D. Nichole Parisi
CEO
Nichole Parisi is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for APA. Nichole returned to the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys in March 2015 as the General Counsel after formerly serving as a law clerk for APA following law school.
Steven Naugle
Treasurer/CFO
Mr. Steven Naugle is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA). He is responsible for maintaining and handling all accounting for APA’s expenses and grant management activities.
Marlene Biener
COO
Mrs. Marlene Biener serves as Chief Operating Officer at the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA), where she previously held the role of General Counsel. As COO, Marlene oversees APA’s operations and programs, ensuring alignment with its mission to provide prosecutors nationwide with critical resources, education, and support.
David LaBahn
President
Mr. David LaBahn is President of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA), a national association representing elected and deputy or assistant prosecutors, and city attorneys.
Sasha D. Beatty
General Counsel
Sasha Beatty joined the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys in July 2019 after previously working for the Nashville District Attorney’s Office for two years as an Assistant District Attorney General.
Aviva Kurash
Senior Program Manager
Aviva Kurash joined the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys in September of 2022 after previously working at The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) for twenty-one years.
Robert Hood
Project Director
Robert W. Hood joined APA in 2010 as a contract Senior Attorney and played a key role in the development and execution of the 6th National Community Prosecution Conference held in Washington, DC.
Beth Merachnik
Project Director
Beth Merachnik serves as Project Director of the Association of Prosecuting Attorney’s (APA) Addressing Disparities to Reproductive Health Project.
April Doherty
Program Coordinator
April spent 20 years as a Paralegal at the State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore County, working in both the Felony Review and Victim Witness Units.
Gretchen Halpern
Training Coordinator
Gretchen Halpern serves as the training coordinator for the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA). A graduate of Louisiana State University, Gretchen brings with her over 10 years of experience in her field.
Gabriel Ibarra
Accounting Business Associate
Gabriel joins the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys as a Business Accounting Associate. He graduated with a Degree in Accounting at CETYS University in Baja California.
Sasha D. Beatty
General Counsel/Technology Lead
Sasha Beatty joined the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys in July 2019 after previously working for the Nashville District Attorney’s Office for two years as an Assistant District Attorney General.
Annmarie Taggart
Senior APA Fellow
Annmarie Taggart is a Retired Assistant Attorney General with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, Division of Criminal Justice. During her tenure at the Division of Criminal Justice, she was appointed Acting Prosecutor for both Somerset and Sussex Counties in New Jersey.
Mike Feuer
Senior APA Fellow
Mike Feuer has served as Los Angeles City Attorney; the Majority Policy Leader and Judiciary Committee Chair of the California State Assembly; a member of the Los Angeles City Council, where he was Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee; and as Executive Director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, the House of Justice.
Jean Peters Baker
Senior APA Fellow
Jean Peters Baker has spent over twenty-five years in the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office in Kansas City, Missouri, serving in nearly every unit of the office. Baker tried 75 felony cases during her tenure and specialized in sexual violence, child abuse and street violence. She was appointed to lead the office in May 2011, only the second woman to lead the office; the first, former-U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, hired Jean as a young assistant prosecutor.
Niki Blumberg
APA Fellow
Niki has been a prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for over 20 years. She has investigated and tried a wide variety of homicides, police shootings, rapes, robberies, burglaries, and other crimes of violence.
Mark Dumaine
APA Fellow
Mark Dumaine is the Retired Chief of Administration for the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office (Louisiana). He was responsible for the operations of a 160+ person prosecutor’s office, finance and budget expenses of $14 million, information technology improvements...
Joy Repella
APA Fellow
Joy Repella was an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County for over 28 years and prosecuted felonies from Robbery to Murder. She also handled Involuntary Mental Health Treatment and Commitment as well as Expungement and Sealing.
Andrew Fogle
Andrew Fogle presents Continuing Legal Education (CLE) expungement seminars and assists local and State agencies in the development of expungement forms and training for pro-se petitioners and pro-bono attorneys.
Don Cocek
APA Fellow
Don Cocek’s legal career at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office spanned 32 years. He was the Supervising City Attorney in charge of both the Animal Protection Unit and the Code Enforcement Unit. Don prosecuted hundreds of cases from the spcaLA, LA Animal Services, CA & US Fish & Wildlife, and other agencies involving animal cruelty, animal neglect,...
Kevin Rardin
APA Fellow
Kevin Rardin been a career prosecutor for well over thirty years. From 1984 to 2016, he was an assistant district attorney with the District Attorney’s Office in Memphis, Tennessee. During this period, he represented the state in many jury trials against defendants charged with murder, armed robbery, carjacking, and sexual offenses.
Maureen Renno
APA Fellow
Maureen Renno retired after a 28-year career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County serving the public and pursuing justice. She prosecuted many felony jury trials including murders, kidnapping, robbery, and weapon cases. She prosecuted cases on the south side of the city working with the community to prevent crime through problem solving issues impacting the area.
Merrill Mezzacappa
APA Fellow
Merrill Mezzacappa is a former Chief Assistant Prosecutor with the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey. Throughout her 25 year career, Merrill successfully tried complex cases including vehicular homicide, homicide, sexual assault and strict liability for drug induced death, while mentoring assistant prosecutors.
Annia Hungerford
Summer Intern
My name is Annia Hungerford, and I am a recent graduate from the University of Utah. I majored in Criminology with a Double Minor in Family Studies and Political Science. I was the president of the Sociology and Criminology Student Association on campus, and I collaborated with my team on many creative projects including hosting events, and promoting student engagement. I recently published an Honors Thesis as well through the University of Utah about the Resources, Outcomes and Success of Family Recovery Court in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Juvenile Court System. I worked with children as an After-School Program Coordinator at Ensign Elementary during my last two years of college, and I want to continue being an advocate for families within the criminal justice system. A fun fact about me is that I lived in Hawaii for a year, and I love surfing!
Dea Hepburn
Summer Intern
My name is Dea Hepburn, and I am a rising senior at the esteemed University of the Ozarks based in Clarksville, Arkansas. It is here that I was able to uncover my interests and hold leadership roles in organizations like Student Government, the Leadership Club and so much more. Dual majoring in Psychology and Political Science while simultaneously minoring in Criminal Justice and Philosophy, my voracity to pursue a career in law is also quite palpable! As such it is my aim to broaden my understanding tremendously and contribute in any way that I can to the development of APA during my tenure. In doing so it is my hope to not only walk away with a greater understanding of the rule of law and lifelong connections but also a better sense of direction in navigating the confusing city of DC.
Jackie Henley
Summer Legal Intern
Jackie Henley is a rising second-year law student at George Washington University. She graduated from Stanford University in 2023 with a B.A. in Political Science and Honors in International Security. During her time at Stanford, she served as a research assistant to Lieutenant General (Ret.) H.R. McMaster and worked as an EMT in San Francisco. Following graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she joined Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a think tank focused on energy security. She is excited to be working with the APA team this summer!
Katie Crabtree
Summer Intern
Katie Crabtree is attending the University of Utah, pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science with an emphasis in Law and Politics and a minor in Sociology. She plans to attend law school after completing her degree and hopes to become a criminal prosecutor. Katie participates in the University of Utah’s mock trial team as a lawyer and is a member of the pre-law society. Though her past area of focus has been centered around court backlogs, she is excited to explore the variety of other projects the APA has to offer.
Pranavi Gundu
Summer Intern
Rahul Kothari
Summer Legal Intern
Rahul Kothari is a rising 2L at the Georgetown University Law Center. He has a background in political science and public policy. Having worked in Singapore and India, his legal experience spans the globe. He was the president of his undergraduate Mock Trial team, and is currently on the Trial Advocacy team at Georgetown. Rahul will focus on Prosecutor-Led Diversion and Conviction Integrity programming at the APA.