Allegheny County, Pennsylvania / Public Defender
Agency file
The Public Defender handles legal functions of government — prosecution, legal advice, and representing the state in court.
In 2025, this agency had 176 employees with median total compensation of $66,610; the highest distinct record was $119,612.
What the records show
These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.
How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 176 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($66,610) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.
What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.
The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $90,199 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $13,717. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).
The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.
Trend
How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 3 published years.
| Year | Total payroll | Employees | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $8.8M — | 160 — | $64,231 — |
| 2024 | $9.3M ▲ 5.0% | 161 ▲ 0.6% | $66,875 ▲ 4.1% |
| 2025 | $9.9M ▲ 6.5% | 176 ▲ 9.3% | $66,610 ▼ 0.4% |
Record list
Page 5
Legal Secretary 1//Public Defender
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At Public Defender, Shawn P Coll serves as a Legal Secretary 1/. Records show a hire date of 2/7/2022. Their 2025 pay totaled $41,185.
Legal Intake Clerk/Public Defender
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At Public Defender, Xzavier Cuello serves as a Legal Intake Clerk. Records show a hire date of 7/15/2024. Their 2025 pay totaled $40,583.
Trial Defender 4/Public Defender
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William R. Bickerton holds the role of Trial Defender 4 at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 5/19/2025. In 2025, their total compensation was $40,183.
Trial Defender 4/Public Defender
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Halle Marchetta is a Trial Defender 4 at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 5/19/2025. 2025 total compensation came to $39,783.
Legal Secretary 1//Public Defender
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Cody M Taylor is a Legal Secretary 1/ at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 3/20/2023. 2024 total compensation came to $39,018.
Legal Intake Clerk/Public Defender
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Alexey Stern holds the role of Legal Intake Clerk at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 9/23/2024. In 2025, their total compensation was $38,689.
Trial Defender 4/Public Defender
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Julia Zebley is a Trial Defender 4 at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 2/27/2023. 2025 total compensation came to $38,364.
Legal Secretary 1//Public Defender
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Taylor Kottler works as a Legal Secretary 1/ for Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 9/19/2022. Taylor earned $37,659 in 2023.
Legal Intake Clerk/Public Defender
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Sidney Zelenko holds the role of Legal Intake Clerk at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 10/24/2022. In 2023, their total compensation was $37,559.
Legal Intake Clerk/Public Defender
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Abaigeal Brody holds the role of Legal Intake Clerk at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 1/3/2023. In 2024, their total compensation was $37,394.
Trial Defender/Public Defender
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Zane Gates works as a Trial Defender for Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 5/7/2023. Zane earned $35,977 in 2025.
Intake Paralegal/Public Defender
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Audrey P Hollis holds the role of Intake Paralegal at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 5/29/2016. In 2023, their total compensation was $34,267.
Manager-Pretrial/Public Defender
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Elizabeth Patton is a Manager-Pretrial at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 2/22/2016. 2024 total compensation came to $32,815.
Manager-Trial/Public Defender
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Samuel W Esterman is a Manager-Trial at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 9/17/2018. 2024 total compensation came to $29,899.
Trial Defender/Public Defender
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At Public Defender, Yemi Olaiya serves as a Trial Defender. Records show a hire date of 10/24/2021. Their 2024 pay totaled $29,538.
Peer Coach Specialist/Public Defender
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Heather Lamison holds the role of Peer Coach Specialist at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 10/21/2024. In 2025, their total compensation was $29,377.
Trial Defender 2/Public Defender
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At Public Defender, Amanda Brash serves as a Trial Defender 2. Records show a hire date of 3/27/2023. Their 2024 pay totaled $28,894.
Pt Law Clerk II/Public Defender
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Charles Goldblum is a Pt Law Clerk II at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 2/14/2022. 2025 total compensation came to $27,936.
Legal Secretary 1//Public Defender
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Sidney Zelenko is a Legal Secretary 1/ at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 10/24/2022. 2024 total compensation came to $27,678.
Law Clerk II/Public Defender
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Charles Goldblum is a Law Clerk II at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 2/14/2022. 2024 total compensation came to $26,267.
Legal Intake Clerk/Public Defender
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Julia L. Murphy works as a Legal Intake Clerk for Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 8/21/2023. Julia earned $26,208 in 2025.
Trial Defender 4/Public Defender
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Benjamin Zuckerman is a Trial Defender 4 at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 9/19/2022. 2025 total compensation came to $26,032.
Legal Intake Clerk/Public Defender
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Erika Romanowski is a Legal Intake Clerk at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 5/5/2025. 2025 total compensation came to $25,600.
Legal Secretary 1//Public Defender
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Matias Zavala is a Legal Secretary 1/ at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 10/17/2022. 2025 total compensation came to $25,446.
Social Worker/Public Defender
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Nkokota N. Vanda is a Social Worker at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 9/22/2025. 2025 total compensation came to $24,587.
Paralegal/Public Defender
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Stevie Tucker holds the role of Paralegal at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 10/21/2024. In 2025, their total compensation was $24,182.
Trial Defender 4/Public Defender
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Elizabeth N Isherwood is a Trial Defender 4 at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 8/11/2025. 2025 total compensation came to $23,870.
Legal Secretary 1//Public Defender
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Cole Felton holds the role of Legal Secretary 1/ at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 1/2/2024. In 2024, their total compensation was $23,157.
Investigator/Public Defender
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Matthew Cartier holds the role of Investigator at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 6/16/2025. In 2025, their total compensation was $22,905.
Investigator/Public Defender
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Kay Hughes works as a Investigator for Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 1/10/2022. Kay earned $21,622 in 2025.
Trial Defender 4/Public Defender
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Eric J Beinhart holds the role of Trial Defender 4 at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 11/5/2023. In 2025, their total compensation was $21,523.
Investigator/Public Defender
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At Public Defender, Kayla E Taylor serves as a Investigator. Records show a hire date of 1/25/2021. Their 2023 pay totaled $21,458.
Trial Defender 3/Public Defender
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Joseph Turman holds the role of Trial Defender 3 at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 1/4/2021. In 2025, their total compensation was $20,221.
Manager-Trial/Public Defender
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Kelly E Mclaughlin is a Manager-Trial at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 11/5/2018. 2025 total compensation came to $18,831.
Financial Analyst/Public Defender
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Scott Graff is a Financial Analyst at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 4/18/2022. 2025 total compensation came to $18,245.
Legal Secretary 1//Public Defender
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Savannah A Johns holds the role of Legal Secretary 1/ at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 7/17/2023. In 2025, their total compensation was $18,219.
Trial Defender/Public Defender
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Ernest Simon works as a Trial Defender for Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 10/9/1978. Ernest earned $18,129 in 2023.
Manager of Investigation/Public Defender
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Robert L Thornton is a Manager of Investigation at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 4/29/2019. 2023 total compensation came to $17,456.
Chief Deputy Director/Public Defender
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Laura K Mcwilliams is a Chief Deputy Director at Public Defender. Records show a hire date of 6/3/2013. 2024 total compensation came to $17,085.
Social Worker/Public Defender
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Krista Shugart holds the role of Social Worker at Public Defender. Their hire date on record is 5/2/2022. In 2023, their total compensation was $16,342.