Ms. Gonzales has been a practicing attorney since 1993. Just after becoming licensed, she secured a dismissal on her very first criminal case, where she represented the client pro bono. This case was very instrumental in her decision to return home to Houston and to begin a criminal practice in indigent defense. As a native Houstonian, she saw a need to help those who could not afford representation. She maintained a solo private practice until 2011, when she accepted a position in the newly formed Felony Trial Division of the Harris County Public Defender’s Office. Here she has served as an Assistant Public  Defender with the titles of Senior Litigator and Assistant Chief supervising two different teams of attorneys. Over her 12 year tenure she has participated in numerous trials as first and second chair and secured the offices first Not Guilty trial in 2011. In 2023, she was promoted to Felony Trial Division Chief where she now supervises 67 attorneys with the help of 7 Assistant Chiefs.

Ms. Gonzales graduated from Rice University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Policy Studies. She received her Jurisprudence Doctorate degree from the University of Texas Law Center in 1993. She currently serves on the Recruitment Committee for her office, she represents the PDO in Responsive Initiatives for Change (RIC) meetings, and serves an appointment on the Sexual Assault Response Team board. She is a member of both the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.