Manuela Hernández received her law degree from the George Washington University Law School in 2005. Following her graduation, Manuela worked as public defender at The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Practice, in Brooklyn, New York, until she moved to Chicago in 2011. In 2012, Manuela joined the Office of the Illinois Attorney General's Civil Rights Bureau and later, in 2017, joined the Office of the State Appellate Defender.

Carolyn Klarquist graduated from the George Mason University School of Law in 2001, and was subsequently admitted to practice in Maryland and Illinois.  She is also a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.  Ms. Klarquist joined the Office of the State Appellate Defender as an Assistant Appellate Defender in the First District Office in 2004 after working at a law firm.  She served as the Intern Coordinator for several years and became a Supervisor in 2018.  Ms. Klarquist was appointed as the Director of the Pretrial Fairness Unit in 2023.   As pro bono counsel, Ms. Klarquist has appeared before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and successfully obtained parole for several men who were incarcerated prior to 1978 and serving indeterminate sentences.   In 2023, Ms. Klarquist received a unanimous vote for parole for the first applicant under the Youthful Offender Parole Act and obtained parole for a second client later that year.  Finally, in addition to training pro bono counsel to appear at parole and clemency hearings, Ms. Klarquist is a member of Parole Illinois and The Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, and is on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Council of Lawyers.