Trudy Strassburger started her legal career as a public defender in 2002 in Philadelphia, where she tried criminal cases and conducted preliminary hearings at the misdemeanor, juvenile, and felony levels. In 2007, Trudy moved to New York and was a public defender at the Bronx Defenders.

In 2014, Trudy moved with her husband and two children to Austin. She started her Texas career by helping to form and create policies as the Deputy Director of the Capital Area Private Defender Service (CAPDS), which began operating in the fall of 2014. While with CAPDS, she founded the Forensic Project, which reviewed cases stemming from the Austin Police Department’s DNA closure and helped manage the review of the lab’s failures. She also brought a holistic defense model to Travis County by bringing social workers, investigators, and immigration attorneys to CAPDS. Trudy was also responsible for training attorneys to work with their clients, centering on rehabilitation and reform, and starting a formal mentorship program for court-appointed attorneys.

After leaving CAPDS in 2018, Trudy served on the Travis County Public Defender’s planning committee while she was the Justice Collaborative’s Managing Director. This national non-profit worked to focus the Criminal Justice System on public safety and crime prevention.

Trudy was appointed First Assistant by District Attorney Garza in 2021. Trudy reports directly to the District Attorney and ensures that his policies and vision for public safety in Travis County are implemented. Trudy is a 1997 graduate of Colorado College and received her JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2002. She is barred in Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two human children, and her two dog children.