Lisa Daugaard

Lisa Daugaard (born 1965/1966) is an American criminal justice reform activist. She is the director of the nonprofit organization Public Defender Association and a commissioner of the Community Police Commission in Seattle. She received a 2019 MacArthur Fellowship for her criminal justice reform work.

Early life and education Daugaard was born in either 1965 or 1966, and raised in Seattle, Washington. She started college at the University of Washington when she was twelve years old. She completed her B.A. degree in 1983. In 1996, she joined The Defender Association as an attorney. During the 1999 Seattle WTO protests, Daugaard organized the legal defense of activists. Ten years later, she helped create Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), a program that diverts low-level offenders in King County, Washington, from the criminal justice system into the social services system. She joined Seattle's Community Police Commission in 2013, first as co-chair, then as a commissioner. , she is Executive Director of the Public Defender Association. The award citation noted the measurable successes of LEAD, which have resulted in expansion of the LEAD program to other cities and tribal areas across the United States.