ACCD Leadership

Strong public defense requires strong leadership. ACCD’s leaders bring deep experience, a commitment to justice, and a clear understanding of what defenders and their communities need to move the field forward.

Chair: Chief Public Defender Danny Engelberg

Orleans Public Defenders

Danny Engelberg is the Chief Defender of the Orleans Public Defenders (OPD), a role he has held since 2023 after serving as Deputy Chief Defender and Chief of Trials. He joined OPD in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades advancing public defense in New Orleans through innovative programming, community-based and client-centered representation, and sustained advocacy for funding equity. Engelberg's career reflects a deep commitment to protecting the rights of low-income New Orleanians and advancing a stronger, more equitable public defense system.

Vice-Chair: Chief Public Defender Ellen McDonnell

Contra Costa Public Defenders

Ellen McDonnell is the Chief Public Defender for the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s (CCPD) office. She graduated from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings), where she was a member of the Hastings Law Review. Ellen began her career with the Contra Costa County Public Defender’s Office in 2001 and has handled cases ranging from misdemeanors to homicides. She was appointed Chief Public Defender in December 2021.

Ellen has served over two and a half decades with CCPD where she specialized in serious felony defense, served as a leading voice for public defense in the courts and community, and overseen the expansion of innovative holistic defense programs. Under her leadership, the office has launched cuttingedge initiatives that have earned recognition at both the state and federal levels.

Ellen is a frequent speaker on holistic defense, access to counsel, and criminal legal system reform. She has presented at organizations including the California Judicial Council, U.S. Department of Justice, National Legal Aid & Defender Association, American Council of Chief Defenders, and American Society of Criminology and has served on several statewide advisory and policy committees.

Ellen serves as Vice Chair of the Defender Council of the American Council of Chief Defenders and co-chairs Contra Costa County’s Racial Justice Oversight Body. As the Contra Costa County Public Defender, Ellen stewards the office’s commitment to advancing equity, justice, and high-quality representation for all members of the community.

Meet The ACCD Advisory Group 

The ACCD Advisory Group brings Chiefs from across the country together to shape what ACCD becomes, who it reaches, and how it strengthens public defense leadership. 

Co- Chairs 

• Danny Engelberg, Chief Public Defender New Orleans Defenders 

• Ellen McDonnell, Chief Public Defender Contra Costas PublicDefenders  

Members 

• Ken Days, III, Chief Public Defender for the City of Atlanta Office of the Public Defender 

• Angela Kilpatrick, Deputy Public Defender Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender 

• Yung-Mi Lee, Director of Law and Appeals in the Criminal Defense Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services  

• Sean McNulty, Chief Public Defender of the Toledo Legal Aid Society 

• Jeff Wright, Iowa State Public Defender