Public Notice Detail

ST. PAUL, Minn. (May 4, 2000) – For the second year in a row, a Hennepin County District Court Manager will graduate from The Institute of Court Management with a select group of court employees throughout the world.

Mary Gagne, Court Manager of the Hennepin County Civil Court and Violations Bureau in Minneapolis will participate in graduation ceremonies May 11, 2000 at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Chris Volkers, Court Manager for the Hennepin County Criminal and Traffic Court in Minneapolis, was among 35 program participants who graduated May 7, 1999.

“Leadership, working with the media and being aware of workplace politics are all skills that are necessary to being a good manager in the state District Court system,” Volkers said. “The Institute showed me how to apply those skills in endless ways since I graduated.”

Gagne has worked in the Hennepin County District Court for 28 years, 23 of which she worked in the family court division. She is originally from the Twin Cities.

Volkers graduated from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul. In 1988, she became an Administrative and Accounting Manager in Ramsey County Court’s Criminal and Traffic divisions. In December 1996, she became Court Manager of Criminal and Traffic divisions in Hennepin County.

The Institute for Court Management is operated by the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va. Gagne and Volkers participated in the Court Executive Development Program, which trains participants in leadership and judicial administration. To graduate as a “Fellow of the Institute for Court Management,” participants complete five core courses in court operations, a three-week seminar, an independent court study project and report, and a one-week concluding seminar. Topics of study include developing policies to enhance state courts, advancing state courts’ interests with the federal government and solving problems through technology.

The Institute, founded 28 years ago by the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger of the U.S. Supreme Court, boasts 868 Fellows to date, made up of employees who work in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Canada and six other nations.