Alumni success
Showcasing contributions and achievements from our ICM Fellows.
Celebrating our 53rd class
Congratulations to our newest Institute for Court Management (ICM) Fellows who graduated in July 2024 during a ceremony at the U.S. Supreme Court. This cohort represents eight states, including seven ICM Fellows from the Maryland Courts. For many, this achievement was years in the making – in addition to more than 16 months of coursework, a short residency in Williamsburg, a supervised research project and court improvement plan, and a final presentation. Discover what areas of court administration this class explored in their research projects by visiting our online collection.
| Erin Osterman Ballos, Arizona | Heather Miller, Maryland |
| Robin Rowe Cummings, Maryland | Melissa M. Patrick, Washington |
| Obiora O. Dallah, Maryland | Chad Lawrence Peace, Texas |
| Blanca E. Escobedo, California | Valerie Pompey, Maryland |
| Marina R. Fevola, Maryland | Anna E. Smythers-Stitt, Virginia |
| Melissa Lahey, Maryland | Kelly J. Sullivan, California |
| Sarah A. Mathews, Michigan | Kevin R. Tucker, Maryland |
| Cynthia E. Mikes, California |
Award of Merit
A member of each graduating class is chosen for the Award of Merit for Applied Research. This year, the distinction went to Erin Osterman Ballos, a court program manager for the Yuma County (AZ) Superior Court.
Her paper, "Breaking Point: Navigating High-Conflict Divorces in Yuma County Superior Court," explores the complexities of high-conflict parenting; the causes and consequences of these conflicts; and provided strategies to help mitigate the adverse effects on children, parents, and the court. She discovered her court had an unusually high number of high-conflict cases, and the current interventions and services available were not effective for these cases.
Recommendations arising from her research included the establishment of a family triage system to identify high-conflict cases that require immediate attention; training for judges, GALs, and mediators regarding high-conflict case effects; creation and implementation of a high-conflict parent education program; additional funding to support high-conflict parties; and regular monitoring using Arizona State University resources.
Recognizing alumni excellence
Our latest ICM Fellows Star Award recipient is Jeff Schrade of the Arizona Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts. This award honors an ICM Fellow who demonstrates excellence in the advancement of court administration through leadership and education. As education services director, Schrade provided leadership on statewide judicial branch education initiatives for more than 10,000 judicial officers, probation officers, and employees. Earlier this year, he took on a new role as deputy director of the AOC.
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