(ANNAPOLIS, Md. – July 24, 2013) Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera has named Pamela Harris as State Court Administrator, effective August 5, 2013. Harris has served since 1989 as the first female court administrator for the Montgomery County Circuit Court and is the first woman to serve in her newly appointed role as state court administrator. Harris succeeds Frank Broccolina, who announced his retirement after more than 35 years of service to the Maryland Judiciary, serving 13 of those years as state court administrator.

“Pam has more than 25 years of leadership experience at the Judiciary and has distinguished herself as a skilled and thoughtful administrator,” said Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera. “I am proud to elevate her to a statewide role, where she will be able to ensure the effective administration of the court system in all jurisdictions for the benefit of the people of Maryland.”

Harris serves on the Maryland Judiciary’s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure and recently became a Public Policy Conflict Resolution Fellow through the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and the Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office. She currently serves as member of the Maryland Conference of Circuit Court Judges; member of the Maryland Technology Oversight Board; and member of the Maryland Integrated Statewide Case Management Committee.

“It is a great honor to have been selected for this position by Chief Judge Barbera,” said Harris. “I thank her for her confidence in me, and I will remain committed to infusing evaluation-based practices into every aspect of court administration to achieve the best results for court staff and court users statewide.”

As state court administrator, Harris is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the chief judge. The state court administrator provides oversight and strategic planning, direction and monitoring of court administrative activities for all state courts. The position is responsible for Human Resources, Facilities Administration, Budget and Finance, Procurement and Contracts Administration, Legal Affairs, Family Administration, Office of Problem-Solving Courts, Access to Justice Commission, Program Services Unit and Judicial Information Systems. The state court administrator also serves as the principal policy advisor to the chief judge.

In addition to her role as court administrator, Harris has completed the Court Executive Development Program of the National Center for State Courts’ Institute for Court Management (ICM) and is certified as a fellow. Harris has experience in teaching national programs on ethics, leadership, differentiated case management, and is certified as ICM faculty for caseflow management. She also has worked extensively in the field of differentiated case management and court administration both nationally and internationally.

Harris is Immediate Past President of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and will serve in that capacity for one year. She serves on the board of the International Association for Court Administration (IACA) as Vice President, International Associations; the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts’ Programs Committee and International Committee; the Board of the Maryland International Coordinating Council, Inc., (MICCI); and the Maryland Sister States Program Legal Affairs Committee within the office of the Secretary of State. Harris served on the Board of the Russian American Rule of Law Consortium (RAROLC) and worked for more than a decade promoting the Rule of Law and improving the capacity of local Russian legal institutions to implement reform.

Broccolina will remain at the Administrative Office of the Courts and will serve as the Transition Team Director until his retirement on December 1, 2013.

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Editor’s note: A higher-resolution photo of Ms. Harris is available. Please contact the Office of Communications and Public Affairs for a photo of Ms. Harris or for more information.