Baton Rouge School of Court Reporting, LLC (BRSCR) is owned and operated by Ms. Karen Vornkahl and Ms. Pamela Giardina.  Professional Institute of Court Reporting, Inc. (PICR) is owned and operated by Ms. Jodi Delmont, Mr. Chris Kersten, and BRSCR (Ms. Karen Vornkahl and Ms. Pamela Giardina).  Together they have over 80 years of service in the legal/court reporting field in multi-faceted areas.  Karen, Pam and Jodi are Nationally Certified Reporting Instructors.  Below is a brief profile on each owner.
 

Jodi Delmont, CCR, is a 2008 graduate of Baton Rouge School of Court Reporting and an owner of PICR.  She holds a current certificate with the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters and a CRI certification, having attained national certification as a Certified Reporting Instructor from the NCRA. 

Jodi is married to Ryan Delmont and has two daughters. 
 

Christopher Kersten, B.S., is a lifelong resident of the New Orleans area.  He attended the University of New Orleans and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications in 1988.  Chris was a reader for 18 years and reader manager for 10 years at Verbatim Academy of Court Reporting in Metairie, LA, where he enjoyed reading to and helping that school’s students in whatever way he could in the pursuit of their goal of becoming court reporters. 

Chris also worked during and immediately after college at WQUE-FM radio in New Orleans as a commercial production assistant doing voice-overs for the station’s recorded advertisements.   

He spends his time enjoying sports, music, reading, and traveling, especially to the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and caring for his handicapped mother.

Karen Vornkahl, B.S., CCR, CRI, CPE, is an Owner and the Director of Administration at BRSCR.  She has been a practicing court reporter since 1985 and holds a current certificate with the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters.  In 2003, she took a leave from active reporting to pursue additional training in realtime machine writing.  She has reported thousands of depositions, taught academics relating to court reporting, and is co-owner of ASAP Transcripts, LLC, a scoping and proofing firm assisting court reporters and mentoring new reporters in the field. 

She has attained Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI) credentials and been published in CaseLines, a teaching publication of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA).  She is a Certified Program Evaluator (CPE) and is also qualified to grade certification skills testing for the NCRA.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Office Administration from Louisiana State University (1979).   She is married to Mark Vornkahl, a computer systems consultant, and has two grown children.

Pamela Giardina, B.S., CRI, CPE, is an Owner and the Director of Curriculum and Student Affairs at BRSCR.  She is a retired Certified Court Reporter (CCR) in the state of Louisiana.  Her career began in the 1970s in the 19^th Judicial District Court as a judiciary reporter.  She went on to own and operate two successful freelance court reporting firms in the ‘80s and through the mid ‘90s.  Over the course of her professional reporting life, she has reported thousands of depositions, in addition to hearings, arbitrations, and judiciary proceedings. 

She is currently retired from active practice but has gone on to attain national certification as a Certified Reporting Instructor, as well as national certification as a Certified Program Evaluator in order that she may mentor and teach students in her chosen field.  She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree from LSU with majors in the areas of Criminal Justice and English. 

She is currently a co-owner of ASAP Transcripts, LLC, a firm dedicated to the efficient transcription of court proceedings, arbitrations, hearings, depositions.  The firm works with reporters in four states and trains new reporters for firm owners as well. 

She is married to Keith Giardina, a practicing Baton Rouge attorney, and they have five children, four sons and a daughter, ranging in ages from 17 to 24.

INSTRUCTORS and STAFF

Nancy Brown comes to New Orleans from New York where she worked on Wall Street for 20 years as an Executive Assistant.   She worked for large banks: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and hedge fund, Tiger Management.  She is an artist and loves the live music of New Orleans.  In the past five years she has been enjoying  reading aloud to court reporting students and laughing with them at Franklin College and Professional.

Robert V. Rudner, a reader at both campuses, has a B.A. in Social Studies and Theatre from Auburn University.  Upon graduation, he began teaching Social Studies in New Orleans area schools until his retirement in 2002. 

While teaching, he began reading to court reporting students on a part-time basis.  After retiring from full-time teaching, he began to record and produce speedbuilding practice CDs for sale over the Internet, which remains a full-time endeavor. 

Rob is a devoted New Orleans Saints fan who loves music, sports, the beach, JazzFest and Mardi Gras.

Mark H. Vornkahl, B.S., CMR, CNA, MCSE, is our Director of Information and Technology.  He is a graduate of LSU in Business Administration/Marketing.  After working five years in the insurance/finance industry, Mark worked for nine years as a detail representative for a major U.S. pharmaceutical company, calling on physicians and related healthcare providers.  Mark earned the Certified Medical Representative (CMR) designation in 1989.  Mark is approved to instruct in Medical Terminology for BRSCR. 

Additionally, Mark earned an associates degree in electronics technology from ITI and worked six years as a computer engineer for a local software development company.  Most recently (since 2003), Mark is the principal of Mark H. Vornkahl Consulting, providing computer and technological services to clients around the U.S.  He holds numerous certifications through Microsoft and Novell.  Mark is the director of information and technology for BRSCR and teaches and supports all areas of computer applications.

Mark is married to Karen Vornkahl, has two grown children, and a border collie named Maggie. 

BRSCR STAFF MEMBERS

Dana Bannerman, B.S., M.Ed., is our Director of Accreditation and Standards.  Dana Bannerman has been in the field of education for 32 years.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from Centenary College and a M.Ed. from LSU.  Dana taught for twenty years in Ascension Parish and eight years at Parkview Baptist School.  Her most recent endeavor was to begin a middle school at St. Luke’s Episcopal School from the ground up as the middle school coordinator.  She has taught a variety of ages and subject matter, with her specialty being in the areas of language arts and math.  She has served on various accrediting teams and committees with SACS and SAES.  Dana is also on the Louisiana State Council of the National Beta Club.   

Dana is married to her husband, Bruce.  They have two grown children – Blair, who is married and is a chemical engineer here in Baton Rouge, and Chris, who works for Warner Brothers in Los Angeles. 

Keith Giardina, B.S., J.D., has been a practicing attorney in the state of Louisiana for over 20 years.  His specialties include:  Insurance Defense Litigation, Training, General Law Practice, Appeals, Consultations and Administrative Business Procedures.   

His education and training include a Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola University in 1981, as well as a Bachelor of Science cum laude from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1977.  He has also obtained a teaching certification from Harvard School of Law sponsored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.   

Keith is a member of the Louisiana State Bar and admitted to practice in the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, United States District Court Middle District, Eastern District, and Western District.  He is a Trial Advocacy Instructor (NITA) for a major insurance carrier and has also served as a professor ad hoc at Louisiana State University School of Law.  He has recently been accepted into the American Board of Trial Advocates.   

Keith is the instructor for our Legal Terminology/Case Law class. 

Lori Beckman, Day/Night Program.  Mrs. Beckman is a graduate of Bay Path College with an Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies and is also a graduate of BRSCR in the Court Reporting Program.  

She has worked professionally as a paralegal, legal secretary, and CART provider for a college student.  She has been married to her husband Greg for ten years.  Lori originally hails from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and has lived with her family in Baton Rouge for the past seven years. Recently, the family added a new member, Lori and Greg’s adorable baby boy, Brodie.

Mrs. Beckman provides expertise in working with our CART students on a daily basis and is our Speed Plus/Drills reader.

Fabiola Evans, Admissions Officer.  Fabi is a 2008 graduate of Hillsong International Leadership College, in Sydney, Australia, with a Diploma in Creative Arts.  She is married to Matt Evans.  She is very active in her church and in working in the Music Ministry.  Fabiola is bilingual, and is fluent in Spanish, as well as English.

Baton Rouge School of Court Reporting is proud to have been recognized and granted status as a Participating Court Reporter Training Program with the National Court Reporters Association.

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