Alison Russell
Mitigation Specialist

Alison Russell

Mitigation Specialist

An award winning educator, Alison brought the passion and curiosity of her educator’s heart to the Indiana Federal Defender’s Office in 2017. In  her work as a mitigation specialist Alison strives to help the court understand the educational hurdles faced by underprivileged and at risk youth, and how those hurdles can cause lifelong consequences for our clients.

At the IFCD, Alison and her team help identify early in the case those clients whose cases need extra investigation due to some extenuating factor, such as a history of trauma, poverty, educational hurdles, substance abuse, or other complicating factors. Alison works with the attorney and the team to investigate and bring those issues before the court in a way that helps the court see and understand the whole person before them and what vulnerabilities brought them to federal court.

In her time away from the office, you’ll find Alison with her husband and young daughters. Before small kids (and maybe again when they’re older) Alison enjoyed creating art, international travel, and fostering newborn animals through the Indianapolis Humane Society.

Education

Post-Graduate studies in Community Mental Health Counseling & Trauma-Informed Therapy
M.S., Counseling and Counseling Education, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 2017
B.A. in Art Education, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 2011

Licensure

Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
Indiana State Professional Educators License

Hometown

Bremen, Indiana

Honors & Awards

2014-2016 Evaluated & recognized as Distinguished Faculty
2014 Lilly Creativity Endowment Grant for Educators
2012-2014 Evaluated & recognized as Highly Effective Faculty
2012-2013 Fine Arts Department Chair & Coordinator
2010 IAEA 2010 Lesson Creation & Implementation Award