Kayla joins our staff after spending time as a summer Law Clerk with our organization in 2002. She first learned about LCCR during her first week of law school and knew that “this is where [she] wanted to be.” The Rochester, NY native and Drew University graduate believes LCCR’s advocacy is important because it implements a genuinely holistic approach to serving and defending the demographic most targeted and most mistreated by the legal system, namely Black children and youth who are often underserved and deprived opportunities and resources. Due to domestic violence issues in her home, Kayla encountered police throughout her childhood and adolescence. Those experiences directly influenced her decision to become a lawyer after witnessing how the legal system can be used to further silence and disempower people.
Youth justice work can be a challenge and test the strongest of advocates. Kayla finds inspiration in God, the insights from her own experiences with the legal system during childhood and most especially, the children and young people she’s been able to work with in New Orleans over the past few years. She previously interned – and then volunteered – with the Youth Empowerment Project for 2.5 years as well as the Michigan State Appellate Defender’s Office. In 2023, she was a student attorney in the Tulane Juvenile Law clinic.
The former competitive fencer and current New Orleans Fencers Club coach strategically applied to Tulane University because of their dual JD/MSW program, intending to use those degrees in pursuit of a career advocating for children and young people. She’s passionate about recreational forms of therapy for children and young people, particularly through sports and looks to incorporate this interest into her career one day.
Email: kogden@lakidsrights.org
