“If You Want the Status Quo, Don’t Call Me Back”
by Emily Brandt, Assistant Appellate Defender
On October 1, 2019, Heather Cessna stepped into her first day as Executive Director of BIDS. As she prepares to begin her fourth year, I took the opportunity to sit down and discuss her journey to the law, her career, and her time as Executive Director.
We began by discussing what drew her to the law, and she recounted a story that might be relatable to many of us. Heather received dual degrees in philosophy and political science from Baker University, but realized that she would need an advanced degree to achieve career success. While she had planned to attend George Washington University to pursue a Master’s Degree in Islamic Relations and International Affairs, facing school fatigue and a family illness, Heather ultimately chose to stay in Kansas. On a whim, she applied to KU Law School.
While at KU, Heather participated in what is now the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence & Post Conviction Remedies, under the tutelage of several legendary attorneys, including former appellate defender Rick Kittel. With his guidance, she wrote her first appellate brief: an appeal in a K.S.A. 60-1507 case. The thrill of this experience ultimately led her to join the Appellate Defender Office directly after her graduation in 2002.
After four years with the ADO, Heather stepped away from public defense in 2006 to practice veterans’ benefits law for about eighteen months. But the calling of public defense drew her back to the ADO in 2008, and she ultimately became a deputy in 2016.
I asked what she thinks brings people back to public defense after practicing in other fields. “People who come to public defense . . . are driven by injustice in the system and the desire to represent our clients even when other people won’t. They are driven by our mission,” she said. She explained how there is a community in public defense that is rare in legal practice and difficult to find elsewhere – people are drawn back to that community and to the mission of fighting injustices.
After another eleven years with the ADO, Heather applied and was selected to be the Executive Director of BIDS following the retirement of long-time Executive Director Pat Scalia. I asked why she chose to move to the administrative role and how she knew she was ready for the work it entailed. She laughed at this question, telling me she did not know she was ready but saw room for necessary improvements within BIDS. With fifteen years of experience in the agency, she had a long-term and broad view that informed her of what changes needed to be made for the betterment of BIDS – both for our employees and our clients. Heather wrote a “hilariously long cover letter” to the Board detailing these crucial changes and concluded it with, “if you want things to continue working the way they have been, you should not call me back.” The Board called her back.
Once she dove into the position, Heather began the work of bringing her vision for the future of BIDS into reality. Her vision was broken down into two categories: first, fixing foundational problems, and second, creating long-term and sustainable improvements.
The foundational problems she recognized that needed addressing included lowering caseloads, hiring or contracting with more attorneys, and raising pay for attorneys – both in BIDS and for appointed counsel. After addressing significant foundational issues, her long-term goal was to shift the agency to a holistic defense mission and provide better access to resources for our clients. She is acutely aware that the ability to begin long-term change is not possible without building a strong foundation, so I asked about her foundational work.
From the beginning, Heather recognized a major foundational concern was pay parity with prosecutors – making sure public defenders were paid similarly to their counterparts. A huge step toward addressing foundational problems within BIDS was the $3.9 million dollar request for an all-agency pay scale adjustment to provide defenders with better pay parity with prosecutors. Under her leadership and advocacy, the legislature passed Heather’s $3.9 million request for an all-agency pay-scale adjustment implemented on July 1, 2022.
Although employee pay was an enormous step, Heather’s focus on foundational improvement has also included: building a team in the administrative office that better supports and improves the agency overall, increasing pay for appointed counsel, working to open more public defender offices throughout the state, and creating new attorney and staff positions in several offices.
She also explained the agency has made it easier for trial defenders to hire necessary experts and reduce caseloads, which has included educating district courts about the real consequences for real people and for the system overall when caseloads are too high.
Beyond courts, Heather has learned another group was in need of education about public defense: the Kansas Legislature. Heather “was very surprised by the basic education that the Kansas Legislature needed,” and recognized that “the legislature can’t fix problems they don’t know about.” Once she provided legislators with a basic education about BIDS and its relationship with entities like the judiciary and the Kansas Department of Corrections, she started to see more support and traction from legislators. Her teaching has helped to make legislators more receptive to BIDS’ legislative requests.
Because so much of what BIDS does comes down to funding and resources, in her view, her advocacy in the Legislature has been the biggest and most effective change. As a state agency, our funding is within the budget the Legislature prepares and presents to the governor for approval every session. According to Heather, “absolutely nothing replaces physically being in the Kansas Legislature in front of the people who are making decisions on our funding.” By being face-to-face with the legislators, she can answer questions, back up her answers with proven success, and show legislators the consequences of not approving our funding requests.
Although the foundational improvements are ongoing, I returned to Heather’s goal to shift the agency to a holistic defense mission. Holistic defense recognizes that a client’s needs are not limited to their immediate criminal case, but are often a result of a larger system of poverty and mental health challenges. Its goal is to address the root causes of involvement in the legal system through a client-centered, interdisciplinary approach. For Heather, holistic defense means broadening the view of a case, taking into account how to get the best result for the client as a whole person rather than hyper-focusing on the legal matter in a specific case.
As she explained the immensity of the work she has undertaken, I grew curious about how she maintained her well-being outside of her job. As I’ve learned is discussed often within BIDS and other public defense spheres, having a “third thing” that is meaningful and fulfilling, beyond work and family obligations, can help prevent burnout. Heather explained that as she has transitioned to being Executive Director, and as her daughter has grown older, her third thing has evolved. Currently, in her minimal free time, she enjoys screenwriting and fiction writing – specifically, fairy tales and stories with happy endings.
As I thanked her for the chance to get to know her, she left me with a bit of advice: For attorneys new to BIDS or those who have been around a while, she reminded me that we are never doing this alone. Public defense is a community unlike any other, and we should lean on each other to achieve our shared mission to fulfill the constitutional promise of a zealous defense.
From navigating a global pandemic a mere six months after assuming the position of Executive Director to securing millions in funding for BIDS, Heather’s tenure has been far from the status quo, and we are all better for it. Please join us in celebrating Heather’s accomplishments as she celebrates three years in office!
[Heather also recently made an appearance on the podcast “Public Defenseless” where she talks even more about her work to turn public defense in Kansas around. You can listen here.]