Nicole Buck is the assistant chief of the Adult Social Services Unit at Defender Association of Philadelphia. She has worked in both social work and mitigation specialist capacities throughout specialized units at the Philadelphia Defender Office since 2011. She became part of the Defender family as an adult social worker referring and networking clients with treatment in the adversarial judicial system. While obtaining her Masters of Social Work degree in 2012, Nicole was introduced to Capital Homicide Mitigation. After completing her Masters of Social Work degree, Nicole became part of the Special Defense/Homicide Unit working in the collaborative, client-centered team approach on a myriad of specialized cases ranging from Capital Homicide to major offense/high profile matters. She obtained her Social Work License (PA) in 2013, which enables her to be a continual student and change agent for the criminal justice population. She brings a growing knowledge and enthusiasm to advocacy at all levels of client-centered representation.