Todd Lancaster was born in La Mesa, California. He graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 1994 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He then attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln - College of Law and graduated in 1998. He started at the Madison County Nebraska Public Defender’s Office in September of 1998 and was with the office until September of 2004. After leaving the Public Defender’s Office, he entered private practice with McGough Law, based in Omaha. He started with the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy in May of 2007, he became Agency Counsel in 2015, and was appointed Chief Counsel in August 2023. He has tried numerous cases where the state has alleged murder in the first degree and has extensive experience in cases where the state has sought a death sentence.

He has a Maine coon cat named Pedro who is magnificent.

Tim graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2005, focusing on criminal law and trial advocacy. He served as a prosecutor for eight years, handling serious cases, including murder and drug distribution, before spending a decade in private practice specializing in criminal defense. In 2023, he joined the Commission, where he now focuses on cases involving child head injuries and murders. Tim is a Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorney’s Association board member and serves in the Nebraska Bar Association's House of Delegates.

Rob Kortus graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1989. He served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable William C. Hastings, Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court and then for the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska with the Honorable David L. Piester, United States Magistrate Judge. After a few years in private practice, Rob joined the Commission in 1996 and is currently the longest serving attorney at the Commission. His experience includes many years of defending homicides and other serious felonies. The Commission leans on Rob for his research and writing skills and he is often involved in the appellate, postconviction, and DNA cases the Commission defends.

Matt McDonald graduated with a degree in Political Science in 1994 from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He continued on to law school at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, graduating in 1997. He also earned an LLM in military law with an emphasis in criminal law from the Judge Advocate General’s School in 2005 in Charlottesville, Virginia. He served in the military for over 22 years as both an enlisted Soldier and officer. While in the military he served as both a prosecutor and defense attorney. During his last assignments he prosecuted sex crimes and taught both investigators and prosecutors how to investigate and prosecute sex crimes. Since working for the Commission since September 2015, he has mostly defended sexual assault cases, but has also defended murder cases.

Kendra is the Administrative Assistant and Fiscal Officer for the Commission. She has been with the Commission since 2021. Kendra works in accounts payable and receivable, is an HR partner for the agency and manages the Legal Aid and Services Fund and Civil Legal Services Fund grants as well as the Legal Education for Public Service and Rural Practice Loan Repayment Assistance Program.

Shara has been the administrative assistant/paralegal for the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy since 2002. In her two-plus decades with the Commission, Shara has assisted Commission attorneys in multiple murder trials, including several death penalty cases. In addition to her various paralegal hats, Shara also serves as the accounting pre-audit function and IT liason.

Dana DeSimone was born in California and grew up in Denver, Colorado. She attended the University of Northern Colorado as a vocal music major, later earning her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Chadron State. She attended law school at Creighton University and began her career in private practice at the Miller Law Firm in Decorah, Iowa. As an empty-nester, she returned to Nebraska to focus solely on criminal defense, joining the Hall County Public Defender’s Office, where she tried cases including kidnapping, sex assault, attempted murder, and conspiracy. After leaving the public defender’s office, she entered private practice at Kearney & DeSimone Law in Grand Island, where she continued to represent clients in sex assault, attempted murder, and other felony matters. She started with the Commission in January of 2025.

Dave Tarrell grew up in Kearney, Nebraska and graduated from Kearney State College in 1991 with a degree in English. In 2000, he received his J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law and began work at the Douglas County Public Defender’s Office. In 2008, he entered private practice, initially starting his own firm and then joining the McGough Law firm, where he worked for several years. After that, he returned to solo practice and worked extensively in federal court on both Nebraska and Iowa’s Criminal Justice Act panels. He then joined the criminal defense division of the Berry Law Firm in 2019. In 2022, he returned to working in public criminal defense as a felony attorney at the Lancaster County Public Defender. Following that, he joined the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy in early 2025. Dave is a past president of the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association and graduated from both Trial Lawyers College and the National Criminal Defense College. In his free time, Dave enjoys hiking, writing, and practicing yoga.