Listed in alphabetical order by last name:
Jeffrey Adams is the Children’s Representation Program’s (CRP) training coordinator delivering equity-based trainings for attorneys under contract with the CRP, representing children in Washington State’s child welfare system. These trainings support technical skills and substantive legal advocacy pursuant to the standards of practice, caseload limits, and training guidelines adopted by the Washington State Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care. Prior to joining the Children’s Representation Program, Jeffrey spent twelve years advocating for parents and children in the child welfare system, including extensive work with Native American families as part of Spokane County’s Indian Child Welfare Act court team. He has also presented on various topics for the American Bar Association, the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Washington State Office of Public Defense. Jeffrey has served as a court commissioner pro tem in Spokane County, Board Chair of KSPS, the local public television affiliate, and taught as an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University.
Ashley Albert is the Founder and CEO at InTuned Consulting LLC. Peer Trainer & Support Specialist at Movement for Family Power, a national organization where she supports healing justice, political education, and relationship-building efforts among lived experts and movement leaders.
A formerly incarcerated woman and a parent impacted by the family policing system, Ashley is committed to sharing her experiences to help others achieve freedom and redefine their power from within. Ashley is a Peer Support Advisory Group Member at the Washington State Health Care Authority, a steering committee member for the National Repeal ASFA campaign, a board member of JMACforFamilies, and a member of the Office of Behavioral Health Advisory Council.
InTuned Consulting is a trauma-informed organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families navigating the challenges of parental rights and child welfare systems. Offering Bio Parents a Healing Circle program providing a safe, empathetic space for parents who have lost their parental rights to share their experiences, heal together, and build resilience. With a focus on community-driven support and culturally responsive practices, InTuned Consulting empowers participants to process their grief, restore hope, and find strength in collective healing. Through our tailored services, we aim to foster lasting transformation and well-being for parents and families in Washington state.
Previously, Ashley was the Parent Engagement Coordinator for Washington State Parents 4 Parents and facilitated the Washington State Parent Advocacy Committee. In partnership with the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Ashley co-authored a storytelling guide to support survivors of domestic violence and family policing in sharing their experiences.
Ashley has completed a number of trainings and earned a variety of certifications to support policymakers, social workers, and families. She earned her peer specialist certification through the Washington State Health Care Authority; completed Collective Justice’s Heal 2 Action cohort for system-impacted organizers; BEAM’s Healing Justice in Peer Support training and received training in transformative and restorative justice principles and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
Ross Anderson is the founder of Peak Elder Law. Peak Elder Law was founded to help families better understand the challenges that we face during our golden years. Proper estate planning and long-term care planning can drastically help our clients be prepared and protected for the future.
Jodi Backlund works on appeals from her office in Olympia with Manek Mistry. They have been fighting the Man as a team since 1993. Jodi can be reached at backlundmistry@gmail.com and 360-339-4870 for questions about appeals or any other technical assistance issues.
Prudence Beidler Carr is the Director of the ABA Center on Children and the Law, where she manages a team of attorneys and core staff who work on projects throughout the country with the goal of advancing access to justice for children, parents, and families. Prudence provides substantive expertise on Center projects related to the history of law, federal legislation, legal representation, and child welfare and immigration. She has a background in government, nonprofit management, and children’s advocacy both domestically and internationally. Before joining the ABA, Prudence lived in Mexico City where she partnered with JUCONI, a Mexican organization that provides intensive therapeutic support to help youth living on the street reintegrate with their families and communities. Previously, Prudence worked in the Department of Homeland Security Office of General Counsel, where she served as the Deputy Managing Counsel and also as a member of the office’s Significant Litigation team, managing class action, appellate and Supreme Court litigation for the agency. Prudence was a law clerk for District Judge Paul S. Diamond in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She has a B.A. from Harvard and a J.D. from Northwestern. Prudence lives in Washington DC with her husband and children.
Matt Bjork is a public defender with the King County Department of Public Defense (DPD). Matt has worked with DPD since 2018. Matt earned his law degree from the University of Oklahoma.
Heather Cantamessa (she/her) has the privilege of being a mother to six amazing children. Heather is dedicated to strengthening the Parents for Parents (P4P) program as the Director of Family Impact for Children’s Home Society of Washington. As a recovering addict and parent who successfully navigated the child welfare system, Heather elevates the skills of peers and compassion for child welfare partners and community to engage and empower parents currently involved in the child welfare system. Heather is a member of local, state, national, and global parent advocacy groups. The driving force behind Heather’s passion is her belief that “The best way to help kids is to help their parents. Kids want to be with their parents and parents want to be what their kids need.”
Ken Chang graduated from the University of Washington Law School and started his career as a public defender in January of 1996. He worked in Seattle Municipal Court and Juvenile Court. After being disillusioned by the fact that our juvenile system did nothing to help kids, beginning in 1998, Ken went into private practice with Campiche Hepburn McCarty and Bianco.
During this time, he was actively involved in civil plaintiffs’ litigation involving Maritime injuries, Premise Liability, Motor Vehicle accidents, Wage and Hour claims, and Products Liability. During this time he also volunteered at the King County Neighborhood Legal Clinic, as well as with the Korean American Bar Association’s Free Legal Clinic. Ken continues to be active in plaintiff’s personal injury practice and possesses a deep well of practical experience and knowledge.
In December of 2003 Ken returned to public defense to work on District Court DUI cases, which he enjoyed immensely. After three years of DUI work, he handled serious felony cases before entering civil commitment practice with clients committed pursuant to RCW 71.09. He became the supervisor of his division in 2011.
Ken has emphasized a practice of working with long-term clients to get them hearings and release plans that the clients themselves work toward. He inspired the division he came to supervise with his creative approaches and willingness to assist all staff in any way possible.
Additionally, Ken has been awarded by the Washington Defender Association for his work and leadership. He gives presentations statewide and has also provided testimony and guidance in Washington state legislative hearings. When the public defender agency became subsumed within county government, he joined forces with his former colleagues to create this locally owned law firm to serve the community as a free agent.
Ken remains conversationally fluent in Korean, and he is able to keep up his end of conversations conducted in Korean.
Tarena Coleman has a Master’s degree in Social Work and has been contracted with the OPD Parents Representation Program in Spokane County since 2007. She served as the Clinical Supervisor for the Spokane County Parents for Parents Program for over 10 years and currently holds the position of PRP Social Services Contractor Lead for Region 1. Tarena is dedicated to fostering authentic, collaborative working relationships with parents and multidisciplinary teams in pursuit of excellence, justice, service, and equity for families.
Marci Comeau is a Managing Attorney with the Parents Representation Program at the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD). Prior to joining OPD in 2022, Marci served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Office of Administrative Hearings, as a public defender representing parents and children in dependency cases, and as an Assistant Attorney General representing DSHS. Throughout her career, Marci has provided local, statewide, and national trainings to dependency stakeholders on topics including dependency practice and procedure, discovery, the harm of removal, the mental health of dependency practitioners, and anti-racist dependency practice. Among her duties at OPD, Marci manages the contracts for the pre-filing representation programs and the Voluntary Placement Agreement Legal Consultation Hotline – programs devoted to prevention and interrupting child welfare services involvement prior to the initiation of court proceedings. Marci has been published by the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section and in the Washington State’s Juvenile Non-Offender Benchbook. Marci holds a B.A. from the University of Washington and a J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.
Jacob D’Annunzio, is a managing attorney of the Parents Representation Program at the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD). Jacob began his career as a public defender at the Skagit County Public Defender, where besides working with juvenile and dependency cases, he was involved in creating the Family Treatment Court, working towards increasing visitation available for families, and working toward a foster mentor program. Jacob serves on the Children, Youth, and Family Services Advisory Committee, Washington State’s Citizen Review Panel, and various other committees where he works towards improving the state’s child welfare system.
Paula Davenport spent 16 years as a contracted attorney for the Parents Representation Program in Spokane and is now representing children under the Children’s Representation Program contracted with OCLA. She is based out of Tri-cities. Ms. Davenport was also an educator prior to becoming an attorney.
Raymond Delos Reyes is a first-generation Filipino American, born in Seattle and a native of the Rainier Valley neighborhood, where Raymond continues to reside. Currently the owner of Delos Reyes Law, PS, Raymond provides public defense services in King County to parents who are subject to dependency/CPS petitions. Raymond received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, graduating with a BA in Sociology. Raymond later received his JD from Seattle University School of Law, enrolled in their part-time program while working full-time at The Boeing Company.
Christopher Desmond, Esq. is an Olympia-based attorney working at the Desmond Law Group, P.S. His practice focuses on Juvenile Law. His work includes representing children and parents in dependency proceedings, as well as representing parents dealing with CPS-related actions. Mr. Desmond has a BA in History and Classical Studies from the University of Washington, and he received his JD from the University of Wisconsin in 2003. Since that time his practice of law has always included the representation of indigent persons in some capacity and he first began representing youth and parents in dependencies in 2006. He has represented clients in dependency proceedings in at least ten counties and has been involved with numerous stakeholder efforts to improve the dependency system within many of the counties in which he has worked.
Ambrosia Eberhardt is a mother of five who serves the statewide Parents for Parents program at Akin. She is a Washington State lived expert in child welfare who uses her experiences to passionately impact local, state, national, and international parent advocacy movements. She has turned every mistake in her lived experience into personal and professional strengths and strives to bring others into the fold to impact their community. She leans into the values of empathy, community, and courage and shows up whole-heartedly to this work. She believes in the power of families healing together and does not believe that the solution to many of life's challenges is made better through imposed family separation.
Erin Gallagher holds a Master’s degree in Social Work, and is currently a 3L at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane. Erin worked as a social work practicum student with the Parent Representation Program during the final year of her MSW program, and found herself ignited with newfound passion. Erin hopes to enter into parents’ defense after completing law school, and seeks to integrate the core tenants of social work practice with zealous legal representation.
Dana Gibson’s story is about beating tough challenges and changing for the better. She overcame 35 years of addiction and is now four-and-a-half years in recovery, getting top grades in college, and helping others facing similar problems. She tells people it’s essential to ask for help early and bravely, drawing on her experiences to encourage others.
Elizabeth Halls, with Titus Halls & Sellers, PLLC, in Wenatchee, WA, has been a public defense attorney for the past 18 years. She currently represents indigent clients on their appeals in Court of Appeals, Division III and felony cases in Superior Court in Chelan and Douglas counties.
Sonja Hardenbrook has been at Snohomish County Public Defender Association since 2003, starting as a law school intern, post graduations she worked in the district court unit for two years, then serving in the felony unit and doing a management rotation. From 2012-2022 she worked in the 71.09 unit representing clients civilly committed as sexually violent predators under RCW 71.09. She currently works as a full-time trial attorney in the felony division at SnoCo. In her nearly 20 years as a public defender Sonja has hired or examined experts on toxicology, firearm ballistics, fingerprints, pharmacology, accident reconstruction, autopsy examination (bullet wounds, stab wounds, ligature marks, drowning, blunt force trauma), psychiatry/psychology (competence to stand trial, diminished capacity, insanity, competence as a witness, identification as a sexually violent predator), plethysmography, sexual assault nurse examinations, DNA, forensic accounting, medical, statistics, actuarial, and child interviewing.
Judge Andrea S. Jarmon was elected to the King County District Court bench in November of 2022. Her prior judicial experience includes serving as a full-time administrative law judge with the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals and as a pro-tempore commissioner for the King County Superior Court in the Dependency Unit.
Prior to joining the bench, Judge Jarmon’s 15 plus years of legal experience include serving as a city prosecutor for the City of Seattle and the City of Auburn; and as an Assistant Attorney General for the Washington State Attorney General's Office in the Criminal, Sexually Violent Predator, and L&I Divisions. While practicing in the legal profession, she also worked as an adjunct professor for Green River Community College for six years. She left the Attorney General's Office to engage in teaching full-time. She was full time professor in the Paralegal Studies Program at Tacoma Community College for two years. When she returned to practicing law, she established a solo practice where she represented indigent clients in criminal law, dependency and termination proceedings, and offered unbundled and pro bono family law services.
Judge Jarmon often says that her journey to the bench began on King County Metro Bus #174 when she was a homeless youth using public transit and shelters for safety. Later, as a young mother in a domestic violence relationship, she experienced navigating the court system as a pro se litigant. She entered the legal profession to give voice and representation to people with stories like hers. Judge Jarmon deeply believes that each person who comes before the court has a right to fair and impartial decisions that are guided by a deep understanding of the law balanced with compassion.
She serves on the Washington State Bar Association's Diversity Counsel, is a past member of the State Bar Association's Board of Governors, has served on the LLLT Board, the Supreme Court Work Group to Review WSBA Structure, and previously served as the Chair for the Office of Public Defense's Advisory Committee. Judge Jarmon has been acknowledged by the Washington Women Lawyers-King County Chapter with the President's Award, by the Center for Women and Democracy with the Leadership (Re) Defined Award, and by her local community with a recognition in 2024 for International Women's Day.
Natalya Kinder is the Parents 4 Parents director for Thurston, Lewis and Mason Counties and is part of Family Education and Support Services (FESS). She been working with parents as a Parent Ally for the last 5 years and has almost 10 years since her own Dependency closed, She loves to inspire hope in parents, helping them realize their potentials.
Bob Lutz, MD, MPH, received his medical degree from Temple University in 1988. He completed his Family Practice Residency at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, and his Master of Public Health at the University of Arizona. He has adjunct faculty positions with the University of Washington School of Medicine and Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.
Upon moving to Spokane, WA in 2004 with his wife, Amy, he served on the Spokane Regional Health District’s Board of Health for eight years until being appointed as the Health Officer for Spokane County, WA from 2017-2020 and Asotin County from 2018-present. He joined the Washington Department of Health in 2020 as its COVID-19 Medical Advisor through August 2022. Subsequently, He served as one of DOH’s four Regional Medical Officers through April 2024, when he returned to local public health. During his time with DOH, he served as the co-lead for goal 2 of the State Opioid and Overdose Plan and assisted in laying the groundwork for ESB 6109 as well as evolving public health guidance addressing methamphetamine and fentanyl contamination and exposure. He is a member of the Bree Collaborative workgroup updating recommendations for treatment of opioid use disorder.
As a street medicine provider for CHAS, an eastern Washington federally qualified health center, his recognition of societal factors contributing to health inequities underlies his commitment to improving the lives of everyone, especially those challenged to do so for themselves.
Tonia McClanahan is currently the Parent Voice Advocacy Manager and contract Manager with the Washington State Office of Public Defense Parent Representation Program (OPD). Prior to becoming the Parent Voice Advocacy Manager, Tonia spent 8 years as a contracted Social Service Worker with OPD providing professional services to assist dependency attorneys and to help meet the basic and complex needs of the parents. She is the former director of the Parent4Parent Program for Thurston, Mason and Lewis Counties. She has spent the last 18 years, using her own lived experience with the child welfare system, mentoring parents involved in the dependency process and advocating for improvements to the child welfare system including testifying before the state legislature since 2006. She is the first Birth Parent to sit on the Washington State Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care, a position she has held since 2013. She is a member of multiple state and local committees and boards including the OPD Racial Justice Agency Movement; the Family Recovery Court teams in multiple counties; the State Safe Babies Design Team; the Executive Dependency Advisory Group, the Strophy Drug Court Foundation, the State Background Check Workgroup; the State Alumni Association; the State Crime Victims Services Workgroup; the Opioid Response Teams (state and local); and the Treatment Sales Tax Board to name a few. She co-chairs the Statewide Reunification Advisory Committee and is a champion of the Mockingbird Society working to transform foster care and end youth homelessness as well as a champion for the Protein for All program and Hangry Carts.
Joyce McMillan is a thought leader, advocate, community organizer, educator, and the Founder and Executive Director of Just Making a Change for Families (JMACforFamilies).
Joyce’s mission is to remove systemic barriers in communities of color by bringing awareness to the racial disparities in systems where people of color are disproportionately affected. Her ultimate goal is to abolish systems of harm– especially the family policing system (or the so-called “child welfare system”)– while creating concrete community resources.
As the Founder of the Parent Legislative Action Network (PLAN), Joyce leads a statewide coalition of impacted parents and young people, advocates, attorneys, social workers, and academics collaborating to effect systemic change in the family policing system. Joyce also currently serves on the board of the Women’s Prison Association and on the Advisory Committee for the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, where she holds a visiting fellowship. As a visiting fellow, Joyce explores ways to strengthen parent voices in child welfare and has led a series of public events where panelists discuss both problems and suggested solutions.
Previously, Joyce led family engagement and advocacy efforts at Sinergia Inc, an organization that works with and to support people with disabilities and their families. Prior to Sinergia, she was the Program Director at the Child Welfare Organizing Project (CWOP), where she created a space for communities of color who have been traumatized by systemic injustices to learn about restorative practices.
Joyce has served as a member of the NYC County Committee and a Supreme Court Judicial Delegate. She has also held fellowships with Law4Black Lives and the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. In 2019 she was recognized with the City and State Nonprofit Power 100 Most Influential in the Community award and in 2024, she was awarded the Trailblazer Award by Brooklyn Defender Services.
Joyce has lectured and spoken at Columbia University, Harvard University, New York University, Hunter College, Montclair University, CUNY Law School, Cornell University, Harlem Hospital, New York City Affairs at the New School, Williams College, and many other institutions. She has also appeared in various media interviews with outlets such as Al Jazeera, The New York Times, ABC Channel 7, The Imprint, ProPublica, and Politico.
Emily Nelson graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2001 after she received her bachelor’s degree in Government and Pre-law from Eastern Washington University. Emily Nelson started her legal career at the Spokane County Prosecutor's Office, engaging in diverse roles encompassing misdemeanor and felony prosecutions. Her vast trial background spans both jury and bench trials. Additionally, she dedicated herself to guardian ad litem work, advocating for the disabled, elderly, and children. After working for the prosecutor’s office, she moved on to family law and civil dependencies. Her expertise in family law is substantial, as is her advocacy for parental rights in civil dependencies. For the past decade, she has concentrated solely on safeguarding families entangled in state dependency matters, aiming to preserve their unity and well-being.
Connor O'Neil, a native of Seattle, Washington, pursued his legal education at Seattle University School of Law. During his time in law school, Connor engaged in social justice initiatives, serving on the Board for the Seattle Journal for Social Justice, participating in the moderate means practicum to provide access to civil legal services for individuals of moderate means, and contributed to the Lawyer’s Fostering Independence program, a program designed to address the legal needs of at-risk youth and young adults facing homelessness. Upon graduating, Connor embarked on his professional journey at Everett Law Association, where he served as a public defender, advocating for clients facing misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor charges in the Everett Municipal Court. Eager to broaden his legal expertise and deepen his impact, Connor transitioned to ABC Law Group, LLC. In his current role, he specializes in representing parents and minors in dependency and termination actions, with a focus on safeguarding the rights and well-being of vulnerable families. Connor's practice has extended to include minor guardianship cases, administrative law, criminal defense, family law, and protection orders. In addition to his work at ABC Law Group, Connor is actively involved with the Family Intervention Response to Stop Trauma (FIRST) Clinic. This program, following a medical-legal partnership model, provides essential legal advocacy and support to pregnant individuals and parents of newborns at risk of CPS removal.
Chris Page is a parent with lived experience in the child welfare system, deeply committed to supporting others on similar journeys. Chris has 6 years of sobriety, he is trained a peer-to-peer counselor and also certified as a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Family Navigator. Along with being the first Black male Parent Ally in his county, Chris is also the first Black male PRP SSW in his program region. Chris has extensive experience in Community Housing Programs, as a former Housing Case Manager and Community Resource Lead. Chris cut his teeth in services working in SUD Stabilization Programs, such as the community detox center in his city. Chris is also proud to be a 1st generation college grad, holding a BA in Human Services from Western Washington University, where he maintained a 4.0 GPA. Married for 16 years, he is the proud father of five beautiful mixed-race children, and one bonus daughter.
Chelsie Porter (she/her) is the Syringe Service Program Coordinator at the Washington State Department of Health. Chelsie works with syringe service programs, and Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution programs across the state in their efforts to improve and support the health and wellbeing of people who use drugs. Outside of her work with DOH, Chelsie volunteers as a full spectrum doula supporting pregnant and parenting people who use drugs.
Michael Rihtarch My name is Michael Rihtarich. I am a 41 yr old single father and member of Makah nation. I’d like to share a little of my story…
My four siblings and I grew up in poverty in the Pacific Northwest. We bounced back and forth between my mothers or our Aunt and Uncle's home, where there were too many cousins to count. The adults in our life were always in active addiction. The emotional and physical abuse we endured taught me a variety of life lessons from a young age. I dropped out of school in 7th grade and struggled with my own addictions. Living life in the only way I knew how, I spent more time in Jail and institutions than I’d care to admit. However, In 2017 my way of life changed forever, I became a father.
From the moment I found out that my girlfriend was with child I knew I would do anything for them. My daughter Ava, now 6, Tragically lost her mother in 2018, when she was just a baby. This left me to parent her alone, I was heartbroken and afraid. I struggled. In early 2023 CPS found reason to remove Ava from my care. We discovered that I was not her biological father and they told me I had no rights to custody. They took my will to live. I wouldn’t give up. I was the only father she had known. I sat through heart-wrenching court hearings where they used words like orphan and spoke as if I never existed. As hopeless as it seemed, I had to be there for her, to show her that she was worth fighting for, blood or not, she was my baby. OPD saw my frustrations. With their mentorship I was able to obtain an attorney. I listened to their advice and followed directions. Because OPD stepped in and guided me, I was granted DeFacto Parent and Ava was returned to my custody where she belongs.
Today I am a contracted Social Worker for OPD. I use my life lessons to give back to my community. My experience offers hope and living testimony that if there is a will, there is a way. My primary role as father has given me a way to be a respected member of our community and a valued employee.
Joe Terhaar is a provider of ‘Family-Centered Addiction Recovery®’, ‘Where Families Heal Addiction®’, facilitating the family as the center of recovery and healing including grief support for families surviving a drug related death; trained with Robert Rhoton, PsyD in family system trauma techniques; author of nationally published article Neurobiology-Informed Addiction Recovery in Advances in Addiction & Recovery (NAADAC, 2014); presenter at the NAADAC National Conference 2014, and the Association of Intervention Specialists National Conference 2013, advancing the integration of neurobiology comprehension into the family intervention equation; in 2001 awarded a rare dissertation research grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to study family addiction intervention; expert witness for courts litigating issues of family treatment practices, addiction diagnosis while effective in settling $1.5 million case of family intervention malpractice; facilitator for critical update in Association of Intervention Specialists Code of Ethics in 2015; practicing licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, having been a certified chemical dependency counselor for over 40 years with experience in drug prevention, intervention, and treatment; Full Member of the Association of Intervention Specialists and a Certified Intervention Professional using 15-distinct strategies in helping families; educator and trainer of addiction professionals since 1983 having been for 20-years a NAADAC Education Provider (addiction counselors); Washington State-approved marriage and family licensure supervisor since 2008; author of research-grounded concepts, skills, and objectives for the articulation of family intervention granted provisional patent in 2005; national internet radio talk show host for Overcoming Addiction: Hope with Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment with Dr. Joe, on the Voice America network (2.5 million listeners) in 2013-14; Graduate Fellowship Award, Eastern Washington University in 1979; Who's Who Among Students In American Colleges and Universities, 1976-77; author of training curricula for school teachers, social workers, and drug counselors with parts adopted across the U.S. from Seattle to Georgia.
Jan Trasen, jan@washapp.org: Jan Trasen joined the Washington Appellate Project in 2008 after serving as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society in New York City. While in New York, she served as a law clerk in the Eastern District of New York. Jan currently serves on the judicial evaluation committee for the Cardozo Society and on the board of directors for the Ruby Room, a non-profit organization benefiting teens in the foster system, and is active in the National Charity League. Jan provides technical assistance for attorneys in dependency appeals in Division One. Jan’s significant cases include State v. Stump, 185 Wn.2d 454 (2016) (reversing imposition of appellate costs where defendant’s attorney filed an Anders brief); Dependency of E.M., 197 Wn.2d 492 (2021) (finding privately retained attorney need not be appointed by court); and State v. Lemke, 7 Wn. App. 2d 23 (2018) (reversing where judge’s decision was influenced by personal animus). Jan formerly taught middle school through Teach for America; she earned her B.A. at Tufts University and her J.D. at Boston College.
Angela Tucker was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and raised in Bellingham Washington after being adopted from foster care. Her early prognosis was dire, the doctors stated that Angela had Spastic Quadriplegia and would likely never walk. She was deemed a ‘failure to thrive.’ This diagnosis is what attracted her adoptive parents to her. They specialized in adopting children with medical needs, ultimately adopting seven children, fostering many and hosting foreign exchange students as well. Throughout her life she encountered many barriers, but went on to surprise the doctors by playing basketball and running track through college. Her profound hearing loss was mitigated with hearing aids when she was just five years old, which she proudly wears as a fashion accessory.
While studying Psychology at Seattle Pacific University, Angela began blogging where she publicly processed her emotions around growing up in a closed adoption. In 2013, at the age of 26, Angela found her biological parents and asked that it be filmed, simply as home video footage for her own private use. However, her husband, Bryan Tucker, saw a need to publicize the remarkable story and (with Angela’s permission), turned what would be home video footage into his first documentary film, leading him to a career as a filmmaker. CLOSURE made the film festival circuit and then premiered on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. In 2015, Angela created The Adopted Life Episodes, a groundbreaking video project that features interviews with teen and pre-teen transracial adoptees to bring awareness and education to the public about complex issues such as racial identity formation, searching for and having open relationships with birth/biological families, and, in some cases, having little to no information about one’s biological families. In 2020, during the pandemic, Angela debuted The Adoptee Next Door podcast, which takes the listener beyond the sparkly fairy tale of adoption, inviting adoptees from all backgrounds to share their rarely heard perspectives and shift societal perceptions about adoption. In 2022 Angela founded the Adoptee Mentoring Society which supports adoptees to develop agency over their complex and sometimes traumatic personal stories. Between 2011 and 2020, Angela served as a domestic infant adoption caseworker at a large, private adoption agency and created the Post-Adoption department at a large foster care agency in Seattle, Washington. She has also worked to support students with disabilities to ensure equal access in higher education.
Sonja Ulrich, DSW, MSW is a social worker with more than 30 years of child welfare experience. She directs the Center for Native Child and Family Resilience and serves as an independent consultant. Her work history includes direct casework, system change initiatives and expert witness work. She has provided assessments and opinions on the practice standards in child welfare cases, risk and safety assessments, active and reasonable efforts, ICWA, and overcoming barriers to denied home studies to support permanency. Her recent qualitative research examined the decision-making process of caseworkers around reunification and the impact of their perception in the decision-making process. The findings demonstrated significant bias present in the decision-making process surrounding reunification and placement with relatives.
Laura Vogel has been working for the Administrative Office of the Courts’ (AOC) Family & Youth Justice Programs since early 2021. She coordinates training opportunities for judicial officers and court partners, along with facilitating multiple cross-system court improvement efforts. Originally from the Midwest, Laura’s early career involved coordinating specialty criminal domestic violence courts and high-risk lethality teams. Prior to working for AOC, Laura was employed by Thurston County Superior Court as the Family Recovery Court Coordinator, and subsequently as the Safe Babies Court Community Coordinator. She holds bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University, a Master of Public Administration degree from Kent State, and is a Certified Trauma Support Specialist. Laura currently leads the statewide effort to develop resources and training that supports court communities in assessing and responding to the harms of removal in child dependency cases. She brings a wealth of expertise in the trauma of family separation and presents locally and nationally on the harm of removal in child welfare.
Gina Wassemiller is a Parent Ally for the FIRST Legal Clinic. Gina is also a Contracted Social Service Worker with the Office of Public Defense Parent Representation Program. She has many years of experience working with families involved in the child welfare system. Gina helps parents overcome obstacles and reach a positive outcome. Gina is a member of the Snohomish County Table of Ten. She is a former facilitator for the Snohomish County Parent Ally Committee. She also facilitated the Life During CPS support group. Gina has been a voting member of the Washington State Parent Ally Committee and is currently an Alumni. Gina has been the Coordinator for the Parent for Parent program at the YWCA
Gina brings true passion and hope to the work she does with families. Gina was one of the parents she works with today. Her case ended in a relinquishment of her parental rights by choice. In September 2009 she became involved again in a voluntary case. She continues to advocate for the parents for the best outcome. Gina believes a positive outcome is one, a parent can live with forever. She knows this from her own experience. She is a survivor of Domestic Violence and a recovering addict. Gina meets parents where they are at and instills hope into each parent she works with. Gina is living proof that People Change and Families Reunite.
Ashley D. Williams is an attorney representing parents with The Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers, Inc. (LADL). She is currently assigned to DREAM (Dedicated to Restoration through Empowerment and Advocacy) Court, a specialized courtroom serving minors who are victims of CSEC (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children). Ashley was raised in the foster system. She lived in 36 placements and attended 26 schools by the time she turned eighteen. In spite of this, Ashley went on to attend the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where she co-founded the Bruin Guardian Scholars Program, which assists former foster youth in navigating the university system. She then attended Southwestern Law School. Ashley served as a judicial extern with Judge Harry Pregerson in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and then as a Congressional Intern for Congresswoman Karen Bass. Inspired and informed by her own experiences in foster care, Ashley drafted a policy report and presented her results at a congressional briefing titled, “Fostering a Culture of Silence: The Need to Improve Reporting of Sexual Abuse in Foster Care. In 2022, Ashley was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition of Outstanding and Invaluable Service and nominated as the 2022 Congressional Coalition of Adoption Institute Angel of the Year recipient by Congresswoman Karen Bass due to her extensive record of child welfare advocacy. She presented at the 2022 National Child Welfare Law Conference and was named Outstanding New Lawyer by the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC). In 2023, Ashley was appointed by the President of the American Bar Association to serve on the ABA Commission on Youth at Risk. Ashley’s professional goal is to obtain a judgeship in the areas of juvenile dependency and delinquency law.
William Wolf has worked at the Department of Assigned Counsel for over 25 years. He has been in the Dependency Unit for the last 19 years. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and University of South Dakota School of Law. When not at work, he is traveling and if not traveling, he is planning his next trek to some distant land.
Bailey Zydek. (she/her) Bailey is the current manager of OCLA’s Children’s Representation Program, which underwrites and oversees the delivery of standards-based legal representation of children and youth in dependency and termination proceedings across Washington State. Prior to coming to OCLA, Bailey was in private practice in Tacoma, WA where she owned and operated the firm Wildwood Legal. For eight years Bailey had the honor of representing children and parents in dependency and termination proceedings at Pierce County Juvenile Court, the last 3 of which were dedicated exclusively to children’s representation. Bailey has presented on a variety of topics concerning children’s representation over the years and has served as a co-editor of the dependency and CHINS/ARY chapters of the WSBA’s Family Law Deskbook. She is currently the Chair of the WSBA’s Juvenile Law Section and the designated State Coordinator for the National Association of Counsel for Children.