IACA Podcast Presenters September 2021Peter Kiefer Peter C. Kiefer is a career court veteran with over 40 years experience working with trial courts in Oregon, Arizona, and California. He has been an administrator in general jurisdiction and limited jurisdiction trial courts; he has also worked for state court administrative offices in both Oregon and California. He has consulted with the judicial systems in Liberia, Moldova, and Beirut, Lebanon, as well as being a member of a NACM delegation to visit the People’s Republic of China.
Peter graduated from Santa Clara University with his bachelor’s degree in Political Science, received his Master’s of Public Administration with a specialty in Court Administration from the University of Southern California. In 2016 he became a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management. In 2015 Peter was given the NACM Award of Merit. Peter currently hosts the Court Leader’s Advantage Podcast in cooperation with that National Association for Court Management. Access the link https://nacmnet.org/podcasts.
Justice RUTAZANA Angéline Justice RUTAZANA Angéline is a member of the Rwandan Judiciary, currently serving as the Inspector General of Courts. Previously she was the Vice President of the Commercial High Court from July 2018 to November 2019; Inspector of Courts from October 2013 to July 2018; and High Court Judge from May 2005 to October 2013. She is also a regular trainer at the Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD) since 2010. Before she joined the bench, Justice RUTAZANA Angéline was a Lecturer of Criminal Law at the University of Rwanda for 7 years (from 1998 to 2005).She was also: the President of the East African Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association from November 2017 to October 2019; President of Rwanda Judges’ and Registrars’ Association from 2012 to 2017; Council Member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges’ Association in charge of gender issues in the Southern, Central, Eastern Region from 2012 to 2015; and a Member of the Technical Working Group on the Commonwealth Bench Book on violence against women in East Africa in 2016.
Justice RUTAZANA Angéline holds an LLM from the University of Ottawa, Canada and an LLB from the University of Rwanda. She was awarded professional certificates in various fields including International and Transnational crimes (Mwanza, Tanzania, August 2015), Improvement of Judicial Fairness and Efficient Judicial Administration (Seoul, June 2014), Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (Nyanza, Rwanda, July 2014), Judicial Education (Nova Scotia, Canada, June 2011), Leadership in Court Governance (Singapore Judicial College, October 2020), etc. She was also trained in specialized courses such as Common Law, Extradition, Terrorism, Economic Crimes, etc.
Dr. Aseel Zimmo
Dr Aseel is an advisor to the Bahraini Chief Justice and Minister of Justice. She taught civil and commercial law at the University of Bahrain and the Royal University for Women. Among her areas of responsibility, Dr Zimmo advises the Chief Justice and Minister of Justice on judicial reform, specifically judicial performance indicators and the design of performance dashboards. She also leads the transformation of Bahraini Courts into a completely automated system with paperless courts and works on improving the speed and efficiency of the courts. She graduated with a PhD from the LSE and with LLM from Kings College, London. She is also a qualified lawyer in New York and Jordan.
Niceson Karungi
Mrs. Niceson Karungi is an E-Justice Expert at Synergy International Systems Inc. where she supports the automation of case processes in Judiciaries throughout Africa. She analyzes Judiciary IT needs, facilitates the development of judicial systems, conducts trainings, and provides change management services. Niceson holds a master's degree in Software development from the University of Glasgow, UK. She worked for the Judiciary of Rwanda for more than eight years and facilitated implementation of the Rwandan Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS) used across all justice sector institutions, and the "Sobanuzainkiko" system which facilitates public access to court services online. She is currently working on the Judicial Performance Monitoring System to track real-time court and staff performance against set targets. Tom Bruton
Tom Bruton was appointed Clerk of Court for the Northern District of Illinois on January 1, 2012. The Northern District of Illinois is headquartered in Chicago and is the third largest federal court in the country with its 22 district judgeships, 10 senior district judges and 14 magistrate judges. The Clerk’s Office consists of over 150 staff members, 27 court reporters and two staff interpreters. Tom began his career in the Federal Courts in 2004 as the Property and Procurement Administrator for the Northern District of Illinois. From 2004 through 2011, he oversaw the Budget, Space & Facilities and the Procurement Department for the Court. Tom has been a member of the Federal Court Clerk’s Association (FCCA) since 2005 and has been a member of the FCCA Board of Directors since 2009. In 2012, Tom was elected to serve as President-Elect of the FCCA. In August 2015, Tom was sworn in as President of the FCCA for a two year term. In 2018, Tom was appointed as the Vice President for Associations of the International Association for Court Administration (IACA). In this position, Tom serves as a member of the Executive Board and has the primary responsibility for identifying, connecting with and maintaining relationships with other associations and bodies connected, directly or indirectly, with justice and courts. Tom graduated from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota with honors in 1999, majoring in Criminal Justice and Political Science. In 2014, Tom graduated from the Michigan State University Judicial Administration Program after submitting a capstone paper entitled, “Establishing a Succession Planning Program in a Federal Court Clerk’s Office.” Tom has presented this program at conferences and meetings. Tom has been on several hiring panels for court executives and has worked on court executive compensation issues. |
