About Kathryn Sweeney
State certifications:
MA Certified Shorthand Reporter – 1992
NH Licensed Court Reporter – 2020
Competitions:
Massachusetts Realtime Contest Winner 2012
National Realtime Contest Qualifier 2018
Volunteer work:
Vice President – NHCRA
Past President – MCRA
Presenter – MCLE Deposition Workshops
National certifications:
Registered Realtime Reporter – 1993
Certified Realtime Reporter – 1997
Registered Merit Reporter – 2013
Associations:
Member in good standing of:
Massachusetts Court Reporters Association
New Hampshire Court Reporters Association
National Court Reporters Association
Kathryn grew up in Arlington, MA. After finishing high school, she enrolled in the court reporting program at Massachusetts Bay Community College. Following graduation, she moved to Acton, MA, and began her career as a stenographer working for Harold, owner of Gabriel Court Reporting.
Years later, Harold sold the business to Kathryn and the name was changed to Gabriel & Sweeney Court Reporting. Since then, Kathryn has guided the business and served its clients, incorporating all of the technological advancements of court reporting over the past thirty years.
Passionate about certification, she was a Chief Examiner on behalf of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) and administered the Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR) exam in Massachusetts for almost two decades. During that time, she was tasked to help create the CRR Boot Camp which would assist candidates preparing to take the test. That seminar grew in length and popularity over the years, eventually turning into a three-hour presentation. In 2016, it was finally recognized by NCRA, and Kathryn has continued to travel the country giving the CRR Boot Camp at many state association conferences, including several times at the annual NCRA convention.
Also in 2016, she became a Fellow of the Academy of Professional Reporters (FAPR), an honor bestowed upon her by NCRA for having extraordinary qualifications and experience in the field of shorthand reporting.
Kathryn has served on the Massachusetts Court Reporters Association (MCRA) board two times: once from 2000 through 2008 as Director, Secretary, Vice President, and then President; and more recently from 2018 to 2020 as a Director and Legislative Chairwoman. She also held many positions over the years on various committees with NCRA.
After her move to Bedford, NH, she immediately joined the New Hampshire Court Reporters Association (NHCRA) as Secretary, and is currently the Vice President of the association, slated to become President in 2023.
Kathryn is a proud member of MCRA, NHCRA, and NCRA, and holds certifications from each organization: CSR, LCR, RPR, RMR, CRR. (See “Stenographer Certifications and What They Really Mean” under the “For Attorneys” tab.) She has also won the Massachusetts Realtime Contest, and qualified in the National Realtime Contest.
For the past three years, she has participated in MCLE’s Deposition Seminar, both when it was in person, and then when it morphed into the interactive workshop “Taking Remote Depositions” after Zoom became more popular during the pandemic.
Kathryn continues to be actively involved in state and national associations, and currently lives in Bedford, NH, with her three children – Erykah, Jessykah, and Jaykob – and her dog Snazzy.
Kathryn presenting the CRR Boot Camp in Chicago, 2016
Kathryn being presented the fellowship award