Cathy Penniston

Cathy Penniston, RPR, CRI, was elected 2026-2027 President of the National Court Reporters Association, the leading organization representing stenographic court reporters, captioners, and legal videographers. She is a court reporting teacher and independent broadcast captioner from Waukee, Iowa, bringing extensive expertise to the role.

Penniston has worked as an official court reporter, a broadcast captioner, and a court reporting instructor for 50 years. She worked as an official court reporter for the state of Iowa before transitioning into her broadcast captioning and teaching career, and has also worked as a freelance reporter and a CART captioner. Penniston provides remote realtime translations to judges located in Arizona, Colorado and Idaho courtrooms.

Penniston holds a Master of Arts Degree in Education, a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Business Administration, and an Associate's Degree in Court Reporting. She holds the national professional certifications of Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) and Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI).

Career History

• 2026-2027: President, National Court Reporters Association
• 2025-2026: President-Elect, National Court Reporters Association
• 2018-Present: NCRA Board of Directors member, including service as Secretary-Treasurer and Vice President
• Court Reporting Instructor, Des Moines Area Community College Newton Campus
• President, Iowa Court Reporters Association (state level)

Penniston is the recipient of the Roy Voelker Memorial Award for Distinguished Service for the court reporting profession of the state of Iowa, and received the Indian Hills Community College Vision Award for Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014.

What Penniston could bring to NCRA President: With eight years of NCRA Board service and prior experience as Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer, Penniston brings deep institutional knowledge of NCRA operations combined with practical courtroom expertise. Her background in professional education positions her to advance the association's commitment to training the next generation of court reporting professionals while navigating technological transformation in the field.