VIRGINIA COURT REPORTERS FOUNDATION

In February of 2022, the Virginia Court Reporters Foundation (VCRF) was launched to help support the educational endeavors of the court reporting and legal community. Virginia Court Reporters Foundation is a nonprofit organization.

Meet your founding board members:

PRESIDENT: Donna Linton, RDR, CCR, CLR - Ashburn, Virginia

Donna has been a court reporter since 1984, observing ebbs and flows of the profession from the art of using a typewriter to computerized-translation stenotype. She worked for five years freelancing on depositions, family court, zoning/parole hearings in Metropolitan New York/Long Island. She then worked in central Florida freelancing for five years before transferring to Northern Virginia in 1994. She has owned her own agency, Amicus Reporting, since 1997 and also provides captioning for hearing-impaired parishioners at church.

Donna volunteers proofreading her neighborhood newsletter as well as enjoys baking/cooking, gardening, and recently became a member/treasurer of Stenomasters.

Donna served as President of Virginia Court Reporters Association for two separate terms.

VICE PRESIDENT/TREASURER: Kimberly L. (Krett) Ribaric-Dorrier, RPR, CCR - Palmyra, Virginia

Kim has been a freelance court reporter for over 26 years. She started her career in Pennsylvania, after obtaining her degree from Penn Highlands Community College in 1997. Kim was the second student to sign up to the new college, and she was featured in a few stories, and she also appeared in a TV commercial for the college. She initially worked for a state-wide Pennsylvania firm for 2 years, and then with the help of two fabulous mentors, had her own business in Central Pennsylvania, Krett Court Reporting, until she moved her family to the Roanoke area of Virginia in the summer of 2004 with the help of immediate family in Lynchburg, and she worked with Pierce Reporting Company for a few years. She then relocated to the Charlottesville area around 2007, and worked with Cavalier Reporting for many years.

Kim has always covered high-end depo and trial work across the whole state of Virginia, including NoVa and D.C. Kim started her own business, Elite Realtime & Deposition Reporting, in 2013 in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she was sought after to take numerous real-time depositions, patent cases, last-minute expedited depos, and med mal immediate rough draft trials.

Kim took numerous realtime depositions in Eramo v. Rolling Stone, LLC, the famous UVA "A Rape on Campus Story" (Rolling Stone Settles Last Remaining Lawsuit Over UVA Rape Story, A third settlement over "A Rape on Campus." Kim also took a high profile deposition in the UFC anti-trust lawsuit of Cung Le, et al., v. Zuffa, LLC . Although caught in the moment working on high-profile cases, Kim's never asked for photos! Kim also covered many court hearings in the City of Charlottesville Circuit Court in case of Love v. Huguely, as well as some work in the famous "Unite the Rite Rally" case in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In 2017, Kim merged her clients and expertise into Halasz Reporting & Videoconference, located in Richmond, Virginia, and has established many more distinct and wonderful relationships from that point up until the present, and is a sought-after reporter.

Kim served as a Director for three years (2020-2023) for the Virginia Court Reporters Association, is the current Vice President of VCRA, and also serves as the Chair of the Fundraising Committee for the fourth year now. Kim is serving as a National Congress of State Associations (NCSA) delegate for 2023-2024.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling, gardening, cooking, Vegas trips, and going to sporting events with her family.

DIRECTOR: Michele E. Eddy, RPR, CRR, CRI, CLR, Realtime Systems

Administrator Certificate

Michele has been a freelance court reporter for over 30 years, beginning her career in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1989, after graduation from the Academy of Court Reporting in Cleveland, Ohio. In August 2009, she moved to the D.C./Northern Virginia area. She has been a Certified Realtime Reporter since 2000 and earned the Realtime Systems Administrator Certificate in 2012.

Michele has served in all Board positions of the Ohio Court Reporters Association and is currently the President of the Virginia Court Reporters Association, having previously served as Secretary and Director over the last six years. She chaired the Education Committee and the Lawyers and Paralegals Liaison Committee of VCRA, having conducted A to Z classes and participated in school counsellor and school career day events. She received the Frank G. Tayloe Award by VCRA in March 2015 and the Outstanding Performance and Special Achievement awards in 2003 and 2007, respectively, by OCRA.

Up to June 2020, Michele worked as a high-volume freelance reporter in depositions, trials, or arbitration settings on almost a daily basis, providing interactive realtime, rough drafts, daily copy, or rush transcripts. In 2019, Michele had the privilege of serving as a temporary Reporter of Debates for the U.S. Senate for several weeks, having a part in creating the Congressional Record on a daily basis.

From June 2020 forward, Michele has been working for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a Verbatim Reporting Officer, covering Board and Committee Meetings remotely, providing realtime, rough drafts, and final transcripts that are a part of the final Minutes.

SECRETARY: HON. JEANETTE A. IRBY (Ret.)

Judge Irby joined Juridical Solutions in 2023 (est. 2007), an alternative dispute resolution firm, as a mediator. Judge Irby retired in 2022 from the Circuit Court of Loudoun County, part of the 20th Judicial Circuit, which includes Loudoun, Fauquier, and Rappahannock Counties. She is experienced in all areas of civil litigation, including complex business disputes, divorce (equitable distribution, spousal support and custody), and personal injury claims. She has presided in numerous trials involving real estate, land use, medical malpractice, estate administration, and contractual disputes of every type.

As the former Town Attorney for the Town of Leesburg, and the former Assistant County Attorney for Fauquier County, Judge Irby has specialized expertise in local government law. This includes law of eminent domain, education, and elections.

Before going on the bench, Judge Irby practiced law with Walker Jones in Warrenton, Virginia, with her primary focus on domestic relations, and she looks forward to mediating family law disputes which are most suited to Alternative Dispute Resolution. Immediately after retirement, she attended a 40-hour mediation training with the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.

Judge Irby is married and resides in Leesburg with her spouse, Jeffrey. In spare time, she enjoys reading, ballroom dancing, and spending time with her grandchildren.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE

Leesburg Rotary Club, Paul Harris Fellow

Former Chair, Thomas Horne Leadership in Law Summer Camp

Honorary Regent, Daughters of the American Revolution, Fauquier Court House Chapter

Former Member, Executive Committee, Judicial Conference of Virginia

Fauquier and Loudoun County Bar Associations

PANELS AND PRESENTATIONS

· Panelist: National Business Institute, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021& 2022

· Presenter: Virginia CLE program, April 20, 2022: "Controlling the Deposition"

· Presenter: National Business Institute, June 24, 2020: “Advanced Custody and Support Issues”

· Presenter: Local Government Attorneys ’Association, April 16, 2011: “Public Utilities and Their Financing”

· Presenter: Thomas Balch Library, April 2010, 2012, and April 2013-2022: “Researching Court Records”

· Presenter: Town of Leesburg, 2010, 2011, and 2013: “Freedom of Information Act and Conflict of Interest Act Training”

PUBLICATIONS

· Co-Author, “The Local Government Attorneys ’Guide to Pro Bono Publico Service,” recipient of Virginia State Bar Merit Award, 2009

· Author, “Pro bono Prospective” Local Government Attorneys ’Association’s Bill of Particulars Publication, March 2008

· Author, Custody Evaluations: “Understanding the Tools and Challenging the Report” Spring 2020

DIRECTOR: DAWN BROWN

Dawn attended the Court Reporting Institute of Dallas before moving to Northern Virginia in pursuit of her first court reporting position with M.A.R. Reporting Group in 2006. Much of her career was spent reporting criminal cases, though she also reported numerous civil court cases, depositions, arbitrations, USPTO hearings, and WMATA public hearings. In 2020, Dawn earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Western Governors University and, in 2021, pursued a new career path in the financial services industry that allowed for a schedule more fitting of her current personal obligations.

Dawn likes to spend her free time exploring new places, working crossword puzzles, and learning about the Virginia wine industry.

Dawn is excited to assist in promoting the court reporting profession and support her former colleagues by joining the Board of the Virginia Court Reporters Foundation.

COEF COMMITTEE CHAIR: Rachel Cramer, CCR - Chesapeake, Virginia

Rachel has been reporting for 20 years. She mainly works as an overflow/backup reporter in the Hampton Roads area covering all forms of legal proceedings and Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge hearings. She has experience with COEF from many years volunteering at VCRA.

Rachel also puts her Virginia Notary credentials to use by conducting real estate closings. Rachel is the current Treasurer of the Virginia Court Reporters Association.

She enjoys dining out, going on spontaneous road trips with her boys, and volunteering at her sons' schools.