Paula Couselo-Findikoglu, Director

Paula serves as the Director of Court Education. She served as the Court Services Deputy Division Director until recently and as the Sr. Statewide Language Access Program Manager until 2021. The 2020 Access to Justice Index, published by the National Center for Access to Justice, ranked the NM Judiciary’s Language Access Program under her direction #1 in the nation.

Paula is a nationally recognized expert in the language access field, and has spearheaded multiple initiatives and technologies to advance court access for LEP and low literacy individuals, and people with disabilities interacting with the NM State Courts. Paula is an ex officio member in the NM Judiciary of the NM Supreme Court’s Equity and Justice Commission, and created the Diversity and Inclusion Department within the AOC’s Court Services Division. She Co-Chairs NASJE’s Diversity, Fairness and Access Committee, and served as an NCSC’s Council of Language Access Coordinators liaison to COSCA’s National Language Access Advisory Committee until 2023. She was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she received a Master’s Degree in Translation and pursued doctoral studies in English.

Sonya Duke-Noel, Attorney Sr.

Sonya holds a J.D. from the University of New Mexico and a B.A. in Human Services/Criminal Justice from Ottawa University. She began her career in 1998 as a Special Projects Officer for the Eleventh Judicial District Attorney’s Office. From there, she moved to the Bernalillo Metropolitan Court as a Probation Officer. After attending law school, she worked as an Assistant District Attorney in both the Second Judicial District and the Thirteenth Judicial District before moving to the judiciary as a Senior Staff Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial District Court. In all, Sonya has more than twenty-five years of experience working in the New Mexico justice system. She is proud to be a member of the Court Education Institute team and is ready to put her experience to work for the entire New Mexico Judiciary.

Jamie Lindemann, Statewide Training Coordinator

Born and raised in Albuquerque, Jamie worked in NM’s legal system as a Litigation Paralegal for almost 20 years. She holds Associate and Bachelor degrees in Paralegal Studies and Criminal Justice and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Judicial Administration. After moving to the eastern part of NM, she joined the Judiciary in 2015 as a Court Manager for the Portales Magistrate Court. She quickly fell in love with court work and decided she wanted to learn as much as she could. She became involved with multiple committees, and mentored her peers. Jamie moved up into District Court learning about budget and court fiscal operations, as well as implementing a compliance and training program for her district. She continued pushing for standardized training protocols for every level of staff within the judiciary and moved into the AOC’s Court Education Institute where she is the Statewide Training Coordinator.

Jamie’s primary responsibilities include ensuring relevant, proper and effective training takes place for the entire judiciary. Additionally, she is working with the Institute to create and build a robust training and certification program for Judicial Specialists and Court Managers. Jamie is passionate about training and helping employees find the best chance of success in their everyday roles. She has happily relocated back to the Albuquerque/Rio Rancho area where she lives with her son, Samuel, and her dogs Fiona and Jack.

Margarita G. Terrell, Program Manager

Margarita holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Michigan State University and a B.A. in Sociology from Alma College.  She recently served as an IT Project Manager for the Jucidiciary. Margarita’s strong project management skills, experience in education and solid background in technology are a perfect fit for this position given the Institute’s short and mid term plans to acquire court education technologies such as a Learning Management System (LMS), a conference and event planning application, and develop a strong website presence. 

Laurie Moreau, Event Planner

Laurie holds a B.S. with honors and a Latin American Studies certificate, and an M.A. in political science from Oklahoma State University. After Laurie worked as a Legislative Analyst in the Texas Senate, and managed public relations and marketing for the United Way of Amarillo, she moved to Santa Fe. Laurie worked in the Roundhouse as a legislative aide to the Speaker of the House, then joined JID as a trainer when FACTS, the case management system used prior to Odyssey, was rolled out statewide. She loved training, and worked as a trainer and project manager for two court software companies which took her to Kentucky.

Missing New Mexico, Laurie joined the help desk at ACS so she could work remotely from Taos.  Laurie then gained valuable experience as a group sales manager Director of Sales at Taos area resorts and hotels before joining the Eighth Judicial District as a court monitor. Laurie grew up in Amarillo, Texas, and is married to Christopher Moreau, a Canadian with whom she loves to laugh and travel.