chevron-down Created with Sketch Beta.

    Denise Avant

    Denise Avant
    Goal III Disability Member-at-Large (2022 – 2025)
    Retired Attorney Cook County Public Defender in Chicago Illinois
    University of Missouri – Columbia 1983

    Denise worked as an Assistant Public Defender for the Office of the Cook County Public Defender for 30 years and before that a staff attorney at the Will County Legal Assistance Program Inc.

    She has served as Chair of the ABA Commission on Disability Rights, member of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion; member of Children and the Law/Youth-at-Risk, and member of the Commission on Disability Rights. She has also served on the House Nominating Committee/Goal III Member-at-Large Disability. She has served on the House Steering Committee and the Resolution and Impact Review Committee.

    In 2018, she received the Nelson Award from the ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division. She serves on the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind, is the immediate past President of its Illinois affiliate, and is now the affiliate’s 1st Vice President.

    She lives in Chicago, where she is an active member in her church. She enjoys reading and cross-country skiing. She also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Access Living – Chicago.