Jiacheng Yu joined the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center in January 2022 as a policy attorney. Her work focuses on research and policies surrounding early-stage criminal procedure and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
Prior to joining the Deason Center, Jiacheng worked as a public defender in both Texas and Massachusetts and represented hundreds of people charged with misdemeanor and felony cases. She also previously served as a staff attorney with the SMU Child Advocacy Clinic, where she represented children and youth who were involved in the foster care system.
Prior to law school, she taught high school mathematics in Houston, TX, as a Teach For America corps member. Jiacheng is a graduate of Yale Law School and the University of Texas at Austin.