Cathy Penniston is a teacher and independent broadcast captioner from Waukee, Iowa. Penniston spent 30 years working as an official court reporter for the state of Iowa before transitioning into her broadcast captioning career. She has also worked as a freelancer and a CART captioner. Penniston currently teaches stenographic reporting at the Des Moines Area Community College in Newton, Iowa.
She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education and a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration, and obtained her Associate’s Degree in Court Reporting from the American Institute of Business. Penniston holds the national professional certifications of Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) and Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI).
At the national level, Penniston has served on numerous NCRA committees including as an NCRA A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program leader. She has served as a member of the NCRA Board of Directors since 2018, including as Secretary-Treasurer. She has also been a volunteer for National Court Reporters Foundation phone-a-thon fundraising campaigns.
At the state level, Penniston has served as president, vice president, and secretary of the Iowa Court Reporters Association. She is a recipient of the Roy Voelker Memorial Award for Distinguished Service for the court reporting profession of the state of Iowa, and also received the Indian Hills Community College Vision Award for Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014.