I am a criminal defense attorney serving Southwest Florida. Born and raised in San Carlos Park, I bring a balance of passion, intelligence and savvy to clients facing criminal charges in the 20th Judicial Circuit.

In 2021, I received my Bachelor’s in Political Science from The University of Florida, a top five public law school. While there, I was a staff writer with Florida Political Review. My articles were cited by the Associated Press: namely, my interview with the late Charlie Kirk, and the late Melina Barrett, the first Transgender woman to run for Florida Congress. I also was a member of student government, in the Executive Leadership with the Inspire Party as Conflict Arbitration Chair and later, Assistant Minority Party Counsel.

From 2021 until 2024, I attended the University of Minnesota Law, a top #16 public law school. My concentration was in Criminal Justice.

While in law school, I held a range of student attorney positions. First, I worked as a certified student attorney at the City of Minneapolis. I prosecuted DUI’s and gross misdemeanor cases, representing the City at arraignments, bond hearing, pre-trial hearings and civil traffic court. I prepped officers, troopers and witnesses for hearings, and relayed plea offers to pro se Defendants.

I then worked as a certified student attorney with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office in their Felony Trial Unit. While there, I filed motions to suppress in child pornography cases. I also filed motions to traverse search warrants based on unlawful evidence collection under the Fourth amendment. I filed post-conviction litigation based on California’s Racial Justice Act, which bars the inclusion of evidence related to a Defendant’s artistry, such as music they’ve published, as consciousness of guilt. Most notably, I second chaired a possession of a weapon by a convicted felon trial, where the Defendant was found not guilty on the charges.

Continuing my passion for criminal defense, in 2023, I received state and national awards of first place for my academic research on prisoner rights. My article “The Intersection of Access to Justice and Legal Education: Legal Education for America’s Prisoner’s” was published by the American Association of Law Libraries. Instead of taking an ivory-tower approach to prisoner rights, I instead made my paper about how prisons administer education to inmates, preparing them for success upon release. My goal was to create a framework that other prisons or researchers can use as a model for integrating education into prisons across the U.S.

Again in 2023, my article on Probate & Prison was published by the Minnesota Bar and featured on the University of Minnesota’s newsletter. This paper looked at the intersection of probate and the prison system. The article provided detail at a practical level, including a proposed statutory change to address possible concerns of this segment of the population. I wanted to highlight the challenges and barriers incarcerated individuals face during estate administration. She said, “Prisoners are people. They face the same life challenges that we do, including estate administration after the death of a loved one. The current rules in place for prisoners recovering an estate are difficult, punitive, and wholly inefficient. My article centered on how Minnesota probate code and the MNDOC can amend their policies to allow prisoners to recover their rightful inheritances in a way that is ethical, practical, and administratively feasible.”

I then clerked for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in their Community Prosecution Division. I handled a complex caseload of theft and drug charges, both felony and misdemeanor levels. I drafted and argued responsive motions to suppress based on unlawful expansions of traffic stops. I drafted charging documents for hundreds of crimes, and filed no informations and nolle prosequi documents for cases already charged. As I began to receive more complex cases, I found myself intensely scrutinizing them. I became known in the office as the “Defense Prosecutor” for the loopholes and inconsistencies I’d find in the State’s case. As a prosecutor, I demanded perfection.

I then observed a second degree murder trial by Kowitz Law. I saw the lead attorney, Travis Kowitz, scorch the earth in his cross-examination of medical examiners and lay witnesses. After court, I approached Travis and begged him for a job. I also, perhaps a bit cheekily, told him points in the cross-examination he missed. Points I thought made their case better. Fortunately for me, Travis agreed to bring me on board.

I worked for Kowitz Law the remainder of law school and through bar prep, before moving back to Florida. While a certified student attorney there, I handled expungement hearings, client consultations, restraining order motions, and evidence log drafting. Most notably, I drafted a motion in limine for a gang-enhanced felony offense, where I used the State’s own admissions in their motion for enhancements as prima facie evidence that the enhancement was improper. The motion was granted, and the evidence was excluded.

When I moved back to Fort Myers, I worked as a certified legal intern, then attorney with the Assistant Public Defender’s Office in Lee County, Florida. Within 45 days of receiving my law license, I filed a Motion to Dismiss based on Florida’s Stand Your Ground Statute, to which the State Attorney dropped 4 charges of battery. This became a pattern to me: I’d file motions to dismiss based on procedural issues or evidence I obtained from my clients, and the charges would be dropped even prior to hearing. But my true passion for being a criminal defense attorney, and trial attorney, was my first bench trial. Within 4 months of becoming an attorney, I received my first full acquittal for a client. When my client left the courtroom a free person, thanking me over and over again, I knew then that I found my calling. While a public defender, I was assigned to and handled over 1,000 criminal cases. I went cell-side in the jail., visiting clients in the attorney rooms, the detox units, and the medical units I filed motions for competency examinations and handled hearings. I argued bond hearings and numerous charges found to to have probable cause. I did violations of probation advisements and admissions. I collaborated with support staff to file affidavits, medical records, and get clients into treatment programs and mental health court. The list goes on.

Since leaving and beginning my own practice, I’ve collaborated with other private defense attorneys handling primarily felony level crimes. I’ve handled case management conferences, pre-trial conferences, and trial calls in Lee, Charlotte, and Hendry County. I’ve taken depositions of lead detectives, state troopers, K-9 officers.

I am a resolute and calm force in the courtroom and with clients. I look forward to answering any questions you may have and representing you in your case.