Debra is a founding partner of the law firm of Kiyonaga & Soltis, PC in Washington, DC. Her primary practice areas are criminal defense and employment/civil rights. Debra also has extensive experience in criminal appellate matters. She has been recognized as a top lawyer for some 20 years by Washingtonian Magazine and has been voted repeatedly a Super Lawyer by her peers. For over twenty years, Debra was on the adjunct faculty of Georgetown Law School, co-teaching a course of original design on critical film theory. Debra began her legal career as an attorney at Williams & Connolly, LLP after graduating magna cum laude from Georgetown Law where she was a member of the Law Review and of the National Trial Moot Court Team. Debra is also the Executive Director of GirlsUP, Inc., a DC based non-profit that inspires adolescent girls to figure out who they are before the world tells them who they should be. Debra also serves as a Consultant to the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She is a sought out commentator on issues related to criminal justice, civil rights and the societal challenges faced by adolescent girls and has appeared on CBS Evening News, NPR, ESPN and numerous other media outlets.
