Monday, March 9

Faculty
La Mer Kyle-Griffiths, Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office
Danielle Schulte Lewis, Ph.D. 

In this session we will discuss tropes, stories, and stereotypes surrounding women and how to engage with them in all parts of the preparation, arguments, and litigation of a case. 

La Mer Kyle-Griffiths is the Division Leader of the Training Division with the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office. She has been a lifelong public defender amplifying the voice of the poor in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Washington and now California. Prior to her role in the largest public defender's office in the world, she was the Assistant Public Defender of the Santa Barbara Public Defender's Office. Previously, she was the Director of Training and Complex Litigation with Still She Rises in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Washington, she was responsible for designing, organizing, and facilitating training for the 400+ team members of the Department of Public Defense. In Kentucky, she was part of the Capital Defense Unit and litigated several death penalty cases. She has sat on many case reviews on death penalty cases and continues to teach nationally and at various state programs on capital litigation, jury selection, and mitigation. She has litigated juvenile, capital, felony, and misdemeanor cases as well as arguing two appeals to the Kentucky Supreme Court. A graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law she has been a lifelong advocate and is looking forward to her continuing adventure with her family including three young women, one just starting at UCLA, who all learned to crow "Acquittal" early!

Danielle Schulte Lewis, Ph.D., is a capital case mitigation specialist, defense investigator, and forensic psychology expert with nearly two decades of experience in criminal defense. She is the founder of Justice Mitigation and currently works with the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender. Dr. Schulte Lewis holds a Ph.D. in Forensic Psychology and a Master's in Forensic Science. Her work focuses on trauma-informed, culturally responsive defense, with a specialization in the life-history development of clients impacted by complex trauma, systemic inequities, and social marginalization. Dr. Schulte Lewis has experience providing training and instruction to defense teams and students on client-centered advocacy, integrating trauma and culture into mitigation, and ethical, narrative-based defense strategies.

Tuesday, March 10

Faculty
Heather Rogers, Chief Public Defender, Santa Cruz County
Dr. Susan Greene, PhD
Athena Reis, Chief Deputy Public Defender, Santa Cruz County

An introductory session on the unique ways women experience the carceral system, including structural power, patriarchy, and cycles of harm affecting incarcerated women and those who support them.

Heather Rogers (she/her) has been a public defender for 20 years in the state and federal courts. Heather has handled cases at every stage of litigation, from arraignment through trial and appeal. She has represented clients accused of offenses from delinquency to homicide, defended detainees incarcerated at Guantánamo Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba, tried numerous cases to jury, and argued cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Heather is honored to serve as the first Public Defender of Santa Cruz County, her birthplace and home. Before her appointment, Heather served as a public defender in Santa Cruz and Monterey County and as a federal defender in the Southern and Northern Districts of California. Heather is a faculty member of the National Criminal Defense College, lecturer in Legal Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and frequent trainer at regional and national trial skills programs. Heather has also taught at California Western School of Law and Monterey College of Law. Heather clerked for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before starting her career in public defense. Heather has an A.B. in English Language & Literature from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.

Susan Greene has worked with people in the criminal legal system for over 30 years, combining lived experience with data to inform programs, influence policy, and effect community change. Her research has focused on women in jail — their social histories, pathways to incarceration, challenges upon release, and the ripple effects on children and families. Her work with the Santa Cruz County Superior Court included program design and evaluation for men and women in Behavioral Health and Reentry Courts. Susan is currently a Research Associate in the Psychology Department at UC Santa Cruz. She is a founding partner of the SIS Project (Support Instead of Stigma). From 2017–2025, Susan developed and coordinated the Santa Cruz County Commission on Justice & Gender (JAG). She was the founding Director of Gemma, an innovative transitional program for women after jail. Her work has been honored by United Way as Advocate of the Year, the Santa Cruz County Women's Commission Trailblazer Award, and as California Assembly District 29 Woman of the Year.

Athena Reis is the Chief Deputy Public Defender for Santa Cruz County, where she has been advocating for the rights and dignity of the indigent accused with courage and compassion since 2012. Over the course of her career, Athena has represented both adults and juveniles facing charges ranging from misdemeanors to the most serious felony offenses, including homicide. Before her appointment as Chief Deputy Public Defender, Athena supervised the Juvenile and Specialty Courts units. Her work reflects a deep commitment to client-centered representation and to ensuring that every person in the criminal legal system receives meaningful, effective defense.

Wednesday, March 11

Faculty
Rebecca Kahan, Deputy Public Defender, Santa Clara County
Debbie Mukamal and Andrea Cimino, Authors, Fatal Peril, Stanford Criminal Justice Center, 2024

Presentation on the Fatal Peril research and findings, including abuse, coercive control, and traumatic brain injury among incarcerated women. Our presenters will also discuss preliminary findings from a recent (unpublished) Illinois study showing similarly high rates of abuse across incarcerated women beyond homicide cases.

Rebecca Kahan is a Deputy Public Defender at the Office of the Public Defender in Santa Clara County. She received her B.A. in Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and earned her J.D. at Northwestern University School of Law, then clerked at the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Currently, she serves on the Special Trials Unit, specializing in defending homicide cases with a focus on mental health and forensics issues.

Andrea N. Cimino, PhD, MSW is a social scientist and expert in gender-based violence with over 15 years of experience advancing research to improve responses to intimate partner violence. She has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to over $9 million in funded research shaping state and national policy. Dr. Cimino previously served as Director of Research for Fatal Peril, a study sponsored by the Stanford Criminal Justice Center on homicide risk among incarcerated survivors. As Principal Consultant of Rogue Scholar Consulting, and through projects with the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, Loyola University Chicago, RTI International, and Johns Hopkins University, she leads applied research that translates complex evidence into decision-ready tools for systems change.

Thursday, March 12

Faculty
Cecilia Fierro, Deputy Public Defender, Contra Costa County
Elizabeth Ling, J.D., M.S.W., If/When/How — Repro Legal Defense Fund
Dipona Bandy (she/her), If/When/How — Repro Legal Defense Fund
Abby Lederman, Staff Attorney, Dependency Advocacy Center

Training on protecting clients' rights in Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 court, coordinating with family defense attorneys, and navigating cases involving pregnancy outcomes, parenting, and criminal prosecution.

Cecilia Fierro is a Deputy Public Defender at the Contra Costa Public Defender's office and has served her entire career in a trial assignment. In the office, Ms. Fierro serves on the board of the Racial Justice and Diversity Committee. Outside the office, Ms. Fierro serves on the board of directors for If/When/How, a national reproductive justice non-profit. She is also an adjunct professor at USF School of Law. Ms. Fierro is an alumna of Boston College ('08) and University of San Francisco School of Law ('15).

Elizabeth Ling, J.D., M.S.W. is the Associate Director of Legal Services at If/When/How, where she manages the Repro Legal Helpline, helping people understand their legal rights and risks around abortion, pregnancy, and birth. Prior to joining If/When/How, Elizabeth worked as a family defense attorney advocating for parents and families being torn apart by the family policing system. She also provided research-driven technical assistance to improve access to and quality of indigent legal services throughout the country.

Dipona Bandy (she/her) is Repro Legal Defense Fund Counsel at If/When/How, where she researches and pays bail and other costs shouldered by people who are being criminalized for abortion or their pregnancy outcomes, in order to get people free and support their strong defense. Prior to joining If/When/How, Dipona began her legal career as a public defender at Brooklyn Defender Services' Family Defense Practice. Dipona graduated from New York University School of Law and Harvard College.

Abby Lederman is a staff attorney at the Dependency Advocacy Center. Abby (she/her) is a family defender. Currently, Abby is the staff attorney for the Corridor Program at Dependency Advocacy Center (DAC) where she represents parents with criminal legal involvement who are navigating CPS cases in Santa Clara County. Prior to her time at DAC, Abby was a legal fellow with Partners for Justice (PFJ), where she provided family law consults to public defenders statewide. Abby lives in Oakland.

Friday, March 13

Faculty
Susan Leff, Senior Deputy Public Defender, Santa Barbara County
Rachel Martin, Senior Staff Attorney, Pregnancy Justice

An introduction to defending pregnant clients, including constitutional issues, writ practice, and the intersection of criminal prosecution, medical decision-making, and reproductive justice.

Rachel Martin (she/her) is a senior staff attorney at Pregnancy Justice. Previously, she spent nearly 15 years as a public defender in the Eastern District of Virginia, the Southern District of New York, and in New York County's Supreme Court. She began her career in D.C. as an associate at Paul Hastings LLP and Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. She also clerked for federal judge Algenon L. Marbley in the Southern District of Ohio. Rachel holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She spends her free time hanging out with her two teenaged kids, pampering her dog (Norman), and reading murder mysteries.

Susan Leff (she/her/hers) is the first lawyer in her family. In 1996, Susan became a public defender attorney and has worked at Public Defenders offices in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Napa, San Francisco, and Nevada counties. She currently works at the Santa Barbara County Public Defenders Office, where she specializes in mental health cases including LPS, CARE, AOT, Probate, OMHD, and SVP. While at the San Francisco Public Defenders Office, Susan also joined the Board of the California Public Defenders Association, where she regularly conducts trainings, develops and helps pass criminal legal reforms, and trains new lawyers as a co-coordinator of the CPDA Basic Trial Skills Institute. She was recently awarded the California Public Defenders Association's "Defender of the Year 2023." She has served as an Adjunct Law Professor at both New College School of Law and Golden Gate University School of Law. In 2011, Susan received the National Defense Investigators Association's "Profiles in Courage Award."