KEYNOTE
Kristi Johnson 
Resilience in action: Kristi Johnson to keynote 2025 NCRA Conference & Expo
A nearly fatal gunshot to the back forced Johnson to make some difficult decisions in 1997. Now paralyzed, she faced the choice of letting this catastrophic event define her for the rest of her life or accepting her new reality and digging deep within
for the courage and resilience necessary to rebuild her life and reshape her future. Johnson chose the latter. Read full article
Kristi became licensed in the state of California in 2002, just five years after she became paralyzed, and immediately began working in the freelance field. Over the 16-plus years Kristi was a freelancer, she reported everything from simple
workers’ compensation to complex litigation depositions.
Krist started volunteering in 2011 with the California Deposition Reporters Association. She served as a district representative and later as president from 2013 to 2014. Currently, she is the vice president of the Orange County Superior
Court Reporters Association and serves on committees for her state associations.
Instead of allowing her earlier challenges to define her, Kristi fought her way back, finding the courage and resilience to rebuild her life. Her journey from this life-changing injury to achieving her dreams as a successful court reporter is the
truest testament to what the power of perseverance and a positive mindset can accomplish. Instead of focusing on the things she could not do, Kristi learned to shift her perspective and focus on what she could.
Kristi firmly believes volunteering for your profession and continuing education is a must. You should never stop striving to improve your knowledge base, your realtime, and your technical abilities. That is what will continue to keep us relevant
and a necessary part of the judicial process.