Tina Luongo has spent over two decades transforming public defense and advancing client-centered advocacy. As Chief Attorney of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society—one of the most prominent public defender offices in the country—Tina leads a team that serves more than 200,000 clients annually across trial, appellate, post-conviction, parole, and law reform work. Tina’s leadership is rooted in a holistic, community-centered approach that prioritizes the dignity, voice, and lived experience of every client. They have championed interdisciplinary teamwork that brings together attorneys, social workers, investigators, and advocates to address the full spectrum of needs facing individuals entangled in the criminal legal system.

Adriene Holder (she/her) serves as the Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society, where she leads the largest and most comprehensive civil legal services program in the nation. She directs a network of neighborhood offices and specialized citywide units providing critical legal representation and advocacy to low-income and marginalized New Yorkers across all five boroughs. With a staff of 600 attorneys, paralegals, and social workers handling nearly 60,000 cases each year, Adriene leads efforts to preserve housing, protect families, secure income and benefits, support survivors of domestic violence, safeguard workers’ rights, defend immigrants, and ensure access to healthcare, education, and community stability. A lifelong advocate for racial and economic equity, Adriene has devoted her career to challenging poverty and injustice. Prior to her current role, she served as Attorney-in-Charge of the Harlem Office, practiced in the Law Reform Unit, and began her career as a staff attorney in the Harlem Housing Law Unit. Beyond her leadership at Legal Aid, Adriene helps shape access to justice statewide. She serves on the New York State Permanent Commission on Access to Justice, the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates and President’s Committee on Access to Justice, and the Executive Board of Housing Court Answers. She previously served as a Tenant Representative on the New York City Rent Guidelines Board and has taught as an adjunct professor at The New School and volunteer instructor at Columbia Law School. Called upon to advance Legal Aid’s legislative and policy agenda, Adriene frequently testifies before city and state legislative bodies and is a trusted voice for policymakers, the media, and academic institutions on issues affecting low-income and marginalized communities. Adriene earned her B.S. in Political Science from Spelman College and her J.D. from Columbia Law School.