2021 Convention Speakers

Primary Speaker:  Margie Wakeman Wells, Owner, Margie Holds Court

Primary Speaker Bio:  Margie is in her sixth decade of teaching –45 of those years in court reporting education. She has presented, under the auspices of NCRA and state organizations, over 300 seminars for reporters, teachers, and students on English-related topics.

Court Reporting: Bad Grammar/Good Punctuation is her best-selling reference text. She has also published Word Pares, Pears, Pairs, a reference work of 2,000 word pairs; All Things English, a practice book on English skills; and Practice Really DOES Make Perfect, a drill book series for improving accuracy.

Margie operates “Margie Holds Class,” her online school, for both live and recorded classes; answers questions on the popular FB subscription site Margie Rules; presents a monthly subscription class, The SEMINAR, on English topics; and occasionally blogs on the hot English topic of the moment.

Information on all Margie’s offerings is on her website: margieholdscourt.com.

Primary Speaker:  Victoria Thomas

Primary Speaker Bio:  16 year freelance reporter.  Trainer for office.

2nd Speaker:  Lorraine Romin, LACCRA President, LASC Official Reporter

Lorraine Romin has been a court reporter for 30+ years.  Before coming to LA Superior, Lorraine was a freelance deposition reporter for Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties.  In 1995, Lorraine started her court career with the Los Angeles Municipal Court where she served a few years on the Municipal Court Reporters Board.  Upon the merging of the Municipal and Superior Courts, Lorraine worked in a family law department for three years and then went on to work in a civil courtroom for 12 years.  In 2012, Lorraine started working in the downtown Los Angeles Criminal Courts building covering misdemeanors and felonies.   Currently, she is assigned to a specialty courtroom called O.D.R. which is a pilot program for felons who are homeless with mental health disorders.  Lorraine and her husband Tom currently have three kids in college, and they are enjoying the empty-nester life!

3rd Speaker:  Jordan Mucha

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. Jordan previously worked full time as a Broadcast Captioner providing realtime Closed Captions for the local news, entertainment broadcasts, 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 equal access, he is committed to use his skills as a trained stenographer to provide fast and accurate translation of the spoken word so that everyone has a seat at the table.

Primary Speaker:  Kathy Buckley

Primary Speaker Bio:  Billed as "America's First Hearing Impaired Comedienne", Kathy Buckley is a five-time American Comedy Award Nominee as Best Stand-Up Female Comedienne, and the winner of countless other awards for her work. She is an author, humanitarian, and one of the country's leading motivational speakers. Her television appearances include The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Inside Edition, CNN, HBO, VH1's Stand-Up Spotlight, Comic Strip Live, Evening at the Improv, and Caroline's Comedy Hour. E! Entertainment named her one of the "World's Most Intriguing Women" in their original special. In addition to comedy, Kathy is an actress who is also known for her co-starring roles in TV series such as "Touched by an Angel," and starred in her own original award-winning PBS special, "NO Labels, No Limits." Her extraordinary story is truly amazing to all who experience it.

An active volunteer for causes close to her heart, Kathy spends time helping numerous children's charities. A sought-after speaker, she has inspired people around the nation, speaking at corporate events, conferences, and universities. She is the author the heartfelt and hilarious book " If You Could Hear What I See." She has also been recognized by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army for outstanding efforts toward disability employment awareness and is a key speaker for Anthony Robbins' Life Mastery Classes.

Primary Speaker:  Rebecca Klein Scott, CEO, TALLsmall Productions

Primary Speaker Bio:  About TALLsmall Productions: Everyone deserves to make their voice heard. Keith Scott and Rebecca Klein Scott co-founded TALLsmall Productions with the mission of helping people, at every career level,  communicate in a clear, concise and engaging style that results in action. TALLsmall Productions leads communications workshops for court reporters around the country and in London and deeply admires everyone's drive and loyalty to protecting the record. They also work with Fortune 500 companies, such as PayPal, school districts and associations on negotiation, public speaking, body language, leadership, crisis communications and media training.  This husband and wife team launched their company in 2014 and frequently make TV appearances, weighing in on the impact of communication in politics, news and relationships. And yes, the company is named for their heights.: 

2nd Speaker:  Keith Scott, CEO, TALLsmall Productions

About TALLsmall Productions: Everyone deserves to make their voice heard. Keith Scott and Rebecca Klein Scott co-founded TALLsmall Productions with the mission of helping people, at every career level,  communicate in a clear, concise and engaging style that results in action. TALLsmall Productions leads communications workshops for court reporters around the country and in London and deeply admires everyone's drive and loyalty to protecting the record. They also work with Fortune 500 companies, such as PayPal, school districts and associations on negotiation, public speaking, body language, leadership, crisis communications and media training.  This husband and wife team launched their company in 2014 and frequently make TV appearances, weighing in on the impact of communication in politics, news and relationships. And yes, the company is named for their heights.

Primary Speaker:  Lauren Lawrence, Founder, Stenovate

Primary Speaker Bio:  Lauren N. Lawrence, RPR, is going to talk you through all the ins and outs, ups and downs of working with scopists and proofreaders. She'll cover the best practices for finding, vetting, and hiring transcript teammates, as well as efficiency collaboration techniques, tips, and tricks. And, of course, we'll talk about the money, honey!

Lauren graduated from AIB College of Business in Des Moines, Iowa.  She has since been freelance reporting for almost a decade in Kansas City and has had the pleasure of travelling abroad for depositions to places like Italy and Peru!  She's a realtimer, an expedite-lover, and the founder of Stenovate, a new project management tool for court reporters and their transcript teammates.  She knows how hard court reporters work, and she's on a crusade to help her fellow reporters maximize their time, earning potential, and quality of life. 

Primary Speaker:  Mike Miller, Depoman

Primary Speaker Bio:  Michael E. Miller, FAPR, CSR, CCR, RDR, CRR, CLR, certified in Texas, California, and Louisiana, is considered one of the premier realtime reporters working today.  Over his 25-year career, he has developed considerable expertise in all areas of litigation, including large corporate bankruptcies, intellectual property, pharmaceutical products liability, environmental contamination, and myriad business disputes.

Mike's in-demand realtime court reporting skills and technical expertise have garnered him considerable experience working abroad, from Bangkok to Brussels and Stockholm to Seoul . Additionally, as one of the foremost experts on realtime reporting technology, he was chosen as a developer and lead instructor for the National Court Reporters Association Realtime Systems Administrator Certificate Program. 

Primary Speaker:  Anissa Nierenberger, RPR, CRR, CRC, CRI, B.S. Realtime Reporting, , Learntocaption.com

Primary Speaker Bio:  Anissa Nierenberger has pursued her passion for captioning in three distinct areas; her proprietary software Dictionary Jumpstart, her captioning company Captionique, and as a coach and trainer in her educational programs. Anissa discovered stenography when she was just 14 years old after spending a career day with a court reporter in court. Determined to become a stenographer, she pursued her goal and within a year of graduation from court reporting school, she began captioning for television. She’s captioned local newscasts in numerous U.S. markets and Canada; NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL games; state legislature sessions, tech company events, religious conventions, and more recently she’s done media captioning. 

In 2000, Anissa founded Dictionary Jumpstart, a realtime dictionary-building software that has helped thousands of reporters improve their dictionaries and allowed them to explore other areas of reporting, including broadcast captioning and CART captioning. As an author, Anissa has also published several articles as well as books that include the Drug Speller; Simple Syllables; Simpler Syllables; A Jump Back in Time, and most recently, Fantabulous Families. 

Anissa is a past President of MAPCR (Michigan Association of Professional Court Reporters) and has been a member of NCRA (National Court Reporters Association) for over 25 years. She has presented seminars on realtime, captioning, dictionary building, and Dictionary Jumpstart to state and national associations.: 

Primary Speaker:  Phyllis Craver Lykken, WCRA President, Legislative Co-chair, NCRA Strong Taskforce Chair, Committee Member, NCRA Strategic Planning Freelance Committee Member, Central Court Reporting & Video Principal

Primary Speaker Bio:  Phyllis Craver Lykken, RPR, Principal, Central Court Reporting & Video (1985 to present) President, Washington Court Reporters Association  (2008, 2012, 2020, 2021).  Only four-time President in WCRA 85-year History;  Chair, Washington Court Reporters Association Legislative        Committee (2013-2015) Co-chair (2015 to current); Chair, National Court Reporters Association STRONG Task Force (2019-2020), Co-chair (2020-2021)  NCRA Regional Director;  Co-Author, Washington State Bar Association  Remote Deposition Guidelines (2020); Liaison with WSBA & WCRA seeking Temporary Remote Oath Administration Order from Washington State Supreme Court (2020) 

2nd Speaker:  Liz Harvey, Freelance Court Reporter

WCRA Past President, WCRA Current Legislative Co-Chair, NCRA Strong Committee Member, NCSA Chair, 20 plus years reporting. 

Primary Speaker:  Rebecca Klein Scott, CEO, TALLsmall Productions

Primary Speaker Bio:  About TALLsmall Productions: Everyone deserves to make their voice heard. Keith Scott and Rebecca Klein Scott co-founded TALLsmall Productions with the mission of helping people, at every career level,  communicate in a clear, concise and engaging style that results in action. TALLsmall Productions leads communications workshops for court reporters around the country and in London and deeply admires everyone's drive and loyalty to protecting the record. They also work with Fortune 500 companies, such as PayPal, school districts and associations on negotiation, public speaking, body language, leadership, crisis communications and media training.  This husband and wife team launched their company in 2014 and frequently make TV appearances, weighing in on the impact of communication in politics, news and relationships. And yes, the company is named for their heights.: 

2nd Speaker:  Keith Scott, CEO, TALLsmall Productions

About TALLsmall Productions: Everyone deserves to make their voice heard. Keith Scott and Rebecca Klein Scott co-founded TALLsmall Productions with the mission of helping people, at every career level,  communicate in a clear, concise and engaging style that results in action. TALLsmall Productions leads communications workshops for court reporters around the country and in London and deeply admires everyone's drive and loyalty to protecting the record. They also work with Fortune 500 companies, such as PayPal, school districts and associations on negotiation, public speaking, body language, leadership, crisis communications and media training.  This husband and wife team launched their company in 2014 and frequently make TV appearances, weighing in on the impact of communication in politics, news and relationships. And yes, the company is named for their heights.

Primary Speaker:  Ignacio Hernandez, CCRA Legislative Advocate, Hernandez Strategy Group

Primary Speaker Bio:  Ignacio Hernandez Esq. is the founder of Hernandez Strategy Group, a full-service lobbying firm in Sacramento specializing in representation of public interest organizations. Over the past decade, Ignacio has helped to pass a wide array of laws including: online voter registration, expanding language access to limited-English proficiency Californians and criminal justice sentencing reform. HSG has also secured more than $500 million in the California State Budget. Ignacio has prior experience working as Chief of Staff in both the State Assembly and Senate.

Primary Speaker:  Garrett Yack, Financial Planner, Investment Advisor, Ensemble Wealth Management

Primary Speaker Bio:  Garrett Yack is an independent Registered Investment Advisor Representative and Partner at Ensemble Wealth Management, a comprehensive financial services firm serving the specialized needs of retirees and pre-retirees. As a Southern California advisor and fiduciary at an independent firm, Garrett strives to provide his clients exceptional customer service and gives unbiased advice to truly help retirees and pre-retirees live a financially confident retirement. His comprehensive approach integrates investment management, income and estate tax reduction strategies, and insurance and estate planning.Garrett has a strong passion for helping people plan for a successful retirement. From an early age, Garrett noticed the difference between his own grandparents. One set of grandparents planned properly and to this day are still living a financially successful retirement, while his other grandparents lacked any planning and now with his grandfather deceased, his grandmother struggles financially and has to rely on help from the family. Seeing his grandmother struggling financially has given Garrett the passion that it takes to spend the extra time in doing the proper planning with his clients today. He holds the Series 7 and 66 licenses in securities, and his life Insurance license across several states. Garrett's licenses allow him to act as a fiduciary; the highest standard of care for his clients.

Primary Speaker:  Anissa Nierenberger, RPR, CRR, CRC, CRI, B.S. Realtime Reporting, , Learntocaption.com

Primary Speaker Bio:  Anissa Nierenberger has pursued her passion for captioning in three distinct areas; her proprietary software Dictionary Jumpstart, her captioning company Captionique, and as a coach and trainer in her educational programs. Anissa discovered stenography when she was just 14 years old after spending a career day with a court reporter in court. Determined to become a stenographer, she pursued her goal and within a year of graduation from court reporting school, she began captioning for television. She’s captioned local newscasts in numerous U.S. markets and Canada; NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL games; state legislature sessions, tech company events, religious conventions, and more recently she’s done media captioning. 

In 2000, Anissa founded Dictionary Jumpstart, a realtime dictionary-building software that has helped thousands of reporters improve their dictionaries and allowed them to explore other areas of reporting, including broadcast captioning and CART captioning. As an author, Anissa has also published several articles as well as books that include the Drug Speller; Simple Syllables; Simpler Syllables; A Jump Back in Time, and most recently, Fantabulous Families. 

Anissa is a past President of MAPCR (Michigan Association of Professional Court Reporters) and has been a member of NCRA (National Court Reporters Association) for over 25 years. She has presented seminars on realtime, captioning, dictionary building, and Dictionary Jumpstart to state and national associations.: 

Primary Speaker:  Mike Hensley, CCRA President

Primary Speaker Bio:  Mike Hensley, CSR, RDR is a freelance deposition reporter based in Dublin, California.  Though he is still relatively new to the profession of court reporting, he has hit the ground running to be a part of all that our profession has to offer.  By completing his schooling entirely online, Mike brings a fresh perspective to the concept of integrating technology with court reporting.  His true passion is to encourage others to reach for their highest goals and to accomplish them.  Along with mentoring several student court reporters, he is involved with state and national associations as the current chair of the Deposition Freelance Advisory Committee for CCRA as well as chair for NCRA’s New Professionals Advisory Committee and co-chair of their Educational Content Committee.  Mike strives to bring enthusiasm and professionalism to every task he undertakes, and he hopes to inspire others to do the same.

Primary Speaker:  Carolyn Dasher

Primary Speaker Bio:  Carolyn Dasher has been lobbying on behalf of CCRA and SEIU for almost 20 years.  Her countless hours advocating for the courts and court reporters has given her vast knowledge that she’d like to teach to others who are interested in legislative advocacy.  Through CCRA and NCRA, she participated in NCRA Lobby Day in Washington D.C. where she lobbied for mandatory closed captioning.  Now that she’s retired, she’s making legislative training materials for court reporters to use in the future.