community College in 2018. That same year, Ashley won first place in the CASE student scholarship competition hosted by the NCRA. Ashley is also a musician, and she holds degrees in music from Florida State University and Arizona State University. ashleyelizabethstahl@gmail.com
Veterans Liaison Committee (VLC)
Lisa Conley Yungblut, RMR, CRR, CRC (Committee Chair)
Lisa Conley Yungblut is a proud graduate of Clark State in Springfield, Ohio. She is currently a freelance reporter at Mike Mobley Reporting in Dayton, Ohio, and she spent 23 years freelancing with Spangler Reporting in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lisa spent many years on the OCRA Board of Directors, including serving as president, 2002-2003. She has been honored with OCRA’s Glenn W. Stiles, Jr., Distinguished Service Award and the Diplomat Award. In 2005 and 2018, she won Ohio’s Realtime Contest, and she has placed several times in both the Ohio Realtime and Speed Contests. lisarmr@zoomtown.com
Adam H. Alweis, RPR, CRR, CRC
Adam H. Alweis has been in the court reporting profession in one form or another his whole life. His family has a long history in the court reporting profession going all the way back to the 1940s, with two uncles, his father and oldest brother also in the profession. Adam started working as a court reporter in 1988 after spending two years at Alfred State College and has continued working in the field for now over 30 years. He has experience in both the freelance and official arenas. aandm5@aol.com
Jan Ballman, RPR, CMRS
Jan Ballman began her reporting career in 1981 in St. Paul, Minn., as a freelance reporter. Nine years later she opened her own firm, which became Paradigm Reporting & Captioning in 1998. After 23 years of reporting, Jan retired her steno machine in favor of full-time management and business development for Paradigm. Jan is a Past President of the Minnesota Freelance Court Reporters Association and Past Chair of the National Court Reporters Foundation. She currently serves several local/national court reporting, bar association, and women’s leadership organizations in various capacities and has for many years. janballman@paradigmreporting.com
Phyllis Craver-Lykken, RPR
Phyllis Craver-Lykken has been a freelance court reporter in Washington state since 1980 and a principal of Central Court Reporting & Video since 1985. She has enjoyed being involved with the Washington Court Reporters Association (WCRA) and NCRA for the duration of her career. She has served in most every board and/or committee chair position within WCRA, including twice as president. She is currently serving as the legislative co-chair, where she continues to passionately pursue changes in local court rules and laws relating to court reporting. She filled a regional representative position for NCRA a few years ago and has served on various other committees. phyllis@centralcourtreporting.com
Michelle M. Kirkpatrick, RDR, CRR, CRC
Michelle Kirkpatrick grew up and went to reporting school in Iowa and started her freelance career with a firm in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1986. After moving back to Iowa and owning her own solo freelance business from 1997 to 2008, she then moved to Boulder, Colo., and worked for the state of Colorado as an official from the fall of 2008 till the spring of 2014. She obtained then ventured back out into the freelance world, this time as a realtimer. Her business has evolved into exclusively focusing on providing technical realtime, immediate rough drafts, and same-day or next-day expedites around the country. She is currently based out of Breckenridge, Colo. michelle@kirkpatrick.net
Rick Levy, RPR,Rick Levy is an owner and managing partner of First Choice Reporting & Video Services in Florida. He is an RPR and a Florida Professional Reporter. Rick has served as a director of the NCRA board and as president of FCRA. He was the 2016 recipient of FCRA’s Emily Mann Distinguished Service Award, and in the summer of 2018, he was awarded the Arlene P. Sommers Award for his contribution to students and new professionals in the reporting field. rick@fcreporting.com
