Jay Gross was born and raised in Washington, DC before attending and graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 2011 with a BA in Economics. As the son of Neal Gross, founder of Neal R. Gross & Co., Inc. (NRGCO) and a long-time AAERT member, Jay grew up in the court reporting industry and has been attending conferences since his childhood. Jay’s passion for this industry has been continually growing and developing from a young age. 

During summers in high school and college, Jay worked at NRGCO in a variety of roles including as a Digital Court Reporter. He was originally trained on cassette tape recordings and handwritten notes. Prior to joining the firm full time in 2011, Jay worked abroad in the scuba diving and travel tourism industry in several countries across several continents. 

Jay currently serves as the Chief Project Officer of NRGCO but has held many other roles during his tenure including Digital Court Reporter, Social Media and Marketing Director, Business Development Associate, Scheduling Coordinator, and Director of Court Reporting Services. Jay has been a member of AAERT since 2012 and received his CER credential in 2014. He actively maintains his CER and spends a portion of his time on R&D for NRGCO’s Digital Court Reporting and Transcription services. 

Over the course of his career, he has worked on and helped NRGCO win awards for municipal, state, and federal contracts as well as private and corporate work. Jay has covered many different types of cases from depositions to criminal court proceedings to scientific meetings and everything in between. Jay oversees NRGCO’s day to day operations and full time staff of employees in addition to several hundred subcontractors that NRGCO regularly works with around the country. 

Jay’s primary goals as a potential AAERT Board Member are to help grow the association, attract new members to the profession and industry, and to advance and promote the digital methodology in the legal services community.

Lisa Luciano has been a founding member/partner in Access Transcripts, LLC since 2013. She and her business partner have performed all tasks involved in starting and growing a  successful transcription agency, to include transcribing,  proofreading, marketing, accounting, tax preparation, government reporting, workflow distribution, employee on-boarding, and managing a top-notch team of subcontractors. 

Lisa is a lifelong New Jersey resident. She got into transcription through a friend in 2001, after working in the mortgage lending field for 15 years. Leaving her brick-and mortar job in early 2002 in order to pursue transcription full  time, Lisa then went on to attain her certification through the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts as an Agency Transcriber in 2003, and then an Agency Director/Transcriber in 2005. Lisa also attained her AAERT CET in 2005.  

Lisa has enjoyed attending AAERT Executive Forums and Annual  Conferences, as well as serving on the Conference Committee and Education Committee for the past several years, and hopes to lend her expertise and enthusiasm to the board and to its membership.

My name is Margaret Morgan. I am an official electronic court reporter for the Minnesota Judicial Branch. I work for Judge Joseph F. Chase in Rochester, Minnesota, and I love my job. 

My employment in the court system began in May of 1992 with a position in court administration. In January of 1994 I was hired by Judge Gerard W. Ring as his electronic court reporter. Since then I have worked for other judges; mostly recently with Judge Chase for over 11 years. I am a grateful employee of the Minnesota Judicial Branch — especially during this difficult time. 

In the past 29 years, I have been active in various committees, work groups, and trained or mentored electronic court reporters. Most recently I worked closely with IT and district administration to configure the digital reporting technology to conduct felony jury trials with pandemic restrictions in our existing courtrooms. In June 2020 I reported the pilot jury trial. This year Olmsted County designed and constructed a courtroom specifically to conduct felony jury trials with pandemic restrictions. I worked closely with IT on the digital court reporting technology, including placement and pairing 30 microphones. That was a challenge! On March 1, 2021 I reported the first jury trial in that courtroom. 

Prior to my court reporting career, I worked as a legal assistant for law firms or corporate legal departments. Responsibilities included transcription, drafting and editing legal documents, assisting in preparing cases for trial, reviewing discovery, creating exhibits, summarizing depositions, and more. I worked for associate attorneys, senior partners, and head of the corporate department. My legal background provided invaluable experience and a solid foundation for the court reporter position. Throughout the years while working full time, I enrolled in college courses with a primary focus on English, writing, and psychology. 

My AAERT involvement includes: committee participation on conference planning, education, strategic planning, professional development, and certification; and past board positions as director, vice-president, and president. I am certified through the Minnesota Judicial Branch and I hold AAERT certifications for CER and CET. 

Given my background, I am particularly interested in the use of digital reporting platforms in the court system. 

Experience 

After more than twelve years in the industry, Melissa has an extensive background in legal transcription with experience providing transcription services to federal, state, and local court jurisdictions. 

Beginning in 2020, Melissa focused her attention on digital court reporting, dedicating her time to promoting remote deposition opportunities and training digital reporters. 

Melissa has actively served on the AAERT Communications Committee and played a role in bringing you Digital Court Reporter and Transcriber Day 21 #DCRT21. 

Having dedicated herself to always pursuing excellence and growth in her career. She worked her way up until the opportunity arose to start her own venture, capitalizing on her past experience and relationships to create a company that would successfully meet the growing reporting and transcription needs in today’s world. 

Education and Accreditations

• CET, Certified Electronic Court Transcriber, 201
• CER, Certified Electronic Court Reporter, 2020
• LCR, Licensed Court Reporter, 2020
• Member, The American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers, Inc. (AAERT) 

Personal 

Melissa is a Florida native and currently makes her home in Tennessee. In her free time, she enjoys growing her rose garden, reading, and learning new skills; currently she’s learning to crochet and studying American Sign Language.

Jennifer started her career in 1996 when she attending Bradford School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated with a certificate in the Legal Secretary program, after which she honed her skills working for various law firms. 

By 2000 Jennifer was a professional legal transcriptionist for Sargent’s Court Reporting transcribing proceedings from stenographic notes. In 2002 she joined Principle Court Reporting where she worked as a procurement specialist for government contracts while simultaneously transcribing and ultimately training to become a voice writer. During this time she gained extensive knowledge in the procurement of government contracts, women owned business certification as well as the preparation and submission of RFPs. She also covered depositions, as well as grand jury proceedings for the Office of the Attorney General. 

In 2005 Jennifer became an official reporter for the Centre County Court of Common Pleas. At the time she was one of only three voice writing reporters working in an official capacity in the State of Pennsylvania, a position that was historically held only by stenographers. During her time with Centre County Jennifer was an active member of the National Verbatim Reporters Association and consistently attended annual conference and educational events. 

In late 2010 Jennifer left the county to become a stay-at-home mother. She wanted to stay active in the industry but still have time to raise her children and welcomed the opportunity to work as an independent contractor transcriptionist for AVTranz, which later merged with eScribers, LLC. In 2018, Jennifer pursued and became a Certified Electronic Court Reporter, covering administrative hearings throughout the country, including United States Tax Court and National Labor Relations Board. 

In 2019, eScribers recruited Jennifer to a management role as Reporter Development Coordinator and was quickly promoted to Reporting Production Manager. As she continues to lead the growth at eScribers, her role includes recruiting, hiring, and training of independent contractor reporters. As a Production Manager, Jennifer oversees all aspects of the reporting production department including, quality control of transcripts, managing a team of transcribers and proofreaders, and contract negotiations. 

In her life outside of the industry Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband and three children. She and her children compete in bicycle motocross (BMX) throughout the United States. She also volunteers her time throughout the community. Including parent teacher organizations, cultural arts and theater groups, and scholastic sports booster clubs. 

Her vision, if elected to the AAERT Board, will be increasing government relations between the association and its members in an effort to have digital reporting more widely accepted in the industry, as well as assist new and existing members in professional development and advocacy to grow the profession. Having 20+ years’ experience in the industry over several methods of reporting and transcription, she will be an asset to the association and the membership.

I started my transcription career back in 1996 when I was six months pregnant with my first daughter. I wanted to stay home with my kids and make some “mad money” at the time. What started out as a side hustle, turned into a career. I know I know all about “feast or famine,” tennis AND golfer’s elbow, and the joy you feel when you complete a challenging transcript. Transcription was very, very good to me. And I still consider myself a transcriber at heart. 

But I was always very interested in the reporting side of the business. About four years ago the opportunity to train as a digital reporter came up and I immediately jumped in head-first. It was a dream come true! I worked for a large court reporting company for about two years before I came to Remote Legal. 

When I started working at Remote Legal I was the “chief cook and bottle washer” meaning I was the only digital reporter and transcriber the company had. Now a year and half later I have built the department to include 20 full-time digital reporters and approximately 30 transcribers. My passion is to train and equip my staff with the tools needed to provide a stellar in-deposition experience as well as a clear, verbatim transcript.

This is an exciting time in our profession. Things are progressing rapidly. It is imperative that we set the tone that AAERT-certified CERs and CETS are qualified, well-trained, highly skilled workers who have integrity and a devotion to the work that they do. 

I used to always say to my kids, “Don’t let fear dictate your future.” Some people are afraid of change, but we have nothing to be afraid of with the changes we are seeing in our industry. The changes are opportunities. AAERT needs to capitalize on those opportunities and dictate the future. Let’s embrace new ideas, new technologies, new opportunities!

Janet began her career as a student of stenographic court reporting at a school located in Madison, Wisconsin. Over a 20 year career, she developed a business in Wisconsin offering legal video, reporting and transcription services. In 2013, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Smith College. She has extensive experience in court and hearing room reporting, transcription and videography. Since 1990, she has been active in trade associations and legislative efforts to allow increased use of electronic recording methods in courts, hearing rooms, depositions and private markets. 

As a co-founder of the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT), Janet has served as President and various board of director and committee chair positions. More recently, Janet served on the Certification Committee of AAERT and worked with their testing agency to develop a process for online delivery of the practical exam to AAERT members seeking the CET certification. She has been an active member of the association since its inception. 

Janet is certified by AAERT as a Certified Electronic Reporter (CER) and Certified Electronic Transcriber (CET) . She also holds membership and certification with the American Guild of Court Video as a Certified Deposition Video Specialist (CDVS) and continues to serve on the AAERT Certification Committee. 

Janet was General Manager at AVTranz from 2013 to 2015, when it was acquired by eScribers and continued in her role through the acquisition. As Vice President, Corporate Development at eScribers, she worked with court administration and internal company teams to provide reporting and transcription services nationwide on local, state and federal government contracts. In 2020 Janet joined Stenograph as Vice President Market Development-Enterprise Solutions in Downers Grove, IL and is working with sales, marketing and product managers on new products for the digital reporting and transcription market.

Benjamin is an expert on technology and its uses in the legal industry. Currently, he is the Manager of Digital Training and Development for BlueLedge, an AAERT-approved online training center focused on teaching digital court reporting and legal transcription. Prior to BlueLedge, Benjamin held a variety of leadership roles in a range of industries, including legal, media, education, and government. From 2014 to 2018, he led the legal technology team at Orange Legal, overseeing digital court reporting, legal videography, trial technology and e-discovery. While at Orange Legal, Benjamin became certified to teach Continuing Legal Education (CEU) classes to lawyers and paralegals in Florida and Georgia, as well as for the National Association of Legal Assistants. Before his tenure at Orange Legal, Benjamin worked for WUCF-TV, WMFE-TV, the Orlando Sentinel, the University of Central Florida, and Fairfax County Government. 

Leadership 

As the Manager of Digital Training and Development for BlueLedge, Benjamin has been with the organization from the beginning, seeing it grow from a few dozen students in 2018 to over 1,000 students projected to be educated in 2021. Benjamin led the negotiation to bring digital court reporting and legal transcription classes to ed2go’s network of over 2,000 colleges and universities across the country. Now BlueLedge has students in 45 states and several countries. As part of AAERT, Benjamin has been involved as chair of the Communications Committee, member of the Industry Leadership Taskforce, presenter and vendor/sponsor of the 2019 and 2021 Executive Forum, and vendor/sponsor of the 2019 Annual Convention. He was also nominated to be the 2021 AAERT Professional of the Year, which will be announced at the annual conference in June. 

Personal Growth 

Benjamin believes in the power of education, and that is why he is so passionate about his work at BlueLedge and educating those in our community. Personally, Benjamin has sought after higher education himself, first successfully completing a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Central Florida and then completing a Master of Business Administration from Rollins College. He also stays up to date on trends in the multimedia, business, education, and legal industries by regularly attending webinars, taking courses, and reading trade publications. Benjamin has had a diverse career, starting in TV production and documentary film, moving to legal videography and support services, and now working to educate digital court reporters and legal transcribers. 

Advocacy 

Starting in 2018 with the article Two Truths and a Lie, Benjamin has become a fixture of information sharing in the digital court reporting and legal transcription community. He was featured in ALA Legal Management Magazine for his article 5 Innovative Legal Support Careers. Benjamin frequently writes for BlueLedge’s blog, the Ledger, on topics like e-learning, career transitioning and professionalism. He shares his passion for technology through AAERT’s newsletter Sound Bytes. Most recently, Benjamin has been focused on providing education and awareness through the BlueLedge Webinar series, which features guest panelists from around the industry speaking on topics like virtual proceedings, efficiency, training, best practices, and more. 

Problem-Solving 

Defined as an Arranger by StrengthFinder, Benjamin uses his creative skills from his time in the media industry to look at problems in a new way and his MBA to make sure they are solved efficiently. That is why his focus on running for the AAERT board is to answer the question, “What have you done for me lately?” Benjamin knows many members think about this question when paying dues, getting certified, and recommending the organization. Benjamin wants to increase member benefits through strategic partnerships with insurance, office supply, and software companies; create better workforce development through mentorship and job boards; advocate for our industry and stand up to bullies who seek to pass false truths; and improve the certification process through better collaboration with approved schools and more real-world practical testing. 

For more information or to discuss his vision for AAERT email Benjamin at benjamin.jaffe@blueledge.com.

From Wall Street to Legal-Proceeding Main Street, Geri has worked with the leaders and greatest minds in both the financial services and legal industries. 

Geri spent 13 years on Wall Street working for Merrill Lynch, overseeing Operations divisions in North America and Canada in the Futures arena (aka Listed Derivatives and Options). She started with Esquire at the end of 2003, leading their DepoNet division, where she transitioned the business from Georgia to New Jersey. Geri has worked most of her career in Operations and Sales, opening and running multi-million-dollar offices in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas for national agencies such as Esquire, U.S. Legal Support and Merrill/DTI. 

Geri was fortunate to be part of the team that launched Veritext’s Digital Reporting program in mid-2018, where her passion for bringing innovation to this industry was born. She started in April 2021 with VoiceScript, where she wears many hats and is thrilled to be with them. Geri gets to interact with digital reporters, transcribers, and industry professionals on a daily basis, and you will often hear her say, “I learn something new every day here.”

Geri is passionate about empowering individuals and being able to make a difference in people’s lives, but she lives each day knowing that, “Vision without execution is hallucination”. Her career successes did not come from always being the smartest person in the room, or the most educated, or the most technical – Geri was the one who outworked everyone else. She has spent the last four years getting people excited about this industry and the wonderful opportunities for today, as well as the possibilities for tomorrow. Geri wants to foster a sense of “community” for the Association and create an Association that people will line up, just to be part of it.

Marybeth Burke-Dring was born and raised in South Jersey before going to college in North Jersey and graduating from Montclair State University in 1994. A true Jersey girl at heart she is not afraid to say what has to get done and see that it gets done. 

While in college she worked on and off in her father’s court reporting and transcription firm before going to work in the fashion industry in New York. After a couple of years working in New York she returned home realizing that the electronic reporting industry and the people in it were a much better fit for her. While in New York she gained a great deal of experience in working with customers and managing a diverse group of people. This experience helped her to become a customer service-based manager while understanding the needs of individuals in the industry. 

After returning to South Jersey she began working in her father’s office and doing federal hearings in Philadelphia. While working in her father’s office she gained the experience to eventually transition into her own firm. However, she felt the need to have the business education that she lacked. So she attended classes at Rutgers Camden to gain the business education that she had not originally sought in college. 

In 2002 Ms. Burke-Dring took over as the General Manager of Burke Court Reporting Company, which was closed out a year later when she founded her own company Burke Court Reporting, LLC. Then in 2018 the name was changed to Burke Court Reporting & Transcription to reflect the amount of transcribing that is currently being prepared. 

Over the course of her career she has worked on and held municipal, state and federal contracts. As well as handle deposition work with private, corporate and government attorneys. This has all been possible by overseeing approximately 50 or so subcontractors over the past 25 years. 

While obtaining her New Jersey Agency Director Transcribing license she realized just how hard transcribing can be and gained tremendous respect for transcribers and the need that they have for good recordings, and therefore good reporters. Having started in reporting when cassette tapes were still being used on both analog and four channel machines she has not only transitioned over to digital, but has helped numerous reporters and transcribers transition over to digital reporting as well. 

Some of the things Ms. Burke-Dring has done to help those reporters and transcribers in the past includes serving as AAERT treasurer for two years, editing the current BPG, working closely with another board member to finalize the AAERT policies and procedures, and being a part of the current DCR certification task force. Her current goal is to work with AAERT and the Board to be able to continue to help both reporters and transcribers not only in her own organization, but in others as well.