Ronda Swenson M.A.

Ronda Swenson is a first generation college graduate and a single mother of a daughter whom she has raised on her own while building her career. Ronda works as an independent contractor and her educational background includes completing extensive units towards earning a PhD in Human Services with a specialization in Criminal Justice. She has a Masters Degree in Education with a teaching credential in Sociology and a Bachelors degree in Sociology. Decades ago she started her defense legal career as a certified Paralegal. Ronda also completed two years of law school before deciding to pursue her Masters degree. Ronda is certified in Forensic Social Work, ACES, and Trauma informed Care. She has worked in the legal field for over twenty-five years. During this time, Ronda has worked for private attorneys, conflict panels, public defender offices, and alternate defender offices. She works on; Serious felonies, Franklin and Millers, Juvenile Transfers, and Capital cases both on the state and federal levels.

For twenty years Ronda and her family provided foster care to over a hundred adolescent foster youth some of which have become lifelong brothers and also some of them have been impacted by the criminal justice system.  It is due to that foundation and those relationships Ronda is able to make strong connections with the children and families on her caseload. In addition to living with youth impacted by the juvenile justice systems she also worked for over fifteen years as a social worker/investigator visiting youth in foster care for their dependency attorneys. 

In 2011, Ronda was fortunate enough to obtain a post-conviction paralegal/investigator position with the Northern California Innocence Project/DNA Project. Unfortunately, her position was eliminated due to grant funding in October 2013. However, she has continued to volunteer when needed and advocate for those wrongfully convicted.

Ronda loves to learn and attends numerous trainings as well as provides presentations throughout the nation. Currently Ronda works statewide in California with; Private Attorneys, Court Appointed Attorneys, ADO Offices and Public Defender Offices as a Mitigation Specialist. Ronda has trained social workers and attorneys in forensic social work and she is on a panel to conduct forensic psycho-social evaluations on immigration cases.

Working in the Criminal Justice System and Juvenile Dependency System it is easy to see just how broken these system are and the inhumanity that is so prevalent in these systems. Mitigation allows for us to look at an individual first and approach justice through a lens of compassion in order to provide healing for everyone system impacted.

In addition to her work in the legal field she has spent over three decades teaching modeling, styling, producing fashion shows, and self-esteem skills.  Also, she spent over a decade providing hair and make-up to a youth theater company with children ranging in ages five to eighteen where the make-up room was always a fun and safe space for kids to talk. 

" Be the Change You Want to See in the World"  Gandhi