Administrative Judge Katarina Cook
Judge Kani Harvey Hightower

Staff Directory

Personnel & Contact Information

Personnel & Contact Information

Below you will find a staff roster of all personnel at the court and methods to contact them, including their courtroom zoom.

Judges & Staff

Katarina Cook, Administrative Judge

  

Administrative Judge | Hon. Katarina Cook | (330) 643-2357

Judicial Attorney  | Renee Gosney-Shea | (330) 643-2730 | rgosney-shea@drcourt.org

Bailiff | Claire McIntire| (330) 643-2357 | cmcintire@drcourt.org

 

 

Kani H. Hightower, Judge

 

Judge | Hon. Kani Harvey Hightower | (330) 643-2080

Judicial Attorney/Magistrate |Ryan Kinney | (330) 643-8387 | Rkinney@drcourt.org

Bailiff | LeNitra Little | (330) 643-2080 | llittle@drcourt.org

Court Reporter (Judge Kani Harvey Hightower) | Ashanti Edwards | (330) 643-2361 | aedwards@drcourt.org

 
Magistrates

Elisa Hill, Chief Magistrate

 

Cara Ford, Trial Magistrate

Rebecca DiDonato Heimbaugh,     Trial Magistrate

Jason Adams, Magistrate

Diane Dougherty, Magistrate

Julie King, Magistrate

Darci Jay, Magistrate

David Lombardi, Magistrate

Kimberly Smith Rivera, Magistrate

 

Lynn P. Seifert, Magistrate

 

Christopher Snyder, Magistrate

Richard Joseph Stahl III, Magistrate

 
Court Administrator

Thomas McLaughlin, Court Administrator

Thomas McLaughlin has worked in the court system for over 25 years. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Akron in 1995, and went on to receive a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Akron in 1999.

He began his career as a deputy clerk at Akron Municipal Court in 1993. While at the court, he became acquainted with Judge Brenda Burnham Unruh, who hired him to be her bailiff. In 2011, Thomas became a supervisor at Summit County Pretrial Services before he served as a bailiff for Judge Thomas Parker for several years.

Thomas became Judge Katarina Cook’s bailiff after Judge Parker moved to the federal court in 2016. He was appointed as Court Administrator by Judge Cook on January 25, 2021.

    Grant Writer

    Christine Lindeman, Grant Writer

    clindeman@drcourt.summitoh.net

    (330) 643-2081
    Court Information Officer/Communications

    Paul Henry, Court Informations Officer

    phenry@drcourt.org

    (330) 643-7845
    Court Administrative Staff
    Transcripts and Audio Requests
    • Bailiff (Judge Cook) | Claire McIntire| (330) 643-2357 |cmcintire@drcourt.org
    • Court Reporter (Judge Hightower) | Ashanti Edwards | (330) 643-2361 | aedwards@drcourt.org

    Audio Requests | audio@drcourt.org

    Family Court Service Director

    Randy Flick, LSW, Family Court Services Director

    RFlick@drcourt.org | 330-643-8488

    Randy Flick is a graduate of Grace College and is a licensed Social Worker in the state of Ohio.  Prior to coming to the court he worked for both the public and private sector and was honored as Social Worker of the Year, 1997-1998 1998.  He started with the court as an evaluator in 2000, became trained as both a mediator and a parent coordinator and eventually became the Director of Family Court Services in 2008.  As the Director he oversees the staff of five social workers, processes all referrals to mediation and evaluation, acts as a facilitator for the courts programs, speaks at colleges and other agencies regarding the court process and also carries a caseload of both evaluations and mediations.  He is currently serving as a liaison to the Judicial  College for the Supreme Court of Ohio, developing and creating training statewide for the social work staff in the state.  He also sat on the committee to develop the Supreme Court guidelines for Parent Coordination.  He is the past secretary to the Community Aids Network (CAN) of Summit County and volunteered with the Jaycees of Akron.  A native of the Pittsburgh area he has been a Summit County resident for over 45 years and is proud of the services that our county has to offer.  His favorite times are spent with his family and five dogs

    Family Court Services Staff