Nicole Duncan, Board Member
Nicole Duncan is a former State Public Defender and is the founder of The Duncan Youth Legal Services, LLC. Through her firm which began November 2022, she works to serve youth both in and outside the courtroom through direct defense as well as policy and legislation. Nicole's primary focus is Racial Justice and the importance of raising race and disrupting "business as usual" in all aspects of Youth Defense to better honor her clients, their stories, and goals. Nicole defends youth either charged as adults or facing the threat of being charged as adults, as well as emerging adulthood cases, and also gives trainings on raising race, data, and other ways to address systemic oppression. She aims to use a holistic model of defense, and has begun to do so by connecting and actively participating with local youth organizations in Denver, learning from them, and connecting her clients and their families with them. Nicole joined the Colorado Juvenile Defender Center Board ("CJDC") in January 2023, is a board member for Bread and Roses Legal Center which supports social movements by working with activists and local community groups. She was the Youth Policy Council for the ACLU-CO for the 2023 legislative session, CJDC's Juvenile Defender of the Year in 2020, Georgetown Law Ambassador for Racial Justice Alumni, and is JTIP certified twice through the Gault Center.
Michael Reed, Board Member
Michael was born in Indianapolis, IN and moved to Denver, CO in 1996. He attended South High School before being accepted to The Colorado College (CC). Michael graduated from CC with a Bachelor’s degree in International Political Economics in the spring of 2003 before moving back to the Denver area. Although he's lived and worked in Denver Metro for the majority of the time since, he’s also lived and worked in other major cities throughout the years including Las Vegas and New York City (Bergen County, NJ). During his professional career he’s worked in the mortgage and real estate space as a loan officer, residential portfolio manager, housing counselor, mortgage surveillance analyst, etc. He is currently working towards a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership while working in the community full-time through organizations such as Metro DEEP, and the NAACP where he recently transitioned from his role as Denver Vice President and the Economic Development Committee Chair. His community work led him to found a nonprofit in June 2020 called The Young Excellence and Success Foundation (Y.E.S.), which supports youth leadership through community service and civic engagement opportunities. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Coloradans for the Common Good, the Colorado Juvenile Defenders Center and as a Coach Mentor in Denver Public Schools (McAluiffe Middle School and South High School). His mentor work extends to his recurring role the past two summers as an Empowerment Coach for the Sims-Fayola Foundation which has the mission to “Build Better Men.” His mentorship role includes teaching a curriculum to the young men of color which equips them with Social Emotional Learning tools with the goal of promoting healthy, emotionally-mature outcomes which is paramount for future success. He explained that his core values of Fairness, Compassion, Community, Growth, Kindness and Service inform the ways in which he seeks to make an impact on others each day. He commented that “I was raised with the mentality to work hard and be kind to everyone you meet. Today, I’m passionate about serving and especially building power through asset-based community organizing, economic development through financial literacy/action, and supporting youth leadership capacity.”
Aaron Massey, Board Member
Aaron currently serves as a Managing Director, Leadership Development for Teach For America. In this role, he provides executive level coaching to 30+ new teachers across the Denver metropolitan area. Previously, he coached principals across the State of Colorado while working to pass legislation for youth involved with the justice system, worked as a high school principal in Denver, Colorado, served as the founding principal of an arts-integrated elementary school in St. Louis, MO as well as a middle school in Baton Rouge, LA, and has extensive experience in community organizing. Originally from East St. Louis, IL, Aaron is passionate about transforming communities to become thriving and sustaining urban ecosystems. He received his undergraduate degree in Sociology from Illinois Wesleyan University, his Master’s in Urban Education Policy from Brown University, and is currently completing his doctorate from Vanderbilt University in Education Leadership and Policy.
Victoria Dorn, Board Member
Victoria is a founding attorney of Keller Dorn Law, LLC in Denver, Colorado. Victoria is an experienced criminal defense attorney who represents children charged as adults, adults charged with serious felonies, and Spanish speaking immigrants. She also represents children as a Guardian ad Litem in dependency and neglect cases. Prior to entering private practice, Victoria worked at the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender for over 6.5 years, rising to the position of Senior Public Defender. Victoria was born in Managua, Nicaragua, raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is a proud alumna of the University of California at Berkeley and the UCLA School of Law where she was a member of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy. She is a native Spanish speaker and in her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, experimenting in the kitchen, and exploring Colorado.
Tiera Brown, Board Member
Tiera Brown graduated from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law in 2020, and she received her BA from Boston College. Most recently, Tiera was selected as the 2022 Gault Center Fellow where she assisted in strengthening the quality of representation for systems-involved youth. Tiera also worked at the Colorado State Public Defenders Office, assisting with the defense of youth with felony and misdemeanor cases. Before the public defenders office, Tiera worked as an intern with the Colorado Juvenile Defender Center where she defended individuals charged with youth sex offense crimes in their expungement and deregistration hearings through CJDC’s Believe in Youth” program. She also worked on legislative policy efforts related to youth restitution and fines & fees. Tiera serves on the long-standing state advisory committee, the Coalition for Minority Youth Equity, which aims to address racial and ethnic disparities in the youth justice system. She is also a volunteer for LYRIC, Learn Your Rights in the Community, an organization composed of passionate attorney volunteers donating their time to empower Colorado youth to exercise their constitutional rights.
Tiera lives in Denver, Colorado with her son, their ball python Kyle, and their growing collection of over 50+ houseplants.
