June 20th, 2023, Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode
Is there another concept in court administration that has been discussed, studied, and analyzed more often than Leadership? For many the image of a leader that immediately comes to mind is the person who confidently says, “follow me, I know the way.” It implies that the leader can always be relied upon to “have the answers.”
That image, however, doesn’t always work. Sometimes the outcome is being negotiated and cannot be revealed, sometimes the solution is dictated by someone else. Examples that come to mind include how to manage flex time and remote work, how to absorb a 10% budget cut, or how to oversee diversity, equity, and inclusion in your court. This month we’re looking at leadership in the courts and how we handle day to day challenges. Today we are going to ask folks who deal with questions of leadership on a daily basis.
Today’s Panelists :
- Stacey Fields, Court Administrator for the Municipal Court in Crestwood, Missouri
- Katie Hempill, Office Administrator for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.
- Lizzie Alipaz, Clerk of Court for the Municipal Court in Timnath, Colorado
- Janet Cornell, Consultant and Retired Court Administrator and
- Rick Pierce, Judicial Programs Administrator for the Pennsylvania Administrative Office of the Courts
Click here to listen to the podcast.
Leave a question or comment about the episode at clapodcast@nacmnet.org.
Show Notes
Additional Resources
Stacey Fields
Stacey L. Fields is the Court Administrator for the City of Crestwood and has worked in the judiciary for 12 years. She has been a member of NACM for 5 years and serves on the Conference Development Committee. She also serves as Vice President of the Metropolitan St. Louis Association for Court Administration (MSLACA) and on the board of the Missouri Association for Court Administration as Professional Development Director.
Katie Hempill
BKatie Hempill joined the Clerk’s Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in November 2020. Her primary responsibilities include office administration, financial and travel management, and program support for projects and working groups. She also coordinates the office’s onboarding program and other professional development programming. Katie is a member of the Federal Court Clerks Association and the National Association for Court Management.
Prior to joining the judiciary, Katie worked in the travel industry in sales and leadership positions, which included staff training and development, business planning, and financial planning and reporting. Katie received her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Marshall University and graduated this May with her master’s degree in Government studies from the Harvard Extension School.
Lizzie M. Alipaz
Born in La Paz, Bolivia. She is the Court Clerk for the Town of Timnath, Colorado. Her home town now is Windsor, Colorado. Lizzie has a Juris Doctor Degree from Universidad Católica Boliviana and Universidad Privada de Bolivia. She would like to make a difference in the world but wants to start in the court rooms.
She likes all sports, but mainly practices volleyball and racquetball and she speaks 4 languages proficiently (Spanish, English, German and Portuguese).
Janet Cornell
Janet Cornell has over 35 years in court leadership including service in general and limited jurisdiction courts. She is a founding and contributing member to http://www.courtleader.net. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, and is a Fellow of the National Center for State Courts, Institute for Court Management in Williamsburg, VA, along with certificates from the Leader Coach Institute, Scottsdale, AZ, and the Leadership Institute for Judicial Education, Memphis, TN. Currently she serves as a consultant, faculty, and author on court administration, leadership, governance, caseflow management, performance measurement, operational assessment, access for self-represented litigants, and court reengineering with projects across the US and internationally.
Rick Pierce
Rick Pierce is the Judicial Programs Administrator for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Rick has served in the field of court administration for the past twenty-nine years. Prior to his appointment at the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, Rick was the district court administrator for Cumberland County. Prior to his 4 ½ year tenure as court administrator, he was the assistant administrator for the 9th judicial district from 1988-1997.
As judicial programs administrator, he is responsible for implementation of programs and education in court administration at the general and limited jurisdiction court levels.
Rick served as the President for the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management for 2005-2006. Previously he has served on the MAACM advisory board from 1997-2005.
A graduate from Washington and Lee University, Pierce received his Masters in Public Administration from Shippensburg University in 1995. He has been an active member of the Pennsylvania Association of Court Management, (PACM) since its inception in 1989. He has served as a board member from 1994-2001, culminating in his presidency in 2000-2001.
