Annual Speaker Evals 2026

Wednesday

Pre-Conference

Rural Prosecutors’ Forum, Moderated by: Staley Heatly, County Attorney, Wilbarger County, & Rebekah Whitworth, County Attorney, Mason County

Juvenile Forum, Moderated by: Colleen Davis, First Asst. County Attorney, Burnet County, & Maegan Williams, Asst. District Attorney, Harris County

General Session

Statewide Innovation, Mike Holley, District Attorney, Montgomery County

CCA & SCOTUS Update (Including DPS Policy Review), Britt Houston Lindsey, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Taylor County, & Emily Johnson-Liu, Asst. State Prosecuting Attorney, State Prosecuting Attorney’s Office

Thursday

Advanced Trial Work

Voir Dire, Allenna Bangs, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Tarrant County, & Sunni Mitchell, Asst. District Attorney, Fort Bend County

Defendant Statements, Dale Smith, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Tarrant County

Extraordinary Exhibits, Sepi Zimmer, Asst. District Attorney, Harris County

Preparing Expert Testimony, Jessica Escue, Asst. District Attorney, Brazos County, & Andrew James, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Dallas County

Charging Fundamentals, Tori Ford Oblon, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Tarrant County

Storytelling, John Gillespie, Criminal District Attorney, Wichita County

Civil Law

Top County Government AI Issues, Christy Gilbert & DeAnne Lin, Asst. County Attorneys, Harris County

Construction Contracts, Jennifer Fox, Asst. County Attorney, Fort Bend County

Legal Writing, Elizabeth Kerr, Justice, & Keith Ogle, Staff Attorney, Second District Court of Appeals, Fort Worth

Emergency Management, Joseph Laster, Emergency Management Coordinator, Tarrant County Emergency Management

Top Tax Assessor Issues, Patricia Lopez, Asst. County Attorney, El Paso County

Top Commissioners Court Issues, Keith Adkisson, Asst. County &, District Attorney, Ellis County, & Mark Kratovil, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Tarrant County

Issues in Focus

Bonds: Analysis & Procedure, Tara Avants, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, McLennan County

Witness Unavailability, Kristin Burns, First Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Bastrop County

Serious Mental Injury, Ben Kaminar, First Asst. County & District Attorney, Lamar County

DWI Now

DWI Now: Voir Dire, Matthew Foye, Asst. District Attorney, Travis County

DWI Now: Intoxication, Jessica Frazier, First Asst. District Attorney, Comal County

DWI Now: Closing Argument, Alison Baimbridge, Asst. District Attorney, Fort Bend County

Financial Crimes

Intake & Investigation, Tiffany Johnson, Asst. District Attorney, Fort Bend County

At Trial, Nicole Thornbro, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Bexar County

What Can the FCIC Do For You?, Adam Colby, Director, Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC), Tyler

Human Trafficking Institute

Spotting Trafficking: Myths & Realities, Kim Duchamp, State Director, Human Trafficking Institute

Corroboration: Force, Fraud, or Coercion, Kim Duchamp, State Director, & Jason Lundquist, Law Enforcement Advisor, Human Trafficking Institute

Victim Complications, Kim Duchamp, State Director, Human Trafficking Institute, & Rebecca Bender, Founder & CEO, Elevate Academy

Investigators

Testimony for Investigators, Kara Comte, Asst. District Attorney, Brazos County

Case Study: High-Risk Family Violence, Amy Monsivais, Asst. District Attorney, El Paso County

Anatomy of a Warrant, Gary McDonald, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Dallas County

ICAC Hurdles & Trends: Case Study, Det. Tony Godwin, Garland Police Department

Interpreting Phone Extractions, Brent Howell, CDA Investigator, McLennan County

DRE Update, Carlos Champion, Texas DRE & SFST State Coordinator, Austin

KP & VACs

Responding to Victim & Witness Trauma, Regina Brooks, Victim Assistance Coordinator, Cherokee County

Marshaling Resources: Paralegals, Michelle Bork, Paralegal, Kaufman County

Record Confidentiality Realities, Brandon Dakroub, First Asst. County & District Attorney, Milam County

VAC Ethics, Sara Bill, Victim Assistance Coordinator, & Jacquelyn Johnson, First Asst. County Attorney, Aransas County

Impact Statements & Allocution, Craig Oglesby, Asst. Criminal District Attorney, Lubbock County

Qualified Facility Dogs, Sheri Soltes, JD, Founder & CEO of Service Dogs Inc., & Pamela Traylor, DA’s VAC (ret’d) and service dog handler, Montgomery County

Friday

Trial Ethics

Disclosure & Disclosure Advocacy, Tiana Sanford, Asst. District Attorney, Harris County, & Shanna Redwine, Asst. District Attorney, Montgomery County

Resiliency Strategies for Professional Longevity, W. Clay Abbott, TDCAA DWI Resource Prosecutor, Austin, & Maroun Koutani, Asst. District Attorney, Harris County

Civil Law (ethics)

Conflicts Workshop, C. Scott Brumley, County Attorney, Potter County

Investigators

Forum: Common Case Checklists, Moderated by Joe Hooker, TDCAA Asst. Training Director, Austin Panelists: Joe Medrano, Investigator, Bell County; Ruben Segovia, Investigator, Bexar County; & Amber Howell, Investigator, Milam County

VAC Core Training

Advanced VAC Training, Jalayne Robinson, LMSW, TDCAA Victim Services Director