Kristina Kersey

Kristina Kersey (she/her) is a member of The Gault Center’s National Advisory Board and a Co-Director of the Gault Center’s Southern Youth Defense Region. She is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law where she has been teaching in the Advocacy Clinic since 2023.  Her scholarship focuses on the juvenile carceral system and youth rights. Her 2026 article, Time Out for Transfer: Youth Transfer as Punishment, makes the case for a moratorium on transferring youth to adult court.  Kristina has over two decades of experience in the field of youth defense. Before joining UT, she was Senior Youth Defense Counsel at The Gault Center.  She facilitated national training on trial skills and racial justice, co-created curricula focusing on structural racism and juvenile court, served as the liaison to the ABA Juvenile Justice Standards subcommittee, and was qualified and testified as an expert witness in the field of youth defense.  Prior to joining The Gault Center, she worked for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender for over 18 years, specializing in youth defense and was the First Assistant Deputy Public Defender in the Essex Juvenile Unit prior to her departure. Kristina’s advocacy extended beyond the courtroom as she led several statewide initiatives including representation of all detained youth at every hearing including holidays and weekends, expungement assistance for youth clients, and post-disposition advocacy for incarcerated youth.  Kristina earned her J.D. from Georgetown Law and her B.A. from Rutgers University. She clerked for the Honorable Lawrence M. Lawson, A.J.S.C (retired) in Monmouth County, New Jersey.