About

Regional Centers

Connecting the Gault Center to the Frontlines of Youth Defense

The Gault Center collaborates with nine Regional Youth Defender Centers. Each Center coordinates activities in the states within its region and keeps the Gault Center connected to the front lines of youth defense. Regional Centers offer targeted state-based training and technical assistance, provide case support for complex or high-profile cases, and facilitate organizing and networking opportunities for youth defenders.

Each Regional Center is led by two or more co-directors who are accomplished or emerging youth defense leaders and by Advisory Boards drawn from every state within the Region.

GREAT LAKES

Brooke Burns
Office of the Ohio Public Defender
Columbus, OH

Eileen Fredericks
Wisconsin State Public Defender
Madison, WI

Erin Johnson
Office of the State Appellate Defender
Naperville, IL

 

MID-ATLANTIC

Kristin Henning
Georgetown Law
Washington, DC

Alison Powers
Virginia Indigent Defense Commission
Richmond, VA

 

NEW ENGLAND

Sarah Branch
University of Maine School of Law
Portland, ME

Lindsey Guerrero
Connecticut Division of Public Defender Services
Bridgeport, CT

 

NORTH CENTRAL

Christine Henningsen
Nebraska Youth Advocates
Lincoln, NE

Myshell Lyday
Smith Law PLC
Missoula, MT

 

NORTHEAST

Nicole El
Defender Association of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA

Ana Tent
Office of the Public Defender
Morristown, NJ

SOUTH CENTRAL

Daniel Feldman
Missouri State Public Defender
Columbia, MO

Melanie Lister
Travis County Juvenile Public Defender
Austin, TX

 

SOUTHERN

Hector Linares
Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
New Orleans, LA

Kristina Kersey
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Knoxville, TN

Jessica Melendez-Dedos
Sociedad Para Asistencia Legal Puerto Rico
Coto Laurel, PR

 

SOUTHWEST

Eva Buchwald
Law Offices of the New Mexico Public Defender
Albuquerque, NM

Stacie Colling
Colorado Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel
Denver, CO

Kelley Jones
Clark County Public Defender
Las Vegas, NV

Pam Vickrey
Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys
Salt Lake City, UT

 

WESTERN

Keiler Beers
Metropolitan Public Defender
Portland, OR

Rhyzan Crooms
California Youth Defender Center
Los Angeles, CA

Elizabeth Mustin
State Office of Public Defense
Olympia, WA

Regional Center Contact Form

Name

Regional Centers

  • All
  • Mid-Atlantic Youth Defender CenterDistrict of Columbia, Maryland, and VirginiaExplore
  • South Central Youth Defender CenterArkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and TexasExplore
  • Great Lakes Youth Defender CenterIllinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and WisconsinExplore
  • New England Youth Defender CenterConnecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and VermontExplore
  • Northeast Youth Defender CenterDelaware, New Jersey, New York, and PennsylvaniaExplore
  • Southern Youth Defender CenterAlabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and US Virgin IslandsExplore
  • Southwest Youth Defender Center Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and UtahExplore
  • Western Youth Defender Center Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, and WashingtonExplore
  • North Central Youth Defender CenterIdaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and WyomingExplore