2019 has been a period of rapid growth for the DC Bar Foundation. For the first time, we have 10 full-time staff members, following the recent addition of Berlaunder Barnes as Operations Manager. We’re now able to fully support programs with an expanded five-strong team led by Director of Programs Imoni Washington. The programs team includes Programs Officers B.A. Cockburn, Calvin Robinson, and Elizabeth Nellums, as well as Grants Manager Mikayla Sweet. Expanding our programs team helps us divide our grants portfolio by subject matter, which allows staff to develop expertise in specific areas. That way, we are now working more efficiently and effectively than ever with grantees to increase access to justice for all DC residents. Collectively, the team has over 35 years of experience in grantmaking and grants management. Working alongside our programs team is Evaluation and Impact Manager Mark Johnson-Lewis. As the Foundation looks to be a more data-driven organization, bringing data and evaluation skills to the Foundation has been crucial. The evaluation of the Civil Legal Counsel Projects Program affirmed our commitment to bringing talent in-house for oversight, building additional evaluation capacity across our grantees, and ensuring that data and evaluation inform all Foundation programs and development. We also have two development staff, Director of Development J. Daryl Byler and Development and Communications Assistant Greer Richey. With a fully staffed development and communications team, we increase our capacity for supporting DC’s legal aid community in the years to come. We also hope to better connect with partners in sharing our successes, the successes of our grantees, and the impact we all have on DC’s legal aid network. In doing so, we aim to prioritize sharing why we are so passionate about and committed to the Foundation’s mission. And: Leading the Foundation is Executive Director Kirra Jarratt. Together, we are excited to have a fully-assembled team to support and expand equal access to justice in the District. With your support we’re on to even greater things in the years to come!