TRGPD Executive Management

  • Loura Proske, Interim Executive Director & Director of Operations

    Loura Proske is a first-generation college graduate, a Terry Scholar, and a Texas Ex twice over. She comes to TRGPD having spent her entire legal career as a public defender, working in both rural and urban offices across the state. Loura firmly believes in increased access to institutionalized indigent defense services and has participated in the startup of new public defender offices. She is a graduate of both Gideon’s Promise and the FIDL Program and serves as a Texas Law mentor.

  • Sean Keane-Dawes, Director of Attorney Development

    Prior to joining TRGPD, Sean Keane-Dawes was in private practice for 18 years, with a practice that was 90% criminal defense. In this capacity, Sean represented indigent clients by accepting court appointments in several counties, which included Bexar, Wilson, Atascosa, Karnes, Frio, Medina, and Uvalde counties. Sean tried multiple cases to jury verdicts, many of which were first-degree felony cases such as murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and sex cases.
    Sean joined Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) in March of 2021 as a First Assistant Public Defender in the Atascosa office. The following year, Sean was promoted to Chief, managing a team of attorneys and support staff and later helping to close out the cases in that office.Sean was then associated with the Bee RPD office, being assigned Live Oak and Goliad District Court cases and managing a support staff. In October 2023, Texas RioGrande Public Defender (TRGPD) was created from TRLA, and Sean was promoted to Director of Attorney Development. Sean supervises and mentors the attorneys in the Bee RPD, Goliad, and Lavaca offices in this capacity.
    Sean is dedicated to the rights of indigent clients, working hard every day to ensure a just outcome in every case.

  • Sofia Mendoza, Executive Administrative Assistant

    Before joining Texas RioGrande Public Defender (TRGPD), Sofia accumulated twelve years of valuable experience at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA). Commencing as a legal assistant, she swiftly ascended to the role of an investigator during her tenure at TRLA. Following eight years in that capacity, Sofia seized the opportunity to contribute to the executive management team at TRGPD.

    In her current role, Sofia serves as an indispensable member of the team, specializing in training new attorneys and support staff. Her expertise extends to guiding them on the utilization of our client tracking system, navigating the intricacies of the payroll program, and addressing various administrative tasks. Committed to maintaining TRGPD's compliance and organizational efficiency, Sofia plays a crucial role in ensuring that our advocates can consistently deliver the highest quality of service.

  • Photo coming

    Amir Lang, Finance Administrator

    Before joining Texas RioGrande Public Defender (TRGPD), Amir spent over six years consulting for nonprofits and startups in both Senegal and the US and worked in the banking sector as a business analyst. Amir played a pivotal role in ensuring his clients' financial operations were efficient and effective.

    In his role at our firm, Amir performs data and financial analysis, financial modeling, and forecasting to support our mission.

TRGPD Board of Directors

  • Geoff Burkhart

    CHAIRMAN

    Travis County, County Executive - Community Legal Services

  • Rebecca Tavitas

    SECRETARY

    El Paso County Public Defender’s Office, First Assistant

  • Jani Maselli-Wood

    Harris County Public Defender’s Office, Appellate Division Chief

  • David Silberthau

    United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Judicial Law Clerk

  • Ben Brooks, Jr

    Pay It Forward, Chief Executive Officer

  • Cory Session

    Innocence Project of Texas, Vice President