Erin L. Lovell (JD), Executive Director
Erin has been serving children and families in Washington as a legal advocate since 2005. Before helping to create Legal Counsel for Youth and Children, Erin represented parents and youth in child welfare matters as a staff attorney with The Defender Association, now a division of the King County Department of Public Defense. Erin's other leadership roles in the legal community include service on the Board of Directors of Equal Justice Works (2004-2006), the Executive Committee of the Washington State Bar Association’s Juvenile Law Section (2007-2011), and the Board of Directors of Washington Defender Association (2012-2014). In 2019, the Washington State Bar Association and Access to Justice Board awarded Erin the Norm Maleng Leadership APEX Award.
Erin received her JD from Northwestern University School of Law. She trained under Steven A. Drizin, focusing on juvenile justice and post-conviction work. Northwestern's legal clinics include social workers. The value of cross-discipline partnerships and holistic advocacy was instilled in Erin as a student and carriers over into LCYC's service model. LCYC's attorneys are trained on how to build relationships of trust with youth in crisis and provide legal counsel in a developmentally appropriate manner.
Between graduating from the University of Notre Dame and beginning classes at Northwestern, Erin spent a year as an Amate House Volunteer (an Americorps program) in Chicago. Through the service learning program, Erin worked at Uhlich Children's Home. She ran an after school computer program for children in their residential facility, which housed dozens of youth a few miles from Wrigley Field. She also taught computers to grades K-8 at Uhlich Academy, a theraputic day school in downtown Chicago.
Erin grew up in a small town in rural Wisconsin. She is one of five siblings and a proud aunt to ten nieces and nephews. Here in Seattle, Erin enjoys reading, crafting, and playing board games with her three children. She also loves to get out paddle boarding, hiking, and traveling to discover new places, foods, and communities. Erin is a foster parent, licensed through Luthern Community Services.
(206) 494-0323 x700