LEADERSHIP TEAM
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JOE STEPHENS
Chief Public Defender
Joe was born in Australia, and grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. He was an Ingram Scholar at Vanderbilt University where he was President of the Vanderbilt Prison Project. In 2010, he graduated from the University of Texas School of Law with honors. After law school, Joe worked for two chairmen across three legislative sessions in Austin, and spent time in private practice in Baltimore, where he worked on appellate and post-conviction matters. Before becoming Chief of this office, Joe was the Chief of a five-county rural public defender office in Beeville, Texas, and a felony defender in the Hill Country Regional Public Defender’s Office.
Joe serves on the Board of Directors of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Association and also sits on the Public Defender and Rural Practice committees. He was recently appointed to serve as a Member of the State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee, and is a mentor in the Future Indigent Defense Leaders of Texas program. He is a frequent speaker around Texas at criminal defense law conferences. Outside the office, Joe is an amateur potter, a recent recipient of his Master Gardener certification, and an eleven-time Ironman triathlete.
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ELIZABETH BERRY
First Assistant Public Defender
Elizabeth’s thirty-plus-year legal career has focused on helping people. She fulfilled that mission in her work as a prosecutor, private criminal defense practitioner, district judge, visiting judge, and public defender.
Elizabeth is a graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Houston Law School. She taught courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and law school levels, and coached law school mock trial teams. Her passion for teaching fueled her to train lawyers, students, and judges throughout her career.
She has been Board Certified in Criminal Law since 1999 and co-authored Texas Criminal Jury Charges with Judge George Gallagher since 2005. Although she tried many interesting jury trials, her favorite part of being a lawyer is the personal connection she made with co-workers, fellow attorneys, clients, and their families.
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CHASTITY GAUWAIN
Office Manager
Chastity was born and raised in San Angelo. She has over sixteen years’ experience in the corporate world as a security legal compliance analyst. Soon after earning her degree, she began working for Tom Green County managing the District Attorney’s Office. During that time, she successfully wrote grants to add much needed positions to the office, which led her to a promotion as the Grant Administrator for the county. Soon after, she co-authored the grant that established the CVPDO, which ultimately led to her becoming our Office Manager. Chastity brings a vast array of skills and knowledge to our office. Chastity graduated from Angelo State University with her BS in Criminal Justice and recently earned her MBA.
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Attorneys & Staff
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Lauren McCollum
Assistant Public Defender
Lauren was born and raised in San Angelo where she attended Central High School. Lauren graduated from Angelo State University with her BA in History and earned her law degree from St. Mary’s University. During her time at St. Mary’s, she was involved in the Criminal Defense Clinic as a student-attorney where she received the Francisco Leo’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Studies. In her third year of law school, Lauren wrote a Petition for Discretionary Review that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted with oral argument. In addition, she served as President of the Women Lawyers Association. Lauren is currently a member of the Future Indigent Defense Leaders project and Gideon’s Promise Core 101. Outside of work, Lauren enjoys community theatre, reading, traveling, and hanging out with her family and friends.
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Rebecca Yung
Assistant Public Defender
Rebecca is a graduate of Texas A&M University and the University of Texas School of Law. She is passionate about practicing public defense in rural areas of Texas and advocating for the needs of low-income Texans navigating the criminal justice system. When not practicing law, Rebecca is an avid reader and a devoted dog owner.
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Christa Garza
Legal Assistant
Christa is originally from Friona, Texas. In 2007, she relocated to San Angelo, and shortly kicked off a new career in the legal field where Christa quickly discovered her passion for criminal law. She worked at the Tom Green County District Clerk’s Office as a Deputy Clerk for the 119th District Court, served as a back-up clerk for the Court Services Unit, and was a legal assistant for a private practice attorney. Christa firmly believes in protecting people’s rights and is pleased to work alongside people who are dedicated in seeking justice in our underprivileged communities. Outside of work, Christa enjoys gardening and crafting.
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Ted Wenske
Assistant Public Defender
Ted grew up on a small farm outside of Shiner, Texas. He graduated with his BA in Political Science from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, when he was twenty years old. Ted then graduated cum laude with a concentration in Criminal Law and Innocence from the Texas Tech University School of Law where he was a student-attorney with the Criminal Defense Clinic. Ted is currently a member of the Future Indigent Defense Leaders project and a graduate of Gideon’s Promise Core 101. In his free time, Ted pretends to enjoy working out, but actually enjoys binge-watching terrible Netflix shows, sleeping, and playing tennis. Ted’s pronouns are he/him/his.
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Evan Pierce-Jones
Assistant Public Defender
Evan graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned both his BA in Psychology with honors and his JD degree. Evan practiced criminal defense in Austin, which is where he also served on the organizing committee for the Austin Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
Evan comes to the office from private practice in San Angelo and surrounding areas. For over twenty years, he represented persons from almost every walk of life on charges ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies including sexual assault, drug distribution, and capital murder. Since 1998, he has been board certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is a founding director and a charter member of the Concho Valley Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, a former board member of MHMR Services for the Concho Valley, and a past president of the Tom Green County Bar Association.
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LaDonna Burton
Legal Assistant
LaDonna was born and raised in Arkansas but made Texas her home as soon as the chance arose. Before realizing her passion for the law, LaDonna built a twenty-year successful career in the medical field as a medical financial analyst. She brings five years’ experience as a criminal law legal assistant working in the private sector and for the Tom Green County District Attorney’s Office. In addition to the law, LaDonna’s passion is spending time with her family and friends but especially her four grandchildren.
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Aubrey Eyrolles
Assistant Public Defender
Aubrey is a second-career attorney who worked as a stock trader and then as a regulatory compliance officer for various broker dealers, investment advisers, and private equity firms. She went to law school with the goal of providing legal representation for historically underserved populations.
During law school, Aubrey interned for two federal judges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Dallas Public Defender’s Office, and she worked as a summer associate for two plaintiff-side personal injury firms in Dallas. She volunteered with the Dallas Child Protection and Permanency Court to help build a comprehensive resource guide for foster children who are aging out of the system. She also worked as a teaching fellow in the legal writing department, served as the CEO of the Law Review, and is a member of the inaugural class of her school’s chapter of the Order of Barristers. Aubrey holds a JD from UNT Dallas College of Law and an MBA from the University of San Diego.
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Brookley Schroeder
Assistant Public Defender
Brookley grew up in McKinney, Texas. She earned her BA in Communication from Texas A&M University in 2019, then attended Texas Tech University School of Law where she recently graduated cum laude in May 2022. During that time, she worked at a criminal defense firm in McKinney, at an immigration firm in London, England, and clerked with Honorable Judge Sowder in Lubbock. Her most memorable experience in law school was serving those with the greatest need via the Caprock Regional Public Defender Clinic. It was there that she discovered her passion for advocating for those underserved and in need. In her free time, Brookley enjoys spending time with friends, family, and her beloved dog, Penny Lane.
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Don Payne
Assistant Public Defender - Appellate Team Lead
Don was raised in an Air Force family often stationed abroad, eventually settling in San Angelo, where he graduated from Central High School and Angelo State University with a BA in Government. After a twenty-three-year career as a sales executive and independent businessman, Don attended and received his JD from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law and practiced for fifteen years in San Angelo as a private attorney and a Regional Attorney at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has represented clients in civil, probate and family law cases, child protection cases, and criminal cases. Don has also represented clients on appeal of child protection and family law judgments and in post-conviction matters and appeals of criminal judgments.
Don is a member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association and the College of the State Bar of Texas. He has been a member of the Concho Valley Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association, a Director of the Tom Green County Bar Association, and was a member and president of the Board of Directors of the Concho Valley Home for Girls. Before becoming an attorney, Don was involved in many pursuits for business and fun. He most enjoyed his time in music retail, performance, and promotion, and helped develop a vibrant local live music scene in San Angelo.
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Jessica Canter
Assistant Public Defender
Jessica grew up in Austin, TX and attended the University of Texas at San Antonio where she received her BA in political science in 2011. She then attended the University of New Hampshire School of Law where her love and passion for indigent defense sprouted – a passion that grows with every year of practice.
In 2015, Jessica began her career as a public defender with the Bee County Regional Public Defender’s Office, a division of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. In 2018, she established the Lavaca County PDO’s office and led a small team of four. Jessica and her team practiced client-centered representation and instituted the holistic defense model to assist clients in matters outside of their criminal case. In February 2022, she became the Director of Professional Development and Holistic Defense for the Bexar County Managed Assigned Counsel office in San Antonio, TX. After a year of wonderful work with the Bexar County MAC, Jessica realized she missed working with clients and joined the CVPDO team.
Jessica has been a board member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA) since 2018 She speaks for TCDLA at CLEs on storytelling, openings and closings, and voir dire, and has been the course director for several TCDLA sponsored CLEs, is the chair of the Public Defender Committee, and serves on the board for the Criminal Defense Lawyers Project (CDLP). She has also served as chair of the State Bar Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee.
Although she has no human children, Jessica is a proud pet-parent to Lilith, a Cane Corse pup. In her spare time, she enjoys baking and working on puzzles, and when she has the time to travel, she loves to disappear on hiking and camping trips in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.
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Brent Ratekin
Assistant Public Defender
Brent is a graduate of Sam Houston State University where he earned his BS in Criminal Justice, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He then graduated from Texas Tech School of Law where he earned early admission onto the Board of Barristers and was Managing Editor of the Texas Bank Lawyer.
Brent is a veteran of the United States Air Force where he was trained as an aircraft mechanic. After leaving the service, Brent was a police officer for almost ten years before going back to school full time. Brent brings a very broad range of experience with him to the office as he has been involved in the justice system as an attorney for almost twenty years. He has prosecuted crimes from traffic tickets up to murder charges and, as a defense attorney, Brent has defended individuals charged with crimes ranging from traffic tickets up to and including capital murder.
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Domingo Elizondo
Lead Investigator
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Mycah Crawford
Investigator
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Haley Turn
Receptionist
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