Stanford Hickman is a criminal defense attorney currently based in New York City. A Howard University School of Law Graduate, he began his career as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society in Queens New York and progressed to senior trial attorney with New York County Defender Services, (NYCDS). During his tenure as a senior trial attorney with NYCDS, Hickman has litigated numerous cases including homicides, armed robberies, and a high-profile celebrity stalking case. Hickman, along with trial work, is currently a supervisor with NYCDS overseeing and mentoring a team of attorneys as they develop in their career. 

Additionally, he is involved in an initiative to formulate new policy and expand in-house training, toward combating implicit bias and advancing racial justice. Hickman also participates in numerous training programs around the country, he has served as a faculty member for Nash /York trial training, Department of Public Advocacy in Faubush, Kentucky and Office of the Alternative Defender in Denver, Colorado and Office of the Public Defender in Trenton, New Jersey. Locally, he serves as an adjunct professor with Seton Hall School of Law for their intersession trial advocacy program. Hickman is also a graduate of the inaugural class of the New York Black Defender Leadership Institute, (BDLI), which is sponsored by the Black Public Defender Association, and now serves on the faculty for BDLI.

Vickie Mwitanti is a sixth-year trial attorney at New York County Defender Services where she has had the privilege of representing folks accused of crimes in Manhattan. She is a past Black Defender Leadership Institute Fellow as well as co-chair for NYCDS’ Racial Justice Data Committee who focus their efforts towards using Data to strengthen race-conscious advocacy. She is a Suffolk University Law School graduate and spent most of her time in Boston as an advocate and community educator for fair housing. Although she is a lawyer by trade, she has always been a public servant by calling and her motivations are rooted in combatting race-based social justice issues.