2019-2021 DIA Board of Director Nominees - California ...

2019-2021 DIA Board of Director Nominees
President:
Elizabeth Aguilar, Los Angeles County Public Defender
Hello members, my name is Elizabeth Aguilar and I have accepted a nomination for DIA President. I am currently an
Investigator II with the Office of the Public Defender in Los Angeles County, a title which I have held for the past 10
years. Attending DIA seminars and trainings such as DITA has helped me grow professionally as an investigator and
given me skills I will use in career.

I have been part of the DIA board for the past 6 years and have grown within the organization. I choose to stay active in
the organization and help out anyway I could because I was truly proud of it. I currently hold the title of Vice-President
and have seen how important the executive board along with the support staff is to it’s members. We hold a huge
responsibility to our members to provide you with the benefits of up to date trainings, seminars for networking and
keeping up with the changes of our careers. I hope to be given a chance to serve as a part of the DIA executive board
and work hard to provide members a greater experience with the organization and to meet the needs of our Members.

I would like for you all to feel proud of being part the DIA organization and that our employers would not hesitate for its
investigators to be part of it.

Thank you!

Vice-President:
Ron Weber, Tulare County Public Defender
I appreciate you taking the time to read my candidate statement for the position of DIA Vice-President. By way of
introduction, my name is Ron Weber and I am the Chief Investigator for the Tulare County Public Defender Office. I am
currently a DIA Board Member and Instructor of Record for DITA. I have been on the DIA Board for the past ten years
and have been a Board member as well as held each executive office during this time.

Those of you that have been DIA Members for a time are familiar with the fact that most Executive Offices races, such as
Vice President, are unopposed races. One is elected Secretary/Treasurer then they work their way up to President. I had
no intention initially of running for the Vice-President position. However, the current state of DIA has been discussed
with me by several members and I was nominated for this position and accepted this nomination.

When I talk about the “current state” of DIA, I do not mean that DIA is in trouble or that nothing productive has been
done. There have been several activities pursued by DIA that have been of benefit to our members. However, I do see a
disconnect between DIA and you, our Members. I see a lack of communication. I see a lack of Member’s understanding
and knowing what benefits DIA holds for them. I feel that DIA, through its Board and Executive Officers, has a great
responsibility to its Members and we have not been fulfilling this obligation for the past few years.

I feel I have demonstrated my leadership skills through my position of Instructor of Record for DITA. My wish at this time
is to take these skills and apply them to DIA for the benefit of you, our Members. I want to see greater communication
with our Members via emails, newsletters, and training sessions. I wish to determine what the needs of our Members

are, and as an organization, address those needs the best we can. I wish to help DIA become the type of organization
that our members are proud of and want to be members of. An organization that our Department Heads want us as
defense investigators to be part of. I want to continue to help develop the profession of Defense Investigations through
training and the growth of this profession.

Your consideration and your vote are greatly appreciated.

Secretary/Treasurer:
Marisa Berg, San Bernardino County Public Defender
My name is Marisa Berg and I am Investigator with the County of San Bernardino Public Defender’s Office. I have worked
for this office for twelve years and had worked in the positions of an Investigative Technician II for 8 ½ years prior to
becoming an Investigator. I have an Associate of Arts Degree in Administration of Justice and I am certified in Crime

Scene Investigations. I am currently working as the sole investigator assigned to the Franklin/Perez Unit to assist in
obtaining 30+ year-old mitigation evidence for our clients who were sentenced to LWOP as juveniles who are now
eligible under Senate Bill 260, 261 and Penal Code Section 3051 to present “Miller factor” (Miller v Alabama) evidence at
“youth offender” parole hearings.

I have been a C.D.I.A. member for the last several years and I have had the privilege of being a Southern Board Member
for the 2017 – 2019 term. I have also enjoyed being a committee member for the Defense Investigators Training
Academy (D.I.T.A.) and having the opportunity to give back as a 2018 D.I.T.A. graduate and a Certified Criminal Defense
Investigator (C.C.D.I.). I have also assisted in the newsletter/membership, and the website/social media committees
later in the term.

I am seeking to serve in the Executive Officer position of Secretary/Treasurer for the 2019-2021 term.

I have served in the capacity of a Secretary, Administrative Assistant, an Assistant Director, and a Director, and a Board
Member, both professionally and as a volunteer with several other organizations for over two decades.

I describe myself as a very organized, detail-oriented, reliable individual who is always looking for opportunities to help
make things more efficient, i.e., I created a resource book and procedural manuals and forms that are used department-
wide, and I have participated in training presentations both with my own employer and for the C.D.I.A. I am also familiar
with book-keeping, auditing and preparing financial reports for large organizations.

I enjoy being a part of the C.D.I.A. to keep abreast of the ever-changing laws and procedures within our field of work and
applying new and innovative techniques to help make me a better Defense Investigator.

It would be an honor to be granted the opportunity to serve the members of the C.D.I.A in this position.

Thank you for your consideration.

Southern Board:
Pascual Benitez, San Diego County Alternate Public Defender
I started my career with the San Diego County Alternate Public Defenders office in 2000 as an intern and I quickly
became interested in defense investigations. In 2005 I received my C.C.D.I. certificate through D.I.T.A. and Allan Hancock
College. I've enjoyed working on criminal defense investigations as well as delinquency and dependency case
investigations over the course of my career. I feel that the DIA is important in that it provides education, training, a
means for networking which helps to establish a high level of professionalism for our field of work. I have been proud to
serve on the DIA Executive Board since 2006. I have served as Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President, and DIA President. I
would like to continue to work for our members and our profession on the Executive Board over the next term.

Leticia Macias, Los Angeles County Public Defender
My name is Leticia Macias. I am a supervising investigator at the Los Angeles County Public Defender office. I have
worked as a public defender investigator for over 33 years and have been a member of DIA my entire career. After
graduating from DITA’s inaugural class of 2001, I was elected to the Southern Board of Directors and have successively
served and held various positions, including that of President on two separate occasions. For the last eight years I have
been part of the DITA Committee and for the last four years I have served as DITA Co-Chair. As Co-Chair I helped
develop, organize and manage two DITA modules per year. I would like to continue to serve this organization as I believe
my knowledge and experience would greatly benefit the continuing growth and advancement of our organization and
profession. Thank you for your consideration.

Erika Thompson, Orange County Public Defender
Erika Thompson has worked for the Orange County Public Defender’s Office for the past 24 years. She has been
recognized for her tenacity, diligence, investigative skill and empathetic approach. Erika was awarded the Investigator of
the year award from her office in 2014. Erika has worked multiple courts wherein she assisted with homeless clients,
veterans, and indigent clients charged with misdemeanors and serious felonies. Erika has been at her current position at
the Public Defender’s Felony Panel since 2005. She has continued her advocacy and passion for defending clients while
working a high-volume caseload ranging from human trafficking, rape, gang, complex frauds to capital case homicides.
Recently, Erika and her attorney tried their client’s (complex mental health retrial) homicide case for the third time and
successfully had the jury return a not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) verdict.

In 2002, Erika completed her D.I.T.A. certificate through Allan Hancock College, and graduated with the first D.I.T.A.
classes. Erika has been a Member of D.I.A. since 2000 and has been on the D.I.A. Board since 2016.

Erika enjoys assisting those who have found themselves charged with serious cases and have no recourse in preparing
for their own defense. Erika goes beyond and makes connections with the client’s family, which benefits not only the
client, their family, and the attorney, but also the overall outcome of the case.

Erika finds it very gratifying to work with similar professionals who are compassionate, dedicated and share the same
interest in helping the indigent. Sometimes the most rewarding part of her job is just hearing a client or their loved ones
say, “Thank you.”

Erika’s experience on this board has been rewarding and hopes to continue serving as a Board member. She hopes to
contribute as an effective Board Member through her own strong participation on the Board, bringing new educational
endeavors to the membership and commitment to growing the membership base.

Erika would love to have your vote! Thank You.

Krysta Rogala, San Diego County Alternate Public Defender
My name is Krysta Rogala. I am an Investigator I at the San Diego County Alternate Public Defender’s Office. I am running
to be a Southern Board Member.

While obtaining my bachelor’s in psychology at University of San Diego, I started working as an Investigative Intern at
the San Diego County Office of the Alternate Public Defender in June of 2016. After interning in the office for 6 months I
discovered this is my passion. I was hired on as a criminal defense investigator and promptly became a member of the
DIA. Within my first two years of being a defense investigator, I was lucky enough to become a certified defense
investigator by completing the Defense Investigator Training Academy courses put on by the DIA.

The knowledge I gained during those trainings has helped tremendously in my case investigations. I admire the
dedication, creativity and passion of the DIA board members in creating such informative trainings, and a welcoming
association.

I have enjoyed taking on a leadership role with the investigative interns in my office and I think I could contribute to the
DIA by taking on a leadership role within the association. I believe my enthusiasm and dedication will help in achieving
future goals of the DIA and it would be an honor to become a board member.

Erik Castellanos, Orange County Public Defender
I am currently an Investigator III with the Orange County Public Defender. I began as an Investigator Trainee 14 years ago
and promoted over time. I was awarded Investigator of the Year with my department in 2015 and Investigator of the
Year through CDIA in 2018. I completed my four DITA modules and obtained my CCDI in 2018. I have had the
opportunity to work cases ranging from DUI’s to special circumstance homicides, and a few death penalty cases.

Dana Gary, San Diego County Public Defender
I have been employed with the County of San Diego for 14 years and am currently a criminal defense investigator with
the Office of the Primary Public Defender. I am also a Medicolegal Death Investigator for the federal government
assigned to DMORT (Deployed Mortuary Response Team) Region IX to which I have served since 2007. In addition, I have
my private investigator license in California and am co-owner of Omega Investigations. I was previously a supervisor in
the Investigations division of the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office where I investigated over 1700 deaths,
including many complex and unique cases. My professional affiliations include being a member of the California Defense
Investigators Association and a graduate of DITA. I am also a registered diplomat with the American Board of
Medicolegal Death Investigators, Inc. I have previously served on the San Diego County Child Fatality Committee as the
Medical Examiner investigator representative. I have also been a board member of the California State Coroner’s
Association and a member of that organizations curriculum development committee.

My education includes a Master’s degree in Forensic Science and an undergraduate degree in chemistry.

I feel that my passion for investigations and past experience as a board member with other state organizations would be
an asset to the CDIA. I look forward to serving and sharing my love for this great career with other members!

Randy Later, Los Angeles County Public Defender
I was born and raised in Santa Monica, California and attended Santa Monica College, where my major was in
Administration of Justice. I also worked as a Law Enforcement Officer with the Santa Monica Police
Department and as a Deputy with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. I also worked in the private
security field. In 1990, I started working criminal defense cases for a private investigator. In 1991, I obtained a
Private Investigator Partnership License handling primarily criminal defense cases, before obtaining my own
Private Investigator’s License in 1992. In addition, I worked as a contracted Police Background Investigator for

the LACMTA (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) Police. From 1993 to 2014 (21
years), I worked as a Court Appointed Defense Investigator on the Los Angeles County Superior Court Private
Investigator’s Panel. During my time on the Court Panel, I worked many high-profile cases, including the
Billionaire Boys Club murder involving “Joe Hunt,” a 1963 Homicide which was LAPD’s first AFIS hit involving
Vernon Robinson, which was featured on 60 minutes in 1993. I also worked with Attorney Leslie Abramson on
the Menendez Brothers case as one of the investigators for Erick Menendez. I was also mentioned during trial
testimony in the trial of OJ Simpson after interviewing a witness that was called for the defense. I have worked
many other local high-profile cases. In 1993, I was elected as President of the Los Angeles County Criminal
Defense Investigators Association (LACCDIA) and served 14 terms. I also joined DIA as an Associate Member.
I have had the opportunity to work part-time as a Security Supervisor for STAPLES Center and NOKIA (now
Microsoft) Theater. I was an Event Security Supervisor running the Event Level floor for the Lakers, Clippers,
Kings, Sparks, Concerts and Award Shows.
In 2014, I was hired as an Investigator, II with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, and became a
Full member of DIA at that time. Since January 2018, Randy is a member of the Board of Directors for the
Association of Public Defender Investigator, Bargaining Union #613 for Los Angeles County.
In 2016, I was elected to the Southern Board of DIA and enjoyed my time serving on the Southern Board and I
currently serve on the DIA Merchandise Committee. I look forward to continuing my service as a Board
member. I bring to DIA over 29 years as a criminal defense investigator with a wealth of knowledge and
experience; so please vote for me to serve as a member on the Southern Board of DIA!
Tony Perez, Los Angeles County Public Defender
-No Statement Available

Northern Board:
Jeremy Maurer, Solano County Public Defender
I am a criminal investigator for the Solano County Public Defender. These past two years were my second term on the
Board of Directors. I have served as Co-Chairperson for the Audio/Video committee. I work behind the scenes to make
sure presentations and presenters are wired and mic’d up for the DIA Annual Seminars and DITA modules. My interest in
the next term will be geared towards securing necessary equipment for quality audio presentations at our events. This
past term we have identified a number of outdated, broken, and obsolete equipment that we replaced with new
equipment that has served our Annual Seminars and DITA classes well. The final year of the past term I was responsible
for taking photographs during DITA modules.

Nigel Phillips, San Francisco County Public Defender
-No Statement Available

Danielle Thompson, San Francisco County Public Defender
-No Statement Available

Daniel Malasavanh, Santa Clara County Public Defender
-No Statement Available

Michael Noffsinger, Santa Clara County Alternate Defender
-No Statement Available