Katie Svoboda-Kindle

Implementation Director

Katie Svoboda-Kindle (she/her, “KAY-tee  suh-BODE-uh  KIN-dul”) is Implementation Director at The Clean Slate Initiative.  In this role, she helps states successfully implement Clean Slate, applying expertise she gained by driving successful implementation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law, the first of its kind in the nation.

Previously, Katie was a Senior Supervising Attorney at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, where she focused on breaking down criminal record barriers to employment through systemic policy work and direct client representation. There, Katie jointly led a legislative campaign to expand Clean Slate eligibility, resulting in automated and petition sealing of felony convictions for the first time in Pennsylvania.

Katie focused especially on supporting the implementation of Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law. She created Pennsylvania’s online hub for Clean Slate information and worked with a small team to develop the Clean Slate Screener, a free online tool that provided more than 11,000 people with access to their record and personalized advice about how to clear it. She also pushed for other implementation improvements, including a change to FBI background checks that prevented cleared records from being reported to employers.

Additionally, Katie successfully campaigned to reform criminal record barriers in occupational licensing and co-led the National Record Clearing Project, which brought tools and information to record clearing advocates nationwide.

Katie began her legal career in 2011 as an Assistant Public Defender at the Miami Dade Public Defender’s Office. Katie handled cases ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies, worked in a supervisory and training role over new attorneys, tried 35 cases before a jury, filed over 500 motions and conducted over 600 depositions.

Katie earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2011 and her bachelor’s from Colgate University in 2007.  She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two kids.  She enjoys riding her bike around the city, playing piano and board games, and dabbling in haphazard urban gardening.