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Home / About NCRA / Leadership and Governance / Board of Directors / Serving on the Board

Serving on the Board

The following members have accepted consideration for the following positions for the 2025-2026 Board of Directors. The deadline for letters of support for the following candidates is Jan. 13, 2025.

President-Elect: Cathy Penniston, RPR, CRI, Waukee, IA
Vice President:
 Carol Naughton, RDR, Virginia Beach, VA
Secretary-Treasurer:
Director:
 Dana Hayden, RMR, CRR, CRC, Fayetteville, AR
Shellene Iverson, RPR, Portland, OR

 

 

Empower your profession
Serve on the NCRA Board of Directors

Nominate yourself or a colleague

Only voting members of NCRA may submit individuals for candidacy.

Submit a nomination

NCRA Board nominations ad

Recommendation requirements

Who is eligible for elective office

Nominees must be Registered Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters and/or stenographic captioners or Retired Members and Retired Lifetime Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters and/or stenographic captioners or Honorary Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters and/or stenographic captioners. In addition, an outgoing Director completing a three-year term is ineligible for immediate re-election as a Director.

Who may recommend candidates

Only NCRA voting members may submit nominations. Voting members include Registered Members and Participating Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters and/or stenographic captioners, as well as Retired Members, Retired Lifetime Members, and Honorary members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters and/or stenographic captioners.

 

For questions about board service, email boardnominations@ncra.org.

 

 

Board service information

Note: Board service is uncompensated and requires significant time commitments. Most expenses involved in board service are reimbursable.

 

Service as an officer
(Executive Committee of the Board of Directors)

These positions, as a rule, are filled by those who have served or are currently serving on the NCRA Board. Since NCRA has a membership of nearly 11,000 and a budget of $5 million, service as a director is essential for the candidate to understand and fulfill the duties that come with such responsible positions.

 

Elections information

All individuals considered by the Nominating Committee must complete a questionnaire created by the committee. Candidates nominated by petition who were not previously considered by the Nominating Committee shall be required to complete the same application materials required of candidates who were considered by the Nominating Committee. If there is more than one candidate for an office, both responses will be published on the NCRA website. The questionnaires will be removed immediately after the election.

 

Terms of office

No elected officer shall serve for more than one full term in the same office except the Secretary-Treasurer, who may serve for no more than three consecutive terms. Directors may only be re-elected if at least one year has elapsed since the end of their prior three-year term.

Board of Directors job descriptions

Candidate information

There is no blanket policy on whether individuals serving on other court reporting-related boards can also serve on the NCRA Board simultaneously; however, service on the NCRA board is a serious and time-consuming commitment and NCRA adheres to a strict conflict of interest policy.

Summary of duties and responsibilities of Board Members

Each Board Member is expected to:

  • Attend and actively participate in all meetings of the Board, of which there are three:  Preconvention meeting, fall meeting, and spring meeting, in addition to Board Zoom calls.
  • Respond to such correspondence as may from time to time be directed to the Board by the President, the other officers, fellow Directors, and the Executive Director, seeking the counsel and advice of the Board on such matters as may require action between meetings, and to initiate such correspondence when a matter should be called to the attention of the Board.
  • Undertake such Board, committee, or task force assignments as the President or the Board of Directors may direct. Such assignments could conceivably involve as few as one or as many as half a dozen additional meetings during the course of a year.
  • Occasionally serve as the official representative of the National Court Reporters Association to the annual convention of an affiliated court reporters association on one or more occasions during the course of an association year.

 

 

Board core values

In addition to the NCRA Board Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct, the NCRA Board also agrees to observe the following Core Values:

The NCRA Board will:

  • Foster a culture of mutual respect, shared trust, and transparent governance.
  • Utilize a strategic decision-making process focused on the needs of members as well as the enhancement of the profession.
  • Support open, honest communication that tolerates a diversity of opinion.
  • Employ a knowledge-based deliberation process.
  • Mutual Respect
  • Shared Support
  • Passion for the Profession
  • Open Communication
  • Dedication
  • Doing what is right (vs. what is good)
  • Trust
  • Focus & Clarity
  • Honesty
  • Transparency
  • Decisions based on organizational good
  • Member-driven
  • Intelligence

 

Policies

The Board of Directors signs and agrees to various NCRA policies:

  1. Antitrust Guidelines & Statement - Section 6
  2. Assumption of Risk and Waiver of Liability - Section 6
  3. Confidentiality - Section 6
  4. Conflict of Interest Policy - Section 6
  5. Guidelines for NCRA Listserv and NCRA-labeled Social Media Platform Etiquette - Section 6
  6. Board Standards of Ethical Conduct - Section 4
  7. Board Code of Ethics Complaint Procedures - Section 4
  8. Ownership of Materials and Information - Section 4
  9. Statement of Policy re donations from Board members to the National Court Reporters Foundation and the Political Action Committee - Section 3

Board service FAQs

Who can serve on the Board of Directors?

Article III – Membership, Section 9 c) states that:

“Only Registered Members who are verbatim stenographic reporters and/or stenographic captioners or Retired Members and Retired Lifetime Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters and/or stenographic captioners or Honorary Members who have been verbatim stenographic reporters and/or stenographic captioners shall be eligible to hold an elective office of the Association."

What other factors does the Nominating Committee look for in a candidate?

The following are a few factors that may be considered when selecting a board candidate. 

  • Active NCRA member
  • Altruistic
  • NCRA committee/task force work experience
  • Leadership qualities and experience
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Commitment to NCRA growth and sustainability
  • Professionalism

Does any officer automatically ascend to a higher office?

The only office that is an automatic ascension is President-Elect to President as outlined in the following section of the NCRA Bylaws.

Article VI, Officers, Section 2 - Election, Qualifications, and Term of Office, states:

“The Officers (except the President, the Immediate Past President, and the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer) shall be elected each year by the Voting Members. The term of each elected Officer shall begin at the close of the annual business meeting and the Officer shall serve until the Officer’s successor is elected. No elected Officer shall serve for more than one full term in the same office except the Secretary-Treasurer, who may serve for no more than three (3) consecutive terms. The President-Elect shall automatically succeed to the office of President at the completion of the President’s term of office."

Is the Nominating Committee required to choose from the candidates presented to them?

The Nominating Committee may choose not to select a particular candidate even though they may be the only candidate presented to the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is obligated to nominate the person or persons who, in its judgment, is best qualified to serve, even if that person(s) was not identified in the solicitation process for candidates. Ultimately, it is the Nominating Committee’s duty to select the best candidates to serve NCRA and its members’ interests. There is a readily available process for members to make additional nominations if they disagree with the selection of nominees by the Nominating Committee.

Is the Nominating Committee process the only way to get on the ballot?

No.  Additional eligible members may be added to the ballot by submitting to the Executive Director, within 60 days after publication of the Nominating Committee slate, a signed letter confirming their willingness to serve in such office, together with pertinent biographical information. In pursuance of being added to the ballot, the member must acquire one hundred (100) Voting Member signatures, no more than twenty-five (25) of whom are located in any one state, within the 60-day petition period. (Reference Constitution & Bylaws Article VIII, Section 3c).