About the Office of the Parent Defender

Jacky Lee Brammer, Assistant Parent Defender, received his JD from the Wake Forest School of Law in 2018. Previously, he taught English at the college level for 10 years. During law school, he provided over 150 clinical hours with the Wake Forest Innocence and Justice Clinic and interned at the NC Supreme Court for the Honorable Cheri Beasley. Mr. Brammer joined the office in March, 2019.

J. Lee Gilliam, Senior Assistant Parent Defender, received his JD from the UNC School of Law in 2006. He clerked for the Honorable Donna S. Stroud at the North Carolina Court of Appeals from January 2007 to August 2009. He was certified as a Child Welfare Law Specialist by the NC State Bar in 2021. Mr. Gilliam joined the office in December 2009.

Annick Lenoir-Peek, Deputy Parent Defender, received her JD from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1994. She began representing parents in A/N/D and TPR cases in 1998 in South Carolina prior to moving to North Carolina. She has practiced in this area of law exclusively since 2002, including two years as an agency attorney. Her focus has been representing parents at the appellate level since 2002. She was certified as a Child Welfare Law Specialist by the National Association of Counsel for Children in 2015 and by the NC State Bar in 2021. Ms. Lenoir-Peek joined the office in June 2008.

Shari Neal, Contract Administrator, possesses a Master’s in Public Administration, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Communication Studies.  She has over 15 years of professional experience within the public, private and nonprofit sectors providing expertise in data analysis and reporting. Ms. Neal joined the office in October 2020.

Wendy C. Sotolongo, Parent Defender, received her JD from the UNC School of Law in 1987. Since then she has practiced almost exclusively in abuse/neglect/dependency court as an agency attorney, a solo practitioner and as a Guardian ad Litem attorney advocate. In December 2006, she began working at the Office of Indigent Services (IDS) in the newly created position of Parent Representation Coordinator. Since 2008, she has been a Steering Committee Member of the American Bar Association’s National Alliance for Parent Representation. In 2014, she was certified as a Child Welfare Law Specialist by the National Association of Counsel for Children. In 2018, she was appointed by the Indigent Defense Services Commission as IDS’ Parent Defender. In 2021, she was certified as a Child Welfare Law Specialist by the North Carolina State Bar.” On July 15, 2023, the IDS Commission re-appointed her as Parent Defender.

Kate Warren, Administrative Assistant and Certified Paralegal, received a BA with Honors in History from UNC-Chapel Hill in May 2019 and earned her paralegal certification from the North Carolina State Bar in May of 2023. She has thirteen years of combined administrative and teaching experience and five years of event management experience.  Ms. Warren joined the office in January 2020.

Sharice Zachary, Interdisciplinary Parent Representation Program Manager, possesses a Master of Social Work, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She has 5+ years of professional experience within the public and nonprofit sectors providing direct social work and supervision. Ms. Zachary joined the office in August 2022.