Thomas Giovanni
Thomas graduated from Morehouse College, a Historically Black College/University, in 1994, and received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center in 1998.
In 2010, after nearly a decade of providing direct services as a Staff Attorney and then a Supervising Attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Thomas joined the Brennan Center for Justice, seeking a platform from which to address the systemic policy barriers to the delivery of indigent defense services. He is Director of the Community-Oriented Defender Network, a network of over 50 defender offices and related service providers, united in the goal of improving the lives of their indigent clients and the communities in which they live through the provision of community-oriented defense services.
Thomas has collaborated extensively with clinical programs at several law school programs, including Cardozo and Fordham and served as a guest lecturer and field placement supervisor for the New York University School of Law Community-Oriented Criminal Defense clinic. Each year, he also serves as a Coach at the New York State Defender's Association Basic Trial Skills Program, a week-long intensive trial advocacy training for New York State criminal defense attorneys, focused on integrating communication techniques, narrative-based advocacy, and client-centered/holistic representation techniques into defender practices.