1. Your Business/Occupation. In one or two sentences, explain your services or products.
   I am co-owner of Access Transcripts, LLC, a digital court transcription company. We provide verbatim transcripts of court proceedings in state and federal courts nationwide.
2. Our Industry. A. How would you describe the challenges and opportunities that our industry faces (in the Court, Agency, and Deposition markets)? B. What do you see as the challenges and opportunities.
   The COVID pandemic catapulted the digital era to the forefront of the industry faster than many could have anticipated. The challenge we now face is keeping up with the ever-increasing demand for digital reporters and transcribers. The opportunities that exist today are an exponential increase in technological advances, with Automatic Speech Recognition platforms flooding the market in an effort to help us get the work done more quickly and efficiently. We have the opportunity to embrace these tools to move the industry forward.
3. Reason(s) To Run. A. What is/are the reason(s) you decided to run for the board? B. Whom and what do you want to impact?
   I have enjoyed serving on the board for the past 3 years, and with the number of changes and growth the association is experiencing, I would love to remain and see more of these projects through to completion.
4. Your Goal. A. If you had a mandate—board authorization, financial resources, member support—what do you want to do? B. How would you improve the capabilities of our members (reporters, transcribers, proofreaders, videographers, business owners and executives)?
   If I had a mandate, I would love to improve community outreach to help young people learn more about our industry. I feel like our industry as a whole is gaining speed, but many people still aren’t aware of its existence and what it entails. It is a VERY important industry. I would hope the ongoing continuing education and training would help improve the capabilities of our members through skills development, and also technology instruction to help us all use the available tools to capture the record and ultimately produce an accurate and timely transcript.
5. Involvement. A. How long have you been a member? B. How many conferences have you attended? If you have not attended conferences, would you explain why not? C. Do you plan to attend this year’s conference?
   I have been a member of AAERT since 2005, when I obtained my CET. I have been to at least 5 Executive Forums and 7 or more conferences. I look forward to seeing everyone in St. Louis!
6. Experience. A. What has been your leadership experience? B. Do you have experience as a board member of a non-profit organization? C. Please list the organizations, your positions, and duties.
   I have had the pleasure of serving AAERT for many years. I was a member of the Education Committee before it was restructured, and I have been on the Conference Committee, which then transitioned into the Professional Development Committee, for the past 5 years or so. I have served on the Executive Board as Secretary of AAERT for the past 3 years.
   Also, I have served in a general leadership role in my business, Access Transcripts, for the past 10 years and had a hands-on role running the the business and leading a team of transcribers, proofers, and administrative employees.