Centering Community Voices: The Creation of Community Defense Centers
Through an intentional community-centered planning process, the Cook County Public Defender's Office successful launched 2 Freedom Defense Centers in the South and West side of Chicago. Building a long-term inclusive community driven planning process led to the design and ultimately creation of these centers serving as a hub for legal representation, legal education and client services. Participants will learn how to create an inclusive planning process that centers and celebrates community perspectives and voices.
- Presenters will describe the roadmap for building out the centers including hosting community planning circles, agendas, participants and other tools for building inclusion.
- Participants will understand how community voices made critical decisions about each step of the planning process and completion of the centers.
- Participants will explore navigating innovation in a system such as the Public Defender's Office.
Vichal Kumar, JD
Director
Partners for Justice
Vichal Kumar is PFJ’s Director of Capacity-Building, where he support public defenders throughout the country by utilizing his technical expertise in holistic and collaborative defense, and experience implementing holistic practices in public defender offices. Vichal formerly served as the Managing Attorney of the Civil Defense Practice at Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem, where he created a practice representing clients in the enmeshed penalties of criminal legal contact. Previously, while attending law school part-time, Vichal worked as a Civil Legal Advocate, Staff Attorney and Supervising Attorney at The Bronx Defenders. VIchal also served as the President of the South Asian Bar Association of North America and the South Asian Bar Association of New York.
Alex Santistevan
Director of Community Engagement
Cook County Public Defender's Office
Alex Santistevan is the Community Engagement Manager at the Cook County Public Defender's Office, where she has served for the past three and a half years. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Alex identifies as a Chicana with Mexican and Indigenous roots. Alex is community lawyer by training and is dedicated to increasing accessibility to the law and removing barriers that prevent people from living safe and healthy lives. At the Public Defender's Office, Alex has helped lead the planning for the opening of two Freedom Defense Centers on Chicago's Far South Side and West Side.
Prior to her current role, Alex was the Program Director at First Defense Legal Aid where she oversaw community legal education initiatives such as Know Your Rights programming. Her work also includes advocating for farmworkers, landscapers and other laborers on wage and hour issues.
Emmanuel Andre
Deputy of Policy & Strategic Litigation
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