Amelia S. Watson
Washington State Office of Public Defense
Amelia Watson (she/her) has been with the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD) Parents Representation Program (PRP) since 2006, and her most recent position is Lead Attorney. Prior to joining OPD, Ms. Watson worked for the Pierce County Department of Assigned Counsel where she had the honor of representing parents in dependency and termination of parental rights proceedings under the PRP Pilot. Ms. Watson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Women Studies and her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. Ms. Watson is a founding member of the National Alliance for Parent Representation of the ABA Center of Children and the Law, an executive team member for the Family Justice Initiative, and a founding stakeholder advisor for the Washington State Parent Ally Committee. In 2012, Ms. Watson’s article A New Focus on Reasonable Efforts to Reunify was published in the Child Law Practice by the ABA Center on Children and Law. In her spare time, Ms. Watson enjoys hiking, cooking, playing with her cockapoo Charlie and spending time with her extended family. Additionally, as a longtime YWCA Olympia board member, she actively works to demand social justice in her community through the YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering womxn.