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We are public defenders for the 21st century.

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.

  • Leadership

    • Stan Germán

      Executive Director

      Stan 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

      Director

      Carolyn 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 & Policy
    • Sergio De La Pava

      Legal Director
    • Wendy Fisher

      Director of Administration
    • Deborah Cook

      Director of Human Resources
    • Basima Hafiz

      Managing Director
    • Renate Lunn

      Director of Training
    • Gina Rodriguez

      Operations Manager
  • Supervisors

    • Brittany Brown

      Supervising Attorney, Collateral Consequences Unit
    • Joseph Conza

      Supervising Attorney, Trial Division
    • Jay Corredor

      Supervising Investigator
    • Natalie Hession

      Supervising Forensic Social Worker
    • Stan Hickman

      Supervising Attorney, Trial Division
    • C. Sidney Lester

      Supervising Attorney, Trial Division
    • Andrea Nieves

      Supervising Attorney, Policy Team
    • Ernesto Papaleo

      Supervising Attorney, Trial Division
    • Kirsten Spencer

      Supervising Forensic Social Worker, Re-entry Unit
    • Larry Spollen

      Supervising Attorney, Trial Division
    • Christopher Van Zele

      Criminal Court Supervisor
    • April White-Small

      Supervising Attorney, Trial Division
  • Attorneys

    • Casey Anis

      Trial Attorney
    • Tara Ansari

      Trial Attorney
    • Amelia Austern

      Trial Attorney
    • Rebecca Azuga

      Trial Attorney
    • Andrej Bajuk

      Senior Trial Attorney
    • Katherine LeGeros Bajuk

      Senior Trial Attorney, Mental Health Specialist
    • Josephine Baldwin-Beneich

      Trial Attorney
    • Amanda Barfield

      Trial Attorney
    • Maggie Bergmann

      Trial Attorney
    • Eric Burse

      Trial Attorney
    • Claire Butler

      Trial Attorney
    • Marie Calvert-Kilbane

      Trial Attorney
    • Stephanie Conners

      Senior Trial Attorney, Integrated Domestic Violence Specialist
    • Sarah Corsico

      Attorney, Immigration Unit
    • Anthony Curry

      Trial Attorney
    • Casey Dalporto

      Senior Policy Attorney
    • Margaret DaRocha

      Trial Attorney
    • Chantol Edwards

      Trial Attorney
    • Brian Ehrenpreis

      Trial Attorney
    • Adam Freedman

      Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense Unit
    • Scott Gallagher

      Trial Attorney
    • Alex Garber

      Trial Attorney
    • Darryl Hairston

      Trial Attorney
    • Sharyn L. Henry

      Senior Trial Attorney
    • Christopher Herr

      Trial Attorney
    • Jessica A. Horani

      Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense Unit
    • Molly Kalmus

      Trial Attorney
    • Thalia Karny

      Senior Trial Attorney
    • Nick Kline

      Attorney, Immigration Unit
    • Jess Knowles

      Trial Attorney
    • Veronica Krass

      Trial Attorney
    • Lindsey Laveaux

      Trial Attorney
    • Paul Lee

      Trial Attorney
    • Diane Lopez

      Attorney, Immigration Unit
    • Erin Malone

      Senior Trial Attorney, Youth Advocacy Unit
    • Mariah Martinez

      Trial Attorney
    • Cara Mazor

      Trial Attorney
    • Kristin McAlpin

      Trial Attorney
    • Tiffany McDuffie

      Trial Attorney
    • Gabriela Mejias

      Trial Attorney
    • Mildred Morillo

      Trial Attorney
    • Amy Munro

      Trial Attorney
    • Sarah Musa

      Trial Attorney
    • Vickie Mwitanti

      Trial Attorney
    • Michael Papson

      Trial Attorney
    • David Park

      Trial Attorney
    • Joseph Payne

      Trial Attorney
    • Catherine Perrone

      Trial Attorney, Civil Division
    • Bernadette Rabuy

      Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense Unit
    • Aaron Ratoff

      Trial Attorney
    • Maria Camila Rodriguez

      Trial Attorney
    • Christopher Roland

      Trial Attorney
    • Isadora Ruyter-Harcourt

      Trial Attorney
    • Brad Sage

      Senior Trial Attorney, Diversion Specialist
    • H. Mitchell Schuman

      Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense Unit
    • Zoe Sheppard

      Trial Attorney
    • Hillela Simpson

      Trial Attorney, Youth Advocacy Unit
    • Kayla Smith

      Trial Attorney
    • Chanel Sochacki

      Trial Attorney
    • Melissa Sopher

      Trial Attorney
    • William Szilagyi

      Trial Attorney
    • Julia Tedesco

      Trial Attorney
    • Michelle Tsang

      Trial Attorney
    • Shari Vrod

      Senior Trial Attorney, Homicide/Major Crime Defense Unit
    • Dorothy Weldon

      Special Litigation Attorney
    • Joshua White

      Trial Attorney
    • Kacia Wilson

      Trial Attorney
    • Lauren Wolfinger

      Trial Attorney, Youth Advocacy Unit
  • Forensic Social Workers

    • Shorouk Abo Hussien

      Forensic Social Worker
    • Kevin Bailey

      Forensic Social Worker
    • Louisa Cohen

      Parasocial
    • Maria Colosi

      Reentry Advocate
    • Ryley Conway

      Forensic Social Worker, Youth Advocacy Unit
    • Raji Edayathumangalam

      Senior Policy Social Worker
    • Gabrielle Falcone

      Forensic Social Worker
    • Julie Fiorenza

      Forensic Social Worker, Re-entry Unit
    • Eileen Flynn

      Parasocial
    • Taylor Garzone

      Forensic Social Worker, Homicide/Major Crime Defense Unit
    • Coley Gibson

      Parasocial
    • Kate Kost

      Forensic Social Worker
    • Lyndsay Lewis

      Forensic Social Worker
    • Kelsey Odom

      Forensic Social Worker
    • Kingsley Rowe

      Senior Forensic Social Worker, Re-entry Unit
    • Carly Shapiro

      Forensic Social Worker
    • Nicole Tarangelo

      Forensic Social Worker, Youth Advocacy Unit
    • Rachel Wallace

      Forensic Social Worker
    • Heidi Welty

      Forensic Social Worker, Re-entry Unit
  • Administration

    • Marcy Green-Eubanks

      Administrative Assistant
    • Maimuna Islam

      Administrative Assistant
    • Hager Khedr

      Administrative Assistant
    • Ian Luna

      Executive Coordinator
    • Jasmin Marte

      Administrative Assistant
    • Jamie Martinez

      Administrative Coordinator
    • Jorge Nunez

      Administrative Assistant
    • Julissa Piantini

      Administrative Assistant
    • Joanna Valle

      Administrative Assistant
  • Corrections Specialists

    • Natalie Fiorenzo

      Senior Corrections Specialist
    • Khari Jenkins

      Corrections Specialist
    • Roya Touran

      Corrections Specialist
  • Finance

    • Jackie Giron

      Finance Administrator
    • Carlen Rodriguez

      Finance Assistant
    • Gabriel Vélez

      Finance Administrator
  • Data & Research

    • Celia Joyce

      Senior Data Analyst
    • Estee Rubien-Thomas

      Research Lead
  • Information Technology

    • Michael Bronstein

      Network Administrator
    • Mihaela Lisov

      Senior Network Administrator
    • Steve Wong

      Database Administrator
  • Investigators

    • Daniel Blair

      Investigator, Homicide Unit
    • Adelaida Carmona

      Investigator
    • Vincent Giaimo

      Investigator
    • Carlos Mateo

      Investigator
    • Johnny Rodriguez

      Investigator
    • Dhariana Rosario

      Investigator
    • Rafael Vargas

      Investigator
  • Paralegals

    • Titilola Bakare

      Paralegal
    • Gifty Boanoh

      Paralegal
    • Katelynn Bright

      Paralegal, Homicide/Major Crime Defense Unit
    • Emily Cataldo

      Paralegal
    • Samuel Clark

      Paralegal
    • Mollie Dawson

      Paralegal
    • Felix Espinal

      Senior Paralegal
    • Casey Ferrante

      Paralegal
    • Lillian Gilpin

      Paralegal
    • Paul Griffith

      Paralegal
    • Saba Hosseinabdi

      Paralegal
    • Chloe Hum

      Paralegal
    • Hannah Jablons

      Paralegal
    • Kiara Rodriguez

      Paralegal
    • Isaura Severino

      Paralegal
    • Johnathan Torres

      Paralegal
  • Policy and Community Engagement

    • Jheni Cruz

      Policy Associate