Brooke Harris is a youth defense advocate, educator, and nonprofit leader whose career has focused on advancing justice for young people and strengthening the systems that serve them. For over 15 years, she has worked at the intersection of direct representation, legal education, policy reform, and organizational leadership, building the capacity of advocates and institutions to better support youth and their communities. Most recently, Brooke served as the inaugural Executive Director of the California Youth Defender Center, where she led statewide efforts to strengthen youth defense, expand training and technical assistance for attorneys, and advance policies that promote equitable outcomes for young people across California.
Prior to leading CYDC, Brooke served as Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Visiting Clinical Faculty at Loyola Law School, where she taught future advocates and supervised the representation of youth in delinquency proceedings. She also served as a public defender in Contra Costa County. Brooke is currently an appointed Commissioner on the Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission and Co-Chair of the Youth Justice Committee of the California Child Welfare Council. Across these roles, she has remained committed to ensuring that young people have access to meaningful advocacy, opportunities for healing, and pathways to thrive.
