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2025 Race Matters Seminar

The Mayo Hotel, Tulsa, OK

Agenda Faculty Hotel Exhibitor/Sponsor Scholarships Pricing Register Online Register by PDF

Space is LIMITED - Register today!

Race Matters...in EVERY criminal case.

We're excited to announce that we will be heading to Tulsa, OK.

NACDL invites you to experience this powerful and illuminating annual event, which will be hosted in Tulsa, OK, at the famous Mayo Hotel.

As part of being effective advocates for our clients, criminal defense practitioners face the challenge of confronting the difficult issues presented by race in America, and its court system. Race affects what happens in every criminal case, beginning with the initial police encounter on the street and the media attention, to pre-trial litigation, and throughout a trial.

The History:
This annual event was conceptualized and started 8 years ago, and has since grown exponentially in participation and significance. It is now the nation's leading CLE conference for defenders addressing systemic racial iniquities in the criminal legal system. The 2017 inaugural event was held in Detroit, before moving on to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Charleston, Chicago, Montgomery, Cincinnati, and Baltimore. We now head to Tulsa.

We hope you will join us to learn and enhance your ability to achieve new successes for your clients.

Do not miss this event. It will change how you practice law.

Agenda

The program agenda and faculty are subject to change.

Wednesday, May 21, 2025
3:00-6:00 pm Early Registration & Exhibit Hall Open
Thursday, May 22, 2025
7:00 am Registration, Exhibits & Continental Breakfast
8:00 am Welcoming Remarks – NACDL President Christopher Wellborn (Rock Hill, SC)
8:15 am Remarks and Announcements – Program Co-Chairs: Alice Fontier (New York, NY), Todd Pugh (Chicago, IL), and Lonnie Randolph (East Chicago, IN)
8:30 am DAY 1 KEYNOTE: Racism in the U.S. Criminal Legal System – The Connection Between the Tulsa Massacre, the Murder of Terence Crutcher, and Our Nation in 2025 – Jeffery Robinson (Seattle, WA) & Dr. Tiffany Crutcher (Tulsa, OK)
10:00 am Identity Formation for Adolescents of Color and Its Role in Criminal Cases – Dr. Gimel Rogers, Psy.D, ABPP (Escondido, CA)
10:50 am Networking & Refreshment Break
11:10 am Racial Trauma of BIPOC Practitioners Compounded by Harm from non-BIPOC Colleagues – Lori James-Townes, LCSW-C (Stoney Beach, MD)
12:00 pm Lunch break on your own
1:30 pm Race & Impeachment – Lisa M. Wayne (Washington, DC)
2:20 pm Race, Profiling & the Fourth Amendment – Juval O. Scott (Montclair, NJ)
3:10 pm Networking & Refreshment Break
3:20 pm Theories, Themes and Storytelling (When Race is in Your Case) – Cynthia Roseberry (Washington, DC)
4:10 pm Adjourn for the day
4:10 pm

Local History Excursion – Visit the Greenwood Rising Museum

Timed-entry tickets are required to visit. We suggest that you purchase tickets online in advance of your visit.

Hours: 10 AM - 7 PM 
(Last Admission at 6 PM)

www.greenwoodrising.org/visit

Friday, May 23, 2025
7:00 am Registration, Exhibits & Continental Breakfast
8:00 am Morning Announcements – Program Co-Chairs: Alice Fontier (New York, NY), Todd Pugh (Chicago, IL), and Lonnie Randolph (East Chicago, IN​​​​​​​)
8:10 am DAY 2 KEYNOTE: Ned Christie and Little Arch Wolf: A Historical Prospective of the Cherokee and the Criminal Legal System – NACDL President Christopher Wellborn (Rock Hill, SC)
9:10 am Native American Defense in State, Federal, and Tribal Courts – Tim J. Rensch (Rapid City, SD)
10:00 am Exhibits, Networking & Refreshment Break
10:20 am Race, Culture, and Voir Dire – Dr. Heather Pruss (Louisville, KY)
11:10 am Crimmigration: Illegal Re-Entry Cases from Alpha to Omega – Francisco "Frank" Morales (Corpus Christi, TX)
12:00 pm Presentation of NACDL's 2024 Champion of Indigent Defense Award
12:10 pm Lunch break on your own
1:30 pm Watched Youth: Challenging Surveillance Technology that Criminalize Youth and Young Adults – Clarence Okoh (Washington, DC)
2:20 pm Confronting Race by Carefully Crafting Cross-Examination – Deja Vishny (Milwaukee, WI)
3:10 pm Targeting Race: Litigating Selective Prosecution and Enforcement Claims – Joshua J. Jones (Chicago, IL) and Shaffy Moeel (Berkeley, CA)
4:00 pm Seminar adjourns until 2026!
4:00 pm

Local History Excursion – Tour the Greenwood District and Black Wall Street

Reserve Tour Tickets

Faculty

Dr. Tiffany Crutcher (Tulsa, OK)
Lori James-Townes, LCSW-C (Stoney Beach, MD) *NACDL MEMBER
Joshua J. Jones (Chicago, IL)
Shaffy Moeel (Berkeley, CA) *NACDL MEMBER
Francisco "Frank" Morales (Corpus Christi, TX)
Clarence Okoh (Washington, DC)
Dr. Heather Pruss (Louisville, KY)
Tim J. Rensch (Rapid City, SD) *NACDL MEMBER
Jeffery Robinson (Seattle, WA) *NACDL MEMBER
Dr. Gimel Rogers, Psy.D, ABPP (Escondido, CA)
Cynthia Roseberry (Washington, DC)
Juval Scott (Montclair, NJ) *NACDL MEMBER
Deja Vishny (Milwaukee, WI) *NACDL MEMBER
Lisa Wayne (Washington, DC) *NACDL MEMBER
Christopher Wellborn (Rock Hill, SC) *NACDL MEMBER

Hotel

The Mayo Hotel
115 West 5th St
Tulsa, OK 74103

Phone Reservations: 918-582-6296
Online Reservations: Book Your Room for NACDL Race Matters Event
Group rate: $209 + tax (expires May 1, 2025). Please mention NACDL GROUP BLOCK to receive applicable discount rate. 
Rooms/discounted group rates are not guaranteed once the block has been filled.  

Sponsorship and Exhibits

Disclaimer: NACDL does not necessarily endorse or guarantee the quality, applicability, or discounts of the products and/or services of its exhibitors. Users of these products and/or services do so at their sole discretion and NACDL assumes no responsibility for them.

For information on exhibiting or sponsorships, please contact NACDL's Sales and Marketing Manager Jason Petty at jpetty@nacdl.org or call (202) 465-7637.

Sponsor/Exhibit Prospectus

NACDL would like to thank the following sponsors, exhibitors, and affinity partners for their support and contributions:

PLATINUM Sponsor:

still available...

GOLD Sponsor:

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SILVER Sponsor:

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BRONZE Sponsor:

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Event Sponsors:

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Wi-Fi Sponsor:

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Seminar Materials Sponsor:

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Lanyards Sponsor:

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Tote Bag Sponsor:

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Conference Pen & Pads Sponsor:

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Scholarships

NACDL offers a variety of scholarships for this event ranging from partially discounted to fully funded. Each type of scholarship has different application requirements. To apply for any of the following scholarships, please follow the instructions for that specific scholarship.

OPTION 1: Needs-Based Scholarships

Based on need, scholarships are available to NACDL members for up to 50% off the standard seminar fee of $319. Approved recipients are responsible for the remainder of the tuition fee, which is $160 (all other expenses are not included). The reduced scholarship fee includes seminar tuition, admission to all evening social events, and downloadable seminar materials. Travel, hotel, and other costs are not included.

To Apply: Prepare and e-mail a letter of no more than two pages explaining the reason why you believe you should receive the grant to: NACDL Senior Director of Events Akvile Athanason, at aathanason@nacdl.org.
All applications must be submitted before registering for the seminar and received by May 25, 2025.

NACDL MEMBERSHIP AND RESERVATION AT THE HOST HOTEL ARE REQUIRED TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR NEEDS-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS.

OPTION 2: Public Defense Scholarships

As a result of generous grant funding, NACDL is able to offer scholarship assistance to public defense providers to attend this NACDL training program. Scholarships will be awarded in the form of full or partial reimbursement of the registration costs of the program. Limited travel reimbursement stipends may also be awarded to qualifying individuals to help defray the costs of travel and lodging.
Completed public defense scholarship applications should be emailed to: PDTScholarship@nacdl.org 

Apply for a Public Defense Scholarship  

Pricing

Register Online Register by PDF

Members of NACDL enjoy exclusive registration rates for our seminars along with all the benefits from joining.

Registration Fees
NACDL MEMBERS: Regular, Life, and Sustaining Members $319
NACDL MEMBERS: Public Defender, Associate, Investigator, Professor, "New Lawyer", International, and Military Members $239
Non-Members (includes 1 year membership)  $658
ALL Non-Members Public Defenders $259
ALL OK, AR, KS, and MO Lawyers (Residents Only) $249
Groups of 4 or more PDs (must register at the same time; 1 payment; no changes or cancellations allowed). To register a group, please visit: http://www.nacdl.org/PDGroups $229
Recordings
Audio Recording of Seminar (pre-sale) $225
Video Recording of Seminar (pre-sale) $299

CANCELLATIONS: There is a $75 cancellation fee. Cancellations must be received in writing via e-mail by 5:30 pm E.T. Friday, May 16, 2025, to receive a refund, less the cancellation fee. No refunds can be issued after the cancellation deadline.

Code of Conduct

NACDL endeavors to foster a working, learning, and social environment free of harassment, discrimination, intimidation, and insult. To that end, NACDL has adopted a Code of Conduct for Affiliated Persons that applies to all attendees and participants of any kind at all NACDL sponsored events.

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