ACCD at Annual Conference

Omotayo B. Alli serves as the Executive Director of the Georgia Public Defender Council (GPDC), spearheading the agency's mission and overseeing its day-to-day operations across the state. Appointed by Governor Brian P. Kemp in March 2020, Director Alli brings a wealth of experience as a career public defender to her role. Under her leadership, GPDC has made significant strides in enhancing indigent defense services, preparing the agency to meet the evolving needs of clients, communities, and 21st-century courts while safeguarding the constitutional rights of all individuals. As Executive Director, Mrs. Alli oversees 60 offices statewide, ensuring the delivery of highquality legal representation to indigent clients throughout Georgia. Her tenure has been marked by a steadfast commitment to supporting frontline trial-level services, meeting clients where they are, and addressing the underlying factors that often lead to court involvement. During the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mrs. Alli's leadership ensured that no GPDC attorney or staff member was furloughed, while simultaneously positioning the agency to emerge stronger and better equipped to serve both adults and children in its care. In 2022, Mrs. Alli was instrumental in working with the Georgia General Assembly to achieve historic equity between public defenders and district attorneys for the first time in the state's history.

Under Mrs. Alli's leadership, this achievement was accompanied by a series of transformative accomplishments that have significantly strengthened the public defense system in Georgia. She secured increased state funding to boost public defender salaries and raised compensation rates for assigned contract attorneys, attracting and retaining top legal talent. Mrs. Alli also created a specialized team of traveling attorneys to provide adequate defense in "legal deserts," addressing the critical need for representation in underserved areas. To combat the rise in complex, multi-defendant cases, she established a dedicated Gang and RICO Unit. Additionally, Mrs. Alli implemented a comprehensive statewide social services division to oversee rehabilitative programs, addressing the root causes of criminal behavior and promoting successful reintegration. Her initiatives also included launching an innovative public defender leadership program, investing in cutting-edge technology for case management, and expanding community outreach programs. Director Alli's commitment to public service extends far beyond her statutory duties. She has established innovative programs like the Ladders Reentry Program and Leadership Education Advancement Program (LEAP), which addresses the root causes of criminal behavior and offers pathways to rehabilitation. Ladders, serving clients aged 16 to 24, provides comprehensive support including case management, GED preparation, and vocational training. Its success is evident in its 91% graduation rate and remarkably low 2% recidivism rate among graduates. Before joining GPDC, Mrs. Alli served as Chief Administrative Officer for the Fulton County Juvenile Court, where she developed evidence-based diversionary programs. LEAP has been particularly impactful, offering crucial educational resources to court-involved youth and helping many earn their GED and advance to higher education. As the inaugural Director of Fulton County Child Attorneys, she transformed the office into a benchmark child welfare program, doubling its growth and budget within a year while ensuring compliance with the Kenny A. Consent Decree. As GPDC's first female and first African heritage Executive Director, Mrs. Alli brings a unique perspective to her role. Her educational background includes degrees from Kent State University, Jacksonville State University, and Georgia State University.

She is also a registered neutral mediator and holds SHRM-SCP and SPHR certifications. Mrs. Alli's contributions have garnered widespread recognition, including the 2018 Community Partner Spirit of the League Award, the 2019 Daily Reports Trailblazer Award, and the Chief F.R.A. Williams Legal Service Award. In 2024, she received the prestigious John Robert Lewis Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring her enduring commitment to public service, equality, and education. Actively engaged in her community, Mrs. Alli is a member of Leadership DeKalb and various civic and professional organizations. She resides in DeKalb with her husband, Dr. Kasim Alli, and their union has been blessed with three beautiful daughters.

Jenny Hernandez is the Senior Immigration Attorney at the City of Atlanta Office of the Public Defender’s Immigration Defense Unit. She provides Padilla advice to the office’s noncitizens clients and represents detained respondents in their removal proceedings at the Atlanta and Stewart Immigration Courts and on appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals. She recently co-authored Crimmigration in a Nutshell, a hornbook providing an introduction to the field of Crimmigration. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Emory University School of Law. Previously, she co-created and led Immigrant Defense Oregon at the Metropolitan Public Defender in Portland, Oregon from 2017-2019. She also served as attorney advisor at the Miami Immigration Court from 2015-2017. She graduated with a dual degree, a Juris Doctor and Masters of Theological Studies, at Emory University in 2012.

Keisha Hudson has been a public defender for 23 years, first with the Defender Association of Philadelphia and then as a capital appellate defender with the Federal Defender-Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Capital Habeas Unit) representing people on death row in their state post-conviction and federal habeas appeals. As a seasoned trial and appellate defender, Ms. Hudson has an in-depth understanding of what it means to be a public defender. At the Capital Habeas Unit, Ms. Hudson was the Director of Training.

In 2016, Ms. Hudson left the Federal Defender and joined the Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender Officer to become the Deputy Chief Defender. Ms. Hudson joined the Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender with the goal of building and strengthening advocacy in the courtroom. Along with former Chief Defender Dean Beer, Ms. Hudson addressed systemic issues regarding policing, pretrial detention, sentencing, and probation in the county. In four years, Chief Defender Dean Beer and Ms. Hudson built one of the best public defender offices in the state.

In 2020, Ms. Hudson worked with The Justice Collaborative and The Appeal, developing and leading advocacy and media campaigns on criminal justice issues- specifically campaigns aimed at looking at creative and successful community alternatives that truly create public safety. From 2020 to 2021, Ms. Hudson was a visiting professor at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. Ms. Hudson has been the Chief Defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia for three years.

Jumana Musa is a human rights attorney and racial justice activist. She is the founding Director of the Fourth Amendment Center at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. As director, Ms. Musa oversees NACDL's initiative to build a new, more durable Fourth Amendment legal doctrine for the digital age, focusing on the impact of technology and artificial intelligence on the criminal legal system. The Fourth Amendment Center educates the defense bar on Constitutional challenges to tech tools, provides a dynamic toolkit of resources to help lawyers identify opportunities to challenge government surveillance, and provides direct tactical litigation support to assist in challenging technology and algorithmic decision making tools in criminal cases. Ms. Musa previously served as NACDL's Sr. Privacy and National Security Counsel.