Member Spotlight #1

Our Member Spotlights shout out and celebrate the achievements of individual members of the PDAP community, whether past or recent. If you’d like to nominate a fellow Public Defender (attorney, social service advocate, investigator, mitigator, or support staff member) for a feature, reach out to Anna@PAPublicDefenders.com.

Last year, PDAP honored a handful of exceptional Public Defenders with awards commemorating their accomplishments, professional growth, and undeniable dedication to this field. We received an overwhelming amount of nominations – so many that we ended up splitting one of our awards, the Life Preserver Award, into two categories. Here’s a throwback to the nominees, finalists, and award winners.

The Fred Goodman Award (the Rico)

The Rico award is named after attorney Fred Goodman, a longtime PD with the Defender Association of Philadelphia. It is meant for any Public Defender attorney with less than 3 years of experience as a PD. 

Here were our finalists, along with the kind words their colleagues shared about them:

Naomi Alexander, Defender Association of Philadelphia, nominated by Chief Keisha Hudson: “She is incredible in thinking on her feet, quickly pivoting her trial strategy, and maintaining calm while still zealously advocating for her clients. Naomi’s intellect, work ethic, creativity and grit in court, and her resilience make her a remarkable young Public Defender.”

Yemi Olaiya, Allegheny County, nominated by a coworker: “The attention to detail, outside-the-box thinking, and incredibly calm demeanor with which she approaches even the most ferocious challenges is inspiring. Yemi’s unmatched passion and dedication to her clients often earns her victories. She’s always prepared and ready for both best and worst case scenarios.”

Spencer Bradley, Dauphin County, nominated by Chief Defender Mary Klatt: “Spencer has already proven himself to be an outstanding appellate advocate. He finds novel issues to litigate and excels in oral arguments. He is active with PDAP and was proud of his invitation to participate as an instructor in the Appellate Seminar last month.”

WINNER – Elizabeth Berry, Delaware County, nominated by Chief Defender Chris Welsh as well as the Chief of Diversion & Re-entry and Chief of Social Services: “Elizabeth is a fantastic Public Defender. When interacting with Judges, DAs and probation officers she is a relentless, fierce and zealous advocate for our clients. At the same time, when interacting with our clients she is incredibly compassionate and exceptionally sensitive to the trauma of each client.”

Our nominees also included Andrew Quist (Chester County, nominated by his Chief), Lauren Leiggi (Allegheny County, also nominated last year), Allison Ware (Allegheny County), and Carissa Davenport-Smith (Allegheny County).

The David R. Crowley Award

The Dave Crowley award is named after Dave Crowley, the longstanding Chief Defender of Centre County.  The Crowley award is for a Public Defender attorney with 3-10 years of experience as a PD. Here is what the Public Defender community had to say about our finalists:

Kevin Horne, Allegheny County, nominated by a coworker: “He’s not afraid to try a case, and does not shy away from a challenge either with a judge, DA, or witness. Having tried a case with Kevin, I can attest to his thorough, thoughtful, and empathetic conversations with his clients. We gladly entrust some of our most serious cases with Kevin, and he greets the challenges head-on.”

Danielle McNabb, Allegheny County, nominated by a coworker: “Being a ridiculously zealous advocate isn’t the only way Danielle excels at being a PD. Something I find that separates Danielle from the rest is the way she prioritizes mental health, both hers and others, in a job that doesn’t often lend itself to doing so. I see Danielle creating boundaries and making adjustments to promote wellness.”

Samantha Sriradan, Allegheny County, nominated by a coworker: “Analytical, quietly purposeful, almost scientific in her meticulousness, all of which leads to her victories feeling and seeming almost inevitable. Sam also brings a deep well of patience to the job, one that I can only dream of attaining, which is truly invaluable in the work that we do.”

WINNER – Megan Tidwell, Chief of Lebanon County, nominated by multiple coworkers: “Megan is unafraid to rock the boat. More importantly, she is demonstrably capable of rocking it. Through her representation of clients, she has managed to change things for the benefit of not only her clients, but everybody being charged with a crime in Lebanon County.”

The Life Preserver Award (Support Staff, non-SWIM)

The Life Preserver Award honors our SWIM community, and is an award for any PD social worker, social service advocate, investigator, mitigator, paralegal, or other member of Defender support staff.

Nominees for the non-SWIM Life Preserver Award included Anastasia Cleary (Allegheny County) and Stephanie Tecza (Allegheny County). Our finalists are listed below, along with words from their colleagues:

Alena Chulick, Allegheny County, nominated by four people, including Deputy Chief Laura McWilliams: “She’s built valuable relationships with inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities, shelters, and county jail reentry programs. She conducts the majority of the unglamorous, behind the scenes tasks (intake, data collection, follow up), ensuring the process of our interventions. She is integral to the success of our project.”

Larrissa Rivera, Lebanon County, nominated by Chief Megan Tidwell: “We do not have investigators, social workers, or paralegals. We rely on Larrissa to help us with those types of tasks to lighten our overall workload. Larissa is the heart and soul of the Lebanon County Public Defender’s office. We are extremely lucky to have someone in a support staff position willing to go above and beyond.”

WINNER – Vincent Beaver, Defender Association of Philadelphia, nominated by eleven people, including the Chief of his unit: “He was once described by an attorney as worth 10 of us and that is accurate! He is beyond patient with clients who call on repeat. He will reach out to other agencies to help connect clients, which is above and beyond the call of duty.”

The Life Preserver Award (SWIM)

Our SWIM Life Preserver Award finalists, along with the reasons they were nominated, are below.

Alyssa Biederman, Delaware County: “I’ve been consumed this week, but this trial that I am in right now, assuming I win, is all because of Alyssa. Alyssa truly thinks of every angle. She speaks to people who are not always obviously connected to the case, and she is not afraid of the truth.”

Travis Pezzuuto, Lehigh County: “The most notable thing about Travis is his willingness to sacrifice his time and energy for our clients. Travis is often the last person at the office on a given day and will do whatever is necessary to help our clients in any way he can. Travis goes well outside of his duties and responsibilities of his day to day job.”

WINNER – Alana Hook, Montgomery County: “At times I wonder how she is able to consistently do more and do better when the demand for her assistance never seems to ebb. Alana has raised the bar on the quality of representation provided by our office, mentored her staff to do the same, and helped our legal staff grow and learn to be better client-centered advocates.”

Our nominees for the SWIM Life Preserver Award also included Lauren Sugar (Chester County), Jared Soto (Carbon County, nominated by Chief Paul Levy), and Brady Sones (Defender Association of Philadelphia).

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Although these awards happened almost a year ago, we continue to appreciate the unwavering work ethic, resilience, and dedication of our community members, whether they’re on this list or not. PDAP wouldn’t be the supportive network it is today without our members continuing to show up for their clients and one another, and we cannot wait to see what everyone will accomplish next.