Washington, DC (October 10, 2012) – As the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) begins its 2012 -13 fiscal year, a number of important appointments have been announced.

Akvile Athanason, who has served the Meetings Department tirelessly and effectively for more than five years in support of NACDL’s extensive CLE program, has been appointed Education Manager. 

Since joining NACDL a bit more than four years ago, Ivan Dominguez has helped maximize NACDL’s communications strategies through a plethora of innovations that have harnessed cutting-edge technologies and social media. During that time he has supported every aspect of NACDL’s public messaging, as well as providing robust support for NACDL’s white collar crime initiative. Ivan has been appointed Director of Public Affairs and Communications.

Doug Reale has played a leading role in producing and marketing NACDL’s CLE products, cultivating a vital new revenue stream for the Association. Additionally, he has provided invaluable technical support at both live seminars and in-house CLE programming. Doug has been appointed Manager for Strategic Marketing and Sales.

Viviana Sejas, who has been a mainstay in providing membership and accounting support for NACDL for more than 14 years, has been appointed Senior Membership and Administrative Assistant.

Daniel Weir, who has provided Executive Director Norman Reimer with invaluable support across a wide range of areas, has been appointed Foundation Manager and Executive Assistant.

Finally, NACDL has engaged Steven Krieger as Project Counsel to assist Resource Counsel Vanessa Antoun with post-conviction work for one year. Steven earned his B.B.A. with an emphasis in Environmental Studies at the University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business and his J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where he founded the UCLA Innocence Project and served as Articles Editor for the Journal of Environmental Policy. In 2011, law reviews published two articles written by Steven: Why Our Justice System Convicts Innocent People and the Challenges Faced by Innocence Projects Trying to Exonerate Them (14 New Crim. L. Rev. 333 (2011)) and Do ‘Tough on Crime’ Politicians Win More Elections? (45 Creighton L. Rev. 131 (2011)).

Contacts

Ivan J. Dominguez, Director of Public Affairs & Communications, (202) 465-7662 or idominguez@nacdl.org.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.