Diana M. Richett
Diana Richett, Esq., has a Bachelor's of Sciences in Individual and Family Studies and a Masters in Psychosocial Science with an emphasis in Community Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Denver School of Law in 1982. She has been practicing juvenile law since 1982 when she started as a trial attorney in the Denver Public Defender's Office in the Juvenile Division. She served as a Public Defender for six years including supervising the Juvenile Division in the Denver Public Defender's Office. She has been in private practice since 1989 and continues to represent children either as a defense attorney in delinquency cases or as a Guardian ad Litem in dependency and neglect and delinquency cases. She is a founding director of the Colorado Juvenile Defender Coalition whose mission is to ensure excellence in juvenile defense and advocacy. She is the primary author of the Colorado Juvenile Defense Manual sponsored by the Coalition and the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel. She is a certified veterinary technician and in her free time cares for her special needs animals. She is a volunteer with the Red Rover Readers program which uses animal-related stories to help children develop critical thinking skills and build empathy and compassion. She also volunteers with the Denver Pet Partner Animal-Assisted Therapy program. Through this program, she partners with her registered therapy animals, her three-legged dog Tiva and Simon, her amazing cat with paralyzed back legs, to tutor children through the University of Denver Bridge Project at the Westwood Housing Project and interact with mentally and physically challenged children at the Night Lights respite program through the Waterstone Community Church. She is author of the story “Simon, My Cat with Special Needs, Gives Hope to Children” in the book Animals and the Kids Who Love Them by Allen and Linda Anderson. In 2012, her cat Simon was honored with the Colorado Animal Hero Award in the service category for his outstanding work as a therapy animal. (In March 2014, sweet Simon received his angel wings. He is loved and is deeply missed by the many people and children whose lives he touched.)
(04/14)
