Officers
President – Colette M. Nicolson Bruggman (CA)
Colette is a Mandan, North Dakota native and graduate of Mandan High School. Colette received her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Dakota in 1984 with a degree in accounting and her Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1987. Colette was admitted to the North Dakota bar in October 1987.
In January 2023, Colette was appointed as the Clerk Executive Officer for the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, in Sacramento, California after serving as the Assistant Clerk Executive Officer since February 2009. Previously, Colette was Chief Deputy Clerk for the North Dakota Supreme Court from July 1992 through February 2009. Prior to joining the North Dakota Supreme Court, Colette practiced law with the Vogel Law Firm in Mandan, North Dakota, and Legal Assistance of North Dakota in Bismarck.
Colette is a member of the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks, the State Bar Association of North Dakota, and the California Appellate Court Clerk Executive Officers (previously serving as its president).
President-Elect – Tim Gudas (NH)
Timothy A. Gudas became the Clerk of Court for the New Hampshire Supreme Court in January 2020, following nine years as the deputy clerk to Eileen Fox. From 1997 to 2011, he practiced civil and appellate litigation at Sulloway & Hollis, PLLC. From 1996 to 1997, Tim served as a law clerk to Associate Justice Sherman D. Horton, Jr. of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He earned his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1989 and his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1994. He is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association’s Committee on Cooperation with the Courts and its Appellate Law Section.
Tim has been an active member of the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks since 2014. During that time, he has served stints on the Executive Committee, the Program Committee, the Convention Assistance Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, and others. Most recently, Tim hosted the NCACC’s 51st annual conference in Burlington, Vermont, in 2024.
Tim and his wife Natalie live in Concord, New Hampshire, and are the proud parents of three grown children, Matt, Sarah, and Chloe.
Vice-President – Deana Williamson (TX)
Deana Williamson was appointed Clerk of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in October 2017. Since joining the Court in July 2012, she has served as Clerk Pro Tempore, Chief Deputy Clerk, and Deputy Clerk. In her role as Clerk, Deana oversees the operations of the Clerk’s Office and supports the administration of Texas’s highest court for criminal matters. Deana earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a double major in Marketing and Human Resources from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Treasurer – Lonn Weissblum (FL)
Lonn Weissblum was appointed Clerk of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Florida, effective April 7, 2014. Before becoming the Clerk of the Court, Lonn served as a career staff attorney to the Honorable Jonathan D. Gerber of the Fourth District Court of Appeal. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable David L. Levy of the Third District Court of Appeal and was in private practice.
Lonn received his B.A. in Psychology with Highest Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1997, and his J.D. with Honors from the University of Florida in 2001.
Lonn has been a member of the Commission on District Court of Appeal Performance and Accountability and the Florida Courts Technology Commission. In addition, he has served on the Appellate Court Website Technical Advisory Board and the Public Online Docket Advisory Group. Lonn also has achieved the Certified Court Manager and Certified Court Executive credentials from the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management.
Lonn has been a member of the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks since 2014. He has served on the conference’s Membership, Technology, and Scholarship committees, and previously served on the Conference’s Executive Committee.
Secretary – Claudia Jenks (TX)
Claudia Jenks has served as the Chief Deputy Clerk of the Supreme Court of Texas since March 2003. In that role, Claudia assists the Clerk of the Court in managing and supervising the operation of the Clerk’s Office. Prior to working for the Court, Claudia was employed in the Transportation Litigation Division at the Office of Attorney General where she processed filings for all the Assistant Attorney Generals who represented the Texas Department of Transportation, and distributed warrants on behalf of the agency for settlements and judgment claims. Claudia holds two bachelor’s degrees, in Speech and in Mass Communication, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Texas State University-San Marcos. Claudia has been an active member of the NCACC since 2003 and has served on the Convention Assistance Committee numerous times.
Immediate Past President – Scott Mitchell (AL)
Scott Mitchell was appointed Clerk of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals effective August 1, 2012, becoming the fifth clerk in the Court’s 113-year history. He was reared on a farm in Rosebud, Alabama, that has been in his family for six generations. He received his bachelor’s degree from Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina, where he majored in history and business administration with an emphasis in accounting. In 2002, he received his Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law.
After law school, Scott entered the practice of law in Montgomery, Alabama, with a civil defense litigation firm. In 2006, he began his career with the courts by serving as a staff attorney on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. From 2007 until 2011, he served first as a staff attorney and then as chief of staff and legislative liaison for the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. From 2011 until his appointment as Clerk, he served as an attorney in the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts.
Scott has been a member of the NCACC since he became Clerk in 2012. He has served on numerous committees, including the executive committee, and has served as chairman of the awards and resolutions committee, the nominating committee, the site selection committee, and the program committee. Scott and his wife Mary Martin are the proud parents of a son and are active members of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
Executive Committee
Gary Chambon (MI), term ending 2027
Gary Chambon has been the Lansing District Clerk with the Michigan Court of Appeals since January 2020. Before that he was the Assistant Clerk in the Lansing office from August 2009 to January 2020 (after periods of working in an assistant clerk role as special assignments when he was a research attorney with the court). Gary’s first job as a lawyer was as an attorney in the Court’s Research Division and, after two judicial clerkships, he returned to the Michigan Court of Appeals as a permanent court employee. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan in 1991 and with a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1994.
Gary first attended am NCACC conference in Williamsburg in 2022 and attended the next two conferences in Detroit (2023) and Burlington (2024). He volunteered with the Convention Assistance Committee in Burlington and was asked to chair that committee for the 2025 convention in Albuquerque. Gary is very grateful to have become involved with the NCACC.
Megan Rhodebeck (AL), term ending 2027
Megan Rhodebeck was appointed Clerk of the Supreme Court of Alabama on August 1, 2022. Prior to her appointment as Clerk, Megan served as a staff attorney for 4 years on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals (2009-2013) and nearly 10 years on the Supreme Court as Senior Staff Attorney to Associate Justice Tommy Bryan. Megan moved into the world of court administration after she was appointed to lead the implementation of a new appellate case management and e-filing system (C-Track), which launched in the Alabama Appellate Courts in early 2022.
Her first day as Clerk of the Supreme Court was at the NCACC Annual Conference in Williamsburg, and, since that time, she has served on various NCACC Committees and currently serves as Chair of the Awards, Resolutions and Memorials Committee. In her spare time, Megan loves reading, baking (mostly, just eating baked goods), and spending time with her husband, Seth, who is the Clerk of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals.
Julie Clement (MI), term ending 2027[1]
Julie Clement has been the Deputy Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court since 2020, having previously served as Assistant Clerk, Librarian, and Staff Attorney. Julie started her legal career as a Research Attorney with the Michigan Court of Appeals. She clerked for now-retired Michigan Supreme Court Justice Stephen Markman and then served for four years as a Research Supervisor for the Court of Appeals before accepting a full-time teaching position at Cooley Law School. Julie is the chair of the NCACC’s Bylaws Committee and has recently led a two-year effort to revise the bylaws into plain language. She is heavily involved in the international plain-language community and has recently spoken on that topic at the University of Lisbon, the European Parliament, and the European Commission.
[1] Due to a career change, Megan Scanlon resigned from the Executive Committee during the 2025-2026 year. Pursuant to the NCACC bylaws, the Executive Committee appointed Emily Wetherell to fill the vacancy through the 2026 annual meeting. Julie Clement is nominated to serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
Sam Christensen (WI), term ending 2028
Sam Christensen serves as Clerk of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Born in California and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of South Dakota and a master’s degree in religious studies from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.
Sam began his court career with Racine County, Wisconsin, in 2002 and served as Racine County Clerk of Circuit Court from 2015 to 2023. As clerk, he was the chief administrative officer and records custodian for Wisconsin’s fourth-largest circuit court. In 2023, he was appointed Clerk of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Sam has been a member of the NCACC since 2023 and has served on both the Membership and Program Committees. He attended his first NCACC conference in Burlington, Vermont, in 2024. Outside of work, Sam enjoys exploring Wisconsin’s back roads in his convertible, spending time with his partner, and doting on his nephews.
John Tomasino (FL), term ending 2028
Sarah R. Pendleton was appointed Clerk of the Washington State Supreme Court by the Justices in February 2025, following four years of service as Deputy Clerk and Acting Clerk under Erin Lennon.
Before joining the Court, Sarah served as Chief of Contracts and Legal Services for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). Prior to that appointment, she held several roles at DSHS, including IT Contracts Counsel and IT Contracts and Procurement Manager. Earlier in her career, she lived in Paris, France, where she worked in the arbitration division of Debevoise & Plimpton and externed for the francophone chambers at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Netherlands.
Sarah earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington, completing her final year at L’Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). She studied law at Seattle University School of Law and completed her J.D. as a visiting student at L’Université Paris Ouest Nanterre and the American University Washington College of Law. She speaks both Japanese and French.
Sarah became a member of the NCACC in 2021 and attended her first conference in Colonial Williamsburg. Since joining the NCACC, she has served on the Contracts Committee, the Site Selection Committee, and most recently as Chair of the Scholarship Committee.Sarah is also a proud race mom to Jordy (6) and Lilah (8) and serves as National Tower Head for the National Quarter Midget Association.
Emily Wetherell (VT), term ending 2028
Emily Wetherell is the Deputy Clerk of the Vermont Supreme Court. Her current responsibilities include supervising the Court’s administrative staff, overseeing facilities and administrative systems, supporting various rules committees, researching legal issues, and drafting opinions. Previously, Emily was an Associate Professor of Legal Writing at Vermont Law School, clerked for Associate Justice John A. Dooley, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine. She regularly testifies before the Legislative Committee on Judicial Rules and has presented educational sessions on appellate practice and rules requirements to the Bar and to judges. She has a J.D. from Vermont Law School and a B.Sc. in chemistry and biology from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Emily joined the NCACC in 2018 and has served on several committees including Program, Convention Assistance, and Bylaws.