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President - Tammy Ackerman, CP
Tammy Ackerman, CP, is a paralegal in the law firm of Lynn, Jackson, Shultz, & Lebrun, P.C., with
attorney Haven L. Stuck, Rapid City, SD. She joined the SDPA in June 2005 and NALA in 2006, receiving her Certified Paralegal designation from NALA in 2006. Tammy has served as SDPA Public Relations
Committee chair, Education Committee chair, Second Vice President, Vice President and currently serves as the President for the 2011/2012 year. Tammy was the Member of the Year 2007 for the South Dakota
Paralegal Association (SDPA) and honored by the NALA affiliation award nominated by the SDPA in 2009 (San Diego). She is a graduate of the 2008-2009 NALA LEAP Class, and serves on the Continued Education
Committee (CEC) of NALA (since 2009). She is currently the Director of House of Hope Transition Initiative: Mission to develop long term supportive and transitional housing. Tammy enjoys working on
community projects, promoting legal education, and assisting in mission projects. Tammy obtained an A.A. Degree from Phillips Junior College Paralegal Program in Spokane, WA. She returned to college in
2007 and graduated in May 2009 with a BS in Business (HR minor) from Presentation College in Aberdeen. Tammy is married to Wayne Ackerman and currently lives in Rapid City. She has two adult children and
five (two more coming) grandchildren who currently reside in Iowa and California. Tammy’s mentor is her maternal grandmother, Hazel Vanderbilt.
tammyparalegal@midco.net
First Vice President - Dixie Riter, CP
Dixie received her paralegal/legal assistant diploma from the Paralegal Institute in 2000, and
received her Certified Paralegal designation from NALA in 2005. She has served as SDPA Secretary in the past, and is the current 1st VP. Dixie was employed with Schoenbeck Law in Watertown from 1998
until September 2010, at which time she joined the May & Johnson Law Office in Sioux Falls. She primarily assists attorneys Lon Kouri and Mark Arndt in the area of civil litigation.
Dixie has lectured on the topic of trial preparation on behalf of the Institute for Paralegal Education and joined attorney, Lee Schoenbeck, in lecturing before the South Dakota Trial Lawyer’s
Association with respect to subrogation. Originally from Summit, she has three grown children, and lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dixie is active in her church and is a member of the Senior
Choir. In her spare time she enjoys running and spending time with friends, her children, and new baby granddaughter. dixieriter@hotmail.com
Second Vice President - Christi Weideman, ACP
Christi Weideman was born in Aberdeen, SD and raised in Warner, SD. She received an Associate of Science Degree from Northern State University.
While living in North Dakota, she received her Bachelor of Science Degree and Master of Science Degree in Business Management from Minot State University.
She joined Richardson, Wyly, Wise, Sauck & Hieb in 2003 as the bookkeeper/ receptionist before becoming a paralegal. Christi obtained her Certified Paralegal designation in 2007 and her Advanced Specialty in the area of Trial Practice in 2010. Christi works primarily with Rich Russman and Zach Peterson. She is an active member of the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and the South Dakota Paralegal Association (SDPA). Christi and her husband Jesse have two children, Tya and Jackson. cweideman@rwwsh.com
Secretary - Deana Olson, CP
Deana graduated from Minnesota State University (formerly known as Mankato State University) in
1992. She was employed as a paralegal at the Meierhenry Law Firm from 1994 through 2000 when she commenced employment with Robert R. Nelson, Avera Health and remains there today; working primarily
on civil litigation. Deana became a member of SDPA in 1997 and received her Certified Paralegal designation from NALA in 2004. Since becoming a member of SDPA, she has served as NALA Liaison
and on various committees and was Outstanding Member of the Year for 2005. Deana and her husband, Royce, have one daughter, Amanda, 12 years old. Together they enjoy spending time with family
and friends, camping, motorcycling and doing yard work.
deana.olson@avera.org
Treasurer - Cindy E. Schmit, ACP
Cindy is a Nettleton
College graduate and received her Certified Paralegal designation from NALA in January of 2003, and her Advanced Specialty in Trial Practice in April of 2009.
She is employed by John P. Peterson at Peterson Law Office in Sioux Falls working primarily in the areas of plaintiff’s litigation, family law and criminal defense. Cindy has been a member of SDPA since 2000 and NALA since 2003. Cindy is a past president of SDPA (2010-2011) and has also held the offices of Treasurer and NALA Liaison. Cindy received SDPA’s Member of the Year award for 2007-2008, was a member of NALA’s 2010 LEAP Class, and was a facilitator of SDPA’s 360 Degree Leadership Academy.
Cindy’s husband, Michael, works for Knology in the communications industry.
They have three children, Jamie, Jessica, and Kevin. Cindy enjoys walking with her dog, Lucky, riding bike, going to movies and craft shows and decorating cakes. petersonlaw@midconetwork.com
NALA Liason - Chris Lillo, ACP
Chris is employed at Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith, P.C., in Sioux Falls
and is assigned to the Estate Planning, Probate & Tax Practice Group and to the Business Organizations & Transactions Practice Group. She has an Associate Degree in Legal Assistant Studies
from Kilian Community College and has been a member of SDPA since 1993.
Chris is a past President of SDPA (2002-2003), has served as Treasurer and Parliamentarian, and has chaired the Membership, Ethics, and Newsletter Committees. Chris is a member of NALA and is a graduate of NALA’s 2011 LEAP Class. Chris earned her CLA in 1994, a Specialty in Estate Planning & Probate in 1995, and an ACP in Business Organizations: Incorporated Entities in 2010. In July 2011, Chris was appointed to serve a three-year term on the NALA Certifying Board. Chris and her husband, Dave, have two boys: Brandon (9) and Connor (6). She enjoys traveling, reading and watching movies and is a student at NAU working on a B.S. in Accounting.
chris.lillo@woodsfuller.com
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