The Bronx Defenders

The Bronx Defenders is thrilled to welcome two new members to our Board of Directors: Christine Gooden and Grace O’Donnell. Christine Gooden, Vice President of Operational Risk and Strategy at BNP Paribas, manages the organization’s audit activities and regulatory strategies while also serving as Co-Chair for the Black Organization for Leadership & Development (BOLD) Employee Resource Group. Her commitment to community relations drives her work, particularly in addressing the socioeconomic and racial disparities that plague the criminal legal system. Motivated by a deep desire to effect change, Christine joined BxD to contribute to its mission, firmly believing that lasting change requires strategic disruption. Grace O’Donnell is counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Field LLP. She advises on a wide array of labor and employment matters, including diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and Title IX investigations. Grace is also an active member of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association. She joined BxD because of its deep and uncompromising commitment to the people it represents, and the wider Bronx community. Join us in welcoming Christine and Grace! We look forward to the invaluable contributions they will undoubtedly make to the future success of BxD.

BxD is proud to be part of the New York Mandated Reporting Working Group, which was created to address the devastating harm that mandated reporting laws inflict on NY families. For over 60 years, these laws have led to the over-surveillance of families—often Black and Latine families or those with limited resources— even though there is no evidence that more reporting leads to better outcomes for kids. Our goal is to raise public awareness about the realities of mandated reporting and develop solutions to narrow reporting laws and the invasive investigations they trigger statewide.

Read the powerful op-ed from Carol Larancuent, Immigration Policy Advocate for The Bronx Defenders. As Carol points out “no amount of profit will ever justify or rectify the immense and irreparable harm that detention causes to a person’s mental and physical health, let alone their survival; or the emotional and financial impact on their loved ones, and entire communities across the state.” We MUST support people in ICE detention! https://bxd.pub/3xmVYLO

Read the insightful op-ed on the dangerous effects of police propaganda on children, from Kaitlin Jackson Roll, Supervising Attorney, Criminal Defense Practice for The Bronx Defenders. Kaitlin explains that children's books, toys and television shows glorifying crime-fighting and incarceration normalize and celebrate violence. As Kaitlin says, “copaganda fantasies prime our populace from a young age to tolerate human suffering.” We must change the narratives of police and incarceration! https://bxd.pub/3VCommD

BxD’s Defenders Academy is our flagship trial and advocacy skills training program that empowers and trains public defenders from around the country. This week, nearly 200 participants and trainers joined us in New York to discover and strengthen their courtroom and conference room skills. Our unique approach uses the power of storytelling as a persuasive tool to humanize and persuade. And our experienced faculty use performance and feedback to sharpen our participants' trial tools. At Defenders Academy 2024, we embraced our identity as storytellers to move judges, juries, and audiences. We want to thank everyone who participated this year, and to the generous time of our faculty. We look forward to seeing you or your colleagues next year!

You're Invited! Join the Informed Consent Coalition on June 10th at 6pm at Ancient Song in Brooklyn for food and fellowship as we discuss the need for real care and trust from community medical providers (doctors, nurses, etc.) in communities of color, the inequities of the family policing system, and how these fit within the larger fight for birth and reproductive justice.    Together we will build community, share resources, and talk about the Informed Consent Bill, which would require medical providers to ensure pregnant people have full, informed, knowledge, and are allowed to give permission before they are drug tested during labor and delivery.   RSVP: bxd.pub/ICTownHall24   For more information, visit www.informedconsentny.com

Last month, twenty-five members of our incredible Family Defense Practice traveled to Tysons Corner, Virginia to participate in the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law’s National Conference on Parent Representation.    Five BxDers, Janae (Hunte) Weh, J.D., Desseray Wright, Kimesha McDonald, MSW, SIFI, Sarah Alexander, LMSW, and Zoe Russell, J.D. presented at the conference on best practices for litigation, client counseling, and policy reform strategies when advocating in multidisciplinary holistic teams and holistic advocacy for parents navigating the stigma of substance use in Bronx Family Court. 

“Without the perspective of young people, the truth is, we don’t know anything at all.” The Bronx Defenders is excited for the return of our Youth Justice Summit next week, where we will help empower Bronx youth on issues that impact their daily lives, by offering workshops on the systemic biases that unjustly force youth into adult work too soon. Please watch our video, and if you are interested in joining us, RSVP here: https://bxd.pub/3wYDMrA

TONIGHT from 6-8 pm! Join us at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe (126 Crosby Street) for an evening of conversation on public defense and justice with founder and former Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, Robin Steinberg, about her new book, The Courage of Compassion. The discussion will be hosted by Earl Ward, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, and will be moderated by Wesley Caines, interim executive director of The Bronx Defenders. See you tonight! https://bxd.pub/4aan8mA

On Monday, May 20 at 6PM, please join us for an evening of conversation on public defense and justice with founder and former Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders, Robin Steinberg, about her new book, The Courage of Compassion. The discussion will be hosted by Earl Ward, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, and will be moderated by Wesley Caines, interim executive director of The Bronx Defenders. We hope to see you there! https://bxd.pub/4aan8mA