Court Leader's Advantage

February 15th, 2022 Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast Episode

We’ve been talking about work-life balance for decades. It is a perennial challenge. What has changed in these last two years is, of course, COVID. For the first time in the history of America’s court system, large numbers of employees are teleworking, many are frightened of catching the Coronavirus in the office, others are concerned over losing their personal freedom, and we all seem to be working and living with incomplete and often rapidly changing information.

Anecdotal comments are both positive and negative. Office productivity has improved; but the lines between work-life and homelife have blurred, particularly for caregivers; management has adapted to the new flexible office; but burnout and mental health concerns have skyrocketed, and this is a contributing factor to what has come to be known as “the great resignation.”

This month we are going to explore work-life balance and how COVID has affected courts and court employees. Some of the questions we will explore include:

· What has been folk’s experience with work-life balance over the years?

· Has the advent of COVID changed that experience? Is that change for the better or worse?

· Is there anything NACM can do to address this issue?

· What advice do these court professionals have for the rest of us?

Today’s Co-Host:

Alyce Roberts, Semi-Retired Special Projects Manager for the Alaska State Court System. As a member of the court’s senior staff, she was the AOC’s primary liaison with the clerks of court. In this capacity, she was responsible for developing the annual statewide clerks of court conference program, facilitating the sessions and serving as a presenter. Alyce regularly worked with court colleagues and justice partners to propose revisions to court rules and develop statewide clerical procedures.

Today’s Panelists:

Angie VanSchoick, Court Clerk and Town Clerk for the Town of Silverthorne, Colorado.  Previously she was Court Administrator with the Town of Breckenridge Municipal Court, a position she held since 2013. In this role, she was responsible for all court operations, including the implementation of policies and procedures, general administration, and jury management.  Angie is a licensed macro level social worker in the State of Colorado and Michigan, receiving her MSW from the University of Michigan in 2007.

Kelly Hutton, Assistant Court Administrator for the North Dakota Court System. She has served on local committees and assisted in the implementation of many projects in North Dakota. In 2015, Kelly completed the Court Management Program and in 2017 completed her ICM Fellowship through the National Center for State Courts (NCSC).  Kelly holds a B.A. in Legal Studies from Hamline University, where she also had minors in Economics and Political Science. She is currently working on her Master’s in Public Administration at the University of North Dakota.

Alexis Allen, Court Administrator for the Municipal Court in Tempe, Arizona.  Ms. Allen is a 2014 graduate of the Institute for Court Management (ICM) Fellows Program. She received her Master’s degree in Administration, emphasis on Leadership, from Northern Arizona University and her Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, emphasis on Organizational Studies, from Arizona State University.