PDA strives to build robust support for non-punitive, community-based solutions to many public safety issues.With neighborhood and public partners and in partnership with community members actively seeking to move past experiences of harm and injury, we design and deliver widely supported initiatives that promote safety, restoration, and racial equity.

Who We Are

Formed in 1969 as The Defender Association to provide high-quality legal defense for civil rights activists in Seattle, in 2013, we began to concentrate exclusively on alternative public safety models when King County created an in-house public defense program. PDA remained independent to carry on the work of our Racial Disparity Project, which had helped to design LEAD, the nation’s first pre-booking diversion model for drug-related offenses. In 2021, we adopted a Co-Executive Director structure, recognizing the value of power-sharing, multiple voices, and perspectives at the leadership level. Our multicultural team of lawyers, organizers, project managers, social workers, direct service providers, and administrative staff blends professional and technical skills with lived experience of the systems we’re working to change.

Position Description:

The LEAD Project Manager is engaged in the program management of PDA’s local LEAD work, which entails collaboration with law enforcement, case managers, prosecutors, and neighborhood and community leaders.

For full description and to apply: Click Here