Judge Camplese was awarded the "Whatever It Takes" award by MST for demonstrating outstanding service and the willingness to go above and beyond. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Award for extraordinary contributions to the local community. The award was given by the Ohio Association of Juvenile Court Judges (OAJCJ).
Judge Camplese was recognized for implementing numerous unique and innovative programs while judge of the Ashtabula Municipal Court. Since being elected to the bench of the Juvenile-Probate Court, Judge Camplese and staff have partnered with county agencies and out-of-county Courts to fund and operate Ashtabula County's only MST program and to provide Trauma Informed Care [TIC] training to Ashtabula County mental health professionals and Juvenile Court personnel.
The Ashtabula County Juvenile Court is one of six Ohio Courts participating in a federal initiative project titled: Statewide System Reform Program [SSRP]. SSRP seeks to identify ways to increase the capacity of family drug courts to serve more effectively all families in the child welfare system affected by parental substance use disorders. The federal government will utilize the data generated from this project to build the capacity of states, state courts, local courts, and local government divisions to implement new or enhanced preexisting drug courts. This data shall also provide the basis for creating Ashtabula County’s first Family Drug Court.
The Ashtabula County Probate Court, under the leadership of Judge Camplese, has expanded the Ashtabula Senior Advocacy and Protection Network [ASAPN]. Recently, the network hired its first Executive Director, Mary Pepperney. Judge Camplese is working with partners to establish a Guardian Angels Program to benefit Ashtabula County's adults and seniors.
Ms. Tekavec is a lifelong resident of Northeastern Ohio. She graduated from Riverside High School and achieved her Bachelor of Science degree from Lake Erie College, Summa Cum Laude. Ms. Tekavec worked in the equine industry prior to attending Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and continued to work full-time for the City of Cleveland Heights Law Department while attending law school in the evenings. In December 2011, Ms. Tekavec graduated Cum Laude from Cleveland-Marshall and began setting her sights on Juvenile Law at the Lake County Prosecutor's Office in June 2012.
Ms. Tekavec advanced quickly at the prosecutor's office and became Juvenile Division Supervisor in January 2015. Throughout her career, Ms. Tekavec has successfully handled numerous cases of varying degrees. At the beginning of her legal career as a legal intern, Ms. Tekavec (Cullivan) prosecuted many traffic and misdemeanor criminal cases for the City of Cleveland Heights. Upon joining the Lake County Prosecutor's Office, Ms. Tekavec (Cullivan) handled many serious felony cases in the Juvenile and Felony Divisions, including cases of drug trafficking, vehicular/felonious assault, inducing panic, and an international "SWATTING" case. Ms. Tekavec (Cullivan) also served as lead prosecutor in the 2015 alleged murder/delinquency case in the Lake County Juvenile Court.
While in private practice, Ms. Tekavec represented Juveniles charged with delinquencies, Adults charged with criminal offenses, Parents and Grandparents in Children Services-related and NonChildren Services-related custody matters, has been appointed by area courts to represent indigent defendants and as a Guardian ad Litem for the minor children in our communities.
Ms. Tekavec is a proud 2020 graduate of the OSBA Leadership Academy and a member of the Ashtabula County Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the Ohio Association of Magistrates. She is active in the community through volunteer work at the YMCA and St. Gabriel's Catholic Church, coaching youth athletics, supporting local events, and is an avid runner.
Brooke Kocab is a Magistrate with the Ashtabula County Juvenile Court. Magistrate Kocab has been a licensed attorney since 1985. She is admitted to the Ohio bar, as well as the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Federal Court of Federal Claims. She has participated in cases heard by the United States Supreme Court, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the Fifth, Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth District Courts of Appeals of Ohio.
Ms. Kocab has always been interested in conflict resolution, and in that regard, was trained in Collaborative Family Law, and as a Mediator, having successfully completed Basic, Family Law and Domestic Abuse Mediation training. She employs the tools used during her training when addressing parties before her in Court, and makes every effort to resolve cases, if possible, in a manner that will address everyone’s wishes.
Prior to becoming a Magistrate with the Ashtabula Juvenile Court, Ms. Kocab was a partner at Berkman, Gordon, Murray & DeVan, practicing in downtown Cleveland for 25 years, where she litigated First Amendment, Criminal, Domestic Relations, Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, and Employment Discrimination cases, and successfully pursued a Vaccine Injury Compensation case through the United States Federal Court of Federal Claims. Thereafter, Magistrate Kocab had a private practice for a brief period of time, was a fill-in Magistrate in the Willoughby Municipal Court, and ultimately, came to the Ashtabula County Juvenile Court in 2016.
In addition to being a Magistrate, Magistrate Kocab has been an adjunct professor at Lakeland Community College, and was previously an adjunct professor at Lake Erie College, in each of their respective Paralegal programs. She has taught a variety of classes, including Introduction to Paralegal Studies, Civil Litigation and Procedure, Legal Research and Writing, Ethics and the Senior Seminar Internship class.
On a personal note, Magistrate Kocab has always enjoyed volunteering her time with or for the betterment of children and teens. She has been a member and/or officer of a number of Boards, including the Mentor Schools Foundation Board, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Northeast Ohio, a variety of youth group Boards, and the Lake County Law Library Board. She was also a Mock Trial coach for Mentor High School for a number of years.
Mirela has dedicated her legal career to serving families and children and is thrilled to serve as Magistrate in the Ashtabula County Juvenile Court. A 2010 graduate of Case Western Reserve University, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in Political Science and History, Mirela went on to earn her law degree from CWRU Law in 2013. While in law school, she served as Executive Notes Editor on Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine, and as a student representative for the Federal Bar Association. She supplemented her education by working at the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, and Reminger Co, LPA. Mirela obtained her license to practice law in November 2013.
Upon graduation from law school, Mirela served as a staff attorney in the Lake County Domestic Relations Court for nearly seven years. In that time, she wrote extensively, drafting memos and presentations and briefing complex family law matters. Mirela secured several rounds of grant funding through the Ohio Supreme Court’s Technology Grant Fund, used to revamp the Court’s website and to purchase necessary software and hardware. She served as a facilitator of quarterly brief advice divorce clinics, in conjunction with Legal Aid, for pro se individuals in Lake, Ashtabula, and Geauga Counties.
Mirela began her service as Magistrate in the Ashtabula County Juvenile Court upon her appointment by the Hon. Albert S. Camplese in November 2020. Mirela and her husband, Dan, an attorney, are parents to two young children.
Mirela is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA), Lake County Bar Association, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and a new member of the Ashtabula County Bar Association.