Public Advocate, Damon Preston
Damon Preston is a career public defender and leads DPA as Kentucky's Public Advocate. After graduating from Transylvania University and Harvard Law School, Damon began his legal career in the Criminal Appeals Bureau of the Legal Aid Society in New York City. He returned to Kentucky in 1997 and has been with DPA ever since. First a staff attorney in the Richmond trial office, Damon led the Paducah and then Cynthiana offices as Directing Attorney.
Starting in 2004, he managed DPA's Appeals Branch before joining DPA's Leadership Team as Trial Division Director in 2007. Early in 2011, he was appointed Deputy Public Advocate and remained in that position until his appointment as Public Advocate in 2017. In addition to work through DPA, Damon serves on the board of the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is the past chair of the Criminal Law Section of the Kentucky Bar Association. He lives in Georgetown with his wife Amy and daughters Abbie and Marissa.