I have worked in the legal profession for 35 years – nearly 30 as a paralegal. My career began with a solo general practitioner in Kirksville, Missouri, in 1983 after graduating from a two-year legal secretarial program at Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State). After moving to Texas in 1984, I completed a two-year paralegal/legal assistant program (Litigation Specialty) at Southern Methodist University in Dallas (program is now defunct), and in 1996 I earned the CLA/CP credential through NALA, which I maintain to this day by satisfying the required continuing education requirements. Except for a 3-year stint at a hospital where I fulfilled a variety of roles in Compliance, Medical Staff Credentialing, and Meaningful Use and handled issues related to the facility’s Medicare enrollments, I have worked in litigation my entire career for both plaintiff and defense firms on cases involving medical malpractice, wrongful death, personal injury, work comp, Social Security Disability, and general business litigation. Responsibilities have included assisting with all phases of the litigation process from inception to trial. I freelanced for a number of years as well. In January 2016 I accepted a paralegal position in the Tort Section at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City, where I remain employed today and assist in the defense of personal injury cases (including some maritime cases, which are a little more interesting).
I have been married for 35 years and have two adult sons. I love to hike, explore quirky locations, and watch foreign films and scary movies. My passion is world travel, and in May I will travel to the Northern Territory and Western Australia outback for a hiking and camping adventure in The Kimberly region.
I served on the MPA Election Committee for the past two years and welcome the prospect of serving on the Board.