Our Staff

Michael J. Minerva, Esq., Chief Executive Officer, took a leave of absence from the Board of Directors to become IPF’s CEO in 2009. In that capacity his main functions will be general oversight of litigation, administration, and funding. Before semi-retirement in 2001, he litigated criminal cases in both trial and appellate courts. He served as Public Defender of Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit from 1977 to 1980, General Counsel of the Florida Department of Corrections from 1981-1983, and as statewide director of the Office of Capital Collateral Representative from 1993-97. In the interim and prior to retirement, he was an Assistant Public Defender.

Seth Miller, Esq., Executive Director, litigates post-conviction DNA cases, supervises the IPF’s internship program, and regularly lectures to students, lawyers, and community groups on issues related to wrongful convictions.  He also teaches Post-conviction Remedies and Wrongful Convictions as an adjunct professor at the Florida State University College of Law.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Innocence Network, a consortium of more than 60 innocence projects from the United States and abroad.  Before joining IPF in 2006, Mr. Miller served as a project attorney with the American Bar Association Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project in Washington, D.C., and as a staff attorney with the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, Florida.  He graduated from Florida State University College of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Penn State University.

Toni Shrewsbury, MA, Assistant Director, who joined IPF in March 2006, has extensive management experience in the fields of public relations, advertising, and marketing. A former newspaper opinion columnist and published author, Ms. Shrewsbury also managed a media production company and produced a statewide political talk show for Florida’s News Channel.

Melissa Montle, Esq., Staff Attorney, graduated from Tulane Law School in New Orleans and was licensed to practice law in Florida in 2003. She worked for the Public Defender’s Office in West Palm Beach for 2.5 years where she gained extensive experience in juvenile, misdemeanor and felony trial practice before joining IPF in 2008. Ms. Montle also has experience in insurance defense and family law practice.

Anthony Scott, LCSW, Director of Social Services, joined IPF in 2006 to direct our social services section. He has expertise working with both prisoners and ex-offenders, having provided psychotherapy at House of Hope and Broward Outreach Center. Mr. Scott is also a founding member of the national Exoneree Support Committee, networking with and training innocence project workers throughout the United States.

Lisa Prychodko, JD, Intake Coordinator, joined IPF in 2012 as a recent graduate of the University of Miami School of Law where she was the teaching fellow and student director at the Miami Law Innocence Clinic.  In addition to her innocence work, Lisa worked on death penalty cases and served as a representative of Miami Law on the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Law Student Division.  She also was a judicial intern in the Palm Beach County Circuit Court for judges in criminal, civil, and family divisions.  Lisa graduated summa cum laude from Emory University with a B.A. in Comparative Literature.

Jackie Pugh, Development Coordinator, joined IPF in 2010 with more than 15 years of marketing and fundraising experience. She served as the first Director of Development for the Arc of Alachua County, building a successful program from its infancy. She is a graduate of Leadership Gainesville and a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She currently serves as the treasurer of the AFP Big Bend Chapter. She has a BS from the University of Florida.