We couldn’t have been more thrilled with our 2026 Osborn Event. Two hundred of our friends and supporters gathered in Durham to honor the incomparable Adam Stein with the Arc of Justice Award, to recognize the legacy of the Fair Trial Initiative, and to remember Kirk Osborn, a shining light of North Carolina’s capital defense community.
A big thank you to all who attended, to staff and board members who spent months organizing the event, to our many generous sponsors, and to our guest speaker, Jonathan Rapping, the co-founder of Gideon’s Promise, who reminded us that public defense is critical to a healthy democracy. In a world full of injustice, this work we do together is valuable and necessary.
For those who could not attend, you can watch the moving speeches and award presentations here:
Champions
Elliot Abrams
Akin Adepoju
Donald Beskind & Wendy Robineau (in honor of Adam Stein)
Jay & Kay Ferguson (in honor of Adam Stein)
David Neal & Jennifer Weaver (in honor of the Fair Trial Initiative)
Jake Sussman
Mentors
Thomas, Ferguson & Beskind, LLP
Defenders
Blair Brown
Katie Carmon
Burton and Heather Craige
Lisa Andrew Dubs
Emily Gladden
Mary Harley Kruter
Marcia Morey
Jocelyn Olcott
Tania Osborn
Faith Spencer & Mark Parts
Gerda Stein & Lee Norris
Jane and Adam Stein
Mary Ann Tally
Tharrington Smith, LLP
Jenny Warburg
Linda Weisel & Daniel Pollitt (in memory of Marilyn Ozer)
Julian Wright
Advocates
ACLU of North Carolina
James G. Exum, Jr.
Terrica Redfield Ganzy
Hon. Melzer (Pat) Morgan, Jr.
Dionne Gonder-Stanley
Henderson and Renee Hill
Amos Tyndall
Supporters
Cindy Adcock & Pat McCoy
Terry and Jenny Alford
Anna Arceneaux
June Arlinghaus
Jack Boger
Kristi Chilton
Jim Cooney
Heather Crews
William Durham
Gretchen M. Engel
Caitlin Fenhagen & John Carlson
Stephen & Pamela Freedman
Glenn Gerding
Sally Greene & Paul Jones
Marilyn Hartman (in honor of Adam Stein)
Julianne Hill
Staples & Tamsie Hughes
Tye & Wanda Hunter
Robert M. Hurley & Elaine M. Gordon
Mark Kleinschmidt
Jeffrey Lang (in honor of Adam Stein)
Luke Largess
Dave Mills & Leila Keen
William Mills
Robert Mosteller & Elizabeth Gibson
NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Teresa Norris
Kristin Parks (In memory of Marilyn Ozer)
Mark Rabil
Ken Rose & Beth Silberman
Richard Rosen & Rebecca Slifkin
Cas Shearin & DeVon Tolson
Robert & Jessica Singagliese
Helen Spielman & Mark Katz
Helen Stein (in honor of Adam Stein)
Robert & Kim Sullivan
Zephyr Teachout
Deonte & Elizabeth Thomas
Robert Trenkle
Corporate Sponsors
Ponysaurus
American Party Rentals