Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt
First Chief Investigator in SB County Public Defender Office
Lawanda is the president of the Santa Maria-Lompoc National Association For the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a member of the Death Penalty Focus Board of Directors, serving as Vice-Chair of Outreach, on the board of Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN), chair of the Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley Candidates and Endorsement committee and recently termed off The Fund For Santa Barbara Grantmaking committee where she served for 6 years. A former Chief Investigator in the Santa Barbara County Public Defender’s Office, Lawanda was the first African American woman in California to earn the title of Chief Investigator, a position she held from 1995 until she retired in 2016. As Chief Investigator, Lawanda assisted in the defense of several death penalty cases, an experience that cemented her opposition to the death penalty.
Please join us in recognizing and celebrating the many contributions and accomplishments of the amazing Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt, and all she continues to do to create a more just and equitable region.
