2011 Director’s Community Leadership Awards

The El Paso Division is pleased to recognize Gabriella Edwards for her work as the trial team chief for the Elder Protection Unit and the Socorro Annex for the Office of the El Paso County Attorney. She works in the community of Socorro, Texas, obtaining protective orders for victims of domestic violence, prosecuting deceptive trade practice cases, assisting law enforcement with mental health detentions, and collecting hot check payments. She also is an advocate for victims of domestic violence and works to educate the public about the services the annex office offers to break the cycle of violence.

Ms. Edwards is the president of the Adult Protective Services (APS) Silver Star Board, a non-profit organization established to support the mission of APS to protect older adults and people with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. She advocates for new laws to strengthen the APS program and prosecute offenders who abuse or exploit vulnerable adults. El Paso has one of the first Elder Abuse Task Force initiatives, bringing together APS, law enforcement, and the district and county attorneys’ staff who prosecute these cases. Mrs. Edwards provides regular training to APS staff and law enforcement regarding abuse and actions to take to prevent and alleviate this maltreatment of our vulnerable population.

Ms. Edwards was formerly a staff attorney for the Association of Professional Educators in Austin, Texas, where she represented schoolteachers and support staff in employment matters. She also served as a supervising attorney and represented victims of domestic violence at the Women’s Advocacy Project in Austin and has worked as an administrator for the University of Texas School of Law.

Ms. Edwards is the former president of the Mexican American Bar Association and is currently a member of the El Paso Bar Association as well as a board member of the Visiting Nurses Association.