OAD TEAM

OAD Group Photo 2019

Legal Staff

Caprice Jenerson

President and Attorney in Charge, Office of the Appellate Defender (2020-present); Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) (2019 – 2020); Director, Pro Bono and Volunteer Programs, New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) (2017 – 2020); Senior Resource Counsel, Clemency Project 2014 – Washington, D.C. (2015-2017); Private Practitioner, state and federal criminal appeals (2013 – 2015); Senior Associate and Criminal Practice Lead, Cochran Firm-Atlanta (2009 – 2013); Managing Partner, Jenerson & Thompson, P.C. (2006-2009); Managing Attorney, D. Lowell Thomas, P.C. (1996-2006)

Georgia State University College of Law, J.D., 1996; Rutgers University, B.A., 1990

Deputy Attorney-in-Charge, 2022-present; Managing Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender 2020-2022; Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2018-2020); Appellate Counsel, Center for Appellate Litigation (2016-18); Staff Attorney, Appeals Bureau, Legal Aid Society of Nassau County (2006-16); Clinic Student, The Innocence Project Clinic (2005-06); Judicial Intern, Hon. Deborah A. Batts, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York (2005); Summer Associate, Fischer & Burstein, P.C. (2005); Legal Assistant, Dershowitz, Eiger, & Adelson, P.C. (2003-04).

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D., 2006; Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, B.M., cum laude, 2001.

Rebecca Besdin

Senior Staff Attorney in the Reinvestigation Project, Office of the Appellate Defender (2021-present); Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Practice (2013-2021); Clinic Student, Challenging the Consequences of Mass Incarceration Clinic (2012-2013); Managing Director, Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (2012-2013); Extern, Center for Appellate Litigation (2012); Extern, Legal Aid Society, Immigration Law Unit (2012); Legal Intern, Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Practice (2012); Extern, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (2011); Legal Intern, Legal Resources Centre (2011); Investigator, New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (2007-2010)

Columbia Law School, J.D., 2013; Columbia University, B.A., 2007

Karen Brill

Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2021-present); Clinic Student, Criminal Defense and Reentry Clinic, New York University School of Law (2020-2021); Legal Intern, Center for Appellate Litigation (2020); Clinic Student, Criminal Appellate Defender Clinic, New York University School of Law (2020); Legal Intern, Queens Defenders (2019-2020); Legal Intern, Federal Defenders of New York, SDNY (2019).

New York University School of Law, J.D., 2021; Columbia University, B.A., 2016.

Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender, (2018-present); Staff Attorney & Legal Fellow, Equal Justice Initiative (2009-2017); Law Clerk, Justice Alan C. Page, Minnesota Supreme Court (2008-2009); Clinic Student, Juvenile Defender Clinic, New York University School of Law (2007-2008); Legal Intern, International Justice Mission (2007); Clinic Student, Criminal and Community Defense Clinic, New York University School of Law (2006-2007); Legal Intern, Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (2006); Intern, Missouri State Public Defender (2004).

New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2008; Washington University in St. Louis, B.A., cum laude, 2005.

Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (1995-present); Adjunct Professor, New York University School of Law (2008-present); Director of Training and Legal Developments, Office of the Appellate Defender (2003-present); Vice-President, First Department Assigned Counsel Corporation (1996-present); Staff Attorney, Public Defender Service of Washington, D.C. (1988-1994); Karpatkin Fellow, American Civil Liberties Union (1987-1988); Law Clerk, Hon. Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court (1986-1987); Law Clerk, Hon. Wilfred Feinberg, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1985-1986). Editor, Yale Law Journal; Yale Moot Court Semi-Finalist; Benjamin Cardozo Prize. Author, Women's Prisons: An Equal Protection Evaluation, 84 Yale L.J. 1182 (1985); Contributing Editor, Criminal Practice Institute, Trial Manual (1989-1993).

Yale University, J.D., 1985; Harvard College, B.A., magna cum laude, 1980.

Kameron Johnston

Law Graduate, Office of the Appellate Defender (2021-present); Clinic Advocate, Juvenile Defender Clinic, New York University School of Law (2020-2021); Legal Intern, New York Legal Assistance Group (2021); Legal Intern, Texas Fair Defense Project (2020); Summer Law Clerk, ACLU of Southern California, Education Equity Team (2020); Clinic Advocate, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (2020); Paul Weiss Fellow, Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law (2019-2020); Summer Law Clerk, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Housing and Community Development Workgroup (2019) 

 New York University School of Law, J.D. 2021, Arthur Garfield Hays Fellow, Jacob Javits Fellow for Leadership and Public Service; Pepperdine University, B.A., magna cum laude. 

Jennifer Kline

Cleary Fellow, Office of the Appellate Defender (2022-2023); Summer Associate, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (2021); Law Clerk, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (2020); Student Attorney, Prison Legal Assistance Project (2019).

Harvard Law School, J.D. 2022; The Pennsylvania State University, Schreyer Honors College, B.A., 2016.

Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2012-present); Senior Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2002-2012); Student Intern, New York Capital Defender Clinic, New York University (2001-2002); Legal Intern, Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia (2001); Legal Intern, D.C. Prisoners' Rights Project (2000); Legal Assistant, Holland & Knight LLP (1999).

New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2002; New College of the University of South Florida, B.A., 1996.

Rachel Lindy

Law Graduate, Office of the Appellate Defender (2022-present); Student Advocate, Criminal Appellate Defender Clinic, New York University School of Law (2022); Legal Intern, The Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Practice Special Litigation Unit (2021); Summer Legal Intern, Center for Appellate Litigation (2021); Student Advocate, Family Defense Clinic, New York University School of Law (2020-2021); Summer Legal Intern, Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, (2020); Medical-Legal-Community Partnership Program Development Paralegal, Philadelphia Legal Assistance (2018-2019).

New York University School of Law, J.D. 2022, Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholar; Wesleyan University, B.A., 2015.

Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2019-present); Fellow, Survivor Reentry Project, American Bar Association and Brooklyn Law School (2018-2019); Legal Assistant, Private Criminal Defense Attorney (2015-2019); Student Intern, Safe Harbor Clinic, Brooklyn Law School (2016); Legal Intern, Legal Office of the United Nations Development Programme (2016); Legal Extern, Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Practice (2015-2016); Legal Intern, Safe Horizon Immigration Law Project (2015).

Brooklyn Law School, J.D., 2017; The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, B.F.A., 2011.

Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (1999-present); Private Practitioner, criminal defense and civil rights litigation, Atlanta, GA (1994-1999); Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (1992-1994); Attorney and Director of Interns, The Team Defense Project, Atlanta, GA (1978-1992); Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, FL (1977-1978). Argued Burger v. Kemp, 483 U.S. 776 (1987), in U.S. Supreme Court.

Instructor at numerous state and regional programs on death penalty defense and criminal defense, including: Faculty, National Defender Training Project, 2017 Trial Advocacy Program, University of Dayton School of Law, Dayton, OH, June 2017; Faculty, Ohio State Public Defender, Appellate Defender Training, Dayton, OH, March 2016; Faculty, Federal Defender Services, Persuasive Writing Workshop, Washington, DC, August 2015; Faculty, National Legal Aid & Defender Association and National Alliance of Indigent Defense Educators, Appellate Defense and Persuasive Writing Skills Institute, New Orleans, LA, January 2015; Faculty, Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, Appellate Advocacy Training, The Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, PA, March 2011; Faculty, Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, Trial Advocacy Training, The Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, PA, June 2008.

University of Florida College of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1976; University of Central Florida, B.S., magna cum laude, 1974.

Sean Nuttal

Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2021-present); Staff Attorney & DEI Coordinator, Appellate Advocates (2018-2021); Senior Associate, Shapiro Arato (2017-2018); Staff Attorney, NYU Law School Clemency Resource Center (2015-2016); Fellow, Federal Defenders of New York & Connecticut (2015-2016); Associate, Morvillo Abramowitz (2012-2015); Law Clerk, Hon. Eric Vitaliano, Eastern District of New York (2010-2011); Law Clerk, Hon. R. Guy Cole, Jr., Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (2009-2010). 

New York University Law School, J.D., 2008; Cambridge University, M.Phil. 2005; Yale University, B.A. 2001.  

Will Page

Senior Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2022-present);  Rising Star, New York Law Journal (2022);  Staff Attorney, Criminal Appeals Bureau, Legal Aid Society (2017-2022);  Law Clerk, District Judge Nelson S. Román, U.S. S.D.N.Y. (2016-2017);  Senior Litigation Associate (previously Summer Associate), Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP (2008; 2010-2016);  Pro Bono Assistant Supervisor (previously Clinic Student), Capital Defender and Federal Habeas Clinic, Brooklyn Law School (2008-2009);  Legal Extern, New York Civil Liberties Union (2009);  Legal Intern, American Civil Liberties Union, LGBT & AIDS Project (2008);  Clinic Student, Criminal Appeals Defense Clinic (Center for Appellate Litigation), Brooklyn Law School (2008);  Articles Editor, Brooklyn Law Review; Appellate Division, Moot Court Honor Society;  Judicial Internship, Magistrate Judge Roanne L. Mann, U.S. E.D.N.Y. (2007);  Mathematics Teacher, Chair of Department, Satellite Academy High School, NYC Dept. of Ed. (2004-2006);  Summer Intern & Fellow, Mayor Pro-Tem Gordon Quan, Houston City Council (2003).

Brooklyn Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2009;

City University of New York - Lehman College, M.S.Ed., magna cum laude, 2006;

University of Southern California, B.A. (Political Science) & B.S. (Computer Science), 2004.

Gwendolyn Parrish

Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2022-present); New York Pro Bono Scholar, Center for Appellate Litigation, SORA Unit (2022); Student Lawyer, UNH Law Criminal Law Clinic (2021); Volunteer, New England Innocence Project (2020-2021); Legal Intern, Capital Appeals Project, Louisiana, (2021); Legal Intern, New Hampshire Legal Assistance (2020).

University of New Hampshire School of Law, J.D., 2022; SUNY Albany, B.A., 2019.

Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2019-present); Staff Attorney, Criminal Defense Practice, The Legal Aid Society (2017-2019); Law Clerk, Hon. Stephen Glickman, District of Columbia Court of Appeals (2016-2017); Student Attorney, Criminal Justice Institute, Harvard Law School (2015-2016); Law Intern, New Hampshire Public Defender (2015); Legal Intern, Equal Justice Initiative (2015); Law Clerk, Trial Division, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (2014); President and Founder, Harvard Law School Student Mental Health Association (2013-2016).

Harvard Law School, J.D., 2016; Harvard College, A.B., cum laude, 2012.

Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender, (2018-present); Assistant Dean, Access to Justice Institute, Seattle University School of Law (2017-2018); Executive Director, Court Square Law Project, CUNY Law School (2016-2017); Visiting Assistant Professor, Youth Advocacy Clinic, Seattle University School of Law (2012-2016); Private Practitioner, criminal defense and family law (2010-2012); Deputy Director, International Legal Foundation (2008-2010); Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division (1999-2008). Author, The Green to Blue Pipeline: Defense Contractors and the Police Industrial Complex, 36 CARDOZO L. REV. 1785 (2015); The Siren Is Calling: Economic and Ideological Trends Toward Privatization of Public Police Forces, 68 U. MIAMI L. REV. 633 (2014).

Fordham Law School, J.D., 1998; New York University, M.A., 1995; Hampshire College, B.A., 1991.

Alexandra Ricks

Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2022-present); Law Student, Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic, Yale Law School (2020-2022); Legal Intern, Center for Children’s Advocacy Medical-Legal Partnership Program (2021-2022); Summer Legal Intern, Juvenile Law Center (2021); Summer Law Clerk, D.C. Public Defender Service’s Juvenile Services Program (2020); Law Student Intern, Re-Entry Clinic, New Haven Legal Assistance Association (2019); Research Analyst (previously Assistant), Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center (2017-2019); Associate Policy Fellow, Connecticut Voices for Children (2016-2017).

Yale Law School, J.D., 2022; Wesleyan University, B.A., 2016

Stephanie Sonsino

Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2020-present); Staff Attorney, Appellate Advocates (2018-2020); Volunteer Counsel, Criminal Appeals Bureau, The Legal Aid Society (2018); Staff Attorney, Trial Division Suffolk County Legal Aid Society (2017); Clinical Intern, Cardozo’s Criminal Defense Clinic (2016-2017); Co-Chair, Law Students for Reproductive Justice (2016-2017); Legal Intern, Juvenile Rights Project, The Legal Aid Society (2016); Clinical Intern, The Innocence Project (2015-2016).

Samuel Steinbock-Pratt

Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2021¬–present); Associate, Gelber & Santillo PLLC (2020–2021); Law Clerk, Hon. Robert A. Katzmann, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2019–2020); Law Clerk, Hon. Jed S. Rakoff, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (2018–2019); Staff Attorney Fellow, Center for Appellate Litigation (2016–2018); Student Advocate, Criminal Appellate Defender Clinic, New York University School of Law (2016); Legal Intern, New York Legal Assistance Group, LGBTQ Law Project (2016); Legal Intern, Innocence Project, Strategic Litigation Unit (2015); Legal Intern, ACLU Voting Rights Project (2015); Legal Intern, Center for Appellate Litigation (2015); Student Advocate, Family Defense Clinic, New York University School of Law (2014–2015).

New York University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, Arthur Garfield Hays Fellow, 2016; McGill University, B.A., First Class Honours, 2012.

Senior Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2019-present); Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2016-2019); Staff Attorney, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2014-16); Intern, New York County Defender Services (2012-13); Intern, Federal Defenders of San Diego (2013); Research Assistant, Professor Anthony Thompson (2013); Student Advocate, Criminal Appellate Defender Clinic (2012); Intern, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Nashville, TN (2012); Summer Associate, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (2012)

New York University Law School, J.D., 2014; University of Louisville, M.A., 2010; Belmont University, B.A., 2007.

Alex Valdez

Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2021-present); Staff Attorney, Criminal Defense Practice, The Bronx Defenders (2018-2021); Clinic Student, Challenging the Consequences of Mass Incarceration Clinic, Columbia Law School (2017-2018); Legal Intern, The Bronx Defenders (2017); Legal Extern, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (2016-2017); Staff Editor, Columbia Law School Human Rights Law Review, A Jailhouse Lawyers Manual (2016-2017); Legal Intern, Los Angeles County Office of the Public Defender (2016).
Columbia Law School, J.D., 2018, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; Columbia University, Columbia College, B.A., 2015

Senior Staff Attorney Non-Citizen Client Project, Office of the Appellate Defender, 2021-present; Staff Attorney and Immigration Specialist, Appellate Advocates, 2018-21; Acting Assistant Professor of Lawyering, New York University School of Law, 2016-18; Adjunct Professor, Brooklyn Law School, 2016-17; Padilla Team Leader, Brooklyn Defender Services, 2014-16; Staff Attorney, Brooklyn Defender Services, 2009-14; Law Clerk, Hon. James Orenstein, Eastern District of New York, 2008-09; Co-author, Mental Health Evaluations in Immigration Court: A Guide for Mental Health and Legal Professionals, NYU Press (2021).

New York University School of Law, JD, 2008; Brown University, B.A., magna cum laude, 2003.

Supervising Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2022–present); Senior Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2019–2022); Staff Attorney, Office of the Appellate Defender (2017-2019); Assistant Counsel (previously, Fried Frank Fellow), NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (2015–2017); Associate (LDF Fellow), Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP (2012–2014); Law Clerk, Hon. Beverly B. Martin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (2011–2012); Law Clerk, Hon. Eldon E. Fallon, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (2010–2011); Summer Law Clerk, LGBT & AIDS Project, American Civil Liberties Union (2009); Student Advocate, Employment Civil Rights Clinic, WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School (2009); Clinical Intern, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the Boston Bar Association (2008); Summer Law Clerk, Victor M. Glasberg & Associates (2008).

Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, 2010; Stanford University, B.A., with honors and with distinction, 2004.

OAD Client Services

Client Services Director, Office of the Appellate Defender, (2020-Present); Director, Emergency Shelter Network, New York Disaster Interfaith Services, (2019-2020); Director of US Programs, Seeds of Peace, (2017-2019); Assistant Director of Capacity Building, The Financial Clinic, (2016); Associate Director National AmeriCorps VISTA Program, Hunger Free America, (2011-2015); AmeriCorps VISTA Program Coordinator, Hunger Free America, (2008-2011); Shelter Program Manager, Partnership for the Homeless (2006-2008); Weekend Shelter Coordinator, Partnership for the Homeless, (2003-2006); AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Youth Service Opportunity Project (2002); Program Associate, National Medical Fellowships, (2001-2002)

Youth Board Member, New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, (2016-Present)

Columbia University School of Social Work, M.S.S.W, 2015; Boston University, B.A., 2000

Ester Gherzi

Clients Services Coordinator, Office of the Appellate Defender (2021-present); Social Work Intern, Federal Defenders of New York, Eastern District (2020-2021); Social Work Intern, Power of Two (2019-2020) 

Columbia University School of Social Work, MSW, 2021; University of California, San Diego, BS, 2019

Brian Davis | Client Services Coordinator
Brian Davis | Client Services Coordinator

OAD Operations


Alan Litwa | Paralegal

Sonam Delhiwala
Sonam Delhiwala | Paralegal

Grace Western
Grace Western | Paralegal

Rosemary Collazo

OAD Office Manager Nov 2022 – Present

Good Shepherds Services, Office Manager, Nov 2021 -Oct 2022

Start Treatment & Recovery Administrative Assistant Dec 2016- Oct 2021

Palladia Inc Office Manager /Administrative Assistant 2003 -2008

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UOPX - BSB/MG, CERT/MGMT, MHA/MBA  

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