NYCDS strives to ensure that our staff reflects the diversity of the communities we represent. Our diverse team speaks more than 20 different languages, including Arabic, Bangla, Bengali, Cantonese, Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Mandarin, Romanian, Russian, Slovene, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Tamizh, Telugu and Urdu.
Meet Your Defenders
Leadership
Stan Germán
Executive DirectorStan Germán has spent his entire career as a criminal defense attorney. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1995. Upon graduation, Mr. Germán went to work as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of New York City in Kings County. Thereafter, he worked as a staff attorney at New York County Defender Services. In 2002, he went into private practice where he litigated criminal cases before the United States District Courts in New York, Washington D.C. and Florida. In 2015, Mr. Germán left private practice and returned to New York County Defender Services to serve as Executive Director.
Mr. Germán currently serves as co-chair of the Defense Function Committee for the American Bar Association and chairperson of the American Council of Chief Defenders. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Chief Defenders Association of New York, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and New York County Defender Services. He is a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a member of the New York City Bar Association. Mr. Germán has been honored as one of the Top 100 Lawyers for Criminal Defense by The National Trial Lawyers.
Carolyn P. Wilson
DirectorCarolyn Wilson has been a public defender for her entire career. Upon graduation from Brooklyn Law School in 1980 she joined the staff of the Criminal Defense Division of the Legal Aid Society. She remained at Legal Aid for seventeen years working first as a staff attorney in Queens County and later as a supervising attorney both in Queens and Brooklyn.
In 1996 she wrote a proposal to form New York County Defender Services in response to an RFP issued by the City of New York. NYCDS came into existence on July 1, 1997, and began taking cases in September of that year. Ms. Wilson has served as its director from the beginning.
Ms. Wilson has been a long-term member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the New York City Bar Association.
Christopher W. Boyle
Director of Data Research & PolicySergio De La Pava
Legal DirectorWendy Fisher
Director of Administration
Deborah Cook
Human Resources ManagerGina Rodriguez
Operations Manager
Supervisors
Joseph Conza
Supervising AttorneyJen M.R. Doman
Supervising Forensic Social WorkerBasima Hafiz
Supervising AttorneyStan Hickman
Supervising AttorneyC. Sidney Lester
Supervising AttorneyRenate Lunn
Training SupervisorLarry Spollen
Supervising Attorney
Trial Attorneys
Casey Anis
Trial AttorneyAndrej Bajuk
Senior Trial AttorneyKatherine LeGeros Bajuk
Senior Trial Attorney, Mental Health SpecialistAmanda Barfield
Trial AttorneyBethany Bonsu
Law GraduateBrittany Brown
Attorney, Immigration UnitEric Burse
Trial AttorneyMarie Calvert-Kilbane
Law GraduateYamina Sara Chekroun
Attorney, Civil UnitStephanie Conners
Senior Trial Attorney, Integrated Domestic Violence SpecialistCatherine Costigan
Trial AttorneyMargaret DaRocha
Trial AttorneyKatherine de Zengotita
Senior Trial Attorney, Juvenile Defense UnitMichelle Dowst
Trial AttorneyChantol Edwards
Law GraduateAdam Freedman
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitTheresa Freitas
Trial AttorneyAlex Garber
Law GraduateRiki Ghosh
Trial AttorneyNicole Guliano
Trial AttorneyCaitlyn Hall
Trial Attorney, Legal RecruiterSharyn L. Henry
Senior Trial AttorneyJessica Heyman
Trial AttorneyJessica A. Horani
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitMeagan Hu
Attorney, Immigration UnitNicole Jardim
Trial AttorneyMolly Kalmus
Trial AttorneyThalia Karny
Senior Trial AttorneySarah Kaufmann
Trial AttorneyAngela Kerins
Trial AttorneyJohn E. Kerins
Senior Trial AttorneyJonathan Ko
Trial AttorneyLindsey Laveaux
Trial AttorneyPaul Lee
Law GraduateDiane Lopez
Attorney, Immigration UnitBrad Maurer
Trial Attorney, DNA & Forensics UnitCara Mazor
Trial AttorneyKristin McAlpin
Trial AttorneyTiffany McDuffie
Trial AttorneyGabriela Mejias
Trial AttorneyMurphy Mitchell
Trial AttorneyMildred Morillo
Trial AttorneyVickie Mwitanti
Law GraduateAndrea Nieves
Senior Policy Attorney, Special Litigation UnitDavid O’Brien
Trial Attorney, Juvenile Defense UnitErnesto Papaleo
Trial AttorneyJoseph Payne
Trial AttorneyCatherine Perrone
Law GraduateAustin Perry
Trial AttorneyLaisa Pertet
Trial AttorneyRebecca Phipps
Trial AttorneyBernadette Rabuy
Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitMaria Camila Rodriguez
Trial AttorneyChris Roland
Law GraduateVictoria Ruiz
Law GraduateBrad Sage
Senior Trial AttorneyH. Mitchell Schuman
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitSam Sloane
Trial Attorney, Veterans Court SpecialistKayla Smith
Law GraduateSarah Swaine
Trial AttorneyMichelle Tsang
Trial AttorneyShari Vrod
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitDorothy Weldon
Trial AttorneyApril White-Small
Trial Attorney, Legal RecruiterPeter Wolk
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitNikki Woods
Senior Trial Attorney, Juvenile Defense Unit
Investigators
Fatima Abughannam
InvestigatorDaniel Blair
InvestigatorJay Corredor
InvestigatorVincent Giaimo
InvestigatorCarlos Mateo
InvestigatorDhariana Rosario
InvestigatorRafael Vargas
Investigator
Corrections Specialists
Michelle García
Corrections SpecialistJulia Kerbs
Corrections Specialist
Paralegals
Amelia Austern
ParalegalMaggie Bergmann
ParalegalFelix Espinal
Senior ParalegalNatalie Fiorenzo
ParalegalMarelis Subera
ParalegalJuliette Vrod
Paralegal
Administration
Katelynn Bright
Administrative AssistantJheni Cruz
Administrative AssistantJackie Giron
Finance AdministratorCaroline Leger
Administrative AssistantYaomi Lopez
Administrative AssistantIan Luna
Administrative AssistantJamie Martinez
Administrative AssistantGabriel Vélez
Executive Coordinator
Data Research & I.T.
Michael Bronstein
Network AdministratorCelia Joyce
Data AnalystMihaela Lisov
Senior Network AdministratorWillem Van Der Mei
Data Scientist