[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 6, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S4824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MARI KAY BICKETT

 Mr. HELLER. Mr. President, today I wish to congratulate Mari 
Kay Bickett on her retirement after serving as chief executive officer 
of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, NCJFCJ, 
for over 5 years. It gives me great pleasure to recognize her years of 
hard work and commitment to making this organization the best it can 
be.
  Prior to her work with the NCJFCJ, Ms. Bickett served as academic 
director for the National Judicial College in Reno, in addition to 
practicing law in northern Nevada. She also served as a judge pro tem 
in the Reno Municipal Courts, on the Continuing Legal Education 
Committee of the State Bar of Nevada, and as president of the Northern 
Nevada Women Lawyers Association. She later served as the chief 
executive officer of the Texas Center for the Judiciary, which 
specializes in judicial education and training for trial and appellate 
judges.
  Ms. Bickett joined the NCJFCJ as chief executive officer in April 
2011 to help families throughout Nevada and across the Nation. The 
council's mission is to support judges throughout the United States who 
are working to improve the outcomes for children, families, and victims 
of domestic violence. The NCJFCJ works to do this by providing 
education, technical assistance, and research to courts. Annually, the 
council aids nearly 300,000 professionals in the juvenile and family 
justice system. Under Ms. Bickett's leadership, NCJFCJ secured 23 grant 
awards, a record-setting total for the council, which provided more 
than $11.3 million in funding and created an economic impact of $16 
million in the great State of Nevada.
  Ms. Bickett also served as a liaison on the Federal level, working 
with policymakers to help push legislation for survivors of child sex 
trafficking, domestic abuse, maltreatment, and neglect. She truly 
served as a staunch supporter of those in need, and her dedication with 
the NCJFCJ will be sorely missed. I am thankful to have had her working 
on behalf of Nevadans for over half a decade.
  I ask my colleagues and all Nevadans to join me in thanking Ms. 
Bickett for her dedication to helping children and families throughout 
Nevada and across the Nation. She exemplifies the highest standards of 
leadership and service and should be proud of her long and meaningful 
career. I am proud to call her a fellow Nevadan and wish her well in 
all of her future endeavors.

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