MELODY BRANNON is the Federal Public Defender for the District of Kansas. She has been with the FPD for 26 years and served the last ten years as Defender. She began her career as a public defender in the Oklahoma County Public Defender Office in 1990 and worked in death penalty defense at both trial and habeas levels in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. As Federal Defender, she has implemented a holistic defense paradigm and created extensive CLE, mentoring, and internship programs. She is on the board and faculty of the National College of Criminal Defense and the Defender Chair of Defender Services Advisory Group.