Natalie Walton-Anderson KCPAO Women in Leadership
This Women’s History Month, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is highlighting some of the depth and breadth of women leaders in our office as part of our “Women in Leadership” series. These profiles are only a few of the many amazing women in our office.
How long have you worked at the PAO?
I started at the Prosecutor’s office in May of 1997. I worked in the Victim Assistance Unit as an undergrad volunteer intern. I applied for a permanent position as a receptionist position for the Victim Assistance and Special Assault Unit.
*As of 3/15/2021, Natalie is moving on from the PAO to a new opportunity as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington.
What is your role in the PAO?
Currently, I am a Unit Chair and I supervise criminal justice alternative programs ranging from pre-booking diversion (LEAD), therapeutic courts (Drug Court), and prison alternative program (Residential Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative) and re-entry program (Familiar Faces/Vital) the theme being an alternative to incarceration and an opportunity at treatment. There are approximately 10 women in my unit — all with different roles but all with the same passion to support system change.
The unit is comprised of prosecutors and paralegals who work in King County Drug Diversion Court, in the Let Everyone Advance with Dignity Program (LEAD — formerly known as the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program), which provides support to case managers who work with clients that are heavily involved in the criminal legal system. The liaisons work with those case managers to attempt to remove some of of the challenges and barriers that clients face in the legal system. It’s a unique role and innovative role and our office was one of the first in the country to dedicate prosecutors to do this work.
The prison alternative — or Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative (DOSA) calendar — is a post sentencing program that works in collaboration with the Department of Corrections, the sentencing judge, defense and the prosecutor to support individuals in the community on DOC supervision and engaged in treatment as an alternative to up to 24 months in prison.
In addition, I serve as the prosecutorial liaison for 60 individuals who are “Familiar Face” participants. These are individuals identified by King County as people who cycle through the jail. They have been booked four or more times in a 12-month period, and they had to meet that criteria at least four times in a two-year period. We’ve realized that jail is not a deterrent for certain individuals, so I work as the Vital Intensive care management team to address legal system barriers. I love this work because it reimagines the role of prosecution, working with community partners and community agencies that are providing services to the most vulnerable and marginalized in our community.
It is important to me as a Black prosecutor to try and advance work and programs that address systemic racism by offering treatment and services as an alternative to jail. Being a prosecutor means that you have discretion and power, and as prosecutors we can focus on how to help marginalized communities who are disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system.
What were you doing before coming to the PAO?
It feels like I’ve always been at the PAO — twenty-seven years ago when I was high school, I volunteered for many years for KCPAO King County Kid’s Court.
I went to an out of state college, I was going to be an architect major and I didn’t have any desire to be an attorney. My dad was an attorney, and I think as kids we don’t want to do what our parents did. The drafting lab proved to not be as much fun so I came back to Seattle and I was offered a volunteer opportunity based on my connection with King County Kids Court and started working in the Victim Assistant Unit (VAU). I loved my work in VAU — I spoke to victims and survivors and explained the legal process to the best of my ability. I decided to go to law school at night at Seattle University because it was important to me that our victims/survivors have the law explained in words that that people can understand — especially since so many of or victims/survivors are so often Brown and Black people that come from marginalized communities.
What was great about working at VAU and the Special Assault Unit at the time, was there were two women in charge of those units who were both great mentors. Robin Fox and Kathy Goater. Both have since left the office, but I was really impressed that they led what in my opinion was two very important units in the office that helped women and children involved in traumatic events. They were both forces of nature — unapologetically strong and outspoken.
What are some of your goals regarding the work you do?
First, to expand this work and make it more accessible. Second, to make sure what we are expanding has a clear definition of success. In expanding programs, it’s critical to build a continuum of services. We have people that the system has failed and there needs to be a continuum that includes prevention services, support for reentry back into the community, services within the prison system, and services within the courts. The continuum should be accessible, robust services, and collaborative.
I also want these programs to be accessible to every prosecutor so that these alternatives are more widespread. Right now only a few prosecutors work within the alternatives, when realistically we all should know what programs and alternatives are available, and that way we can make more of an educated choice about what we want to do with our cases in terms of resolutions. I’m encouraged the office is taking steps to spread this experience working with programs
What sort of obstacles have you faced in your field? What was it like dealing with those?
Everyone has obstacles and challenges — myself included, but I also have been fortunate. I have two parents who were incredibly stable, and they believed in education — my mom grew up in Ypsilanti/Detroit and my dad grew up from Flint. I have family members who are significantly mentally ill, have been involved in substance use disorder, and who have been incarcerated and in jail. I have that perspective, and while I was lucky enough not to have those specific obstacles — that is something that is there.
My dad raised me and told me that because you are Black, and you are a woman, you will have to work twice and hard to get the same sort of recognition. And I will say that is something I have struggled with. It is difficult to be a Black woman in the legal field. It is also difficult to work your way up in the office having come from being a support staff to being an attorney. I still remember the attorneys who were supportive, and the ones who really differentiated between support staff and attorneys.
Academically, trying to succeed in law school — people like to pick and associate with people who are like them. And when you look different and have a different background that presents a challenge in terms of making connections whether it’s in law school or beyond.
I also had three kids in this office, and I was at least 8 months in trial with every pregnancy. It’s difficult to raise a family, and because you’re a woman there’s a perception that child rearing is going to fall on you and that will limit your ability to perform at work — and that stereotyping can be an obstacle as well.
What are your thoughts on up and coming women in the office?
One of the things that gives me a lot of confidence in leaving currently is how many new, young, inspired voices there are in the office to make change. We have so many new and up and coming leaders. The office currently is doing a really good job of spreading projects out to shine a light on that new leadership. There are leaders in all corners of this office from support staff to students, to new DPAs — our future leaders are many — I’ll focus on two:
Maria Manza is a prosecutor I work with and who spent her career in mental health court and is now working with LEAD. She is a great mentor for newer deputies in the office. During this trying year she has focused our unit on self-care and why it’s so important because of all the traumatic things we read and see. She is strongly committed to being knowledgeable about politics, and how politics informs our policies. I’m also so impressed with Maria’s teaching position with Criminal Externship Program at Seattle University (SU). I graduated from Law School at SU, and when I was there being a prosecutor was not considered in line with social justice. One thing that Maria is doing is bringing representatives from our office to SU to talk to externs about the work we are doing, how the prosecutor role is different, and weaving in current events. She is motivating law students to consider a career in prosecution by explaining how prosecution looks different now and encouraging them to consider it.
The other person is Yessenia Manzo. Yessenia came to the PAO after already working in Mental Health Court as a practitioner. She did our mental health court screenings for many years and developed treatment and release plans. She brings a unique perspective because she also did jail release work. She was the class speaker at Seattle U. I appreciate her willingness to educate others, and to be up front about what’s right. I’ve learned so much from her about cultural appropriation and the damage it can do. She taught me a lot about indigenous culture, and she brings that to the office in a way that hasn’t been done before. She’s willing to challenge our norms, and really wants consistency in terms of what we are doing.
I find them both inspirational and can’t wait to see what they do with the KCPAO and beyond.
What advice would you give to other women who are considering a similar career path?
There is so much work to be done that we don’t have to fight one another for the spotlight, and we shouldn’t. Our platform should be large, so that we are bringing on as many women as possible. We need to fill the stage and then build a bigger stage; this office, community and world has so much work that there is plenty of work to go around.
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Catch up with the entire KCPAO Women in Leadership series on our blog at kcprosecutor.medium.com.
