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

Joshua Pease
State Appellate Defender Office
Lansing, MI

 

MID-ATLANTIC

Kristin Henning
Georgetown Law
Washington, DC

Alison Powers
Virginia Indigent Defense Commission
Richmond, VA

 

NEW ENGLAND

Melanie Roberts
Committee for Public Counsel Services
Boston, MA

Morgan Taggart-Hampton
New Hampshire Public Defender
Nashua, New Hampshire

 

NORTH CENTRAL

Joanna Lawler
Pennington County Public Defender
Rapid City, SD

Joy Suder
Creighton University School of Law
Omaha, NE

 

NORTHEAST

Lisa Minutola
Office of Defense Services
Wilmington, DE

Ana Tent
Office of the Public Defender
Morristown, NJ

SOUTH CENTRAL

Walter Stokely
Missouri State Public Defender
Kansas City, MO

Nydia Thomas
Lone Star Justice Alliance
Austin, TX

 

SOUTHERN

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

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

 

SOUTHWEST

Kelley Jones
Clark County Public Defender
Las Vegas, NV

Chris Phillis
Pinal County Public Defender
Florence, AZ

Pam Vickrey
Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys
Salt Lake City, UT

 

WESTERN

Erin Morgan
San Francisco Public Defender
San Francisco, 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