Natasha Dartigue

Natasha M. Dartigue

Maryland Office of the Public Defender

Moderator, Listening as a Tool for Community and Client-Centered Advocacy

Natasha M. Dartigue is the current Maryland State Public Defender whose six-year appointment term began on July 1, 2022. Ms. Dartigue is a 1995 graduate of the Howard University School of Law and clerked in the Baltimore City Circuit Court for the late Judge Roger W. Brown. Subsequently, she began working at the Office of the Public Defender in Baltimore City as a trial attorney in the juvenile, district and circuit court divisions, felony trial supervisor, Deputy District Public Defender, and Acting District Public Defender before accepting the position of State Public Defender in May 2022. She is the first person of color to lead the Maryland Office of the Public Defender (MOPD). Ms. Dartigue, who is the daughter of Haitian immigrants, has highlighted the importance of her historic appointment, noting that it “redefines what leadership looks like and expands the possibilities for Black and brown children. It especially provides hope to children of immigrants, who are often overlooked and undervalued, that opportunities do exist.”