- What is your job title? What does that entail.
Answer: My job title is Executive Assistant to the Clerk of Court. It entails just about anything and everything at various times, but the crux of it is that I assist the clerk in accomplishing the many tasks for which she is responsible.
- What’s the biggest misconception about your job?
Answer: I wouldn’t say it’s a misconception so much as my job is just hard to describe because it really is different things at different times.
- What’s your favorite part of the job?
Answer: My favorite part of the job is what I described above; that it is different every day. Some days it’s writing or editing, some days it’s running an event like Law Day, some days it’s buying 150 hamburgers at Costco for the cook out, some days it’s giving a group of students a tour of the Dolley Madison House.
- This month’s newsletter is about service. Is public service something that was always important to you, something intentional or did it develop organically?
Answer: It developed organically. I worked for several years as a paralegal in the private sector of the legal community, but eventually I got tired of the pace and looked for a different way to use my legal experience. Government service was the natural next step and I am so happy I took it.
- Who do you most admire for their public service or service to the community?
Answer: Susannah Charleson, who is a New York Times bestselling author and search-and-rescue volunteer in Texas. She spent years working human search-and-rescue with her dog Puzzle and she has recently trained a dog she rescued to help find lost pets. We became friends after I read her first book and I am constantly in awe of her willingness to help the most vulnerable and overlooked dogs, many rescued just hours from being euthanized. She will take older dogs with health issues and allow them to live out their remaining days with love and comfort and companionship. Her heart for rescue – be it dog, cat, chicken, or (most recently) duck – is inspiring.
- Can you tell us about www.possibilitydogs.org?
Answer: Possibility Dogs is a nonprofit organization started by Susannah Charleson. We work to find rescue dogs that have a temperament to be service dogs. That service can be as a comfort dog (such as a dog who visits nursing homes or victims of a trauma), or an emotional support dog (a dog that helps people with anxiety or PTSD) or a service dog (a dog that assists someone with mobility issues perform specific tasks such as picking up objects or opening and closing doors or drawers, etc.). I serve on the board of directors.
- Other than community service, what are your interests outside of work?
Answer: Currently, my spare time outside of work is spent raising my almost-five-year-old son. Before I had him, I did community theatre. My favorite genre is Shakespeare but I also did contemporary plays and musicals (with an independent film, The Quantum Suicide of Sophie Miller, thrown in). Once my son gets older, I plan to return to the stage. Creating a character is one of my most favorite things to do!
- If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, living or dead, who would you choose?
Answer: This could be any of a dozen people on any given day, but I’ll just give the answer that occurred to me on this day: Lin-Manuel Miranda. He’s such an amazing mixture of pop culture references, history, and musical genius. His Twitter feed is a daily source of positivity, so I feel like the dinner would be a lot of fun!
Rapid Fire Round!
- Mac or PC?
Answer: PC
- Top-three on your Spotify/I-tunes playlist?
Answer: David Gray, the Hamilton soundtrack, and classic U2
- Favorite movie of all time?
Answer: It’s hard to pick just one, but I was one of the few people who saw The Shawshank Redemption in the movie theater so I like to think I was part of the reason it became so popular on home video. I really wouldn’t stop recommending it to people.
- Mount Vernon or the National Zoo?
Answer: Mount Vernon
- Favorite restaurant in DC?
Answer: Maybe it’s the proximity to work, but I do enjoy Joe’s.
Membership
The Bar Association provides its members numerous educational opportunities and opportunities for practitioners to meet and interact with the judges of the Court and colleagues from both public and private practice for these purposes. Our members work closely with the Court’s judges to develop programs, contribute to revisions of the Court’s Rules, and organize a broad range of educational and other activities.