Keir Bradford-Grey began her tenure as chief defender in Philadelphia in September 2015, following service as chief defender of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. At the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Ms. Bradford-Grey focuses on serving the citizens of Philadelphia through innovative programs that empower communities and ensure that justice is fair and final. Ms. Bradford-Grey has spearheaded initiatives to help clients develop skills to successfully re-enter their communities after serving their time in the justice system. She has established partnerships with others in the community – from judges to prosecutors to nonprofits – to advance client-centered representation, empower individuals to advocate for themselves at every stage of the system, and make communities stronger and safer. These efforts include bringing participatory defense – a dynamic community-driven criminal justice reform program – to both Montgomery County and Philadelphia. Ms. Bradford-Grey also devotes time and resources toward “pre-entry” so that people facing charges receive critical assistance and services to support fair and just outcomes over routinely incarcerating people before trial. Ms. Bradford-Grey has achieved unprecedented success in the fight for parity for Defender Association staff. Through relentless efforts, she has proven that the work the Defender Association performs should be compensated at the same level of its justice system counterparts. Before Ms. Bradford-Grey’s appointment at the Defender Association, she served as chief defender for Montgomery County (PA), as an assistant federal defender at the Delaware Federal Defenders Office, and began her career as an attorney as an assistant public defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Ms. Bradford-Grey has dedicated her career to public interest work. Ms. Bradford-Grey serves on a number of boards and associations, including as past chair of the American Council of Chief Defenders (ACCD), a large subchapter of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA). The ACCD is a national community of public defense leaders dedicated to securing a fair justice system and ensuring high quality legal representation for people facing loss of life, freedom, or family. A Boston native, Ms. Bradford-Grey earned her undergraduate degree in criminal justice at Albany State University and received her law degree from Ohio Northern University School of Law.