Minnesota / Public Defense Board

Agency file

Public Defense Board

Source file: Minnesota — State Employee Payroll / ingested Jun 18, 2026

The Public Defense Board is a government agency that delivers public services and programs within its jurisdiction.

In 2025, this agency had 1,087 employees with median total compensation of $99,952; the highest distinct record was $322,368.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $110.1M
Employees: 1,087
Median total: $99,952
Highest record: $322,368

What the records show

Compensation analytics

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

Salary distribution

$110$187,632+

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

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 1,087 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($99,952) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $100,213 (99%)
Overtime — $12 (0%)
Other — $1,040 (1%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

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

$28,353

$77,459

$99,952

$129,210

$161,688

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $161,688 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $28,353. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Public Defense Assistant Attorney

597 · $110,528

Legal Office Assistant

104 · $72,426

Public Defense Law Clerk

97 · $4,405

Public Defense Managing Attrny

69 · $173,033

Public Defense Investigator

63 · $92,976

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	$97.2M —	1,069 —	$89,412 —
2025	$110.1M ▲ 13.3%	1,087 ▲ 1.7%	$99,952 ▲ 11.8%

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Lori Nelson

Public Defense Assistant Attorney/Public Defense Board

2025 total comp

$39,075

Sub-department: Third District FT
Base pay: $34,050
Overtime: $1,231
Other pay: $3,795
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $39,075
Hire date: 2024-05-22
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 1
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense - Asst Attorney
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Olmsted

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 300
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Public Defense Board, Lori Nelson serves as a Public Defense Assistant Attorney within Third District Ft. Their tenure dates to 2024, about a year, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $39,075. Their bargaining unit is Public Defense - Asst Attorney.

Lindsay Hammond

Public Defense Assistant Attorney/Public Defense Board

2025 total comp

$37,250

Sub-department: Ninth District - Brainerd
Base pay: $37,250
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $37,250
Hire date: 2025-01-15
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 1
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense - Asst Attorney
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Beltrami

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 300
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Lindsay Hammond holds the role of Public Defense Assistant Attorney at Public Defense Board within Ninth District - Brainerd. Their tenure dates to 2025, under a year as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $37,250. Their bargaining unit is Public Defense - Asst Attorney.

Allison Steenblock

Legal Office Assistant/Public Defense Board

2025 total comp

$36,996

Sub-department: Tenth District - North Branch2
Base pay: $36,996
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $36,996
Hire date: 2016-07-13
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 5
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense-Support Staff
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Isanti

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 301
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Allison Steenblock holds the role of Legal Office Assistant at Public Defense Board within Tenth District - North Branch2. Hired in 2016, they have about 9 years of service as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $36,996. They are represented by Public Defense-Support Staff.

Carmen-Aimee Sandoval Vazquez

Public Defense Investigator/Public Defense Board

2024 total comp

$36,405

Sub-department: Seventh District Moorhead
Base pay: $36,405
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $36,405
Hire date: 2022-03-16
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 3
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense-Support Staff
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Stearns

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 301
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Carmen-Aimee Sandoval Vazquez is a Public Defense Investigator at Public Defense Board within Seventh District Moorhead. They have served since 2022 (about 2 years), working full-time. 2024 total compensation came to $36,405. Union affiliation: Public Defense-Support Staff.

Joel Baumann

Public Defense Assistant Attorney/Public Defense Board

2025 total comp

$35,957

Sub-department: J52D416 - Felony 4
Base pay: $26,356
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $9,601
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $35,957
Hire date: 2022-08-15
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 1
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense - Asst Attorney
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Hennepin

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 300
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Joel Baumann is a Public Defense Assistant Attorney at Public Defense Board within J52D416 - Felony 4. Their tenure dates to 2022, about 3 years, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $35,957. They are represented by Public Defense - Asst Attorney.

Chelsey Fischbach

Public Defense Assistant Attorney/Public Defense Board

2024 total comp

$34,626

Sub-department: Seventh District FT
Base pay: $31,494
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $3,132
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $34,626
Hire date: 2021-09-14
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 1
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense - Asst Attorney
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Stearns

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 300
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Public Defense Board, Chelsey Fischbach serves as a Public Defense Assistant Attorney within Seventh District Ft. Their tenure dates to 2021, about 3 years, working full-time. Their 2024 pay totaled $34,626. Their bargaining unit is Public Defense - Asst Attorney.

Jeremy Curran

Public Defense Assistant Attorney/Public Defense Board

2024 total comp

$32,892

Sub-department: Ninth District-PT Crookston
Base pay: $32,892
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $32,892
Hire date: 2022-02-02
Employment type: Part-Time
Pay grade: 1
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense - Asst Attorney
Pay basis: Bi-Weekly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.75
Work county: Beltrami

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 300
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Bi-Weekly

Jeremy Curran is a Public Defense Assistant Attorney at Public Defense Board within Ninth District-Pt Crookston. Their tenure dates to 2022, about 2 years, working part-time, 0.75 FTE. 2024 total compensation came to $32,892. They are represented by Public Defense - Asst Attorney.

Julian Robinson

Public Defense Assistant Attorney/Public Defense Board

2024 total comp

$31,632

Sub-department: J52D416 - Felony 4
Base pay: $20,682
Overtime: $1,835
Other pay: $9,115
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $31,632
Hire date: 2022-01-10
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 1
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense - Asst Attorney
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Hennepin

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 300
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Public Defense Board, Julian Robinson serves as a Public Defense Assistant Attorney within J52D416 - Felony 4. Hired in 2022, they have about 2 years of service, working full-time. Their 2024 pay totaled $31,632. They are represented by Public Defense - Asst Attorney.

Betsy O'Keefe

Legal Office Assistant/Public Defense Board

2024 total comp

$31,408

Sub-department: Second District
Base pay: $29,249
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $2,159
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $31,408
Hire date: 2023-11-08
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 5
Union / bargaining unit: Public Defense-Support Staff
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: J52
Bargaining Unit Number: 301
Branch: Judicial
Branch Code: Judicial
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Betsy O'Keefe holds the role of Legal Office Assistant at Public Defense Board within Second District. Hired in 2023, they have about a year of service as a full-time employee. In 2024, their total compensation was $31,408. Their bargaining unit is Public Defense-Support Staff.