Melissa Dineen, Training Chief

Melissa Dineen is the first Committee for Public Counsel Services Training Chief. She began leading the Training Department in September 2018. The newly formed Training Department at CPCS is responsible for the management and oversight of all aspects of CPCS training, including the development of long range strategic training plans, the delivery of high quality training to all staff and private assigned counsel, and the effective management of all agency training resources. Prior to leading the Training Department, Melissa held multiple leadership roles within CPCS – as AIC of the Youth Advocacy Division’s Worcester and Somerville offices and, most recently, as Managing Director of the Public Defender Division’s Southeast Region.

Before joining CPCS, Melissa worked with the International Legal Foundation, a non-governmental agency with the mission of establishing public defender systems in post-conflict countries. As the person responsible for establishing a new public defender office in Nepal, she hired and supervised attorneys, worked with them to establish a vision for the organization, and laid the foundation for an organization that continues to thrive years later. Melissa also led the Pohnpei Office of the Public Defender for the Federated States of Micronesia for two years. She began her career as a Public Defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, representing adult and juvenile clients charged with criminal offenses. She attended Boston University where she received her Bachelor of Arts in History and received her Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law.

Boston, MA 02108
617.863.5190  (p)
617.776.3834 (f)
mdineen@publiccounsel.net