Laurel Arroyo

Secretary

Office of the State Public Defender

Laurel Arroyo is the Director of Capacity Building at the Office of the State Public Defender’s Indigent Defense Improvement Division in California where she provides technical assistance to county leaders invested in improving their public defense systems. She has co-authored reports including “Understanding the National Public Defense Workload Study: A Practical Guide to Mapping Common California Offenses” and “California’s 58 Public Defense Systems,” as well as multiple county-specific evaluations of contract systems in California. She regularly hosts statewide meetings of county administrators and panel leaders to promote best practices for public defense around the state. She was a trial-level public defender for Alameda County Public Defender’s office for 16 years in both juvenile and adult courts. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Laurel taught high school in juvenile court schools and is a nationally certified youth defense trainer who provides training to attorneys throughout California. Laurel has served as Secretary, Vice President and President of CYDC’s Board of Directors. Laurel received her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from University of San Francisco School of Law.