Jeff Apperson, who helped expand NCSC's international work, to retire
October 30, 2024 -- As Jeff Apperson remembers it, the adventure began when he joined NCSC President Mary
McQueen for breakfast one morning at the National Association for Court Management conference in New Orleans. It was the summer of 2010, and McQueen was seeking to fill a leadership position at NCSC for its global rule of law work. She had called the meeting seeking Apperson’s advice on potential candidates.
After hearing McQueen describe the vision for the role, Apperson left the meeting thinking: Maybe I might be interested in this! As it turned out, he was, and he joined NCSC later that year. This Friday, after nearly 14 years leading a remarkable expansion of NCSC’s international work, Apperson will retire from his role as NCSC’s Vice President of International Programs.
“I want to thank Jeff for all his work, his dedication, his unwavering commitment to NCSC and the rule of law, and for his openness to embrace new challenges and push boundaries,” McQueen said in an email announcing Apperson’s plans to retire.
Apperson has been instrumental in growing NCSC’s footprint in international rule of law projects. A past president of the International Association for Court Administration (IACA), Apperson already knew many of the global players when he took over the role at NCSC. Tim Hughes, who serves as a managing director in Apperson’s office, recalls first meeting Apperson when he moderated the 2007 IACA conference in Italy.
“I was impressed by his dedication and how he engaged delegations attending the conference,” said Hughes, who noted that the next time he crossed paths with Apperson, it was because Apperson was his new boss.
Another colleague related a story about the time a court administrator in Trinidad described Apperson as a “saltfish.” At the time, he didn’t understand the reference.
“Once back in the office, I explained to Jeff that it (saltfish) is a favorite ingredient in many of our loved dishes,” explained JoAnne Richardson, a managing director in Apperson’s office and herself a Trinidadian. “To be called a saltfish, it means 'you go with everything.'”
Many of Apperson’s International Programs colleagues joke that he will travel anywhere in the world in a coach airplane seat if it means securing a project, or even just building a relationship. Don’t ask him to count how many miles he has traveled in his NCSC career. Suffice it to say, it is more than several full rotations around the globe.
Apperson’s retirement was celebrated by current and former colleagues at NCSC’s International Programs office in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday. More pictures from that event are available at this LinkedIn post.
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