Adeola Ogunkeyede, Chief Public Defender of the Travis County Public Defender’s Office, visited Texas Law as the spring 2023 Lives in the Law speaker. She gave a talk about her work for social justice through building and leading a new office and met informally with students.
As Travis County’s first Chief Public Defender, Ogunkeyede has worked since 2020 to develop the office’s holistic practice from the ground up. Previously, she served as the inaugural director for the Civil Rights & Racial Justice Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Virginia. Prior to her work in Virginia, she was the director of staff development and litigation supervisor of the criminal practice at The Bronx Defenders, where she began her career as a staff attorney. She graduated from Tulane Law School.
The “Lives in the Law” speaker series focuses on the work and lives of lawyers who strive to improve the lives of others through litigation, advocacy and public service and is hosted by the Justice Center and Career Services Office each semester. Ogunkeyede’s visit was cosponsored by Law Students for Black Lives, the Public Defense Group, and the Texas Journal on Civil Liberties & Civil Rights