Unlocking the True Potential of Language Through the Prism of Humanity
2024-02-29 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | https://publicdefenders.us/event/unlocking-the-true-potential-of-language-through-the-prism-of-humanity/
In our everyday lives, we are constantly exposed to language that devalues and dehumanizes others. We often overlook the consequences of our words on our clients, their families, and even ourselves. Join our webinar to listen to personal stories from individuals who have been affected by dehumanizing language. Additionally, an attorney and mitigation specialist will discuss the importance of using humanizing language, how we can engage in difficult conversations, and how we can shift our perspectives towards our clients just through the language we use. Together, we can change the way our clients are perceived by the system, society, and most importantly, themselves.
Ronda Swenson has an MA in Education with a credential in Sociology & extensive coursework toward completing her Ph.D. in Human Services with a specialization in the Criminal Justice System. A BA in Sociology with extensive units in Criminal Justice. As well as hundreds of hours of continued education training in multiple fields and topics. Her career includes over twenty-five years in Criminal Defense on adult and juvenile cases, focusing on serious felonies & capital cases at both the state and federal levels. Seventeen + years as a Juvenile Dependency Social Worker/Investigator. As well as three years with the Northern California Innocence Project. Ronda started a social work program at a Public Defender’s Office and is certified as a Paralegal and in Forensic Social Work. She also sits on the advisory board of PJDC & the NAPD Education Committee & CDSW Steering Committee. In addition to working in the criminal defense & juvenile dependency field, she has worked for over thirty years teaching children and adults’ modeling & self-esteem skills. Ronda and her family, provided foster care to adolescent “brothers” of all different races and cultures in her home for twenty years which deeply has impacted how she shows up in her work because she has seen first hand how our systems fail children. Lastly, Ronda is a single mother of a beautiful bi-racial daughter who has been by her side advocating throughout her entire career.

Artie Gonzales is the creative who almost never was. A juvenile-tried-as-an-adult at age 16, he spent 21-years of a Life sentence in the California prison system, eight of which included housing within Pelican Bay’s notorious super-max Solitary Confinement unit. It was here that he evolved past the brutality of his surroundings, as well as the highly political stature he held as a gang leader, committing himself to rehabilitation and non-violence. Released as a model prisoner by the Board of Parole Hearings in 2015, he then dedicated himself to building a new life. Applying the same acumen and intelligence that helped him survive the inhumane conditions of our prison system, he has become a leader in his community, an advocate for legislative reforms, and a member of several social justice organizations. After graduating from a Hollywood-oriented workforce development program, Manifest Works of which he presently resides on the board of directors–he rose through the ranks from production assistant to writer, producer, and author of “The Unseen Shackles.” This article sent reverberations throughout the criminal justice reform arena, and is the basis for what he would later coin the term “Conscious Positioning.”
Additionally, he is the Creator and Executive Producer of the anticipated series, “Lessons From A Lifer,” which seeks to shift the culture between the system-impacted and Society by highlighting universal wisdoms and commonality. His platform challenges preconceived notions about what it means to be “System-Impacted,” and creates a fresh narrative as a new voice for this generation of bold storytellers.

Franky Carrillo is living proof of the power of hope, determination, and optimism. Franky grew up in Lynwood, California, a small suburb of Los Angeles. At the age of 16, he was arrested for murder, tried and convicted as an adult, and sentenced to life in prison. Throughout the entire process, Franky maintained his innocence and devoted his life to proving that the system made a terrible mistake. For twenty years in prison, Franky never lost hope in himself ,the judicial system, or his unwavering faith in humanity. He wrote hundreds of letters requesting assistance, he filed legal briefs on his own, and after 15 years he finally got the attention of a lawyer who believed in him. During the final court hearing, the new evidence was presented and the prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss all charges. On March 16, 2011, after living
through the most unimaginable human experience, he re-emerged as a compassionate man with no animosity ready to live. After his release, Franky graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Sociology. Based on his experience, Franky has become a renowned champion for fairness and justice – both in the judicial system and beyond. He found his voice and civic engagement early on when he joined the state and national campaign to end the death penalty along with other criminal justice reforms. Franky is an elected member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and chair
of his 52nd assembly district. He’s co-chair of the judicial interview committee. He is also the former Chair of the Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission.

Ray Ibarra is a training attorney in California’s Indigent Defense Improvement Division of the Office of the State Public Defender. Prior to this role, he served as a public defender in multiple California counties, Montgomery County, Maryland,and throughout the state of Kentucky. Graduating from Georgetown Law in Washington, DC in 2009 and the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication in 2005, he joined Kentucky’s Department of Public Advocacy in 2011 as an Equal Justice Works Public Defender Corps Fellow specializing in Pretrial Release Litigation. His fourteen years as a public defender there and across California include representation of adults and children at all stages of prosecution, including capital eligible cases. Ray led two different units in Kentucky’s state public defense system, including the new attorney training unit of its Education and Strategic Planning Branch. In addition to being a proud member of the Gideon’s Promise class of 2011, Ray serves on faculty in that program, as well as various trial skills programs. Ray, along with his wife Andrea Kendall, who serves as a Public Defender in Orange County, California, have a combined total of twenty-four years and ten household moves working in public service to build a community of committed and passionate defenders throughout the country.

Beyond Black History Month
2024-02-28 13:00 - 14:00 | https://publicdefenders.us/event/beyond-black-history-month/
Black excellence extends well beyond February but this month we are proud to set aside time to celebrate it as a community. This Black History Month, DEIJ Meetup speaker, Rachel Lindley, will review the background of Black History Month and highlight the continued work that needs to be done as we speak up and out against racism (in the criminal legal system and beyond). This session will further analyze how we can embrace Black History as American history and answer the question – “How can we create, foster, and cultivate equitable and inclusive spaces in order to to honor Black public defense professionals?”
Join us as we do the work and have the hard conversations in a brave and inclusive space dedicated to honoring the experience of Black people during Black History Month.
Rachel Lindley is the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. Prior to joining OPD, they worked in administration for both the judicial and correctional systems in the state of Michigan and Illinois for over 15 years. Rachel has extensive experience in the direct planning, implementation and improvement of policies, procedures and programs that promote access to justice for all members of the public. In her various roles, they worked to implement training and advance awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion and build intentional spaces and a working environment where talented people from a variety of backgrounds could thrive. Rachel is a certified diversity professional through the National Diversity Council and the Maryland Equity and Inclusion Leadership Program, and serves as a Faculty Consultant for All Rise (Formerly National Association of Drug Court Professionals). They are exceptionally passionate about training on Implicit Bias, Urban Trauma, Intersectionality, Inclusive Leadership, Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model (TREM), Restorative Justice in the Workplace and SUD & MH Treatment (specifically for marginalized populations).
Our DEIJ Coordinator, Brittany Gail Thomas (BGT), Esq., will moderate.

Film Screening of Sansón and Me
2024-02-26 13:30 - 15:30 | https://publicdefenders.us/event/film-screening-of-sanson-and-me/
Sansón and Me is a story a decade in the making, which began when filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes served as a court interpreter in rural California for the then 19-year old Sansón Noé Andrade, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to two life sentences without parole. The film is a vibrant portrait of a friendship navigating immigration and the depths of mass incarceration. Sansón and Me pushes the boundaries of cinematic imagination to rescue a young person’s story from oblivion, and makes the case for a justice system that works to protect those who are vulnerable, rather than continue to reinforce cycles of violence.

The nonprofit Represent Justice is running a national impact campaign to bring the film and conversations about incarceration and immigration with Sansón and Rodrigo to prisons, lawyers, journalism schools, advocacy organizations and community programs: https://www.representjustice.org/campaigns/sanson-and-me/.

This webinar screening of Sansón and Me will be followed by a group discussion of the film and the ways in which the most vulnerable in the legal system can be served.

This film by Rodrigo Reyes is brought to you by Represent Justice and the webinar, screening, and discussion are hosted by the National Association for Public Defense.

Investigator Meetup - 02/23/2024 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - DUI - DID U INVESTIGATE With Kevin McClain
2024-02-23 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders.us/event/investigator-meetup-02-23-2024-200-est-100-cst-dui-did-u-investigate-with-kevin-mcclain/
DUI – DID U INVESTIGATE With Kevin McClain
Your client gets pulled over for a suspected DUI, what things should the officer do and say? If they conduct Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), what do they accomplish and what should you watch out for in their report? Let Kevin McClain teach us how to properly defend these kinds of cases, what you can expect the other side to pay attention to and remind the court about? He will also provide you with the kinds of things you should ask for, both through FOIA and Subpoena’s. This is one not to miss!
Please also provide Kevin with your questions ahead of time to ensure he covers your needs in your cases: Email them here!
JONATHAN LYON is currently the Investigator Resource Coordinator, past Member Support Coordinator and the national survey investigator for National Association for Public Defense. Since the pandemic he has led roughly 150 meetups for investigators both nationally and internationally. Jon is the president of Lyon Legal Logistics to help attorneys in and out of court with Discovery and technology and has assisted attorneys in multiple federal court jurisdictions (www.lyonlegallogistics.com/). He is also a legal investigator for McClain Investigations. Jon began his investigative background working in a PI firm and then for 12 years for the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois. His primary focus has been on post-conviction death penalty cases. In addition, Jon worked for LexisNexis as an award-winning national trainer of the CaseMap suite of software. He also worked for Lockheed Martin as a contractor supporting government attorneys and investigators with software and electronic discovery support needs. He is a Certified Defense Investigator through DePaul’s Center for Justice in Capital Cases and a Certified Trainer through the Bureau of Justice Assistance. He has taught at the Clarence Darrow Death Penalty Defense College, Cardoza, DePaul, Kent, Iowa, and University of Michigan law schools.
He has also taught at the National Defense Investigator Associations Annual Conferences, National Association of Legal Investigators annual conference, National Association for Public Defense, The Innocence Project, NACDL, Federal Defender’s winning strategies conferences, Life in the Balance, American Society of Criminology, US Army, Intellenet and numerous state and county public defender conferences. It is not unheard of for Jon to be invited back to conferences. Jon was most recently interviewed on “Public Defenseless” episode #99. Jon is the Creator/Webmaster for the internationally utilized website www.internetsleuth.net.
Kevin W. McClain is a licensed private investigator in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri, and Wisconsin. He is a Board-Certified Criminal Defense Investigator, a Board Accredited Investigator and President of Kevin W. McClain Investigations Ltd., which is a multi-state investigative firm (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky) with 10 investigators that have over 200 years of investigative experience. He is qualified as an expert in Criminal Investigations, and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing. He has also been a college instructor in personal security. Mr. McClain began his career in 1993 and gained distinction as one of the regions premier private investigators assisting some of the finest criminal defense and civil attorneys with major felonies, personal injuries, wrongful deaths, excessive force shootings, civil rights investigations, police misconduct investigations, white collar defense investigations, corporate investigations and high profile media cases. He has been a featured speaker at the national and international conferences for NLADA “Life in the Balance” Capital Defense training seminars in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Florida and St. Louis. He has spoken for the IICLE, ISBA, IACDL, MACDL, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee Public Defenders Mr. McClain has taught for Jon Rapping’s Gideon’s Promise for returning attorneys. He also has been a featured speaker at the international and national conferences for NACDL,NALI, NCISS, NAPD, Intellenet and the Federal Defenders. Mr. McClain has presented on over 20 different criminal defense subject matters in over 25 states and internationally.

30 YEARS QUALIFIED EXPERT ON NHTSA DWI DETECTION AND TRAINING AND THE STANDARDIZED FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS
2- APPELLATE COURT DECISIONS REVERSED BASED ON TESTIMONY

Social Worker Meet-Up: Supporting Clients' needs 02-21-2024 12:00 EST
2024-02-21 12:00 - 13:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/81277929417
Need help with this registration process? Watch this video.
In this week’s meet-up we are going to talk about the challenges we face in our roles related to supporting client needs when the court orders something that is seemingly out of reach – whether incredibly high restitution to be paid, or living in a more expensive residence, or attaining adult literacy in a matter of months. How can we advocate for our clients’ dignity and autonomy when an order seems unobtainable but is required? Bring solutions and ideas to this week’s meet-up!
Stephanne Cline Thornton is a West Virginia native who has worked in and around criminal defense and mitigation for more than 20 years in Georgia, Colorado, and West Virginia. She is currently the Clinical Director for the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program, and owner of Transform Legal, a consultancy focused on mitigation, training, and sustainability. As a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Master Addiction Counselor, Stephanne focuses on proper assessment for and access to trauma and substance use disorder treatment to ensure the health and well-being of affected individuals. Stephanne is on the Trauma-Informed Care Network Speakers Bureau and uses that platform to call attention to the intersection of secondary traumatic stress and legal practice. She approaches her work with clients, lawyers, social workers, and mitigation specialists through a contextualized mitigation lens.

Social Worker Supervisors Meet-Up: Training Needs
2024-02-20 13:00 - 14:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/84420649329
Need help with this registration process? Watch this video.
We are really excited to get a chance to meet-up and talk as supervisors in the social work role in this work, and this year we’re hoping to make our monthly meet-ups engaging and purposeful. Our first meeting of 2024 will be held virtually on February 20th at 10 am PST/11 am MST/12 pm CST/1 pm EST and the topic for discussion will be about finding ways to support the training needs of our supervisees! Bring your thoughts, questions, highs, and lows. We’re looking forward to the discussion.
The Supervisor Discussion for those in the Social Work role is jointly facilitated by Kevin Bishop, Michael Moore, and Claudia Dunne.
Stephanne Cline Thornton is a West Virginia native who has worked in and around criminal defense and mitigation for more than 20 years in Georgia, Colorado, and West Virginia. She is currently the Clinical Director for the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program, and owner of Transform Legal, a consultancy focused on mitigation, training, and sustainability. As a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Master Addiction Counselor, Stephanne focuses on proper assessment for and access to trauma and substance use disorder treatment to ensure the health and well-being of affected individuals. Stephanne is on the Trauma-Informed Care Network Speakers Bureau and uses that platform to call attention to the intersection of secondary traumatic stress and legal practice. She approaches her work with clients, lawyers, social workers, and mitigation specialists through a contextualized mitigation lens.
Kevin Bishop, LCSW, Social Worker Coordinator with The Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (CO);
Michael E. Moore, LMSW, Social Work Supervisor with The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Practice (NY)
Claudia Dunne, LICSW, Director of Social Work & Private Social Service Vendors, Youth Advocacy Division (YAD), CPCS (MA).

Investigator Meetup - 02/16/2024 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Open Chat
2024-02-16 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683
Get ready for a fantastic Friday stress-busting meet-up! We’re here to lend an empathetic ear and be your sounding board for whatever is on your mind. There’s no rigid agenda here – we’re keeping it free-flowing. Whether you’ve got complaints, gripes, or exciting successes to share, we’re all ears and ready to chat. So, don’t miss out on this opportunity to unwind, connect, and let it all out! Join us for an uplifting conversation!
JONATHAN LYON is currently the Investigator Resource Coordinator, past Member Support Coordinator and the national survey investigator for National Association for Public Defense. Since the pandemic he has led roughly 150 meetups for investigators both nationally and internationally. Jon is the president of Lyon Legal Logistics to help attorneys in and out of court with Discovery and technology and has assisted attorneys in multiple federal court jurisdictions (www.lyonlegallogistics.com/). He is also a legal investigator for McClain Investigations. Jon began his investigative background working in a PI firm and then for 12 years for the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois. His primary focus has been on post-conviction death penalty cases. In addition, Jon worked for LexisNexis as an award-winning national trainer of the CaseMap suite of software. He also worked for Lockheed Martin as a contractor supporting government attorneys and investigators with software and electronic discovery support needs. He is a Certified Defense Investigator through DePaul’s Center for Justice in Capital Cases and a Certified Trainer through the Bureau of Justice Assistance. He has taught at the Clarence Darrow Death Penalty Defense College, Cardoza, DePaul, Kent, Iowa, and University of Michigan law schools.
He has also taught at the National Defense Investigator Associations Annual Conferences, National Association of Legal Investigators annual conference, National Association for Public Defense, The Innocence Project, NACDL, Federal Defender’s winning strategies conferences, Life in the Balance, American Society of Criminology, US Army, Intellenet and numerous state and county public defender conferences. It is not unheard of for Jon to be invited back to conferences. Jon was most recently interviewed on “Public Defenseless” episode #99. Jon is the Creator/Webmaster for the internationally utilized website www.internetsleuth.net.

Online Train the Trainer - 2 Week Intensive - Create Your Own Online Course
2024-02-15
$1050 NAPD Members, $1200 Non Members
2 Week Intensive
Feb 15 – Feb 27, 2024
Taught online with eight 90 minute small group meetings
We will meet through Zoom at 1:30 pm ET/10:30 am PT on February 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26 & 27
Registration Deadline Feb 1
Need help with this registration process? Watch this video.
Please only sign up if you are able to attend all of the small groups and commit to a minimum of 15 hours of out of class work during this 2 week period. The class is designed to get you to the point that you have a course ready to launch if you have the time to invest in the course during the 2 weeks.
NAPD’s Public Defender Bring Your Own “Course” Train the Trainer program for the development of distance learning courses for your organizations. This course will utilize both synchronous and asynchronous instruction methods. Participants will be expected to read materials and watch short videos on your own in preparation for each class meeting. The class will meet in regular online Zoom video conferences and will also use small group breakout sessions during class where you will work on the course that you are developing. We model best practices for you to incorporate into the course you create.
You will have the option of placing your finished course inside NAPD’s learning management system [LMS]. You will also be able to create a section within NAPD’s LMS for your organization with its own webpage address and design. After the course you will be able to add additional courses and offer them to your own participants. (Your registration fee for this course includes using NAPD’s LMS for one course and up to 25 active participants in that course. Additional courses and active participants will be available for a reasonable cost to be determined to cover NAPD’s costs with the LMS provider (TalentLMS).
You will be part of a cooperative of public defense trainers from across the nation which provides you the opportunity to copy and modify portions of other courses for your use.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will have developed and created a ready-to-launch public defense distance learning course by:
* Creating learning objectives for your target audience
* Storyboarding the arc of the course
* Understanding and choosing between the different approaches to online learning methods, including:
* Asynchronous use of video, reading, discussion forums and quizzes
* Synchronous use of online video conferencing
* Understanding and setting up the equipment needed to record videos
* Understanding and setting up individual modules in NAPD’s learning management system
* Developing online small group facilitation skills
* Assuring user accountability through reporting systems and quizzes
* Sharing knowledge and resources with other public defense trainers to avoid recreating the wheel
* Receiving feedback from the instructors and other participants regarding the design and delivery of the course

Webinar: Collaborative, Holistic Services: Where to Begin? Part 2
2024-02-14 14:00 - 15:30 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/84264954017
Click the “Log In” button at the top of this page before registering.
Need help with this registration process? Watch this video.

February 14, 2024 at 2:00 pm Eastern | 1:00 pm Central | 12:00 pm Mountain | 11:00 am Pacific (90 minutes)
The proliferation of collaborative, holistic styled defense is revolutionizing public defenders across the country. Yet, challenges remain in implementing these expanded services. In this second part of our conversation, our panelists will focus on the successful implementation of a holistic practice, including providing expanded services, collaborating across functions and assessing impact.
Presenters
Vichal Kumar is the Director of Capacity-Building at Partners for Justice. Vichal uses his expertise in creating and implementing collaborative and holistic defense programs to offer technical expertise to public defender offices throughout the country. Prior to PFJ Vichal served as the Managing Director of the Civil Defense Practice at Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem, where he created the practice responsible for the representation of clients in essential civil matters including: immigration; housing; employment; civil asset forfeiture; and social services connections. While attending the law school, Vichal worked as a Civil Legal Advocate at The Bronx Defenders. Upon graduation, Vichal became a Staff Attorney and subsequently a Supervising Attorney at The Bronx Defenders. He is also a former President of the South Asian Bar Association of North America and the South Asian Bar Association of New York.
Annie Legomsky is the Holistic Defense Services Leader at Missouri State Public Defender. Annie is lawyer and social worker who has combined her expertise in both fields to create a more holistic approach to public defense in Missouri. Annie is a St. Louis native who has been a part of MSPD since 2016. Annie joined MSPD as a trial attorney in St. Louis City in 2016 and served in that role for 3 years before transitioning into a role focused on representing the office’s clients in treatment court programs. Now, as the Holistic Defense Services Leader for MSPD, Annie has been paving the way to implement a collaborative and community-based approach to representation and leads a team of over 20 staff statewide. Before joining MSPD, Annie served as a law clerk for the Hon. Rodney W. Sippel in the Eastern District of Missouri. Annie graduated from Washington University’s School of Law and the Brown School of Social Work in 2014 with her JD/MSW. Annie is also a proud wife and mom of two adorable toddlers.

Investigator Supervisor meetup - Come Join us! 2-14-2024
2024-02-14 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/82381950121
Supervisors, leaders and senior investigators
Please join us tomorrow for our monthly meetup, bring your concerns, issues and successes!
See you then!

RACIAL JUSTICE MEETUP
2024-02-13 13:00 - 14:00 | https://publicdefenders.us/event/racial-justice-meetup/
We will be led by guest speaker, Tony White. Tony works as the Director of Outreach at the Fletcher Group and is a seasoned advocate for those with substance use disorders and addiction. Tony will lead our meetup in a discussion of the historical and current impact of racial injustice on active substance use disorders. You don’t want to miss it!
The meetup agenda, speaker bio, and reminders will be posted on the listserv.

Be sure that you don’t miss a Racial Justice Meetup (every second Tuesday of the month) or our discussions by adding our calendar and joining the listserv.

Not on the listserv? Send your request to be added to the racial justice listserv to BGT, DEIJ Coordinator, at Brittanygt@publicdefenders.us.

See you there!

Online Course: Effective Coaching, Team Work, and Case Review: Helping Defender Leaders Help Clients
2024-02-12
Online Course: Effective Coaching, Team Work, and Case Review: Helping Defender Leaders Help Clients –
Online Weekly February 12 – March 25, 2024
This course has sold out in previous sessions – register soon to guarantee your spot
Registration Deadline Feb 1
Need help with this registration process? Watch this video.
Audience – Defender Chiefs, Deputies, Leadership Team Members, Supervisors
This is a course for lawyer and nonlawyer supervisors and team leaders at all levels in both full-time and managed assigned counsel programs about growth and development of staff to help clients even better and comply with ethical responsibilities of supervision.
Expanding our capacity as a coach and the capacity of our staff to take effective action for clients is a primary responsibility of a defender supervisor-leader. Quality performance for clients is the primary responsibility of public defense programs. With quality representation as a defender core value, active coaching is not an optional undertaking. Supervision is an ethical obligation. The objective of supervision is to assure that all defense services provided by lawyers and staff are effective in accordance with the prevailing professional public defense standards and competency within the meaning of the rules of professional conduct.
Through the course, you will create a comprehensive coaching and communication strategy, performance agreements, and evaluations, as well as ways to provide strengths-based developmental feedback. This course will build on your coaching strengths. You will be applying the information in the presentations to the actual situations that you face now.
You will learn:
• A theory of successful, dynamic coaching
• Offering effective feedback
• Engaging employees
• Using a 3-step performance process
• Managing, creating, and leading interdisciplinary teams
• Promoting productive conflict
• Leading the case-review process
• Conducting file reviews
• Creating performance agreements
• Conducting progressive discipline for unsatisfactory performance or misconduct
• Leading staff meetings and having key coaching conversations
• Communicating and framing your coaching process to staff
• Learning about ways to thrive for the long haul as a hardy coach
There are a total of seven Sections over seven consecutive weeks. Each Section has video presentations and other materials to review at your convenience. Each Section has an assignment based on the work unit situation you bring to the course and you as a coach. The videos, materials and assignments will be discussed in a weekly 90 minute Zoom small group with a structured discussion. These weekly Zoom discussions will be on the same day and at the same time every week.
In taking this online course, you agree to keep conversations in the small group confidential. Time expectations for this course per week are:
• Watching course videos – about 1 – 2 hours
• Weekly assignment – about 1 – 2 hours
• Weekly small groups – 1.5 hours
Course weekly small group meeting times will be set by a poll of registrants to make sure it works with your schedule. When indicating times you can meet, indicate all times you can meet. Because of the number of registrants, we are highly unlikely to be able to accommodate a registrant that can only meet at one of the available times.
Ed Monahan, Ernie Lewis, Hilary Potashner, Stephanne Thornton and Twyla Carter will facilitate the small group discussions. These coaches have many years of experience supervising public defenders.
“In the simplest, day-in, day-out terms, masterful coaching involves expanding people’s capacity to take effective action. It often comes down to making it possible for people to succeed in areas where they are most stuck or ineffective.” – Robert Hargrove
Price: $600 for NAPD Members. $750 for Non-Members.
Live Orientation for All Registrants: Thursday, February 8th at 4:00 pm ET | 3:00 pm CT | 2:00 pm MT | 1:00 pm PT. A recording of orientation will be available for those unable to attend the live presentation.
Registration Deadline – February 1 AT NOON EASTERN
Small Group Meeting Times: Participants will select the options that work best for their schedule at registration; participants must select all times that they can meet; being able to meet only at one time is highly unlikely to be able to be accommodated
Monday 5:00 p.m. ET | 4:00 pm CT | 3:00 pm MT | 2:00 pm PT (this is the only time block for the other defense professionals (not attorneys)
Wednesday 10:30 am ET | 9:30 am CT | 8:30 am MT | 7:30 am PT
Wednesday 11 am ET | 10 am CT | 9 am MT | 8 am PT
Thursday 11 am ET | 10 am CT | 9 am MT | 8 am PT
Friday at 11 am ET | 10 am CT | 9 am MT | 8 am PT
Friday at 1 pm ET | 12 pm CT | 11 am MT | 10 am PT
Friday at 3 pm ET | 2 pm CT | 1 pm MT | 12 pm PT

“The videos were awesome but the breakout sessions were the best. Meeting fellow leaders and knowing that I’m not alone in my leadership struggles. “
“I loved the materials. I worked hard on my assignments and I have some really great things to implement in my office. I loved meeting fellow Defenders who are coaching in different places and facing different struggles.”
“I really liked the small group discussions. It really forces people to open up about the challenges they face in a productive way, instead of these challenges silently weighing on people or being the topic of more toxic discussions within their offices.”

Online Course - History Matters: Unleashing the Potential of Your Defense
2024-02-12
Online Course History Matters: Exploring the Power of History and Unleashing the Potential of Your Defense Strategy
February 12 – April 15 (no class on Feb 19th)
PRICE $370 for members $450 for non members
REGISTRATION DEADLINE – February 1, 2024 AT 5:00 PM EASTERN | 4:00PM CT | 3:00PM MT | 2:00 PM PT
Need help with this registration process? Watch this video.

APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP HERE MONDAY, January 18 AT NOON EASTERN DEADLINE
This course includes Weekly Small Group Meetings: Mondays at 4:00-5:30pm ET | 3:00-4:30 pm CT | 2:00-3:30 pm MT | 1:00-2:30 pm PT
Course Description: This course is a must-take for attorneys, investigators, mitigation specialists, social workers, and all defense team members who want to conduct thorough investigations to answer questions essential to defending individuals impacted by the criminal legal system. Where we come from matters. We know that history is directly linked to many of the issues that directly impact the trajectory of our client’s lives. But how often do we collect information that allows us to tell a story of historical impact, prejudice, oppression, community, and trauma and how it affects our clients? This course will give participants the tools to conduct such an investigation. This course will include lectures from nationally recognized experts. In small group sessions, faculty and coaches will assist participants with an active case to complete a multi-level historical investigation that would be helpful at any dispositional phase of your case.
Course Objectives: By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Utilize strategies and tools to investigate and humanize clients’ lives.
Elevate litigation and mitigation tactics to protect and affirm clients’ due process rights.
Review studies, research, reports, etc., documenting the impact of violence, injustice, and poverty on clients’ well-being and long-standing effects.
Participate in and model normalizing forthright dialogues about the relevance of history and its social context to clients’ lived experiences via discussion boards and group discussions.
Increase awareness, appreciation, and utilization of the impact of historical trauma, prejudice, oppression, culture, and community trauma.
Support each other in a small group space for debriefing, brainstorming, incubating ideas, and providing accountability for goals.

Weekly Small Group Meetings: Mondays at 4:00-5:30 pm ET | 3:00-4:30 pm CT | 2:00-3:30 pm MT | 1:00-2:30 pm PT
Course Faculty: Dr. Sharon Jones-Eversley and Dr. Donavan Bailey, with additional guest faculty
Sharon Jones-Eversley, DrPH, is a Professor Emeritus and Social Epidemiologist from Towson University. Her interdisciplinary research expertise includes social epidemiology, legal epidemiology, family science, community science, social justice, equity, health disparities, intergenerational: disease distribution, morbidity, mortality, death exposure, and premature death. The precedence of her scholarship highlights the lived experiences and exposures to persistent deprivation, injustice, illness, violence, and preventable deaths among Black families and communities. Dr. Jones-Eversley earned a Doctorate in Public Health from Morgan State University School of Community Health and Policy. She earned her Master of Arts in Legal and Ethical Studies from the University of Baltimore. She is also a member of several professional organizations: the International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research, Advancing Culturally Responsive and Equitable (ACE) Evaluation Network, American Public Health Association, American Evaluation Association, Nonprofit Leadership Alliance, Maryland Genealogical Society, and the Towson University Retired Faculty Association. She is a nonprofit board member for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore-Cambridge and the Myrtle Tyler Faithful Fund.

Donavan Bailey is a Licensed Social Worker with the Colorado State Public Defender-Brighton Office. He has worked in various similar capacities with 17 years of experience working as a Capital Mitigation Specialist with the Maricopa County Office of the Legal Advocate, a Mitigation Specialist with the Maricopa County Public Defender Office, and a Dispositional Advisor with the Minnesota State Public Defender Office. His Public Defender work has extended both inside and outside the office and courtroom, advocating within the community and conducting training on defense mitigation and cultural competency. Donavan is trained as a cultural competency facilitator through Dr. Dietra Hawkin’s training program. He is a licensed social worker in Minnesota and Colorado and holds a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and a Doctorate in Education from Winona State University.

Investigator Meetup - 02/09/2024 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Beyond ChatGPT: Advanced AI concepts for Public Defender Investigators W/ Rocky Ramirez
2024-02-09 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683
We’ve all heard of Chat GPT and other generative AI tools – but how will we actually use them for casework? What other tools exist that we can use that will allow us to go beyond the limitations of generative AI? In this presentation, we will explore the larger potential of AI to transform the daily operations of public defender investigators, focusing on its application for enhancing evidence analysis and case preparation. We’ll delve into advanced use cases, demonstrating how to fine-tune AI models to better meet the specific needs of legal defense casework, including techniques for summarizing vast amounts of documentation, extracting critical information, and even eventually exploring how we might analyze patterns in officers’ actions over time. Join US!
This session will be recorded and available My Gideon next week.
Need help with this registration process? Watch this video.
ROCKY RAMIREZ – Bio
Rocky grew up in Grapevine, TX and was a member of the Grapevine Debate Team and Mock Trial Team. Rocky did his undergrad at Texas Tech University majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Political Science. During this time he was the Music Director and then Station Manager at 88.1 KTXT-FM the college radio station.
He attended Western State University in California and graded on to Law Review and was a member of the Latino Student Bar Association. Rocky also obtained a degree in Sound Engineering from the Los Angeles Recording School and spent two years as an intern and sound engineer in Los Angeles. Rocky moved back to Texas and started his law practice in Lubbock as a panel attorney in the Lubbock Private Defenders Office. In 2019 he attended Gideon’s Promise in Atlanta, GA as one of the inaugural members of the Future Indigent Defense Leaders program (FIDL 1.0). In May of 2022, joined the team at the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel Office in San Antonio, as the Law & Technology Resource Attorney and was eventually made the Director of Technology and Professional Development. Rocky has now joined the Concho Valley Public Defender’s Office as a Felony Assistant Public Defender. He will split his time between case-work and technological change for the office.
Rocky is a regular presenter at CLE conferences speaking about the intersection of Technology and Indigent Criminal Defense. His presentation subjects have included Automation for Indigent Criminal Defense Attorneys, Case Management Systems, and the use of AI for Criminal Defense.
At home, Rocky is a proud father of two beautiful boys who keep him busy in his time away from work.
JONATHAN LYON is currently the Investigator Resource Coordinator, past Member Support Coordinator and the national survey investigator for National Association for Public Defense. Since the pandemic he has led roughly 150 meetups for investigators both nationally and internationally. Jon is the president of Lyon Legal Logistics to help attorneys in and out of court with Discovery and technology and has assisted attorneys in multiple federal court jurisdictions (www.lyonlegallogistics.com/). He is also a legal investigator for McClain Investigations. Jon began his investigative background working in a PI firm and then for 12 years for the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois. His primary focus has been on post-conviction death penalty cases. In addition, Jon worked for LexisNexis as an award-winning national trainer of the CaseMap suite of software. He also worked for Lockheed Martin as a contractor supporting government attorneys and investigators with software and electronic discovery support needs. He is a Certified Defense Investigator through DePaul’s Center for Justice in Capital Cases and a Certified Trainer through the Bureau of Justice Assistance. He has taught at the Clarence Darrow Death Penalty Defense College, Cardoza, DePaul, Kent, Iowa, and University of Michigan law schools.
He has also taught at the National Defense Investigator Associations Annual Conferences, National Association of Legal Investigators annual conference, National Association for Public Defense, The Innocence Project, NACDL, Federal Defender’s winning strategies conferences, Life in the Balance, American Society of Criminology, US Army, Intellenet and numerous state and county public defender conferences. It is not unheard of for Jon to be invited back to conferences. Jon was most recently interviewed on “Public Defenseless” episode #99. Jon is the Creator/Webmaster for the internationally utilized website www.internetsleuth.net.

Social Worker Meet-Up: Sample Swap!
2024-02-07 12:00 - 13:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/81277929417
Need help with this registration process? Watch this video.
This meet-up for social workers, sentencing advocates, mitigation specialists, dispositional advocates, and others in similar roles will be spent discussing, sharing, and showing examples of mitigation reports, sentencing prep reports, and other written mitigation work! Bring a redacted sample of what you use to share on screen and we will talk about and view examples to help us gain ideas in our work!
Stephanne Cline Thornton is a West Virginia native who has worked in and around criminal defense and mitigation for more than 20 years in Georgia, Colorado, and West Virginia. She is currently the Clinical Director for the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program, and owner of Transform Legal, a consultancy focused on mitigation, training, and sustainability. As a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Master Addiction Counselor, Stephanne focuses on proper assessment for and access to trauma and substance use disorder treatment to ensure the health and well-being of affected individuals. Stephanne is on the Trauma-Informed Care Network Speakers Bureau and uses that platform to call attention to the intersection of secondary traumatic stress and legal practice. She approaches her work with clients, lawyers, social workers, and mitigation specialists through a contextualized mitigation lens.

Investigator Meetup - 02/02/2024 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Open Chat
2024-02-02 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683

Investigator Meetup - 01/26/2024 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Open Chat
2024-01-26 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683

Grief and Loss – Molly Rannes - BWW
2024-01-24 15:10 - 16:00
In this discussion, we will talk about the complexity of grief: what it is, how it manifests itself, and what we can do in the workplace to support ourselves and others through grief.

Invitation
Everyone working in public defense is invited to Be Well Wednesdays!
WHEN: Wednesdays at 12:10-1:00 pm Pacific/3:10-4:00 pm Eastern.
Drop in for any session. Stay for all or part of the session. Always free!

DEIB professionals, join us for our first DEIJ MEETUP of 2024!
2024-01-24 13:00 - 14:00 | https://publicdefenders.us/event/deib-professionals-join-us-for-our-first-deij-meetup-of-2024/
We will be led by guest speaker, Charles Fox, M.A.P.P. Charles is the Director of Diversity & Development for the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County, Inc. He has expertise in developing training, inclusive programs, and strategies in recruitment, as well as hiring to promote equity within and outside of the organization. You don’t want to miss this presentation!

The meetup agenda, speaker bio, and reminders will be posted on the listserv.

See you there!

Not on the listserv? Send your request to be added to the racial justice listserv to BGT, DEIJ Coordinator, at Brittanygt@publicdefenders.us.

See you there!

Social Worker Meet Up - Social Worker Meet-Up: Sample Swap!
2024-01-24 12:00 - 13:00 | https://publicdefenders.us/event/social-worker-meet-up-social-worker-meet-up-sample-swap/
This meet-up for social workers, sentencing advocates, mitigation specialists, dispositional advocates, and others in similar roles will be spent discussing, sharing, and swapping samples of interview forms, biopsychosocial assessments, and mitigation reports! Bring a sample of what you use to share in the chat, and we will talk about and view examples to help us gain ideas in our work!
Stephanne Cline Thornton is a West Virginia native who has worked in and around criminal defense and mitigation for more than 20 years in Georgia, Colorado, and West Virginia. She is currently the Clinical Director for the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program, and owner of Transform Legal, a consultancy focused on mitigation, training, and sustainability. As a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Master Addiction Counselor, Stephanne focuses on proper assessment for and access to trauma and substance use disorder treatment to ensure the health and well-being of affected individuals. Stephanne is on the Trauma-Informed Care Network Speakers Bureau and uses that platform to call attention to the intersection of secondary traumatic stress and legal practice. She approaches her work with clients, lawyers, social workers, and mitigation specialists through a contextualized mitigation lens.

Investigator Meetup - 01/19/2023 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Open Chat
2024-01-19 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683

Investigator Meetup - 01/12/2024 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Open Chat
2024-01-12 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683
Hey Investigators,
We understand how things can get stressful, and we’re here to make it better. Our meetup? It’s more of an open conversation—no strict agenda.
It’s Friday, a perfect day to let off steam! Bring your complaints, quirks, and successes. Let’s hang out!

Investigator Supervisor meetup - First one of 2024!
2024-01-10 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/82381950121

Social Worker Meet Up - Starting the Year Off with Our Purpose
2024-01-10 12:00 - 13:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/81277929417
We are going to start our first meet-up of 2024 redefining and rediscovering our purpose! Inspired by the Ted Talk by Adam Leipzig (“How to know your life purpose in 5 minutes”) we are going to hone our elevator speech and reinvigorate why it is so important that we do this critical work! Please join this meet-up and share support for and inspiration with your colleagues!
Stephanne Cline Thornton is a West Virginia native who has worked in and around criminal defense and mitigation for more than 20 years in Georgia, Colorado, and West Virginia. She is currently the Clinical Director for the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program, and owner of Transform Legal, a consultancy focused on mitigation, training, and sustainability. As a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and Master Addiction Counselor, Stephanne focuses on proper assessment for and access to trauma and substance use disorder treatment to ensure the health and well-being of affected individuals. Stephanne is on the Trauma-Informed Care Network Speakers Bureau and uses that platform to call attention to the intersection of secondary traumatic stress and legal practice. She approaches her work with clients, lawyers, social workers, and mitigation specialists through a contextualized mitigation lens.

Join us for our first RACIAL JUSTICE MEETUP of 2024!
2024-01-09 13:00 - 14:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/82126934757
We will be led by guest speaker, Christian Lassiter, Esq. An experienced public defender at both state and federal levels, Christian is curently a Capital Fellow with the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project. Christian will lead our meetup in an exploration of racial justice and capital defense work. You don’t want to miss it!

The meetup agenda, speaker bio, and reminders will be posted on the listserv.

Be sure that you don’t miss a Racial Justice Meetup (every second Tuesday of the month) or our discussions by adding our calendar and joining the listserv.

Not on the listserv? Send your request to be added to the racial justice listserv to BGT, DEIJ Coordinator, at Brittanygt@publicdefenders.us.

See you there!

Investigator Meetup - 01/05/2024 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Open Chat
2024-01-05 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683
Hey Investigators,
Happy new year! We understand how things can get stressful, and we’re here to make it better. Our meetup? It’s more of an open conversation—no strict agenda.
It’s Friday, a perfect day to let off steam! Bring your complaints, quirks, and successes. Let’s hang out!

Investigator Supervisor meetup - 12-13-2023 final one of this year!
2023-12-13 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/82381950121

JOIN US for our first DEIJ & Racial Justice Meetup Mashup!
2023-12-12 13:00 - 14:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/82126934757
DEIJ and Racial Justice Meetup Members,
JOIN US for our first DEIJ & Racial Justice Meetup Mashup! At this month’s meetup, we will focus on the lessons from THE RACIAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE (RJC) (October 2023) and the work that needs to be done. Be ready to share one or two points of inspiration and/or valuable lessons! Didn’t attend RJC? Come to hear more and be inspired.
The meetup agenda will be posted on the listserv. Not on the listserv? Send your request to be added to BGT, DEIJ Coordinator, at Brittanygt@publicdefenders.us.
See you there!

Investigator Meetup - 12/08/2023 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Open Chat
2023-12-08 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683
Get ready for a fantastic Friday stress-busting meet-up! We’re here to lend an empathetic ear and be your sounding board for whatever is on your mind. There’s no rigid agenda here – we’re keeping it free-flowing. Whether you’ve got complaints, gripes, or exciting successes to share, we’re all ears and ready to chat. So, don’t miss out on this opportunity to unwind, connect, and let it all out! Join us for an uplifting conversation!

Investigator Meetup - 12/01/2023 2:00 EST, 1:00 CST - Open Chat
2023-12-01 14:00 - 15:00 | https://publicdefenders-us.zoom.us/j/87895561683
