A native of Rutherford County, North Carolina, Allison Brook Garren received her B.A. in Political Science with Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, and her Masters in Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine.

Her work since graduating from law school has truly been a labor of love as it has been focused on working to conduct research on poverty, work, opportunity and meaningful access to the legal system. She has been an advocate in the courtroom for survivors of domestic violence, helped obtain affordable housing and pursued claims for life-saving federal benefits. On why she wanted to practice law, “To hold those with power accountable; to level the playing field; to ensure that money and power doesn’t trump what is just and fair.”

She began practicing law at Pisgah Legal Services before practicing eight years with Teddy, Meekins & Talbert, PLLC in Shelby, NC where she carried a significant court-appointed caseload.  In 2020 she became a Board Certified Specialist in State Criminal Law, the same year she was chosen and selected by the NC Bar Association to attend their annual leadership academy.

Ms. Garren served as the chair of NCAJ’s Criminal Section from 2021-2022, and previously as vice-chair and co-chair of education. She had the honor to serve briefly as a Commissioner for North Carolina Indigent Defense Services before deciding to help raise her judicial district’s new public defender office by joining as a felony defender in May of 2022. When she is not sharing her clients’ stories in court, she can often be found hiking in the woods and traveling the globe.