LYRIC’s mission is to educate youth about their Constitutional Rights and empower them to exercise their 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendment Rights when faced with police encounters.

Alphabetically following Co-Founders

Hannah Seigel Proff
Board Member and Co-Founder

Hannah Seigel Proff is a trial attorney who has represented hundreds of adults and juveniles in criminal and delinquency cases over the last twelve years. Hannah is the co-founder and acting executive director for Learn Your Rights in the Community (LYRIC), and an adjunct professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Hannah’s experience and successful track record in the courtroom have led to invitations to lecture at legal conferences and training sessions across the country.

Michael Juba
Board Member and Co-Founder

Michael Juba graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law in 2007. Mr. Juba began his career at the Denver Trial Office of the Colorado State Public Defender and then started his own criminal defense firm, Hardy & Juba LLC, in 2012. Mr. Juba practices criminal defense and specializes in representing juveniles charged as adults in district court. Mr. Juba regularly presents trainings on effective advocacy in juvenile court and has published articles and materials on the constitutional rights of children.

Antoinette Gifford
Board Member

Antoinette Gifford is an educator and adjunct instructor. She teaches the Criminal Justice and Law Program in Cherry Creek Schools in conjunction with the Community College of Aurora. Ms. Gifford is a veteran teacher with almost two decades of experience, including international assignments in Taiwan and Israel. Her externship with the Colorado State Public Defender – Juvenile Division continues to fuel her passion for teaching and advocacy for justice and the law. Ms. Gifford is a graduate of Dillard University and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Brendan Rodman
Board Member

Brendan Patrick Rodman is a partner at Rodman & Rodman, LLC. Brendan Rodman has been practicing law as a Civil Defense Attorney after graduating from the University of Tulsa in December 2005. He completed his undergraduate education at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Brendan received his Juris Doctor at the University of Tulsa. Brendan has been a member of the Denver Bar Association, Colorado Bar Association and Colorado Defense Lawyers Association since 2007. Brendan participates in the organization and presentation of the ABOTA Colorado Teacher’s Law School. In 2017, Brendan was admitted to the South Dakota Bar.

Elie Zwiebel
Board Member

Elie Zwiebel is an attorney who specializes in Education Law, Juvenile Justice, and the intersection of the two. In both private practice and as Education First Program Director for the Colorado Juvenile Defender Center, Elie helps students obtain the educational resources they need and defends students against the school to prison pipeline. Elie came to this work after spending several years as a teacher. Elie also sits on the board for the Colorado Criminal Defense Institute.

Ezra Aldern
Board Member

Ezra has had an opportunity to work with resilient youth throughout the Metro Denver area over the course of the past 15 years. Through his experiences, Ezra quickly learned the importance of advocating on behalf of high impact students in order to disrupt the “school-to-prison pipeline.” After earning a Master’s Degree in social work in 2014, Ezra started his own forensic social work practice, Dance in the Rain Consulting LLC, providing comprehensive mitigation, assessment, and advocacy on behalf of juveniles and young adults involved with the legal system. Ezra is passionate about supporting and empowering youth.

Ian Farrell
Board Member

an Farrell is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He completed his undergraduate degree and law degree at the University of Wollongong in Australia before attending Harvard Law School on a Fulbright Scholarship, where he received an LL.M. Ian also received a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Texas, where he was part of the joint Law and Philosophy program. Ian’s teaching and research covers criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, and the philosophy of law. Ian was named the law school’s Most Outstanding Professor in 2017.

Kate Crampton
Board Member

Kate Crampton is a Lead Deputy Attorney at the Golden office of the Colorado State Public Defender, where she has worked since 2011. She has represented thousands of juveniles and adults in criminal cases over the course of her public defender career. She attended the University of Minnesota for both undergraduate and law school. She is a seasoned and committed advocate for indigent and vulnerable communities. Drawing from her experience as a public defender, Kate is passionate about educating youth to understand and safely exercise their constitutional rights.

Megan Casimir
Board Member

Megan Casimir is a social worker at DSST Public Schools. She has her Masters in Social Work from Boston University. Megan is passionate about educating youth about their rights and advocating for victims of crime.

Phelicia Kossie-Butler
Board Member

Phelicia Kossie-Butler is an Adams County Magistrate. Prior to becoming a Magistrate she joined Bayer & Carey in September, 2016 as an associate attorney. Ms. Kossie-Butler graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2000. She graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2003 and was admitted to the Colorado Bar the same year. Ms. Kossie-Butler has been an active trial lawyer, first as a Colorado Deputy State Public Defender and then defending insurance companies and their policyholders. She primarily handles personal injury, auto law, criminal defense and premises liability cases. Ms. Kossie-Butler also volunteers as a faculty member at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

Tally Zuckerman
Board Member

Tally Zuckerman is a partner at Zuckerman Law, LLC. Prior to forming the firm, Ms. Zuckerman was an attorney in the Denver Trial Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. Ms. Zuckerman has been in private practice since 2013 practicing solely in the area of criminal defense in both state and federal courts. Ms. Zuckerman also serves as the representative for private criminal defense attorneys on the Domestic Violence Offender Management Board (“DVOMB”), the Board which creates and promulgates the standards of domestic violence treatment for so-called “domestic violence offenders” across the state of Colorado.

Tim Tarr
Board Member

Veronica Acosta is a forensic social worker. She is a first generation Mexican-American, native Spanish speaker who graduated with her Bachelor’s in Social Work in 2017 and then with her Masters in Social Work in 2018 from Metropolitan State University of Denver. She has also worked with the reunification of families through The Guadalupe Project and currently works as a contractor with the Office of the Alternate Defense counsel mitigating for both adult and juvenile cases. Veronica also volunteers feeding the homeless with the Colorado Native Outreach Program.