Anna is the Executive Director of the Georgia Resource Center. Prior to joining the GRC team in August 2019, she worked for more than a decade as a staff attorney with the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. At the ACLU, Anna represented people in death penalty cases at the trial, direct appeal, and post‐conviction stages across the South. She also authored amicus curiae briefs in capital cases across the country and in the United States Supreme Court. Anna serves as a regular consultant with capital defense attorneys and advocates, and presents at training seminars for capital defense professionals.

Anna began her legal career as a fellow with the Fair Trial Initiative, where she assisted in the preparation of capital trial and post‐conviction cases in North Carolina. Anna received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Akiva Freidlin joined the Resource Center as a staff attorney in 2018. He is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Hampshire College. He began his legal career as a Skadden Fellow at the Southern Center for Human Rights. There he worked to reverse the criminalization of poverty by addressing issues including privatized probation and the use of money bail.

Martine Innocent joined the Georgia Resource Center as an investigator in February of 2022. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Before joining the Resource Center, Martine was a Senior Investigator with the Public Defender office in West Palm Beach, Florida for over 10 years.

Devin Kirkland joined the Georgia Resource Center as an investigator in May of 2021. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Forensic and Legal Psychology. Before working with the resource center, Devin was a mitigation investigator with the Northern Virginia Capital Defender Office. 

Brandie Martinez Bedard joined the Georgia Resource Center as the Office Manager in 2021. In addition to financial responsibilities, Brandie manages office operations, personnel, and benefits. She is also responsible for case tracking and case file management. Brandie has earned two Bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Religious Studies, a Master’s degree in Philosophy (specializing in Neurophilosophy), and a Juris Doctorate all from Georgia State University. After graduating from law school, Brandie joined the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (GACDL) as the Membership Director and worked for GACDL for almost six years prior to joining the Resource Center. 

John has been an investigator at the Resource Center since October of 2012 and has been doing investigative work in death penalty cases since 2003. Prior to joining the Resource Center team, he worked as a mitigation investigator in Memphis, TN. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling.

Before coming to GRC, Traci was an attorney at Mobilization for Justice, Inc., where she represented litigants in New York City with severe psychiatric disabilities in federal and state court proceedings and administrative hearings. With a background in Social Work, Traci counseled indigent persons on disability law, housing, and government benefits. Prior to entering public interest law, Traci practiced in the area of Elder Law and Estate Planning. She graduated from Stetson University College of Law in 2012. 

Marcy Widder is a Senior Litigator at GRC. Prior to joining the Resource Center in October 2012, she represented Louisiana capital litigants, mostly on direct appeal, at the Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans, and later as a solo practitioner, following a two-year clerkship for the Honorable James L. Dennis at the Louisiana Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She graduated summa cum laude from Tulane Law School and was articles editor for the Tulane Law Review. She has been counsel in four successful cases before the United States Supreme Court.