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2023 Individual Boar...

Home > 2023 Individual Board Member Elections
2023 Individual Board Member Elections

2024 Individual Board Member Elections

The WDA board is pleased to nominate the following slate of individual member representative candidates for election to the WDA board. Their terms will be for two years starting at the June board meeting. You may vote for all three candidates, regardless of which division you are in. Please note: each WDA member eligible to vote can only vote once and must enter their first and last name to be able to do so. However, all voting will be kept anonymous. Voting will be closed at noon on June 10, 2024.

Division I, Position I
Karen served ten years as a senior deputy public defender with the Skagit County Public Defender and currently is the owner and managing attorney of KD Wilson Law PLLC, handling 71.09, criminal defense, civil rights, and employment cases. She served on the WSBA Board of Governors from September 2013 to September 2016 and as WSBA treasurer for 2015-2016. She also has served on the WSBA’s Council on Public Defense, Court Rules and Procedures Committee, and as Co-Chair of their Diversity Committee. She is an alumna of the 2012 Washington Leadership Institute (WLI) and also served as a WLI Advisory Board member from 2013 to 2016. She currently serves on the board of Pioneer Human Services and is an active member of the Latina/o Bar Association and the Loren Miller Bar Association. “It would be my honor to continue in service with WDA. I have benefitted greatly from the resources provided by WDA. WDA offers outstanding resources for its members through the WDA listserv, brief bank, and CLEs. WDA advocacy for funding and legislation on behalf of public and criminal defense is invaluable.”
Division II, Position I
As a WDA member of many years, I am excited for the opportunity to continue representing Division II on the WDA board. I have worked as a criminal defense attorney representing indigent clients for over 17 years, first in Snohomish County, then in Clark County, and now at the Federal Defender in Tacoma. I have tried to use my position on the WDA board to strengthen the connections between indigent defense attorneys in southwest Washington and the statewide community of public defenders, and between federal and state practitioners. I have also tried to advocate for attorneys who practice in those areas of the state without organized public defense offices. I am particularly interested in public defense funding, structure, and standards in Washington state, and how to best ensure quality representation and fair and equal treatment of defense attorneys to all of Washington. I enjoy bringing a perspective from Southwest Washington to the WDA board.
Division III, Position I
My name is Rachel Cortez and I am running for the Individual Member Representative Division III board position of the Washington Defenders Association. Since I was in seventh grade, I knew I wanted to be a public defender. My journey started when I was accepted into Thomas M. Cooley Law School where I graduated in 2012. I started practicing as an extern for Kirshenbaum and Goss, Inc, PLLC. It was as an extern that I began to fully appreciate what being a public defender was really like and the challenges associated with the job. I now have my own office where I am a contract public defender for the City of College Place, County of Walla Walla , City of Walla Walla and County of Columbia. With every day, my passion for being a public defender grows. I would not change my job for anything and absolutely love what I do. As your Individual Member Representative, I am hoping to share my passion and challenges, as well as my perspectives gained in six different jurisdictions in our state, in hopes we can continue to improve this system we all work in.