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 AdministrationDeborah Cook
Director of Human ResourcesBasima Hafiz
Managing DirectorRenate Lunn
Director of Training
Gina Rodriguez
Operations Manager
Supervisors
Brittany Brown
Supervising Attorney, Collateral Consequences UnitJoseph Conza
Supervising Attorney, Trial DivisionJen M.R. Doman
Supervising Forensic Social WorkerStan Hickman
Supervising Attorney, Trial DivisionC. Sidney Lester
Supervising Attorney, Trial DivisionAndrea Nieves
Supervising Attorney, Policy TeamErnesto Papaleo
Supervising Attorney, Trial DivisionSam Sloane
Criminal Court Arraignment SupervisorKirsten Spencer
Supervising Forensic Social Worker, Re-entry UnitLarry Spollen
Supervising Attorney, Trial DivisionApril White-Small
Criminal Court Arraignment Supervisor
Attorneys
Casey Anis
Trial AttorneyRebecca Azuga
Law GraduateAndrej Bajuk
Senior Trial AttorneyKatherine LeGeros Bajuk
Senior Trial Attorney, Mental Health SpecialistJosephine Baldwin-Beneich
Law GraduateAmanda Barfield
Trial AttorneyEric Burse
Trial AttorneyMarie Calvert-Kilbane
Trial AttorneyStephanie Conners
Senior Trial Attorney, Integrated Domestic Violence SpecialistCasey Dalporto
Senior Policy AttorneyMargaret DaRocha
Trial AttorneyChantol Edwards
Trial AttorneyAdam Freedman
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitScott Gallagher
Trial AttorneyAlex Garber
Trial AttorneyNicole Guliano
Trial AttorneySharyn L. Henry
Senior Trial AttorneyJessica A. Horani
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitMeagan Hu
Attorney, Immigration UnitMolly Kalmus
Trial AttorneyThalia Karny
Senior Trial AttorneyAngela Kerins
Trial AttorneyDorin Khoiee-Abbasi
Trial AttorneyNick Kline
Attorney, Immigration UnitLindsey Laveaux
Trial AttorneyPaul Lee
Trial AttorneyDiane Lopez
Attorney, Immigration UnitErin Malone
Senior Trial Attorney, Juvenile Defense UnitMariah Martinez
Trial AttorneyCara Mazor
Trial AttorneyKristin McAlpin
Trial AttorneyTiffany McDuffie
Trial AttorneyGabriela Mejias
Trial AttorneyMildred Morillo
Trial AttorneyAmy Munro
Trial AttorneySarah Musa
Trial AttorneyVickie Mwitanti
Trial AttorneyMichael Papson
Trial AttorneyDavid Park
Trial AttorneyJoseph Payne
Trial AttorneyCatherine Perrone
Trial Attorney, Civil DivisionAustin Perry
Trial AttorneyRebecca Phipps
Special Litigation AttorneyBernadette Rabuy
Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitAaron Ratoff
Trial AttorneyMaria Camila Rodriguez
Trial AttorneyChristopher Roland
Trial AttorneyVictoria Ruiz
Trial AttorneyIsadora Ruyter-Harcourt
Trial AttorneyBrad Sage
Senior Trial AttorneyH. Mitchell Schuman
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitHillela Simpson
Trial Attorney, Juvenile Defense UnitKayla Smith
Trial AttorneyMelissa Sopher
Trial AttorneyWilliam Szilagyi
Law GraduateMichelle Tsang
Trial AttorneyChristopher Van Zele
Trial AttorneyShari Vrod
Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitDorothy Weldon
Trial AttorneyJoshua White
Trial AttorneyKacia Wilson
Law GraduateLauren Wolfinger
Trial Attorney, Juvenile Defense Unit
Administration
Adelaida Carmona
Administrative AssistantJackie Giron
Finance AdministratorKatherine Giron
Administrative AssistantMarcy Green-Eubanks
Administrative AssistantHager Khedr
Administrative AssistantIan Luna
Executive CoordinatorJamie Martinez
Administrative CoordinatorJorge Nunez
Administrative AssistantJulissa Piantini
Administrative AssistantKiara Rodriguez
Administrative AssistantJoanna Valle
Administrative AssistantGabriel Vélez
Finance Administrator
Corrections Specialists
Natalie Fiorenzo
Corrections SpecialistRachel Sznajderman
Corrections Specialist
Community Engagement
Akiana Smith
Community Engagement Specialist
Data Research
Celia Joyce
Senior Data AnalystEstee Rubien-Thomas
Research Lead
Information Technology
Michael Bronstein
Network AdministratorMihaela Lisov
Senior Network AdministratorSteve Wong
Database Administrator
Investigators
Daniel Blair
Investigator, Homicide UnitJay Corredor
Investigator, Homicide UnitVincent Giaimo
InvestigatorTravis Knoppert
InvestigatorCarlos Mateo
InvestigatorJohnny Rodriguez
InvestigatorDhariana Rosario
InvestigatorRafael Vargas
Investigator
Paralegals
Katelynn Bright
Paralegal, Homicide/Major Crime Defense UnitSamuel Clark
ParalegalMaria Colosi
ParalegalJheni Cruz
ParalegalFelix Espinal
Senior ParalegalCasey Ferrante
ParalegalAisling Flaherty
ParalegalLillian Gilpin
ParalegalAhliaa Moore
ParalegalIsaura Severino
ParalegalPeter Watson
Paralegal