San Bernardino Superior Court announced Anabel Romero as the new Court Executive Officer.
She previously worked 17 years at Orange County Superior Court. Romero spent five years as court operations supervisor, one year as court operations manager for the criminal/traffic department, 10 years as branch manager and 10 months as director of operations for family law and juvenile services, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is a naturalized citizen and the first Latina to hold the role, according to the court.
She will take over on Nov. 14.
“I am honored and humbled for the appointment from the bench, and look forward to continuing to serve the judicial officers and court staff that comprise our great court,” Romero said, according to the court.
For the past year, Romero has been on the Judicial Council’s 21-member Criminal Law Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to improve the administration of justice in criminal proceedings. She is also on the Tactical Workstream of the Information Technology Advisory Committee. In 2018, Romero served on the 23-member Proposition 66 Working Group, which advised the Judicial Council to change Rules of Court to work with the 2016 proposition that accelerated death penalty proceedings.
She graduated with a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts in organization leadership from Brandman University of the Chapman University System, which has since split from Chapman and renamed to University of Massachusetts Global.
“Anabel has 27 years’ experience working in California trial courts. She has demonstrated strong leadership and management capabilities. Our community will benefit from her exceptional leadership to provide access to justice to over 2 million residents,” said Presiding Judge R. Glenn Yabuno in a press release.
The CEO is appointed by the court’s judges, in a vote. The CEO manages the court’s daily operations and reports to the presiding judge. They recommend budget priorities, administer a personnel plan, and oversee the calendar and caseflow management system. They work with representatives of state and local government, bar groups, and county legal departments. The position combines the positions of executive officer, jury commissioner and clerk of the court.
State records indicate the CEO was paid $238,257 in regular pay, with an additional $9,742 in lump sum pay and $16,387 in other pay in 2021, for a total of $264,386 in wages. An additional $87,309 was provided in benefits.
The position comes with up to four weeks vacation time, 80 hours administrative leave, 15 paid holidays. It also comes with medical, dental and vision family health coverage, and a 401k option with 4% match.
Outgoing Court Executive Officer Nancy Eberhardt has served as CEO since 2015. The court announced she will retire in September.
