Cheri Vandivier

President

Cheri Vandivier is a Real Estate Paralegal working at Frontier Title Company in Bloomington, Illinois where she supports Title Underwriting and Policy issuance, and is recognized for handling complex real estate challenges. She loves the work she does, crediting her passion for solving puzzles as the driving force behind her long-term success.

Celeste Poole 

Vice President

Celeste Poole is a paralegal manager in the Legal Services Division at Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria.  She began her career as a legal assistant in private law firms working primarily in the area of plaintiff litigation.  Celeste joined Caterpillar in 2007 and has held paralegal positions in the areas of Product Litigation, Product Regulation, Mergers & Acquisitions and the Caterpillar Corporate & Commercial Paralegal Team while also serving four years as the coordinator of Caterpillar’s Peoria-area Pro Bono Program. 

Celeste holds a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Eureka College and an ABA Approved Associate’s degree in Paralegal Studies from Illinois Central College.  She became a member of Central Illinois Paralegal Association in 2008. 

Celeste’s hobbies include running, biking, horseback riding, playing piano and spending time with her family. 

Laura Gilmore

Treasurer

Denise Risinger

Secretary

Denise is a resident of Bloomington, Illinois. She graduated from Illinois State University, cum laude, with a BA in English with a creative writing minor. She received her ABA Approved Paralegal Certificate from Illinois Central College. Denise has been a CIPA member since 2008.

Denise is a Paralegal at Chartwell Law in Peoria. 

Denise enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Stacy Seaman

NALA Liaison 

Stacy has worked in civil litigation for over a decade, having started her career in 2004 as a legal secretary and bookkeeper for a general civil practice firm. Since that time, she has worked her way up as a paralegal while exploring various areas of law, including corporate, real estate, bankruptcy, personal injury and malpractice defense, criminal defense, family law, and juvenile abuse and neglect, as well as a stint in academia.  

Stacy graduated Magna cum Laude in 2001 with her BS in psychology from Rockford University and completed her ABA Approved Paralegal Certification in 2018 through Illinois Central College. She has been a member of CIPA since 2016.  

When not helping others traverse our mercurial justice system, Stacy spends time with her husband and six children, three of which are now adults, hiking, playing games, and chatting.  She also enjoys gardening, reading, painting, traveling, and seemingly forever renovating her house.