Anna Kurien

Anna Kurien worked for over a decade as a Public Defender in Atlanta where she represented poor people charged with felonies at trial and on appeal. In her practice she used the participatory defense model to partner with her clients and their communities to shift the balance of power in the courtroom. A strong believer in the power of organizing and movement lawyering, Anna was a founding member of two grassroots organizations in Atlanta that advocated to reimagine public safety and build the power of Black and brown communities. Anna is a proud graduate of and trainer with Gideon’s Promise and believes that we need to invest in strengthening public defense to combat the power of police and prosecutors. Before attending law school at Emory University, Anna studied English and French at Wellesley College. Anna was born and brought up in India and is fluent in Malayalam, Hindi and French.