Legal Assistant Of The Year Award

Aja Culberson

2024-2025
Legal Assistant of the Year

Aja Culberson was born and raised in the Inland Empire.  Her Mother worked for the courts and the District Attorney’s office, and she also had other family members who worked for the county as well.

Upon graduation she worked as a receptionist with Bethune Center then advanced to become their Administrative Representative Supervisor.  In 2004 she began working for the San Bernardino Superior Courts as a legal processing unit assistant.  She was then assigned to the SBJ Court to a criminal felony department.  In 2016 she moved to Henderson Nevada, seeking the opportunities of new experiences living in a new state, but nonetheless still worked for the courts, specifically with the 8th Judicial District Court in Nevada.  She was assigned to both criminal and civil departments.

In 2018 she returned to California and went to beauty school earning a cosmetology license at Advanced Beauty Tech located in Corona, but she nonetheless still maintained an interest with the courts.  She then applied for a Judicial Assistant position with San Bernardino court and was assigned initially as a floater in the family law division.  In 2021 she was assigned to work with Commissioner Dina Amani, where she remains to this day.

Aja is the proud mother of three boys, KC who is 24 years old, Robert who is15 years old, and Reece who is 14 years old.  In her spare time, she loves being involved in the beauty industry and doing makeup.  She also enjoys journaling, shopping, going to the beach and spending time with family and friends.

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Susie Carrillo

2023-2024
Legal Assistant of the Year

Susie Carrillo is embarking on a new career as a paralegal with Riverside Legal Aid with a start date in early October.   She is building on her 13 years as a paralegal with Brown White & Osborn LLP in Redlands.   Susie has distinguished herself as an amazingly skilled paralegal who prides herself on making probate easy for the firm’s clients.   One of Susie’s incredible strengths is her role as a mentor for new paralegals and support staff.   Another hallmark of Susie’s work is her commitment to “giving back.”   She works tirelessly in assisting indigent petitioners with their paperwork at San Bernardino Superior Court.

In addition to her work in the legal field, Susie is a Board Member of Legal Aid of San Bernardino and currently serves as Board Secretary.   She has been instrumental in successfully organizing several Legal Aid events including their annual Gala.   Other organizations have recognized Susie’s skills, and she recently assisted the San Bernardino County Museum in the presentation of their “Bucky Ball.”

Prior accomplishments include serving as the 2011 Cervical Cancer National Spokesperson through Tamika & Friends, a national non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about cervical cancer. Susie’s stint as National Spokesperson took her to Congress in Washington where she participated in “Cervical Cancer Day” by meeting with many members of Congress and conducting interviews with major media outlets such as National Public Radio (NPR).  Finally, Susie was featured in the 2014 documentary narrated by Vanessa Williams on cancer survival through the National Cervical Cancer Coalition titled “Somone You Love.”

And in her downtime Susie stays active!   As a member of the Redlands Runegades, each day you will likely see Susie continue her training as a long-distance runner as she prepares for the next Marathon or Ironman event.

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Evelyn De Anda Cabrera

2022-2023
Legal Assistant of the Year

Ms. Evelyn De Anda-Cabrera first ventured into the legal field as a paralegal in 2006 after completing her Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies from West Los Angeles College. A true Lifelong Learner, Ms. De Anda-Cabrera was committed to one day returning to school to achieve her dream of continuing her education. In 2016, Ms. De Anda-Cabrera received her Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management and returned again to complete her Master of Business Administration in 2021 from the University of La Verne, respectively.

In 2010, her passion for legal service led her to the University of La Verne College of Law where she served as the Academic Affairs Coordinator for nine years providing excellent support and guidance to all faculty, staff, and students.

Ms. De Anda-Cabrera has been an invaluable asset to the Justice and Immigration Clinic through her service and commitment as the Clinic Translator. In this capacity she provided research assistance, translation, and articulated complex legal terminology and laws to clients of the clinic.

As the current College of Law Registrar and Director of Academic Affairs, Ms. De Anda-Cabrera continues to exude excellence and efficiency in all areas of her role. She creates and implements the College of Law calendar, manages all California Bar Certifications, confers all Juris Doctorate degrees, oversees the Moral Character application, and is the liaison between the State Bar of California. In addition, Ms. De Anda-Cabrera has coordinated the College of Law’s Moot Court and Mock Trial competitions providing excellent co-curricular programming to our administration, faculty, staff, and students. In 2019 she received the Administrative Professional of the Year Award from the University of La Verne.

Ms. De Anda-Cabrera is a tireless advocate to all who need to find their way. She exemplifies the motto of “Giving Voice” to others as she tirelessly advocates for the legal community and beyond.

Ms. De Anda-Cabrera is happily married to Anthony Cabrera, with whom she shares two daughters and one son. Her hobbies include DIY home improvements and simply enjoying free time with her family. She also shares her home with three dogs: Koby, Sophie, and Luke.

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Myrna Thomas

2021-2022
Legal Assistant of the Year

Ms. Thomas began her career on July 3, 1999, as a Clerk III. She promoted to Legal Processing Assistant II on June 15, 2002. She was then promoted to Court Attendant on September 18, 2004, to Judicial Assistant I on April 15, 2006, and then to her current position of Judicial Assistant II on April 15, 2007. She is currently assigned to the San Bernardino Family Law district.

Ms. Thomas demonstrates excellent customer service skills. When dealing with irate customers, she remains positive and calm. She is able to handle these types of situations with professionalism and politeness, even in the middle of the calendar. She ensures that her minute orders are up to date, so the public does not have to wait long to get copies. She often assists other departments.  Ms. Thomas also brings a wonderful sense of humor to the job.

Myrna enjoys spending time with her husband and children. She especially enjoys supporting her son during basketball games and daughter in cheerleading. In her spare time, she loves spending time at the river, supporting her local police departments with their fundraisers and cheering on the Patriots.

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Connie Johnson

2020-2021
Legal Assistant of the Year

Connie began her work in the legal industry in 1988, in a workers’ compensation firm in San Bernardino. She desired to seek out a more challenging career and was hired by Attorney Stanford E. Reichert (Judge Reichert) in 1997 in the insurance defense field. After two years, Judge Reichert closed his practice to take the bench, and Connie accepted a position with Kinkle, Rodiger&Spriggs working for Claudia Spriggs. A year later she followed Ms. Spriggs to Lewis BrisboisBisgaard& Smith where she worked for over 15 years.

Connie has always had a desire to learn more and to help others. She Joined the Inland Counties Association of Paralegals (ICAP) in 2008 serving as a director through 2017, and as President from 2013 through 2017. She arranged yearly conferences, monthly MCLE meetings, yearly paralegal day luncheons and holiday parties.

Connie was awarded the National Affiliated Associations Achievement award from the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2016 and received the Woman of the Year Award from the National Association of Professional Women in 2014 for her dedication and work as a Professional Woman in the work force. Connie has served as a director/officer for the Legal Aid Society of San Bernardino (LASSB) since 2014.

Connie lives with the love of her life, husband Michael Johnson. She has one son, Patrick, four step children and three grandchildren. She was also a concert French horn player from 1982 through 2010.

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Nadya Avakian

2019-2020
Legal Assistant of the Year

Nadya Avakian began her career with the court as a Legal Processing Assistant Trainee on March 4, 2006 at the San Bernardino Civil department. She promoted to Legal Processing Assistant I on September 2, 2006, and to a Legal Processing Assistant II on March 1, 2008. On March 7, 2015 she promoted to a Judicial Assistant I and then to a Judicial Assistant II on March 5, 2016 and was previously assigned to assist the Honorable David Cohn. Nadya is currently on special assignment for the implementation of the court’s new case management system. Nadya graduated from the University of California, Irvine in June 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Her hobbies include watching almost any type of sporting event, but mostly football, basketball and baseball, walking her dog Patches and traveling. In her spare time, Nadya enjoys to cook or bake for her family and friends.