Kara Rolf
Director of Training & Development
(262)-638-7532
[email protected]
Attorney Kara M. Rolf has dedicated her career to the defense of the criminally accused. Her experience spans private practice and public service, notably with the State Public Defender’s Office in both Wisconsin and Colorado. Kara has worked in the Baraboo, Madison, Milwaukee and Racine Trial Offices.
Kara has been teaching at the Annual Conference, Defense Team Basics, Working as a Team, Trial Skills and local office and regional training. In addition to being Trial Director, Kara is a faculty member at the National Criminal Defense College, Trial Practice Institute. Kara contributes to training defenders nationwide through the trial college and through the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Kara graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a Political Science Degree and obtained her Juris Doctorate from Barry University in Florida.
Kara, her husband and their daughter live in Mount Pleasant. They love traveling together and cheering on their favorite teams. Go Bears! Go Huskers!
Amaresh Srikanthan
Training Coordinator
(608) 264-8570
[email protected]
Amaresh Srikanthan is the agency’s Training Coordinator. A graduate of NYU School of Law, he began his career representing children and adults as a staff attorney for the New Hampshire Public Defender. He came to SPD in 2023 and began working as a trial attorney in the Madison Trial office. In addition to his responsibilities as a trainer, Amaresh also represents adults in criminal trial proceedings, with a focus on major felonies.
Amaresh has previously served on the board of the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and was a member of its Committee on Systemic Racism, where he led Know-Your-Rights classes for citizens and activists. Amaresh has presented trainings for defense attorneys at Defense Team Basics, the annual SPD Conference, and has led out-of-state trainings for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Amaresh lives with his wife, son, and dog on the east side of Madison. In his free time, you can find him playing music, practicing yoga, and reading.
Chris Lang
Audio-Visual Production Specialist
(608) 261-0622
[email protected]
Chris is the agency’s video producer and client support specialist in the training division. He provides support for the On-Demand site and can also help if you are working with any type of media in your cases (eg: squad video or audio, recorded interviews, graphics or images).
Additionally, Chris produces mitigation videos: short, biographical videos that help to humanize our clients in an effort to reduce harsh sentences. If you would like to discuss any of these issues with him, he would love to hear from you.
Brodee Schwarm
Staff Development Program Specialist
(920) 214-5889
[email protected]
Brodee has been with the SPD since 2012, where she started in the Rhinelander office and then transferred to the Appleton office where she spent 4 years as a legal secretary. In 2016, Brodee became the ROA of the Fond du Lac region where she was able to work closely with support staff and conduct training throughout the state, including training focused on verbal de-escalation.
Brodee studied Social Change and Development with an emphasis in Law and Justice at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. After college and before joining SPD, Brodee worked at Green Bay Correctional institution for 4 years as an officer and a member of the hostage negotiation team.
In her spare time, Brodee enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids. They especially love spending time outdoors and traveling.