Vickie Piontkowski, JD, MSW, LCSW, has worked as a Forensic Social Worker and Mitigation Investigator for over 19 years, currently in private practice but previously with the Western District of Pennsylvania Federal Public Defender (2009 – 2021). In her first public defense role, Ms. Piontkowski worked for the Neighborhood Defenders – Northwest, a holistic defense office in the Maryland Office of the Public Defender (2006-2009). She has worked on criminal cases in the pre-trial, trial, appeals, and habeas stages, assisting defense counsel with bio-psycho-social-cultural assessments, comprehensive social history investigation, and treatment coordination. Ms. Piontkowski has worked on capital cases, juvenile resentencing cases, and commutation cases. She has trained and supervised social work graduate students, many of whom now work as forensic social workers and mitigation specialists. Ms. Piontkowski is also a trained Defense Victim Outreach Specialist. For her work, she has been awarded the Cessie Alfonso Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Profession by the National Association of Sentencing Advocates and Mitigation Specialists (2021), was named Outstanding Federal Defender Investigator by the National Association of Federal Defenders (2017), and received the Jane Addams Social Work Award from the Maryland Office of the Public Defender (2009). Ms. Piontkowski is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, and an invited presenter at regional and national mitigation and sentencing advocacy workshops.