Who We Are

Training Department

The Training Department develops and delivers comprehensive, practice-driven education for staff and private assigned counsel across all areas of public defense. Through a team of experienced practice area trainers in Criminal Defense, Children and Family Law, Youth Advocacy, and Mental Health Litigation, the Department provides rigorous substantive instruction alongside advanced skills training that reflects the realities of modern indigent defense practice. Our programming is informed by evolving law, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the needs of the clients we serve, and is designed to meet the highest standards of excellence in public defense training nationwide.

Visit our Training Unit office pages for more information:

Appellate Training
Children and Family Law Training
Criminal Defense Training Unit
Forensic Services
Mental Health Training
Youth Advocacy Training

Training Administration

Melissa Dineen

Training Chief

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Amber Squires

Project Coordinator

Jacquelyn Diaz

Training Technologist

Vacant

Supervising Administrative Assistant

Kendra-Antonius-headshot

Kendra Antonius

Administrative Assistant, CAFL

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Kristen Munichiello

Administrative Assistant, CDT

Levi Phillps

Administrative Assistant, Racial Equity, Appellate and Post-Trial Training, Project Coordinator, and Forensics

Abigail Wilkes

Administrative Assistant, CDT

Appellate and Post-Trial Training

Emily Cardy

Director, Appellate Training

Children & Family Law Training Team

Amy Karp

Director, Children & Family Law Training

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Katherine Klubock

Supervising Staff Attorney

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Rebecca Amdemariam headshot

Rebecca Amdemariam

Legal Training Attorney

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Cris Freitas headshot

Cristina Freitas

Legal Training Attorney

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Debbie Freitas

Legal Training Attorney

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Criminal Defense Training Team

Joshua Raisler Cohn

Director, Criminal Defense Training

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Jennifer Buyske

Supervising Legal Training Attorney

Dorothy Burke

Rotating Legal Training Attorney

Benjamin Eddington

Rotating Legal Training Attorney

Jessica Kirane

Legal Training Attorney

Olivia Mercadante Alexandru Headshot

Olivia Mercadante Alexandru

Legal Training Attorney

Shelagh O’Donnell

Legal Training Attorney

Skailer Qvistgaard headshot

Skailer Qvistgaard

Legal Training Attorney

Nathan Wong headshot

Nathan Wong

Legal Training Attorney

Alexandra Yurgenson

Rotating Legal Training Attorney

Forensic Services Team

Benjamin Selman headshot

Benjamin Selman

Director, Forensic Services

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Laurel Singer headshot

Laurel Singer

Forensic Support Attorney

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Nathan Tamulis

Forensic Support Attorney

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Mental Health Training Team

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Anne (Beau) Kealy

Director, Mental Health Training

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MariElena Roulston

Rotation Training Attorney

Youth Advocacy Training Team

Melanie Roberts

Director, Youth Advocacy Training

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Josh Reuling

Rotation Training Attorney

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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 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. Melissa also led the PohnpeiOffice 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.

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Kendra Antonius - Administrative Assistant, CAFL

Kendra Antonius is the Training Administrative Assistant Ill for the Children and Family Law Division at the Committee for Public Counsel Services. In this role she provides support to the Director of CAFL and Legal and Trial Attorneys within the division, in the development of training programs and resources for attorneys appointed to represent children and indigent parents in state intervention cases

Kendra also serves on the board of Administrative Professionals contributing to initiatives that strengthen collaboration and professional development across CPCS. Prior to her work at CPCS Kendra worked in the healthcare industry and in nonprofit organizations that provided special education to children in institutionalized settings. Her commitment to equal justice, human dignity and public service extends beyond the agency as a member of the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

Kendra also served for two years on the School Board Council in her Local community where she supported efforts to enhance the educational experience for students and families. As a wife and mother of 4. Kendra has made it her life’s mission to bring care and advocacy to the most vulnerable guided by dedication, professionalism, and integrity.

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Amy Karp - Director, Children & Family Law Training

Amy M. Karp is the training director for the Children and Family Law

Division (CAFL) of the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

Amy, along with the CAL training team, develops training programs and written resources for trial and appellate attorneys appointed to represent children, indigent parents and young adults in family regulation, guardianship and other state intervention cases.

Amy joined the Children and Family Law Division in 1995 as a staff attorney. From 1990 to 1995, she was in private practice.

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Katherine Klubock – Supervising Staff Attorney

Katharine Klubock is Supervising Attorney in the CAFL Practice Area of the Training Department at CPCS. She has been Interim Director of the Criminal Defense Training Unit. She has been a Staff Attorney in the CAFL and Criminal Defense Divisions of CPCS. Ms. Klubock joined CPCS in 1995 and joined training in 2006. From 2002 to 2004 she worked as an assistant attorney general in the Fair Labor and Business Practices Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. She is a graduate of Haverford College and Northeastern University Law School.

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Rebecca Amdemariam – Legal Training Attorney

Rebecca Amdemariam (she/her) graduated from Suffolk Law in 2012 and joined CPCS in 2013. She has worked as a Trial Attorney in the Salem CAFL and Boston CAFL offices before transitioning to the CAFL Training Unit in 2020.

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Cristina Freitas – Legal Training Attorney

Cristina Freitas is a Legal Training Attorney in the Children and Family Law Division. She has a JD from Northeastern University School of Law, an MPH from Tufts University School of Medicine, and a BA from Boston University.

She has been in practice since 2010, having previously served as a staff attorney in the CPCS Youth Advocacy Division and in private practice. She continues to maintain a small caseload focused on holistically representing indigent parents, children, and young adults in their care and protection, child requiring assistance, delinquency. and youthful offender cases at the trial and appellate level, as well as school discipline and special education matters.

She has served on the board of several organizations and committees including the Greater Lowell Bar Association, Lawrence Bar Association, MBA Juvenile and Child Welfare Section and DEI Committee, CPCS CAFL Racial Justice Task Force, and as a member of the SJC Court Improvement Program Training Committee.

Cris has presented at local, state, and national legal conferences regarding family defense and youth justice. She is a part-time faculty member at Boston University School of Law where she co-teaches the Health Justice Practicum, a policy-focused medical-legal partnership with BMCs Project RESPECT. She has provided commentary for the Boston Globe, WBUR/NPR, Commonwealth Magazine, and WGBH News, and given legislative testimony on bills impacting children and families.

Debbie Freitas – Legal Training Attorney

Debbie Freitas is a Legal Training Attorney in the Children and Family Law Division. She has a JD from Northeastern University School of Law, an MPH from Tufts University School of Medicine, and a BA from Boston University.

Deb has represented indigent parents and children since 2010, having previously served as a staff attorney in the CPCS Youth Advocacy Division and in private practice on various CPCS Trial and Appellate Panels. She continues to maintain a small caseload focused on holistically representing indigent parents, children, and young adults in their care and protection, child requiring assistance, delinquency, and youthful offender cases at the trial and appellate level, as well as school discipline and special education matters.

She has served on the board of several organizations and committees, including the Greater Lowell Bar Association, Lawrence Bar Association, MBA Juvenile and Child Welfare Section and DEI Committee, CPCS CAFL Racial Justice Task Force, and as a member of the SJC Court Improvement Program Training Committee.

Deb has presented at local, state, and national legal conferences regarding family defense and youth justice. She serves as part-time faculty at Boston University School of Law where she co-teaches the Health Justice Practicum, a medical-legal partnership with BMC’s Project RESPECT. She has provided comments for the Boston Globe, WBUR/NPR. Commonwealth Magazine, and provided legislative testimony on bills impacting children and families.

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Joshua Raisler Cohn – Director, Criminal Defense Training

Josh Raisler Cohn (he/him) has been representing people in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston since 2010, and has been a legal training attorney since 2020. He was also a member of the CPCS Race Equity Training Team and has taught at local law schools. Josh has trained for other agencies and national audiences and has collaborated with public defenders in other states on building equal protected frameworks under those state constitutions. In individual client representation and in training. Josh looks for ways to attack structures in the law and in society that perpetuate systemic oppression that stand between our clients and real freedom. Josh is on the Board of Directors at the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and has been involved in legal work within social movements for decades, supporting organizing for justice, liberation, and self-determination. Josh is a parent to two creative and rambunctious kids and has a brilliant and kind partner who is also engaged in justice work.

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Jessica Kirane – Legal Training Attorney

Jessica Kirane has been a Trial Attorney with the Worcester Office of the CPCS Public Defender Division since 2015, and has been a Legal Training Attorney with the Criminal Defense Trainers since September 2024. She represents clients in the Superior and District Courts of Worcester County.

Jessica received her law degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts where she was a member of the Suffolk Defenders Clinic. Jessica is a graduate of Suffolk University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in both History and Spanish.

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Nathan Wong – Legal Training Attorney

Attorney Wong graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2011. He began his legal career with the Public Defender’s Office in Roxbury/Dorchester before joining the Worcester Office in 2013. He joined the Criminal Defense Training Unit in 2025. Attorney Wong is a member of the Worcester County Bar Association where he helps mentor newer attorneys. He was appointed as CPCSs representative to the Access to Justice Commission in 2025. In his spare time, he enjoys biking and skateboarding

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Olivia Mercadante Alexandru – Legal Training Attorney

Olivia Mercadante Alexandru received a B.A. from New York University’s Gallatin School, receiving the Founders Day Award for the top tier of academic achievement, and Boston College Law School, where she was a pro-bono scholar and participant in the BC Defenders program.

Olivia has been a staff attorney in the Springfield office since 2014. She since tried several felony and life felony cases in Hampden Superior Court, and has served as an interim supervising attorney in 2024. As a result of her trial experience and complex litigation, she is Murder List Certified, enabling her to handle homicide cases in the State of Massachusetts as first-chair counsel.

In May of 2025 Olivia eagerly began a three-year rotation with the CPCS Criminal Defense Training Unit.

Olivia was the recipient of the Willie. Davis and Edward J. Duggan Award for Outstanding Criminal Defense Advocacy in 2025.

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Skailer Qvistgaard – Legal Training Attorney

Skailer Qvistgaard (he/him) has been with CPCS since 2019, first in Springfield and then in Holyoke, taking District and Superior Court cases.  He is currently part of CPCS’s training unit, providing continuing legal education and skills courses to public defenders of all practice levels.  Skailer is the chair of CPCS’s statewide cross-practice Holistic Defense Working Group and leads trainings on supporting clients beyond just their legal cases.  Prior to that Skailer was a student attorney with the Suffolk Defenders Clinic, graduated from Suffolk Law School, and was an appellate clerk for the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, in Albany.  He is licensed in Massachusetts, New Yok, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
 
For the past 14 years, Skailer has been facilitating trainings for federal and state agencies, with particular emphasis on LGBTQ inclusion and anti-racism practices. He has trained staff in courts across Massachusetts, the MA Attorney General’s Office, public school staff, universities, federal employees, and non-profit organizations on transgender inclusion. Skailer has also presented continuing legal education courses for attorneys and law students in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.  Most recently, Skailer was a guest faculty member with the National Association for Public Defense, presenting muti-week courses on representing transgender clients across all practice areas.
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Benjamin Selman – Director, Forensic Services

Benjamin B. Selman has been a public defender for over twenty years.

He is presently the Forensic Services Director for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and sits on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Forensic Science Oversight Board. Prior to this, he was a Legal Training Attorney with the Criminal Defense Trainers; a Staff attorney in the CPCS Somerville Superior Court office; a Staff Attorney with the CPCS Drug Lab Crisis Litigation Unit, and as a Staff Attorney in the Manchester office of the New Hampshire Public Defender.

He is the editor of MCLE’s Trying Drug Cases in Massachusetts (2022), and is a regular guest lecturer at Boston-area law schools. Mr. Selman is a graduate of Oberlin College (B.A., 1998), the University of Toronto (M.A. 1999), Boston University School of Law (.D., 2004), and the National Criminal Defense College Trial Practice Institute (Certificate, 2012).

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Laurel Singer – Forensic Support Attorney

LAUREL A. SINGER is a Forensic Services Rotation Staff Attorney at the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) in Worcester, where she represents criminal defendants who are charged with felonies, including murder, rape, robbery, attempted murder, home invasion, Medicare fraud and serious drug offenses, from arraignment to sentencing in Massachusetts Superior and District Court. Ms. Singer is a graduate of Cornell University and Boston University School of Law.

Ms. Singer also works to hire and supervise legal interns and assists with managing assignment caseloads and provides insight to interns on court process, client relationships and parties in the court.

Recently she has begun coaching middle school students on a mock trial team to teach students about the case and trial process from start to finish, culminating in a mock trial before a judge.

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Nathan Tamulis – Forensic Support Attorney

NATHAN TAMULIS is a forensic support attorney in the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) forensics group in Fall River, assisting in the review of forensic evidence, facilitating the use of experts, and helping provide training to the defense bar. He assisted the defense bar in litigating cases after the closing of the Department of Public Health drug testing laboratories in Jamaica Plain and Amherst due to chemist malfeasance.

He has reviewed hundreds of discovery packages for defense attorneys and assisted in the research and review of forensic evidence for litigation and legislative purposes. After graduating with his B.S. in biology from UMass Dartmouth, he spent the next decade working in the biotech and environmental testing industries in Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Roger Williams School of Law.

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Anne (Beau) Kealy – Director, Mental Health Training

Beau Kealy, Esq. (she/her) is the MHLD Director of Training and co-chair of the CPCS Wellness Committee. In her role with the CPCS Training Department, she develops and manages a multitude of training opportunities for the private panel and staff attorneys, including training private counsel to become certified to represent clients in civil commitment and adult guardianship proceedings. Practicing law for over 25 years, Beau is a lifelong defender and advocate focused on criminal defense work and, more recently, on mental health litigation.

Beau is dedicated to fighting against injustice and empowering attorneys to partner with clients as she did in her work as trial and appellate counsel. Beau enjoys working collaboratively and holistically with CPCS staff and private counsel, clinical colleagues, and peer presenters to support and train staff and private counsel to zealously defend clients with a trauma-informed, antiracist, and client centered approach. Beau is also an adjunct professor with the clinical faculty of the Boston University School of Law teaching and supervising students in the Mental Health Litigation Practicum she co-developed and established with MHLD colleagues.

A member of the MBA Civil Rights & Social Justice Section Council since 2018, Beau received her J.D./M.S. in Criminal Justice from American University, Washington College of Law. She is a member of the bar in Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

Melanie Roberts – Director, Youth Advocacy Training

Melanie Roberts (she/her) is the Training Director for the Youth Advocacy practice area. Melanie has been representing young people in Delinquency and Youthful Offender cases since joining CPCS in 2011. As a trainer, she specializes in defending youth and emerging adults, race equity, and trial skills.
 
Melanie attended the National Criminal Defense College in 2017 and is a certified Youth Defense Advocacy Program (YDAP) Trainer and Training Mentor. She has help train youth advocates in Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Maine, and Ohio, and serves as faculty at the Youth Defense Advocacy Program Summer Academy. She has taught at Juvenile Law at New England School of Law, and Trial Practice at Northeastern University School of Law, where she was named one of the Teachers of the Year in 2025. 

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