WASHINGTON, D.C. – Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced the appointments of three individuals to the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) leadership team. Following her success as Assistant Deputy for OAG’s Child Support Services Division, AG Racine has promoted Sophia Ticer to lead the division as Deputy Attorney General. Emily Gunston, a seasoned attorney and dedicated criminal justice reformer, will serve as Senior Counsel to the Attorney General, overseeing OAG’s legislative and intergovernmental efforts and advising on a range of legal issues. Erin Wilson, a leading expert in policy and programs to prevent hate and extremism, will serve as a Director of Presidential Initiative and Senior Policy Advisor with a focus on OAG initiatives to counter hate in the District and nationally.
“District residents deserve the very best, and our newest additions to OAG’s senior leadership team are indeed among the very best in their fields,” said AG Racine. “Sophia Ticer, Emily Gunston, and Erin Wilson each boast a deep well of legal and professional experience and the right blend of talent, organization, and creativity to deliver the kind of high-quality service that the District and its residents have come to expect from OAG.”
Sophia Ticer, Deputy Attorney General, Child Support Services Division
Sophia Ticer now serves as Deputy Attorney General and IV-D Director of the Child Support Services Division (CSSD) for the District of Columbia. Ms. Ticer previously served as Assistant Deputy for CSSD. Before coming to OAG, Ms. Ticer served as Special Counsel for the Child Support Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. There, she supervised the Child Support Litigation Unit and personally litigated child support cases.
Before these roles, Ms. Ticer spent nearly a decade at the State’s Attorney’s Offices in Charles County and Prince George’s County, Maryland. She worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Prince George’s County, and later in the Criminal Division for the Charles County, Maryland office. She also served as a Child Support Supervisor in the Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office for over three years.
Ms. Ticer began her legal career as an associate attorney with The Collins Law Group, LLC. She received her law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and her bachelor’s degree from York College of Pennsylvania.
Emily Gunston, Senior Counsel to the Attorney General
Emily Gunston now serves as Senior Counsel to the Attorney General, taking on primary responsibility for OAG’s legislative and intergovernmental efforts, as well as a leadership role in several areas of OAG’s legal work. Emily also serves on the District’s Police Reform Commission, which was created by the Council in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter protests this past summer.
Immediately before joining OAG, Emily Gunston was Deputy Legal Director at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. While there, she was responsible for the Committee’s criminal justice system reform work, which involved police accountability, prison conditions, parole and compassionate release, and the criminalization of poverty.
Prior to joining the Committee, Ms. Gunston served for nine years in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in the Special Litigation Section, rising from Trial Attorney, to Special Counsel, to Deputy Chief. As Deputy Chief, she helped lead the Division’s group conducting pattern or practice investigations of police departments, including in Chicago, New Orleans, and Cleveland. She was awarded the Attorney General’s John Marshall Award in 2013, and the Distinguished Service Award from the Assistant Attorney General in 2015.
Ms. Gunston began her career as a public defender in Contra Costa County, California from 2001 to 2009. She received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Erin E. Wilson, Director of Presidential Initiative and Senior Policy Advisor
Erin E. Wilson now serves as the Director of Attorney General Racine’s national presidential initiative, as the president-elect of the National Association of Attorneys General, to counter hate and further racial and social justice, and as a Senior Policy Advisor on related issues in the District.
Immediately before joining OAG, Ms. Wilson served as a 2019 Brookings Legislative Fellow and Senior Policy Advisor in the Senate, where she furthered legislation to improve social justice, prevent hate, and counter violent white supremacy. Over her nearly 20-year career, Ms. Wilson has established herself as a leading expert on counter hate policy, with extensive policy, legislative, analytic, and interagency experience in the US Government’s executive and legislative branches. She boasts an extensive track record of partnering with diverse community stakeholders as well as federal, state, local agencies and law enforcement partners to design and implement policy, strategies, and programs to counter hate, while promoting civil rights.
Ms. Wilson earned her master’s degree in Comparative Politics and Conflict Studies, with an emphasis on extremism, from the London School of Economics. She received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University.
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