City and County of San Francisco / Public Defender

Agency file

Public Defender

Source file: City and County of San Francisco — Employee Compensation / ingested Jun 17, 2026

The Public Defender handles legal functions of government — prosecution, legal advice, and representing the state in court.

In 2025, this agency had 250 employees with median total compensation of $202,487; the highest distinct record was $403,576.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $54.7M
Employees: 250
Median total: $202,487
Highest record: $403,576

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$3,436$377,856+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 250 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($202,487) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $163,313 (75%)
Overtime — $166 (0%)
Other — $1,352 (1%)
Benefits — $53,842 (25%)

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.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$119,216

$151,643

$202,487

$282,409

$348,663

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $348,663 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $119,216. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)

108 · $262,504

Legal Assistant

35 · $153,177

Senior Public Defenders Invstgtor

16 · $198,123

Head Attorney Civil & Criminal

15 · $365,930

Court Alternative Specialist 1

13 · $138,963

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

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2024	$52M —	252 —	$199,423 —
2025	$54.7M ▲ 5.1%	250 ▼ 0.8%	$202,487 ▲ 1.5%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Office of Public Utility Counsel Texas80% match
Office of Administrative Law California75% match
City Attorney City and County of San Francisco74% match
District Attorney Allegheny County, Pennsylvania66% match
Public Defender Council, Georgia Georgia65% match
Attorney General's Office South Carolina62% match

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Evelyn Ang

Senior Legal Process Clerk/Public Defender

2024 total comp

$112,117

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $77,677
Overtime: $451
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $33,990
Total compensation: $112,117
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1.04

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $19,294
Job Code: 8108
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,885

At Public Defender, Evelyn Ang serves as a Senior Legal Process Clerk within Legal & Court. They work permanent civil service, 1.04 FTE. Their 2024 pay totaled $112,117. Union affiliation: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Sandy Leung

Personnel Technician/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$111,388

Sub-department: Personnel
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $78,475
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $32,912
Total compensation: $111,388
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: Prof & Tech Eng, Local 21
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.78

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $15,243
Job Code: 1203
Job Family Code: 1200
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $6,099

Sandy Leung is a Personnel Technician at Public Defender within Personnel. They work permanent civil service, 0.78 FTE. 2025 total compensation came to $111,388. They are represented by Prof & Tech Eng, Local 21.

Noah Viengxay

Legal Process Clerk/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$110,604

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $74,295
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $36,309
Total compensation: $110,604
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.95

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $19,035
Job Code: 8106
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,777

Noah Viengxay holds the role of Legal Process Clerk at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent civil service, 0.95 FTE. In 2025, their total compensation was $110,604. They are represented by SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Carmen Sanchez

Legal Assistant/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$110,217

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $77,608
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,560
Benefits: $31,049
Total compensation: $110,217
Employment type: Temporary Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Prof & Tech Eng, Local 21
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.7

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $13,607
Job Code: 8173
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,760

Carmen Sanchez is a Legal Assistant at Public Defender within Legal & Court. They work temporary exempt, 0.7 FTE. 2025 total compensation came to $110,217. Union affiliation: Prof & Tech Eng, Local 21.

Jesse Hsieh

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2024 total comp

$109,909

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $80,532
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $3,694
Benefits: $25,682
Total compensation: $109,909
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.35

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $7,066
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $6,375

Jesse Hsieh holds the role of Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent exempt, 0.35 FTE. In 2024, their total compensation was $109,909. Union affiliation: Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

Kierra Brown

Court Alternative Specialist 1/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$107,929

Sub-department: Probation & Parole
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $73,750
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $34,179
Total compensation: $107,929
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.88

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $17,650
Job Code: 8446
Job Family Code: 8400
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,699

Kierra Brown works as a Court Alternative Specialist 1 for Public Defender within Probation & Parole. Their status is permanent civil service, 0.88 FTE. Kierra earned $107,929 in 2025. Their bargaining unit is SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Sapphire Dedrick

Legal Process Clerk/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$107,745

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $71,258
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $36,487
Total compensation: $107,745
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $19,953
Job Code: 8106
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,534

At Public Defender, Sapphire Dedrick serves as a Legal Process Clerk within Legal & Court. They work permanent civil service. Their 2025 pay totaled $107,745. Their bargaining unit is SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Kayla Kunze

Junior Clerk/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$106,260

Sub-department: Clerical, Secretarial & Steno
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $69,635
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $36,625
Total compensation: $106,260
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $19,953
Job Code: 1402
Job Family Code: 1400
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,425

At Public Defender, Kayla Kunze serves as a Junior Clerk within Clerical, Secretarial & Steno. They work permanent civil service. Their 2025 pay totaled $106,260. Their bargaining unit is SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Vernon Haney

Senior Clerk/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$103,034

Sub-department: Clerical, Secretarial & Steno
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $68,615
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $34,420
Total compensation: $103,034
Employment type: Temporary Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.92

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $18,427
Job Code: 1406
Job Family Code: 1400
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,344

Vernon Haney is a Senior Clerk at Public Defender within Clerical, Secretarial & Steno. They work temporary exempt, 0.92 FTE. 2025 total compensation came to $103,034. They are represented by SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Jonathan Fellner

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$101,162

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $82,530
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $18,632
Total compensation: $101,162
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.36

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $6,749
Retirement Contribution: $11,883

Jonathan Fellner holds the role of Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent exempt, 0.36 FTE. In 2025, their total compensation was $101,162. Union affiliation: Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

Vanessa Soriano

Junior Clerk/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$100,232

Sub-department: Clerical, Secretarial & Steno
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $64,801
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $35,431
Total compensation: $100,232
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $19,953
Job Code: 1402
Job Family Code: 1400
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,009

Vanessa Soriano holds the role of Junior Clerk at Public Defender within Clerical, Secretarial & Steno. Their status is permanent civil service. In 2025, their total compensation was $100,232. Union affiliation: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.