The National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) is proud to announce the launch of Leading with the Heart: The Bonn Fund, a new unrestricted fund established by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees Chair-Elect Meredith A. Bonn, RPR, CRR. As Bonn prepares to assume the role of Chair at this year’s NCRA Conference & Expo in Bellevue, Wash., she is marking the moment with a powerful call to invest in the future of court reporting and captioning.
Unlike program-specific campaigns, The Bonn Fund is designed to provide flexible, unrestricted support, ensuring NCRF can direct resources where they are most needed across its full range of initiatives, from student scholarships and career development to outreach, mentorship, and emergency relief.
Bonn, who has served as an NCRF Trustee since 2021, brings a deep record of leadership and service to this effort. She currently chairs the Ask Me Anything Task Force and previously served as Chair of the NCRF Strategic Plan, helping guide the Foundation’s long-term direction. Her new fundraiser reflects that same forward-thinking approach — one rooted in sustainability, growth, and community impact.
A court reporter since 1990 and official senior court reporter for the New York State Seventh Judicial District in Rochester, N.Y., Bonn has dedicated her career to excellence in the profession. She has served in numerous leadership roles at the national and state levels, including as NCRA Vice President and president of the New York State Court Reporters Association. Her longstanding commitment to outreach through programs like Careers in the Courthouse and the NCRA A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program underscores her passion for building the next generation.
That passion is at the heart of this new campaign.
“Do you have a vested interest in the continuation of the robust availability of qualified, competent, and certified stenographic court reporters?” Bonn asks. “Then now is the time to support the 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to recruit, train, mentor, support, and maintain the stenographic court reporting and captioning work done by real people.”
Through Leading with the Heart: The Bonn Fund, donors will help sustain and expand the critical programs NCRF offers.
The campaign also extends beyond the profession itself, inviting support from a broad network of stakeholders such as firms, bar associations, educational institutions, captioning providers, broadcasters, and organizations serving the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities — anyone who relies on the gold standard of accurate, real-time transcription.
“As we all consider the challenges facing our profession, from student recruitment to workforce sustainability, this is the moment to come together,” says Bonn. “We are all in this together, and we need you to lead with your heart.”
Bonn believes strongly in the importance of creating a precise, verbatim record — work that is essential across the legal system, captioning, and beyond. With this initiative, she is extending that commitment outside the courtroom: educating new audiences about the profession, mentoring students, and ensuring ongoing support from recruitment through retirement.
As she takes the helm of NCRF, supported by NCRF Trustees, Bonn’s leadership signals more than a transition; it marks a continued commitment to the people and programs that sustain the profession.
“I have spent the better part to my career volunteering and working to ensure that making a stenographic record continues to be one of the best careers on the planet,” says Bonn. “My passion has led to leadership opportunities, but this one so speaks to my heart. I want to ensure that NCRF continues to operate at a highly effective level doing the work that supports stenographers from recruitment to retirement. Please join me today and make a donation.”
Donate online or by texting the keyword meredithbonn (no spaces) to 41444. This will be a 2026 tax-deductible contribution.
For more information, please contact NCRF Director Jill Parker Landsman at jlandsman@ncra.org.
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