River Sedaka, Esq., (they/she) is a public defender with eight years of experience representing indigent defendants in Colorado’s appellate courts. They hail from Toronto, where they studied intersectional social justice movements at the University of Toronto. River attended law school at Northwestern University, where the 2014 police murder of Michael Brown opened her eyes to the racial and economic injustices at the heart of the criminal legal system, inspiring her to pursue a career in public defense. River has felt a lifelong calling to achieve justice and liberation for society’s most marginalized, and centers equity and inclusion issues in her advocacy—in both the courtroom and the profession. River is openly autistic, ADHD, transgender, queer, and non-binary, and recognizes that her white privilege informs her experience of those identities. They are an active member of Colorado’s legal community, regularly presenting on appellate practice and EDI issues.

(10/24)