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About Us

NCSC International staff

NCSC International's staff is comprised of experienced justice sector and international development professionals and support staff from the U.S. and four other nations.

Jeffrey A. Apperson

Vice President of NCSC International

Mr. Jeffrey Apperson, Vice President of NCSC International, served as the Clerk of Court for the United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky, since 1993. He is the president of the International Association for Court Administration. Mr. Apperson has also served as president of the Federal Court Clerks Association and president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Clerks. Since November 2007, Mr. Apperson has been assisting USAID Rule of Law contractors in Mexico on an as- needed basis. In addition, Mr. Apperson has performed three assessments of the state legal systems of Chihuahua and Baja, as well as assisted in the assembly of states implementing criminal justice reform in Mexico City. In 2006, Mr. Apperson served as chief of Court Management and Support for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Mr. Apperson’s international experience includes court governance, case management and court administration training for judges and staff in Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia and Albania. He has assessed courts in Zagreb, Pula, Tirana, Bucharest and several in Montenegro. Mr. Apperson has also conducted a seminar regarding jury management in the Senate of Argentina. He was an instructor at the CEELI Institute in Prague, and has provided video conference training for judges from Nigeria, Mexico and Columbia. From 1985 through 1993, he served as clerk of court for the United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Kentucky, and from 1982 to 1985 worked as an attorney for the Administrative Office of the United States Courts in Washington, D.C. with the Office of Management Review and Magistrate Judges Division. He has performed court assessments in over 15 courts in the U.S. in the areas of jury management, case management and court governance. Mr. Apperson received his bachelor’s degree from High Point University and his Juris Doctor from Samford University.
(703) 841-5609
japperson@ncsc.org

 

Kala M. Finn

IVEP Director & Senior Program Manager

Ms. Kala M. Finn, Esq. Director of the International Visitors Education Program & Senior Program Manager, received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN where she graduated with a Major in Russian Studies, a Major in History, and a Minor in Political Science. She received a J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, NH. She has over ten years of experience in international rule of law development and is responsible for the development of program curriculum for educational study tours, and coordinating the visits of international justice officials. Ms. Finn also serves as faculty for these programs and, on occasion, accompanies multi-week study tour groups as the programmatic facilitator. Ms. Finn came to the National Center in 2001. She has worked as a consultant for the Institute for Court Management and as an analyst with the Knowledge and Information Services Division. Ms. Finn is an active member of the Virginia State Bar and the National Association for Court Management (NACM). She is proficient in Russian.
(703) 841-6902
kfinn@ncsc.org

 

Marta Hernandez

Project Assistant

Ms. Marta Hernandez, Project Assistant, has extensive experience in international program administration and human resources management for the Foreign Service. She joined NCSC after relocating from Caracas, Venezuela, where she served for several years as the Human Resources Advisor to the HR Director at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. Her expertise includes local labor law, employment contracts, legal translation and interpretation, and records management. She is fluent in English and Spanish. She has a B.A. in Liberal Arts and a Certificate of Legal Translation from the Metropolitan University, Caracas, Venezuela.
(703)841-5607
mhernandez@ncsc.org

 

Randy Hansen

Program Manager

Mr. Randall Hansen, Program Manager,has ten years of experience working in the field of international development with diverse programmatic expertise in rule of law reform, civic participation in democratic governance, and private sector development programs. Mr. Hansen has most recently served in Kosovo, where he acted as Deputy Chief of Party for a 4-year, 14 million dollar Justice System Reform Activity which facilitated the transfer of the justice system from U.N. authority to local control, and enabled the establishment of the Kosovo Judicial Council responsible for the independent oversight and administration of the judiciary. While in Kosovo, Mr. Hansen supported efforts to increase the capacity of judicial institutions and worked to ensure the transparency of judicial proceedings, through the introduction of modern audio recording equipment for use during trials, and the provision of technical assistance and training for the Kosovo Judicial Institute. Mr. Hansen was recognized by USAID for his successful management of program close-out and the rapid start-up of a follow-on program. Prior to his work in Kosovo, he managed a number of private sector development and trade projects in Southern Africa. He has a record of achievement in program design, development and implementation in Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Africa and the Middle East, working in partnership with USAID and other donors. Mr. Hansen received a B.A. in International Studies and Political Science from Texas A&M University. He is fluent in German.
(703) 841 5629
rhansen@ncsc.org

 

Timothy Hughes

Senior Subject Matter Specialist

Mr. Timothy Hughes, Senior Technical Advisor, has twelve years of experience working on rule of law and judicial independence initiatives. He was the Chief of Party of the Justice Sector Development Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). That project involved institution building measures for the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council and the Ministry of Justice, in addition to court administration and criminal legal aid reform. Mr. Hughes served as a department head of the Independent Judicial Commission and planned and implemented the reappointment of 1,800 judges and prosecutors in BiH. His department also handled the review and investigation of complaints alleging misconduct against judges and prosecutors. Mr. Hughes was a principal advisor in strengthening judicial independence, including constitutional reform and the drafting of a seminal law establishing the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council. In addition, Mr. Hughes served as legal counsel to an election appeals sub-commission, which adjudicated electoral complaints and exercised broad remedial powers to ensure fair and free elections. Mr. Hughes worked as an attorney in a general law practice firm in Milwaukee, WI and is an active member of the Wisconsin State Bar. Mr. Hughes has a Juris Doctor in law from the University of Wisconsin and a Master's degree in law from the University of Tubingen in Germany. He is fluent in German and Serbo-Croatian.
(703) 841-5615
thughes@ncsc.org

 

Mayra Miranda

Program Specialist

Ms. Mayra Miranda, program specialist, received a B.A. in government with a concentration in international relations from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. She has worked for several departments of the National Center, including Communications, where she was a conference planning assistant; the Institute of Court Management, where she served as Spanish translator; and Research, where she was an assistant to the coordinator for court interpreting testing services and operations. Ms. Miranda is fluent in English and Spanish.
(703) 841-5625
mmiranda@ncsc.org

 

JoAnne Richardson

Senior Program Manager

Ms. JoAnne Richardson is a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She has more than 15 years experience in the criminal justice sector as a former prosecutor, defense attorney and international legal expert. She prosecuted war crimes as a Legal Officer in the Office of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. She spearheaded critical judicial and legal reforms as the Head of Field Office - Brcko District of the Office of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, implementing the Dayton Peace Accords and the Final Award. She held the position of Deputy Chief of Party for the National Center for State Courts - Kosovo Justice Support Program and served as an adjunct professor with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, N.Y., and as a faculty member of the Intense Trial Advocacy Program at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

jrichardson@ncsc.org

 

Michael Sweikar

Program Manager

Mr. Michael Sweikar is the Program Manager for NCSC's Kosovo Justice Support Program (KJSP). He received a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, with a major in Political Science. Mr. Sweikar earned a J.D. from William & Mary Law School and a M.A. in Public Policy from the Thomas Jefferson School of Public Policy at William & Mary. He has been admitted to the North Carolina State Bar. He previously worked in the Research Division of NCSC, focusing on the 2005 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts and investigating issues related to alternative dispute resolution. Mr. Sweikar served as a researcher in British Parliament and has participated in several studies in conjunction with the Carter Center, CARE, and the U.S. Department of Justice.
(703) 841-5619
msweikar@ncsc.org

 

Krystal K. Thompson

Senior Program Manager

Ms. Krystal K. Thompson, Esq., Senior Project Manager, received a B.A. from The University of Connecticut, Storrs, where she graduated with a major in Political Science. She received an M.A. from the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam School of International Relations, received a J.D. from Nova southeastern Shepard Broad Law Center, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and an L.L.M. in International Trade Law from the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam School of International Relations. She has over ten years of experience in international rule of law development, primarily in court management. She has worked in court management in the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Rwandan Tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania and the Special Court for Sierra Leone in Freetown on many high-profile accused cases. She also has worked as a Governance Advisor on Decentralization and local governance for the United Nations Mission to Timor-Leste. Ms. Thompson has advised several foreign judiciaries on best practices in court administration. She served as a legal advisor to the Liberian Judiciary on court administration and strategic management. She began working for NCSC as the International Court Administration Advisor in Beirut, Lebanon from 2009-2010, where she helped create the first Model Court for Lebanon.
(703) 841-5641
kthompson@ncsc.org

 

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