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Malia N. Brink is the Policy Director for the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at ÕýÆ·À¶µ¼º½ Dedman School of Law, where she directs research and policy initiatives on initial appearance and charging timelines. In this role, she leads projects that examine early-stage criminal court processes and their impact on fairness and system outcomes.

Brink brings more than 20 years of experience in criminal justice research, public defense policy, and reform advocacy. Prior to joining the Deason Center, she served as Counsel for Indigent Defense with the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (ABA SCLAID), where she was Deputy Director for the Public Defender Workload Study Projects and the Misdemeanor Court Observation Projects. She has also held leadership roles as Public Defense Project Director at American University’s Justice Programs Office and as Director of Institutional Development and Policy Counsel at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Staff Attorney with the ACLU in Philadelphia, served as the Jerome J. Shestack Public Interest Fellow at Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, LLP, and clerked for the Honorable Norma L. Shapiro of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Brink has also taught at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, American University School of Public Affairs, and Georgetown Law Center. She holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.