When it comes to promoting the profession with sheer joy and true passion, NCRA member Denée Vadell, RPR, an official court reporter from Edison, N.J., is the poster child, for sure. She’s been featured numerous times in her local media showcasing the stenographic court reporting and captioning professions, including most recently landing as the cover story in amNY Law.
She currently serves as a Senior Court Reporter at the New York County Civil Supreme Court. Prior to that Vadell was a court reporter with the Bronx Criminal Court from 2018 through 2024. She is also a broadcast and CART captioner and a 2012 graduate of the StenoTech Career Institute in Fairfield, N.J.
At the national level, Vadell has attended NCRA’s Leadership & Legislative Boot Camp and served as chair of NCRA’s Membership, Marketing & Outreach Committee, and as a member of its Brand Ambassadors Council and Technology Committee. She has also presented at the national level on how to create and give a 60-second elevator speech about the court reporting profession.
At the state level Vadell has presented to high school and court reporting students about the profession. She currently serves as President-Elect of the New York State Court Reporters Association. Plaza College, in Queens, N.Y., has also made her one of its ambassadors. In 2023 Vadell started a petition on Change.org soliciting Mattel to create a Steno Barbie doll. “Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, who was a stenographer, yet there is no Steno Barbie?!” wrote Vadell. “Mattel, please consider creating a Steno Barbie to spread steno and assist us in putting an end to the national stenographer shortage.”
She is also founder of the social media group StenoFluencers, which promotes stenography and the court reporting profession across a number of online platforms.
And then there are the awards.
In 2024 Vadell was the recipient of the prestigious Carl Sauceda Grant – an $2,000 award from the National Court Reporters Foundation that recognizes court reporters or captioners who elevate the profession through their teaching and influence. The grant also honors Sauceda, FAPR, RMR (Ret.), of Hayward, Calif., a past NCRA president from 1999-2000, whose legacy of giving continues to inspire others.
Most recently, the Office of the New York City Public Advocate honored Vadell with the 2025 Public Advocate’s Award – a distinction seldom given to a court reporter. Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams presented the award during his office’s Women’s History Month event, themed “Nevertheless, She Persisted: Honoring Women Who Make A Difference.”
But Vadell isn’t done promoting the profession just yet. She was recently contacted by a casting director for Hulu to appear as the court reporter in the production company’s series Diddy on Trial: As it Happened, about the sex trafficking trail of Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop music mogul.
The JCR reached out to Vadell to learn more about how she landed the Hulu gig and what drives her passion and commitment to the stenographic court reporting and captioning professions.
JCR | How did you become involved with the Hulu production?
DV | I received a Facebook message from a casting director saying, “I know this is a little out of the blue, but I came across your videos while searching Facebook and saw that you’re a stenographer — I loved how passionate and knowledgeable you are about the work you do!”
She said that she is a casting director and is currently working on a Hulu limited series about the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs and they are looking to cast a real stenographer for a nonspeaking, featured background role in the courtroom scenes, and she immediately thought of reaching out to me.
My emotions were all over the place when I read the message. It has been a dream of mine to play a stenographer on TV so I was like, “ahhhh!” and also like, “Wait, this could be a scam,” but ahhhhh, this is amazing!
JCR | What has been the most fun and the biggest challenge doing this?
DV | This entire experience has been extremely fun! I love that I get to bring my career in stenography to the TV screen — shining a light on this vital, often unseen profession. I’m grateful for the chance to highlight the power, precision, and purpose that the guardian of the record brings to the courtroom because the show don’t start ’til we walk in, babbyyyyy!
This profession isn’t just my passion; it’s my legacy and this has been a dream of mine. To see our purpose represented, respected, and recognized means everything to me.
My first day on set, the actors would say to me, “Wow, you really look like you know what you’re doing.” I would reply, “I really do know what I’m doing because I’m a real stenographer,” as I smiled proudly. They were genuinely happy to meet a stenographer and then were blown away as I answered all of their questions: How many words per minute do you type? Where are the letters? What does this key mean? Where do you work?
Promoting this profession is deeply personal to me — it’s not just my passion, it’s my legacy. Stenography has given me so much, both professionally and personally, and I feel a strong responsibility to give back.
The days are long, as they are 12-hour days, but we laugh all day in between takes so the time flies by. All of the actors vibe well so it is a great time on set. The question I’ve been getting on social media is: “Are you really writing what’s being said?” Yes, I am. They speak pretty fast, and they recite their lines over and over, so I use the time to practice speedbuilding since my next certification goals are the RMR and CRR. There is no transcript, but I am writing when they are speaking because I never know if the camera is gonna catch those fingers flying and I don’t want to portray us the wrong way on television.
I went from a nonspeaking background actor role to being hired as the “courtroom expert advisor.” What this means is that any courtroom procedure question they had, I would advise them as to how it would be done in an actual courtroom setting.
The most challenging thing is the long commute to the studio. I live in New Jersey, and we film in Connecticut at Stamford Studios where Jerry Springer and the Steve Wilkos shows are filmed. It’s an hour and a half with no traffic and could be up to two hours with traffic so my back usually hurts before I even begin writing on my machine. The earliest I had to be on set was 7 a.m. I had to wake up by 4:30 a.m. That was definitely a struggle for me.
JCR | How did the article in the paper and the magazine that featured you come about?
DV | The article in the paper came about thanks to Toni A. Figueroa, RMR, CRR, Deputy Manager of the Office of Record Production for the Office of Court Administration (OCA) in New York State. She recognized the advocacy work I’ve been consistently doing to promote the stenographic profession and felt I would be a strong voice to represent our field. The OCA has been incredibly supportive of my efforts and believed this was a great opportunity to spotlight the critical role of stenographers in the New York State judicial system. I was honored to be selected to help raise awareness and inspire others through that platform.
The reporter asked several insightful questions about artificial intelligence and its impact on our profession. I was well-prepared to speak confidently on the topic, thanks to the 2025 Leadership & Legislative Boot Camp hosted by the National Court Reporters Association in February. That experience gave me the tools and knowledge to represent our field accurately and advocate for its future.
When the article was published, we were blown away that we made the front page of amNY Law! This was a huge win for our profession.
JCR | Why is promoting the profession so important to you?
DV | Promoting this profession is deeply personal to me — it’s not just my passion, it’s my legacy. Stenography has given me so much, both professionally and personally, and I feel a strong responsibility to give back. One of the most meaningful ways I can do that is by opening the door for others and showing them the incredible opportunities this career offers. That’s why I’m so committed to using social media as a platform — it’s a powerful tool that allows me to reach thousands of potential students and share the value, stability, and purpose that come with being a stenographer. If I can inspire even one person to join this profession then I’ve made a difference.
JCR | What would you say to others to encourage them to promote the profession with the level of passion you do?
DV | I would encourage others to share their personal steno stories — how this career has impacted their lives and what it’s allowed them to achieve. You never know who might be inspired or whose path might be changed just by hearing what’s possible. Passion is contagious, and by speaking openly about the rewards and opportunities in this profession we can help others see the value and potential of a career in stenography.
I’m passionate about stenography because it’s a profession built on precision, a unique irreplaceable skill, responsibility, and trust — and that deserves to be championed.
By sharing our stories, mentoring new talent, and showing the real impact of our work, we can inspire others to value, pursue, and preserve this incredible career that has given so much to each of us. It’s very hard to find a stenographer who hates being a stenographer. We love what we do!
Just remember that your vibe attracts your tribe! I will attract people like me, but I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. So we need more personalities out there promoting and advocating so that if my message and/or story doesn’t resonate with someone, the next stenographer’s story just might.
If we don’t promote this profession, we risk losing a vital part of our justice system and public record.
Denée Vadell is an official reporterand founder of the social media group StenoFluencers from Edison, N.J. She can be reached at deneevadell@gmail.com.
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