2024 Color of Mitigation: Full Schedule

This is the online schedule and program for the 2024 Color of Mitigation Virtual Conference
Check back as we get closer to see the agenda and speakers

12:45pm EST

Welcome

Thursday November 7, 2024 12:45pm - 1:00pm EST

Speakers

Lori James-Townes

Executive Director, National Association for Public Defense

Lori James-Townes is the Executive Director of the National Association of Public Defense. Lori assumed this leadership position after three years of working as Assistant Training Director for NAPD and more than 25 years of working on defense teams representing indigent defendants... Read More →

Jerilyn Bell

Georgia Capital Defender, Director, Georgia Public Defender Council

Jerilyn Bell is the Director of the Georgia Capital Defender’s Office in Atlanta, Georgia. She has handled over 25 capital cases while at the Capital Defenders Office. Prior to joining the Capital’s Defenders Office in 2011, she was a public defender for 13 years at the Legal... Read More →

Thursday November 7, 2024 12:45pm - 1:00pm EST

Plenary

1:05pm EST

Race Based Traumatic Stress

Thursday November 7, 2024 1:05pm - 2:10pm EST

Room A

Speakers

Dr. Robert Carter

Dr. Jessica Forsyth

Senior Associate, Robert T. Carter & Associates

Jessica M. Forsyth, PhD is a licensed psychologist and Senior Associate at Robert T. Carter & Associates, an expert witness practice specializing in the assessment of racial trauma, where she has consulted on a variety of civil and criminal cases for 15 years. She has more than two... Read More →

Thursday November 7, 2024 1:05pm - 2:10pm EST
Room A

Plenary

4:45pm EST

Building Resilience and Wellness in Mitigation Work

Thursday November 7, 2024 4:45pm - 5:30pm EST

Room A

This workshop will explore how compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and moral injury uniquely impact people of color working in mitigation. We’ll discuss ways to build resilience, nurture compassion satisfaction, and stay connected to ourselves and each other in this demanding work. Participants will leave with practical tips and tools for developing a more sustainable, healthy practice. Being intentional about this not only supports our own well-being but also enhances the quality of support and representation we provide. This session is valuable for anyone working directly with clients, including social workers, attorneys, mitigation specialists, and other advocates.

Speakers

Marisa Beckley

Director of Workplace Wellness, The Bronx Defenders

Marisa Beckley has nearly a decade of experience in public defense. She previously held roles in client advocacy at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, where she supported people in civil, criminal, family, and immigration defense settings. Marisa holds a Master of Science... Read More →

Thursday November 7, 2024 4:45pm - 5:30pm EST
Room A

Plenary

10:00am EST

Diversity in Expert Testimony, Then and Now

Friday November 8, 2024 10:00am - 11:00am EST

Room A

Speakers

Dr. George Woods, MD, L.F.A.P.A.

Chief Scientific Officer, Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc.

George Woods, M.D., is a licensed physician specializing in neuropsychiatry. His focus is on neurodevelopmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury, neurocognitive impairments, mood disorders, and trauma. His clinical subspecialties are neuropsychiatry and consultation liaison psychiatry... Read More →

Friday November 8, 2024 10:00am - 11:00am EST
Room A

Plenary

1:15pm EST

Storytelling

Friday November 8, 2024 1:15pm - 2:15pm EST

Room A

Speakers

La Mer Kyle Griffiths

Training Division Chief, Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office

La Mer Kyle-Griffiths brings extensive experience and dedication as a lifelong public defender across multiple states, including Kentucky, Massachusetts, Washington, Oklahoma, and California. Her journey began in Kentucky, where she tackled complex cases within the Capital Defense... Read More →

Friday November 8, 2024 1:15pm - 2:15pm EST
Room A

Plenary