Article VIII of the NCRA Constitution and Bylaws allows for additional nominations for NCRA Director and Officer positions. The deadline for nominations was May 2, 2026, and none were received.

Accordingly, the following slate of nominees will take office at the close of the Annual Business Meeting on July 16, 2026, in Bellevue. Wash.  The current President-Elect, Cathy Penniston, RPR, CRI, of Waukee, Iowa, will automatically ascend to the presidency.

President-Elect

Carol Naughton, RDR
Virginia Beach, Va.

Carol Naughton is an official court reporter for the U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Va. Previously, she worked as a freelance court reporter for 27 years in the markets of Los Angeles, Chicago, northeast Wisconsin, and throughout Virginia and Washington, D.C. She graduated from Bryan College of Court Reporting in Los Angeles, where she passed the California Certified Shorthand Reporter exam. She holds the nationally recognized professional certification of the Registered Diplomate Reporter (RDR), NCRA’s highest certification.

At the national level, Naughton has served as an NCRA Director and as Vice President as well as on the NCRA A to Z® and the Brand Ambassadors committees. She has nine years of experience serving with the National Congress of State Associations (NCSA), including six years as chair or co-chair. She assisted in the newly revised resolution process and drafted resolutions, most notably on the reinstatement of exam history and the ability of NCRA’s Membership to vote online for any dues increases. She is also a proud supporter of the National Court Reporters Foundation and a fifth year NCRF Angel.

At the state level, Naughton is a past president of the Virginia Court Reporters Association and continues to serve on the Association’s Legislative Committee.

Vice President

Stacey M. Potenza, CRC
McKinney, Texas

Stacey Potenza is a CART and broadcast captioner and a global accessibility man­ager from McKinney, Texas, with more than 19 years of experience providing realtime captioning. She holds the nationally recognized professional certification of Certified Realtime Captioner (CRC).

At the national level, Potenza served a two-year term as Secretary-Treasurer. She has also served as director and as a member and co-chair of NCRA’s Captioning Committee. She has also served on the Association’s Education Content Committee and the Political Action Committee Governing Board as well as a Conference presenter.

Potenza graduated from the Denver Academy of Court Reporting with an Associate of Applied Science to complete her court reporting degree. In addition, she has completed more than two semesters toward a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. 

Potenza is a past secretary of the Kansas Court Reporters Association. In addition to providing CART and captioning services, she is also a consultant in accessibility and com­munication services management.

Secretary-Treasurer

Kelly Keyes-Linkowski, RPR, CRR, CRC, CRI, CPE 
Rittman, Ohio

Since 1993, Kelly Linkowski, RPR, CRR, CRC, CRI, CPE, has worked from the comforts of home and around the world, providing verbatim transcription and instant speech-to-text accessibility using the power of stenography. Linkowski holds the nationally recognized professional certifications of Registered Professional Reporter (RPR), Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR), Certified Realtime Captioner (CRC), and Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI). She is also a Certified Program Evaluator (CPE).

 Linkowski has been an active volunteer for NCRA, contributing to articles for publication, presenting seminars, encouraging students through mentoring, and serving a three-year term as a NCRA Director. She has been involved with numerous NCRA committees, including the Student Community of Interest, National Outreach Committee, Court Reporting Program Advisory Committee, Council on Approved Student Education, Intersteno Task Force, National Congress of State Associations (as a regional representative), Strategic Planning Task Force, Nominating Committee, Captioning Committee, and Certified Realtime Captioner (CRC) Certification Committee. She has also acted as an advisory member for stenography programs.

Linkowski began her service with the Ohio Court Reporters Association as a director and Student Liaison in 2012 and completed her term as immediate past president in 2021.

Director (three-year term)

Geanell C. Adams, EdD, FAPR, RMR, CRR, CRC, CRI
Terry, Miss.

Dr. Geanell Adams began her career in 2002 as an official and freelancer, then became a court reporting instructor, broadcast captioner, and CART captioner. She is currently an official for the state of Mississippi Fourth Judicial Chancery District and an adjunct instructor for Hinds Community College in Raymond, Miss.

Adams holds a Doctorate of Higher Education, Education Specialist, Master of Community and Economic Development, Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration and Human Resource Management, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and Associates of Arts in Court Reporting from Prince Institute of Professional Studies.

Nationally, Adams is a past chair and current vice chair of the Council on Approved Student Education (CASE) and vice chair of the Written Knowledge Test Committee. She has served on the Student/Teacher, DE&I, and Nomination and Election Committees. She is a student mentor. Previously, Adams served as chair of the PAC Governing Board, co-chair of the Freelance COI, on the NCSA Governing Board, Dictation Development, NCRF Angels, and Peers Helping Peers Committees.

At the state level, Adams served on the Mississippi Board of Certified Court Reporters, and on numerous committees for the Mississippi Court Reporters including vice president and president 2006-2007.

Director (three-year term)

Jeanna Zunker, RPR, CRI
St. Cloud, Minn.

Jeanna Zunker is a freelance court reporter and agency owner who holds the nationally recognized professional certifications of Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) and certified Court Reporting Instructor (CRI). She began her career in 1994 and opened her own firm, Advantage Court Reporting, in 1998.

At the national level, Zunker has served on NCRA’s Council on Approved Student Education Committee (CASE), the Educational Content Committee, and as a representative for the National Congress of State Associations (NCSA).

At the state level, she has served as a past Director, Vice President, President-Elect, President, and immediate Past President of the Minnesota Association of Verbatim Reporters and Captioners (MAVRC). She has also served on its Continuing Education, Ethics, and Nominations Committees and has presented at MAVRC conventions.

From 2019-2022, Zunker served as an adjunct court reporting instructor for Anoka Technical College (ATC) and currently serves on its JRBC Advisory Board. She has also presented at mock depositions at ATC and a local high school.

NCRA NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Chair:

Keith Lemons, FAPR, RPR, CRR (Ret), Spring Hill, Tenn.

Members:

• Stefanie Allison, RPR, Omaha, Neb.
• Huey Bang, RMR, CRR, Pass Christian, Miss.
• Brenda Blackburn, RPR, Hollandale, Miss.
• Lisa Conley Yungblut, RDR, CRR, CRC, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Amy Doman, RDR, CRR, CRI, Carmel, Ind.
• Georgia Northway, RPR, O’Fallon, Mo.
• Leticia Salas, RDR, Houston, Texas
• Cheryl Haab Scott, RDR, CRR, Westminster, Calif.
• Heidi Thomas, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CRC, Kennesaw, Ga.