Respected, passionate, successful: Criminal prosecutor Patti Powers retires

Come September, Powers will be working for AEquitas: The Prosecutors’ Resource on Violence Against Women, a national training program based in Washington, D.C., that’s funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. She will work from Yakima, attending biannual gatherings in D.C.

It’s familiar turf for Powers, who has done national-level training in the past. In 2009, she was named an expert by the Army, providing advice on investigations and training Army investigators and officers serving in the military’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

Powers said she’ll miss the prosecutor’s office, but looks forward to passing on what she’s learned over the years to current and upcoming prosecutors and deputy prosecutors.

“It’s difficult,” she said. “It’s one of the things that has meant the most, serving in this office and serving the community, and now I’m looking at the opportunity to enhance my earlier efforts to serve prosecutors, law enforcement and victim advocates around the country to share the experience I’ve had in this community.”