NLADA Staff

Vernina Ali is an executive assistant with over 20 years of experience, who supports the President and CEO. Prior to joining NLADA, Vernina has worked with senior leadership at companies like Equifax, Kimberly-Clark, and American Express. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from Walden University along with certifications in OBM and Project Management.

Chris Buerger is NLADA’s Chief Counsel for Civil Legal Services. In this role, he advises programs on regulatory and compliance matters, particularly as they relate to LSC restrictions and requirements. He also assists members on emerging issues in legal aid related to technology. Prior to joining NLADA, Chris spent most of his career fighting on behalf of low-income parents in the family courts of New York City, first at The Center for Family Representation and then with The Bronx Defenders. Before that, he worked and interned in New York, Louisiana, Oregon, and Ghana. Chris is a graduate of Columbia Law School. During law school, he participated in the Human Rights Clinic and the Community Defense Externship. He received an M.P.P from Oregon State University, where his research focused on quantitative methods, rural communities, and child welfare policy. He also holds a B.A. from American University with a major in literature and a minor in chemistry.

Rabiah Alicia Burks, Vice President, Communications & Team Building, is a strategic communications executive who has dedicated her career to educating the public about criminal justice reform issues through traditional and non-traditional methods. She has led communications at FAMM Foundation and the ABA Criminal Justice Section and is a member of a several organizations including the National Association of Black Journalists, Washington Association of Black Journalist and the National Press Club. Rabiah earned her Bachelor of Arts in History & African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Journalism from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Hazie Crespo oversees various technology related projects to better support NLADA members and staff. As a seasoned project manager, she has managed the implementation of NLADA's new association management system, Impexium, and NLADA's Learning Lab, Elevate. Prior to joining the team, Hazie served as a school administrator supporting culture and developing multi-tiered systems of support for all students and families. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience at Wheaton College, MA and her MEd from Boston University. She loves to travel and bike with StreetsCallingDC biking group.

Kate, Deputy Director, Development, has been with NLADA since 2018 as a member of the Development team, working on fundraising campaigns- including our Annual Exemplar Gala, spearheading sponsorships for our annual conferences, working on projects with our Corporate Advisory Committee and partnering closely with the Membership team as well. Prior to joining the non-profit world, she spent 10 years working on the Hill in a Congressional office as Deputy Chief of Staff, where during her tenure she handled various policy areas including education, healthcare and equal justice issues. After graduating from law school, she spent a year working with the AmeriCorps-AVAP program in NH as a Victim Advocate, helping victims of domestic and sexual violence deal with the court system. She is a native of West Virginia. She received her B.A. from Wittenberg University and her J.D. from the University of Cincinnati.

April serves as President & CEO of NLADA. She has been a champion for equal justice for two decades. A graduate of Howard School of Law, she worked as a public defender in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee and at the Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia before joining NLADA. She has been a part of the NLADA leadership team for the past five years, most recently serving as Vice President for Strategic Alliances & Innovation and prior to that Chief of Lifelong Learning. She is a co-founder of NLADA’s newest section, the Black Public Defender Association (BPDA), which aims to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in public defense and promote racial equity in criminal legal systems.  As the 2020 Chair of the American Bar Association’s influential Criminal Justice Section, she led the adoption of important ABA policy on race equity and prosecution, raising the age for juvenile prosecutions, reparations, abolition of private prisons, and other complex criminal legal issues. In addition to her J.D. from Howard University, she holds a B.A. in from Tennessee State University.

Yvette Hatcher is the Director of Finance at NLADA with over 15+ years of experience with the organization.  Prior to joining NLADA she worked for Hudson Cook, LLP, and attended Jacksonville State University where she studied Accounting/Finance.  Yvette supports the organization in directing budget and cost controls, and accounting analysis and procedures. She maintains the relationship with external auditors and prepares detailed account analyses. Yvette implements policies related to financial reporting, budgeting, accounting, and payroll activities.

Justin is the Director of Learning Innovation at the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA). Previously, he worked for 12 years at the Wisconsin State Public Defender as a Staff Development Program Specialist in their Training Division as well as a Mitigation Specialist in the WISPD’s Appellate Division. Before working in Public Defense, Justin held various positions in community mental health in Colorado. Justin received his BA in Psychology from Michigan State University, and his MA in Contemplative Counseling Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.

At NLADA, Stephanie plays a key role in supporting the Training Team with learning administration and project management.

With over 8 years of experience in the social justice sector, Stephanie has contributed to various initiatives aimed at fostering connections among social justice professionals, advancing grassroots legal advocacy, and expanding access to necessary programs and resources for low-income communities throughout New York City.

She holds a BA in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she explored the interconnections of psychology, deviance, and justice systems on a national and global scale. Passionate about uplifting communities that are underrepresented, she is dedicated to work that builds collective capacity and drives equitable, long-lasting change. Stephanie was born and raised in Queens, New York, and is the proud daughter of Colombian immigrants.

Michael Mrozinski is the Legal Director for Defender Legal Services and Strategic Policy Initiatives at NLADA. He supports the work of public defenders nationwide and improvements to public defense systems through research, policy, training and technical assistance, and development of resources and toolkits to assist defenders and their clients. Michael was formerly NLADA’s Staff Attorney for Defender Legal Services. Prior to joining NLADA, he was a legal consultant at the National Juvenile Defender Center (now The Gault Center). His experience also spans a broad range of other topic areas, including human rights, women’s rights, international law, racial and ethnic discrimination, LGBTQ+ rights, labor rights, and workers’ compensation and personal injury law. Michael received his B.A. degrees in Political Science and Linguistics from the University of Chicago and his J.D. and Certificate in Transnational Law from Georgetown University Law Center.

Chandra is the Deputy Director for Member Services focusing on member engagement support and overseeing the registration function for our conferences and trainings. Chandra provides stellar customer service for NLADA members, while also focusing on recruitment and retention, member section engagement, and maintaining NLADA’s Association Management System (AMS). Chandra has been with NLADA for 20+ years and has also held the roles of Sr. Program Assistant (Member Services) and receptionist/administrative assistant. She is a graduate of Prince George’s Community College.

Anna (she/they) is the VISTA Program Manager at NLADA, leveraging AmeriCorps VISTA to build the capacity of public defender offices to advance justice in their communities through sustainable and impactful projects.

A national service alum as well as a passionate advocate of education and equity, Anna supports VISTA members’ professional and personal development ensuring they have the tools they need to continue to create sustainable change in their communities throughout their lives.

Prior to joining NLADA, Anna assisted in the management of Minnesota Council of Nonprofit’s VISTA Program and held various nonprofit positions at the intersection of language learning, education, and music.

Outside of NLADA, you are likely to see Anna with a book in their hands or making music in the community. A native of Minnesota, they received their B.A. in Music and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin River Falls. 

Anne K. Sweeney worked with Legal Aid Society of Cleveland for over twenty years.  In Cleveland, while serving as Managing Attorney for Community Engagement for the last 12 years, she gained experience and developed expertise in community lawyering, group representation, engaging non-attorney advocates in access to justice work, interdisciplinary collaboration and program/project development, implementation and evaluation.  She has also practiced housing law, worked on fines and fees reform, chaired Legal Aid’s Ethics Committee and established their Client Support Services program.   Throughout her career, Anne presented at several national conferences and published two articles in MIE.  Anne received her JD and MSSW from the University of Wisconsin and her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. She is also a licensed independent social worker.  She lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with her spouse and their three children.

Warsame Warsame is the Director of the VISTA program at NLADA, where he leverages the AmeriCorps VISTA program to advance access to justice by supporting  public defender offices and their communities in developing sustainable, impactful projects.

Additionally, Warsame supports VISTA members' professional and personal growth as they develop the foundational skills to become champions of equitable social change.

Prior to joining NLADA, Warsame managed the AmeriCorps VISTA program at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, where he focused on building capacity of community-based nonprofits across Minnesota. He is deeply committed to fostering equity and justice through community-led approaches.

Warsame received his Master of Public Administration from Saint Cloud State University and BA in Economics from Winona State University.

Bianca Washington, Deputy Director of Digital Communications, supports NLADA’s digital communication strategy and execution. Prior to joining the NLADA family, Bianca supported other non-profits' fundraising and digital marketing efforts such as So Others Might Eat (SOME), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and No Kid Hungry. Bianca completed the Digital Marketing program at Full Sail University in 2017.