August 20th NACM Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode
The 2024 NACM annual conference brought together court professionals from across the country to share best practices, address common challenges, and discover innovative solutions. Titled Leadership Opportunities & Challenges for Our Nation’s Courts: Leading Leaders into the New Tomorrow, it convened a dynamic mix of professionals, including many emerging voices in the field, who are passionate about the future of our judicial system. From discussions on the latest technological advancements like AI to strategies for enhancing access to justice, the conference provided a rich platform for learning and collaboration.
This month we are asking young court professionals the question, “What was your biggest takeaway from this year’s NACM Conference?” You will hear directly from young attendees about valuable insights, practical tools, and inspiring connections. Whether you are a seasoned administrator or just starting on your career, this episode will allow you to understand what were the most impactful takeaways from the NACM 2024 Annual Conference.
Today’s Panel
• Carrie Summers-Nomura, Program Coordinator, Clackamas County Circuit Court, Oregon City, Oregon.
• Tiffany Totah, Court Administrator, Municipal Court, Victoria, Texas.
• Lizzie Alipaz, Court Administrator, Municipal Court, Timnath, Colorado.
• LaTricia Kinlow, Judicial Branch Administrator, Municipal Court, Tukwila, Washington
• MiHa Kapaki, Court Administrator, District Court, Grays Harbor County, Washington,
• Samantha Wallis, Deputy Trial Court Administrator, Supreme Court, Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
Leave a question or comment about the episode at clapodcast@nacmnet.org.
Show Notes
Additional Resources
Lizzie M. Alipaz is the Clerk of Court for the Municipal Court in the Town of Timnath, Colorado. She fluently speaks Spanish, English, German, and Portuguese. She received her Juris Doctor Degree from Universidad Católica Boliviana and Universidad Privada de Bolivia.
MiHa Kapaki has been in district court for 7 years and currently serves as the Court Administrator and Probation Director for Grays Harbor County District Court in Montesano, Washington. Embracing her Hawaiian culture, she loves to perform Polynesian dances and songs. Independently raising her 5 boys, you will often hear her from the stands cheering for them at every sporting event.
Carrie Summer Nomura has been with the Clackamas Circuit Court for about 2 /12 years. She is the first person to serve in a new role as Program Coordinator. The position was created to provide support to our Deputy TCA for recruitment efforts as well as to manage the court’s EDI efforts. Carrie has lived in Clackamas County for most of her life and was a post-secondary educator for 17 years primarily at Clackamas Community College teaching sociology.
Prior to working in the judicial world, Carrie worked in child welfare as a Training Manager for therapeutic foster care providers and well as a Volunteer Manager for a child abuse evaluation center. In this current role, she networked with the community partners to offer professional development opportunities for our staff and lead our New Courthouse Move Change Management Committee.
Carrie provides support to staff who are experiencing unresolved conflict, leads the Employee Recognition Committee, manages the courthouse volunteers, and implements local policy changes.
LaTricia Kinlow serves as the Judicial Branch Administrator for the Tukwila Municipal Court where she supports Judge Kimberly A. Walden and provides leadership to the Tukwila Municipal Court Team. She has worked in the public sector for over 30 years. She currently serves as the President of the Washington State District and Municipal Court Management Association (DMCMA) participating on various committees: Education, Long Range Planning, ARLJ 14, Technology, Courts-Helping-Courts/Mentorship to name a few. She represents or has represented the association on other state commissions and associations such as the Washington State Gender & Justice Commission, Interpreter Commission, Minority & Justice Commission, MJCOM Legal Financial Obligation (LFO) Committee, Court Education Committee (CEC), Court Education Funding Taskforce, Interbranch Advisory Committee, District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association (DMCJA), Misdemeanant Probation Association (MPA), the Court Media Workgroup, Blake Workgroup, Blake Forms Subcommittee, and the Blake Communications & Outreach Subcommittee.
Ms. Kinlow is known for her ability to bring people together and have tough conversations with a focus of finding solutions that encourages all parties to work together. She introduced and hosted two summits for the three state associations representing the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. Her philosophy is that when we all work together, we improve access to justice and the public’s trust and confidence in the judicial system. To do this, we must do it together.
LaTricia is a local and national court educator. She is part of the Domestic Violence education team for the Center for Justice Innovation located in New York. She has facilitated sessions at the request of the National Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ Association, the Idaho Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Idaho Elections Conference. Some of the local training she has provided includes Snohomish County District Court, Skagit Valley Courts of Limited Jurisdiction, Tacoma Municipal Court, and King County District Court.
LaTricia has an extensive background in customer service, not only from her experience in the courts, but also from her work in major corporations such as Nordstrom, Macy's (formerly Bon Marche) and Lane Bryant. She prides herself in creating a court environment where satisfying customers' needs while maintaining the integrity of the organization is the primary goal. Trish is a leader, educator, motivational speaker, facilitator, forward thinker, and enjoys encouraging people to do greater work. She is so passionate about this work, last year she launched her business: People Encouraging People. For more information about Ms. Kinlow, visit her website: https://www.latriciak.com.
Tiffany Totah
Tiffany Totah is the Municipal Court Administrator. She has been with the City of Victoria since 2012, first serving as a Deputy Court Clerk and was promoted to Municipal Court Administrator in August 2017. She serves on the Texas Court Clerks Association Board of Directors as the South Texas Regional Director. She is a Certified Municipal Court Clerk and is a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management through the National Center for State Courts. She is a Victoria native, and she earned her Global Master of Business Administration Degree in Management and her Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing from the University of Houston-Victoria.
Samantha Wallis is the Assistant Court Administrator for the District Court, in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. Samantha grew up in Idaho, where she attended the University of Idaho to obtain her B.S. in Anthropology. She went on to obtain her M.S. in International Relations at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. She has worked for the courts since 2017 where she is currently the Assistant Trial Court Administrator for the First Judicial District of Idaho. In her spare time, she loves traveling, trivia, and the outdoors.