Executive Director
Lauren Regan, AAL
info [at] cldc.org
After five years of public interest environmental law, Lauren Regan went on to create the Civil Liberties Defense Center and is currently the executive director and senior staff attorney. Over the past 15 years, Lauren and the CLDC has defended over 3000 activists from around the country for free. Lauren is a national expert in the defense of political activists, particularly those engaged in the climate, environmental, indigenous and animal rights movements. She is a trial lawyer who handles state and federal criminal defense, SLAPP defense, grand jury resistance, and federal civil rights litigation against police and government agencies for violating the rights of activists and organizations. Lauren and the CLDC provide over 100 Know Your Rights trainings a year to activists, immigrants, and other at risk groups. Lauren is also an Oregon State Bar leadership fellow, a volunteer Teen Court judge, and has been given dozens of public interest attorney awards over her 20 years of activist lawyering. She is always mentoring law students and new attorneys, and trains and co-counsels others lawyers to use their legal skills to support lefty causes.
Senior Staff Attorney
Marianne Dugan
mdugan [at] cldc.org
Marianne graduated from the University of Oregon Law School in 1993, with certificates in Environmental Law and Ocean and Coastal Law. She also holds a master’s degree in environmental studies. From 1993 to 1999 Ms. Dugan worked for the Western Environmental Law Center as its first staff attorney and then as associate director. She then was a partner with the law firm of Facaros and Dugan, before going into solo practice in May 2005. Ms. Dugan is the chair of the Sierra Club’s national litigation committee, and has served on the Oregon State Bar Civil Rights Executive Committee. She serves on the board of Access the Law, and has served on the boards of Friends of Land-Air-Water, Western Lands Project, and Portia Project. She served on the Board of the Civil Liberties Defense Center from 2004 until 2013, including service as President and as Secretary at various times. For three years running Ms. Dugan was listed in the Oregon edition of “Superlawyers” in the field of environmental law, and she coaches the University of Oregon’s environmental moot court team at the annual national competition.
Staff Attorney
Cooper Brinson
cbrinson [at] cldc.org
Cooper earned his J.D. from the University of Oregon. Throughout law school he clerked for the CLDC. Cooper also represented clients in misdemeanor cases through the UO advanced criminal defense clinic (a partnership with Public Defender Services of Lane County, Inc.). Prior to entering the legal profession, he volunteered with a number of environmental and social justice groups.
Legal Fellow
rchapman [at] cldc.org
Deputy Director
Stephanie Tidwell
stephanie [at] cldc.org
Stephanie earned her B.A. in Anthropology and a minor in Sustainable Development from Appalachian State University. She also holds an M.A. in Communications and a graduate certificate in Environmental Policy from the University of Colorado.
Stephanie served as executive director of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center for almost nine years; executive director of Friends of the Eel River; development director of Amazon Watch; grants and communications manager of Californians for Pesticide Reform; and, most recently, grantwriter at the Center for Biological Diversity. She began her journey as an environmental activist advocating for wolves and their Rocky Mountain habitat, as well as engaging in forest defense. She loves spending time outdoors, on a river or a mountain, cooking vegan delicacies, or on a bicycle.
Administrative Associate
Angelica Muñoz
angelica [at] cldc.org
Angelica earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Humboldt State University where she began her involvement with a variety of local and national non-profits. She did environmental justice and education work, most predominately with Latino Outdoors, to create local, systematic, and cultural change for outdoor and environmental access to underserved or underrepresented populations. From there she worked doing outdoor science schools in California before moving to Eugene, OR to do an AmeriCorps internship with Northwest Youth Corps, in partnership with the Willamette National Forest. There she worked closely with local community groups and non-profits such as NAACP Eugene/Springfield chapter, Ophelia’s Place, and others doing youth and community outreach to connect people to their surrounding spaces and community. She also loves going on walks outdoors and gardening when she can.
Office Manager
Debbie Garza
debbie [at] cldc.org
Debbie has over 15 years experience in office management and accounting. She has a background in non-profit work and domestic violence advocacy. She is also an artist, rockhound, and enthusiastically loves edible plants and cats!
Digital Security Coordinator
Michele Gretes
security [at] cldc.org
Michele wants reasonably good digital security culture and resilient communications for those working to preserve ecosystems and liberate human and non-human animals. Through the Digital Security program at CLDC, Michele works to discover and nurture trustworthy technologies and teach activists and attorneys to use them to stay safe and effective. This work dovetails with research and teaching Communications Security for Social Movements at Oregon State University. For some reason, Michele did a Ph.D. and post-doctoral work in molecular biology and tropical medicine. PGP key fingerprint: 6EDE 411C 6A5F DA53 6151 F65A 1EA7 88B2 F721 30CF. If you don’t have it yet, get Michele’s public key here.
