Access to Justice Network Conference 2026

Name: Courts Meeting Communities Where They Are
Start: 2026-10-22T13:30:00-0400
End: 2026-10-22T15:00:00-0400

Courts Meeting Communities Where They Are

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EDT

Cincinnati Convention Center

Most justice system "community engagement" operates on the institution's terms — surveys designed by courts, listening sessions held in courtrooms, advisory committees where community members are invited to advise but not to decide. The engagement looks good in annual reports. This session asks what happens when courts flip that model — going to communities instead of waiting for communities to come to court, and sharing actual power instead of just gathering input.
The session presents models that span the full spectrum of community engagement. At one end, a court-led initiative takes judges and court staff directly into neighborhoods — not for a PR event, but for sustained relationship-building designed to demystify court processes, build trust with residents who feel intimidated or disconnected from the legal system, and hear directly from the people whose lives are most affected by court decisions. The initiative was designed, implemented, and refined through community feedback, with careful attention to planning, safety, judicial agreements, and evaluation. At the other end of the spectrum, state-level efforts have embedded community voice into formal court governance — creating structural seats for self-represented litigants and community members on the committees that write the rules. Between these poles, additional perspectives explore how community partners in regulatory reform processes experienced the engagement from their side, and what it actually feels like to be the only non-lawyer on a court committee. The range of models shows that community power takes different forms depending on context — but the underlying question is always the same: Are you sharing power, or performing inclusion?
A power audit using the IAP2 spectrum asks each participant to honestly assess where their organization sits — Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, or Empower — and identify one specific action that would move them one step up. The exercise consistently reveals that most organizations believe they're further along the spectrum than they actually are, and that the barriers to deeper engagement are more cultural than structural. Participants will also work with a practical planning framework for designing community engagement initiatives in their own jurisdictions — covering purpose, partnerships, recruitment, safety, evaluation, and the hardest question of all: what power are you actually willing to share? A commitment card captures what each participant will do within 60 days. You'll leave with the power audit tool, a planning framework, case studies from multiple states, and a concrete commitment you've made to someone who will hold you to it.

Speakers

August Hieber

Sr. Program Manager, Inclusive Access, Administrative Office of Illinois Courts

Judge Wende Cross

Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Thomas Beridon

Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Thomas O. Beridon began his legal career as a juvenile public defender before joining the City of Cincinnati as an Assistant Solicitor. In that role, he prosecuted cases, represented the City in civil litigation, and served as the City’s hearing examiner.
Prior to his appointme... Read More →

Nia Thomas

Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas

Crissy Anderson

Senior Court Program Analyst - Gender and Justice, AOC: Equity and Access

Gender and Race Equity
Court Access
Data

Nancy Drane

Executive Director, DC Access to Justice Commission

Nancy Drane has served as Executive Director of the D.C. Access to Justice Commission since 2016, leading efforts to expand access to civil legal help for District residents. She previously spent 13 years at the Children’s Law Center, representing children and families and later... Read More →

Gabriella Vazquez

Court Management Consultant, National Center for State Courts

Gabriella Vazquez is a Court Management Consultant with the National Center for State Courts. She works on a variety of access to justice initiatives at NCSC, including supporting eviction diversion programs in state courts, Safe Harbor policy development, user-centered design, and... Read More →

Thursday October 22, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
Cincinnati Convention Center 537 Elm St, Cincinnati, OH 45202

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Access to Justice Network Conference 2026

August Hieber

Judge Wende Cross

Thomas Beridon

Nia Thomas

Crissy Anderson

Nancy Drane

Gabriella Vazquez

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