Tina Luongo, Chief Attorney of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society, has been named Chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section.

The Criminal Justice Section of the ABA was founded in 1920 to address the pressing issues facing today’s criminal justice system. The Section currently has over 100,000 members and plays an active role in bringing the views of the ABA to the attention of federal and state courts, Congress, and other federal and state judicial, legislative, and executive policy-making bodies.

Tina is the first gender non-conforming individual to serve as Chair. In that role, they will work with public and private criminal defense attorneys, State and Federal prosecutors, and esteemed members of the bench and academia to set the standards for racial equity and fairness in the criminal legal system and to strive to create opportunity and professional development for section members.

Throughout their career, Luongo has focused on improving the lives of those who have found themselves on the brink, or within, the criminal justice system. They are dedicated to increasing the diversity of the public defense workforce and are integrally involved in Legal Aid’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives which partners management and staff to improve staff diversity and provide cultural competency training, both internally and to external stakeholders in the criminal justice system.

They have been an active voice in the movement to foster best practices in public defense and continue to be involved in the dialogue about how public defenders can create systemic change, as well as be zealous advocates for their clients.

“The work we do in our section is more critical than ever,” Luongo said. “Though we have made enormous strides to bring equity and fairness to the criminal legal system, true access to justice is still far from reach.”

“There is no better group than ours to address the issues before us,” they continued. “The power of CJS is the work we do together, and it is imperative we continue to engage with one another, in dialogue and debate, to move the needle forward.”

Congratulations to Tina, who assumed the position of Chair as of today.