Janice Calvi-Ruimerman’s story is one that will resonate with NASJE members. Whether it is her drafting of a contract as a precocious and ambitious child, her quest to achieve success in a field dominated by men, her leadership in overcoming a pandemic that posed seemingly insurmountable obstacles, or her determination to find a way to juggle work and family, the life experiences of this former President of NASJE will intrigue, delight, and inspire.
We invite you to listen to this podcast to get a peek inside her life and career in judicial education.
Although it is not in her job title, Kim Carson has the soul of a coach.
In team sports, it is not enough for individuals to succeed. Individuals must not only excel, they must also work together to ensure the success of the team. In Iowa, Kim has played an essential role in the creation a system of judicial education in which individuals do not just take stand-alone courses, but rather, embark upon an educational journey in which sessions build upon each other and members of the Iowa judicial branch come to see themselves as important pieces of a greater whole, whose purpose is to ensure that most vital of objectives: justice.
Just as the greatest teams are always striving to improve, Kim’s objective is for the judicial branch to excel year after year. Her perspective is one that encompasses five year plans and offers education that empowers judicial branch personnel to be their very best during every phase of their careers.
Kim is authentic and true to herself and her beliefs. Ask Kim what she sees as the challenges of her job, and she will tell you she doesn’t see challenges. She sees opportunities. Ask Kim about failure and she will tell you that she doesn’t believe in failure, but ineffectiveness. While failure involves a state of finality, ineffectiveness can always be improved. Kim speaks in terms of growth space and the courage to make things happen.
It is a mindset that produces results and inspires others to be their best, not merely for today but for all those essential tomorrows.
Kim Carson is one of those rare people who combines perpetual optimism and unrelenting realism. I invite you to listen to this podcast and see the world through her eyes. It is an unforgettable perspective.
I am delighted that the inaugural NASJE podcast is an interview with Tom Langhorne. My contribution is a brief story about the importance of first contact and mentoring.
As the executive director of the JERITT Project at Michigan State University, NASJE’s State Justice Institute funded research and publication arm, I called all new judicial branch educators on behalf of NASJE for nearly two decades. I welcomed them to the profession and introduced them to the products and services available through NASJE and the JERITT Project.
In the 1990s, I received notification from The Office of the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court that an attorney would become its new director of judicial branch education. His name was Tom Langhorne. I put Tom’s start date on my calendar.
Early on his first day, I called Tom and welcomed him to a profession that he never knew existed before accepting the job. Later, Tom told me that my call was the first that he received as the new director and that our conversation launched him on his path to becoming an educator in the courts. From that day forward, Tom and I developed a friendship that has lasted over 25 years.
He refers to me as his mentor. Truth be told, we probably mentored each other. Why do I say this? Because we have stood together through multiple phases of our respective lives. We brainstormed and planned our way through professional challenges; supported each other through career changes; consoled each other over the deaths of loved ones; and worked together as consultants, educators, leaders, and change agents across the United States and internationally. Thus, what started as a mentoring relationship between a newcomer by a seasoned professional turned into a lifelong friendship.
I hope my “first contact” experience with Tom will encourage others to embrace new colleagues for the pure joy of it. You never know where that “first contact” will take you.
