National Legal Aid & Defender Association CEO and leadership

April has extensive experience working at both the national and local level on justice reform efforts. She has worked on the national level with both the American Bar Association in Washington, D.C. and Legal Action Center in New York, NY advocating for alternative sentencing and reentry reform. She also has an intimate understanding of the challenges facing disadvantaged communities, because she represented individuals within the criminal justice system and juvenile justice system as a public defender for the last eight years. As a community-oriented public defender, she had the unique experience of representing clients and also working on policy reform and systems change efforts in both Washington, D.C. and Memphis, TN. Most recently, she worked as the Special Assistant in the Juvenile Defender Unit at the Law Office of the Shelby County Public Defender where she was responsible for implementing Department of Justice reforms and helping to build the first ever holistic and team-based juvenile defense practice in Shelby County that employed both social workers and attorneys.April has conducted trainings with and provided technical assistance to the following national and federal organizations: American Bar Association, National Center for State Courts, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Legal Aid and Defender Association, National Juvenile Defender Center, D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and D.C. Office of Returning Citizens Affairs. She has also served as a guest lecturer at George Washington University Law School, Howard University School of Law, and the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law.