The former Jefferson County Public Defender has been elected as the new board president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama.

The ACLU of Alabama announced Monday that Kira Fonteneau will take over as president, replacing former board president Mark Lester.

“I’m excited to take on this challenge to help continue the ACLU’s forward progress in Alabama,” Fonteneau said in a press release.

Fonteneau practiced law in Birmingham for 14 years, beginning with employment discrimination before she started a private practice to focus on criminal and civil defense. In 2013, she became the Jefferson County’s first public defender and managed the office of 57 attorneys, who worked to defend criminal defendants who couldn’t afford legal representation.

ACLU of Alabama Executive Director Randall Marshall said, “Kira has been a valuable member of the Board and has been a leader in Jefferson County. We are pleased to have her take the reins as President.”

A press release from the organization said Fonteneau, “has been a staunch advocate for equal rights for women at work, and for challenging racial and economics inequities in Alabama’s criminal justice system.” The release said Fonteneau brings her “experience and perspective” to lead the ACLU of Alabama’s work in protecting and advancing civil liberties across the state.

Fonteneau was fired from the public defender position in 2016 and replaced by longtime Birmingham defense attorney David Luker.

While state officials said in July of that year that Fonteneau resigned, she told AL.com that she was fired. Fonteneau did not cite the reasons for her termination. “Then, as now, my primary goal has been to provide the highest quality defense to each and every client we served,” Fonteneau said at the time. “To that end, I presented the local board with a plan for our office and set about turning it into reality.”