Meet The Team
Susan Frye | Owner, CSR, RPR
Susan grew up on the east side of Des Moines and graduated from East High School. She attended American Institute of Business (AIB) and earned her AA degree in court reporting in 1979.
Upon graduating from AIB, Susan began her career in Des Moines as a freelance court reporter in January 1980. After working for another local firm for 14 years, she started her own business in September of 1994. In January of 2020, after 40 years, Susan ended her reporting career and now concentrates solely on managing the business.
Susan is married to Rich and has a stepdaughter, Kelly, and twin boys, Colin and Eric. Rich and Susan have five young grandsons.
When she is not working, Susan enjoys spending time with her family, going for walks, and having lunch/dinner/coffee with friends.
Melissa Burns | CSR, RMR, CRR
Melissa was born and raised here in Des Moines, Iowa. After graduating from Roosevelt High School, she entered the court reporting program at the American Institute of Business graduating in the spring of 1977.
She began her career working as an official reporter in the Second Judicial District of Iowa. In 1980 Melissa returned to Des Moines and began working as a freelance reporter accepting a position at a longtime freelance firm and spent many years there, both as an employee and later as a part owner of the business, before joining Susan Frye Court Reporting in 2012. Melissa lives in Urbandale and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Keriann Hansen | RPR, CSR
Keriann grew up in small town Baxter, Iowa. After graduating from high school, she attended AIB College of Business and earned her AA degree in court reporting in 2010.
In January of 2011, Keriann began her court reporting career in Indianapolis as a freelance court reporter. She relocated back to Iowa in 2013 and took an official court reporting position at the Polk County Courthouse with Judge Seidlin in juvenile court. After the arrival of her first child, Keriann made the switch back to freelance court reporting with Susan Frye Court Reporting in 2014.
Keriann is married to her high school sweetheart, Derrick, and has two children, Lena and Reid. Derrick and Keriann are enjoying the wonderful chaos small children bring to their life together and are so thankful for the flexible work schedule this career provides.
When she is not working, Keriann enjoys playing with her kids and having family time. She also loves crafting/creating things whether it be with fabric and her sewing machine or woodworking and power tools.
Jessi Lass | RPR, CSR
Jessi grew up north of Des Moines, graduating from Ogden High School in 2003. She then attended DMACC and obtained her associate's degree. She decided to attend AIB's court reporting program, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 2009.
Jessi moved to Overland Park, Kansas, where she worked as a court reporter in Kansas City for the next 3.5 years. She and her husband loved the new city life, but missed their families dearly. Upon arrival back in central Iowa in 2013, she began working for Susan Frye.
Jessi enjoys spending time at home with her husband, Jason, and their amazing little boy, Tatum. They have two dogs they love to play outdoors with, and a cat. When they have the time, they like kayaking and camping and attending concerts. Jessi also loves her time in the kitchen cooking and trying out new foods.
Emily Maiers | RPR, CSR
Emily has grown up in the Midwest for her entire life. She graduated from Valley High School in 2000. From there, she went to the University of Northern Iowa to be a music major, but after two years she realized that’s not really what she wanted to do. She attended AIB and received her Bachelor’s in court reporting in June of 2014.
In March of 2016, Emily received her RPR certification and started her court reporting journey. Shortly after getting her certification, she got the opportunity to start working for Susan Frye Court Reporting and has been there for about three and a half years.
Emily is married to Jon and they have two boys, Brayden who is 18 and a senior, and Vinny who is 3 years old.
In her spare time, Emily loves to spend time with her family, which also includes watching the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Chicago Cubs, and the Chicago Bears.
Julie McCurnin | CSR & Office Assistant
Julie (Hand) McCurnin grew up on the South Side of Des Moines, attended the American Institute of Business, and received her Certified Shorthand Reporter certification in 1983. Since then she has reported a variety of depositions, trials, grand jury proceedings, arbitrations, and administrative hearings in her position as a freelance reporter, both in Iowa as well as New York. Julie splits her time between reporting and serving as our office assistant.
Julie and her husband, Mike, are currently enjoying their Empty Nest in Norwalk. They have two children, the oldest living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the youngest, in Boston, Massachusettes. Though always up for dining out and enjoying Des Moines' culinary scene, Julie loves using her parents and in-laws as her forgiving taste-testers for some new recipe she wants to try.
Maria Taylor | RPR, CCR, CSR
Maria, a south side of Des Moines native, attended court reporting school at AIB. After completing her degree in 2010, she moved to Kansas City to begin her career as a freelance court reporter. In the summer of 2019, Maria and her family moved back to the Des Moines metro area. Maria and her husband, Mark, have three children, Gianna, Gemma, and Franklin.
Maria chose court reporting as her career because of the fast-paced environment and the opportunity to meet a variety of different people on a regular basis. When Maria is not in depositions or working from home, she is spending time with family, drinking coffee, or cooking.
Sonya Wright | CSR, RPR
Sonya has been a freelance court reporter for over 25 years. She received her court reporting degree in 1993 from Stenotype Institute of South Dakota in Sioux Falls and began her career with a firm in Sioux City, Iowa. In 2004, Sonya’s family moved to the Des Moines area. After 10 years of reporting with another local firm and operating her own business, Sonya joined the team at Susan Frye Court Reporting in 2014.
Sonya grew up on a farm in Northwest Iowa and is a graduate of West Monona High school in Onawa. She and her husband, David, and their two girls, Emily and Alise, now enjoy living in the Des Moines area.
Outside of work and family time, Sonya enjoys playing racquetball, singing and playing the keyboard, and cheering on her favorite sports teams.
Darcy Kriens | RMR, CRR, CRC, and CSR
Darcy is a southside Des Moines native and still lives on the southside to this day! She graduated from AIB in 1992 and began freelance reporting in Des Moines. She was a court reporter for 13 years before transitioning to captioning when her boys were little, and Darcy did that for 15 years. Now that they are all grown, she is back freelancing again for Susan!
Darcy is married to Dave and they have two boys, Jack and Matthew. Matthew is going to be a sophomore in college this fall in Florida, and Jack lives in Des Moines. Darcy and her husband like to go camping, kayaking, and traveling. They also have two cats and two dogs who are spoiled rotten! In her free time, she enjoys baking, spending time with friends and family, and working out at the gym. Darcy currently serves as a board member of ICRA.
Lee Eaton | CSR, RMR, CRR
After graduating from American Institute of Business in 1983, Lee worked as a freelance court reporter in Toledo, Ohio. After the birth of her first child in 1989, she returned to the state of Iowa and worked for a local court reporting firm for several years before starting as an official court reporter for the Fifth Judicial District in 1997.
After 21 years as an official, in 2018 Lee transitioned into providing CART and remote depositions and hearings, joining Susan Frye Court Reporting in July of 2021.
Lee is married to Dennis, and they have four children: Kelly, Jaime, Tim, and Chris. When not working, Lee enjoys bicycling, reading, traveling, and camping with family and friends.
Erin Weitl | RPR, CSR, FCRR
Erin grew up in Western Iowa and graduated from Glidden Ralston High School in 2004. She then attended AIB College of Business and received her associate's degree in court reporting in 2006.
Erin started her career with the State of Iowa at the Polk County Courthouse in associate court. She worked as a freelance court reporter for four years starting in 2009 and then returned to the Polk County Courthouse as an official reporter in juvenile court. Following this, she held a position in district court for Judge David Porter beginning in 2015. Erin joined Susan Frye Court Reporting in 2022.
When not spending time with her family, Erin enjoys skiing, being outdoors, and watching sports.
Sarah Olson| RPR, CRR, CRC, CSR
Sarah grew up in West Des Moines. After high school, she attended American Institute of Business where she earned her degree in Court Reporting in 1997. A week after graduating, she married her high school sweetheart Ryan. They moved to Olathe, Kansas, where Sarah worked as a freelance reporter for five and a half years.
Sarah transitioned to captioning in 2002 and moved back to West Des Moines in early 2003. She joined the Susan Frye Court Reporting team in 2024.
Ryan and Sarah have two daughters, Jenna and Lizzie. Sarah loves spending time with her family. She also enjoys hiking, exercising, and gardening.
