Board of Directors

President

Tamara Houston, CSR, RPR, CCRR has been a California CSR for 36 years.  She started her career freelancing both in criminal and civil court.  Emerald Deposition Reporters was formed in 1995 by Tamara while she continued improving her skills and professional representation as a CSR within the industry.  After obtaining her CCRR in 2010, Tamara joined Caption Colorado to do national broadcasting from home in her "spare" time while working as a full-time reporter.  However, court reporting was her passion and she dedicated herself to that realm.  Tamara's daughter Kaitlyn passed the CSR in November of 2016 and joined her at Emerald Deposition Reporters. Her family life focuses on exotic animal rescue and rehabilitation, as well as attending the rodeos of her youngest daughter Annie, a graduate of UC Davis and accomplished breakaway roper.  Tamara has been on the CCRA Board serving as a district director for CCRA for nearly four years and is excited to transition into the role as president currently.  Tamara is passionate about being involved, learning, listening to new ideas, and sharing the knowledge and experience that has been gained over the years to help the evolution and empowerment of current and future court reporters.  Complacency is not an option - let's get involved and work together to make this great profession even better!
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President-Elect

Aimee Skochko, CSR has been a reporter since 1998. She attended Sierra Valley College of Court Reporting in Fresno, California. Upon passing the CSR, Aimee moved to the Central Coast and was hired as an official reporter for San Luis Obispo County Superior Court. After two years in San Luis Obispo County, Aimee relocated to Orange County, where she was a deposition and hearing reporter for two years. Aimee returned to court work for Orange County Superior Court in 2003, and she is currently assigned to Orange County's Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange, California, reporting family law matters. She is the Legislative Representative for her local court reporters’ association, Orange County Superior Court Reporters Association (OCSCRA), and is an active member of their board. As an OC Superior Court employee, Aimee is a member of her local union, Orange County Employees Association (OCEA), where she has volunteered her time as a workplace steward; has served as a bargaining team member for collective bargaining for the General Unit of employees, which includes OC’s Official Court Reporters; and has lobbied for court funding in Sacramento several times. Aimee received the Wonder Woman Award in 2017 from OCSCRA and received OCEA’s President’s Award in 2017, 2019, and 2021, all in recognition for her efforts in the legislative process and collective bargaining.  Aimee serves as Chair of CCRA’s Legislative Committee and also supports CCRA’s public relations efforts, membership efforts, and loves to help plan CCRA’s annual convention. Aimee found and rescued her dog Remy, whom she adores. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, baking, entertaining, and gardening. After a long fertility journey, Aimee became a single mom by choice to her precious daughter in October of 2020, fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a mom.  
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Vice President

Tammi Sumpter, CSR, RPR, CRR, CRG, began her court reporting career in 1993 as a freelance reporter, in 2003 transitioned to the role of firm owner for the next 17 years, and in 2020 became an official reporter for the County of Tulare.  She’s dedicated to giving back to her community by serving on the board of NATSFUND, a non-profit created to carry on the legacy of Dr. Natalie Claussen-Rogers by benefiting those in need, human and animal alike.  Although in her spare time she enjoys distance walking, reading, and learning, her absolute favorite thing is spending time with her adult daughters and spoiling her nieces.  Through her service to CCRA and its members, she strives to give back to the profession, empower reporters and students, and ensure that the industry continues to flourish.
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Secretary/Treasurer

Teresa Russ, CSR, CRI, has been a Captioner for over 11 years.  She has done both onsite and remote captioning, and she started doing depos in 2018.  She has done captioning in a variety of settings, but her favorite is the education environment.  While attending Cal State University of Long Beach, she worked as a teacher’s aide and that is when she discovered her passion for working with students.  Captioning at community colleges and universities is the perfect fit for her.  She is also a founding member of the CART/Broadcasting Captioning Committee.  Teresa is probably best known for her transparency during her journey to be a California CSR.  Her goal is to inspire students as well as her colleagues to be the best they can be and to never give up on your dreams.  She is looking forward to hearing the concerns of her colleagues and being instrumental in making a difference in this awesome profession that she has loved ever since she discovered it in 1984.  She loves serving at Cottonwood Church, and she is an active member of the NCRA Tech Committee and the Student/Teacher Committee. 
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Immediate Past President

Sandy Walden, CSR, RPR, started her career in court reporting in July of 1999.  She worked as a freelance reporter until she was hired as an official for Contra Costa County Superior Court in October 2007.  Making strides for all court reporters in California is my passion and goal.
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Director, District A, CCRA Social Media Director

Kaitlyn Houston, CSR is a freelance CSR in Northern California after receiving her California license in 2016.  She serves as the District A Director for CCRA.  With robust experience in both depositions and court proceedings, Kaitlyn especially enjoys asbestos, medical malpractice, and jury trials.  She is heavily involved with the management and production side of reporting through her family-owned firm and is a member of the Save our Students and Deposition Freelance Advisory committees.  She has a soft spot for students and new reporters and enjoys sharing her experiences and unique view of the reporting industry in an effort to cultivate their passion for the profession.
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District B

Priscilla Gwaltney I have been court reporting since 2008.  I was freelancing until 2014.  I then became employed as an official with Contra Costa County.  As of January 2022, I have been freelancing and working as a part-time official with Sacramento Superior Court in the Family Law Relations department since September of 2022.  I obtained my RPR in 2019.  I have served as chair of the Support Our Students committee and Mentor Chair since 2020.  I have been serving on the BOD since 2019.  
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District C

Michelle Caldwell, CSR, CRR, has been a reporter for 33 years. She graduated from the California School of Court Reporting in 1990 and began her career freelancing, eventually laying down roots as an Official for Santa Clara County. There, Michelle worked with SEIU and the court to create a reporter-specific bargaining unit, where she currently serves as Union Steward, Labor Relations Committee Member and negotiates labor contracts. Michelle led the AB 253 Remote Reporting Pilot Project, navigating from initial conception to Governor Newsom’s signature in October of 2019 and implementation in 2020. She has worked with unions and legislators on numerous Assembly and Senate bills. Michelle served on the Board of Directors for the California Official Court Reporters Association until 2019. In her free time, Michelle enjoys travel and is a freelance writer. She worked as a columnist for Gannett News, wrote news and politics for the Monterey County Weekly and has contributed to local and national publications, including the Daily Journal and California Lawyer. Having recently completed her coursework with UCLA Writers’ Program, she has turned her attention to novel-writing. Michelle and her husband of 33 years have two adult sons and live along the Northern California coast.
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District D

Stephanie Whitehead, CSR, RDR, CRR, CRC has been a licensed RPR and CA CSR since 1993.  She began her career as a freelance reporter, traveling throughout Southern California, the United States, and internationally taking depositions and sworn testimony in pretrial discovery.  This type of work allowed Stephanie to display her realtime skills while gaining knowledge and experience in a variety of matters such as product liability, real estate, medical malpractice, legal malpractice, and patent infringement.  Stephanie went on to report for the Federal Grand Jury as well as State Court in civil trials and family law litigation.  It is here she found her passion for courtroom work and accepted a position with the San Diego Superior Court as an official reporter in 2018. 

Stephanie’s NCRA certifications include the Certified Realtime Reporter, Certified Realtime Captioner, Registered Merit Reporter, as well as Registered Diplomate Reporter.  Stephanie is currently the chair of the Technical/Education Committee of SDSCRA and chair of the Officials Advisory Committee for CCRA.  As a teacher of steno students, she is passionate about preserving our profession for decades to come and encourages her fellow colleagues to become involved at the local, state, and national level.  In her spare time, she enjoys hiking with her husband and dogs, gardening, cooking, and keeping up with her adult children and her new grandson.
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District E

Anne Roldan, RPR, CRR, CSR, has been a reporter since 2006. She attended South Coast College of Court Reporting in Orange, California. She began her career as a freelance deposition reporter in San Diego before transitioning to San Diego Superior Court in 2011. Following the 2012 state budget crisis, she returned to freelancing until being rehired by the Court in 2017.

In February 2019, Anne became a Court Reporter Supervisor in San Diego Superior Court. In addition to her regular duties, she concentrated her efforts on recruiting court reporters so that the court could once again provide reporters for Family Law matters. As a result, 20 court reporters were hired by March of 2020, and the court restored court reporter services to its Family Law courtrooms.

In April 2020, Anne stepped down as Supervisor and returned to her position as an Official Court Reporter, her first love, where she served until August 2021 when she was hired by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. She is currently serving as Official Court Reporter to the Honorable Cynthia A. Bashant, District Judge.

Anne is passionate about the court reporting profession and the great service it provides to the public. In her limited spare time, she enjoys all things true crime and spending time with her husband and three children.
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District F

Vacant

 

Director, District G

Lidia Perez is a CART and broadcast captioner who attended Downey Adult School of Court Reporting in Downey, California.   Upon graduating from Downey Adult School, Lidia found her love and passion to be a  (Communication Access Real-time Translation) CART captioner for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community to provide equal access to everyone.   Lidia provides CART for students/staff/faculty throughout all levels of the educational school system from elementary to undergraduate and doctorate programs. She also provides CART captioning to projected audiences in live events, conferences, and seminars. She loves to mentor anyone who wants to venture into the world of CART and broadcast captioning who share the same love and passion she has within this great career. She is a strong advocate for equal access for all. 
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Executive Director

Gloria Peterson 
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