Deborah Lolai

Deborah Lolai is a public defender at The Bronx Defenders, where she serves as the first ever LGBTQ Client specialist. Deborah founded the LGBTQ Defense Project, where she represents LGBTQ people in criminal cases and related legal matters, in addition to working on policies impacting the LGBTQ community. She conducts trainings to improve the representation of LGBTQ people by direct service providers and improve their treatment in legal systems. Deborah brings a decade of experience in community organizing, policy making, and direct legal services in a broad range of social justice issues with a focus on policing, mass incarceration, and gender and sexuality to her teaching. She has been published and cited in various journals and articles on her areas of expertise. Deborah is a native Farsi speaker. She received her Bachelors Degree from CUNY Queens College in Political Science and Urban Studies, and her Juris Doctor Degree from Touro Law Center with a certificate in Criminal Law.