THE DCBF TEAM
LEADERSHIP
Advisory Committee
Board of Directors
Past Presidents' Council
Young Lawyers Network Leadership Council
Staff
Kirra L. Jarratt
Chief Executive Officer
Direct: (202) 853-9030
Email: jarratt@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Kirra Jarratt is the Chief Executive Officer of the DC Bar Foundation. Kirra and her team work hand-in-hand with DC’s legal aid community to ensure that every individual, regardless of income, has access to justice. Largely, she oversees and implements the Foundation’s strategic direction in support of its mission “to fund, support, and improve legal representation of the poor, vulnerable, and otherwise disadvantaged in the District of Columbia.” Kirra manages the Foundation’s budget of more than $24 million to make for strategic and impactful grantmaking in their vision to transform the District’s civil justice system. Read more...
Adwoa Afreh
Program Officer
Email: afreh@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: As an experienced professional, Adwoa joins the team as a program officer. She exhibits empathy and passion in every project she works on. Adwoa is committed to working on issues related to equity and advocates for the perspectives and people not often considered in her everyday work in the nonprofit sector. In her role as program officer, she looks forward to connecting with the DC community and using her skills in equity building to ensure marginalized DC residents have equal and fair access to justice. Read more...
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Rokia Ballard
Special Assistant to the CEO
Email: ballard@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Prior to returning to the workforce in 2022, Rokia served as CEO of the Ballard Household as a stay-at-home mom for 14 years. Before she left the workforce, she was a communications Specialist and co-founded a 501©3 nonprofit that provided educational and life skills resources for at-risk youth serving DC Public Schools and communities. At the DC Bar Foundation, she looks forward to using her administrative skills to help push the DCBF mission and vision forward. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations from Trinity Washington University and a master’s in social work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In her free time, she likes to travel, blog, and facilitate women’s groups and events.
Director of Development and Communications
Email: byler@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: With 20 years’ experience in donor development, Daryl oversees the Foundation’s private fundraising from law firms and individuals, through a variety of campaigns. Previously, Daryl was the primary architect for a multi-million dollar endowment campaign at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. He was also a member of the Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation design team. Read more...
Director of Programs
Direct: (202) 852-9036
Email: gray@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Aracelis Gray joined the DC Bar Foundation in June 2022 as the Director of Programs. In this role, she oversees the Foundation’s grantmaking programs and directs the work of the Programs team. Aracelis brings to the Foundation over 20 years of experience managing and leading programs and initiatives supporting children, youth, families, and communities. Before joining the DC Bar Foundation, Aracelis served as Director in ICF’s Child Welfare and Education practice group, where she had responsibility for overseeing a portfolio of projects designed to build the capacity of state education and child welfare agencies to improve outcomes for children, youth, and their families. Read more...
Michanda Myles
Network Project Manager
Direct: (202) 853-9028
Email: myles@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Michanda will serve as a key liaison to the DC Bar Foundation's networks and help to facilitate resources. She will also drive the growth and development of existing and emerging networks to transform civil legal aid to ensure every resident's fair and equitable legal experience. She is our network connector and builder! She advocates for justice and is passionate about ensuring equitable and accessible legal services and legal representation for all in need. Read more...
Madiana Mustapha
Program Officer
Email: mustapha@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: As a native and resident of Washington, DC, Madiana Mustapha loves addressing community challenges at the local level. Her passion is for providing resources, services, actionable information, and justice to individuals living on limited means. She is excited to support the efforts of local organizations providing free legal services to underserved DC residents. Read more...
Josef Palermo
Program Specialist
Email: palermo@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Josef Palermo is a proud member of the team at the DC Bar Foundation as the Program Specialist supporting all aspects of DCBF’s grantmaking programs, and contributing to the institutional work being undertaken by DCBF to shift paradigms in philanthropy towards equity as the largest funder of civil legal aid providers in the nation’s capital. Josef has also been a direct recipient of services funded by DCBF, having sought tenants’ rights assistance from the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. Read more...
Alison Putnam
Senior Finance and Operations Officer
Email: putnam@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Alison joined the DC Bar Foundation in August 2022 with years of experience in the finance and non-profit fields. She works with the Chief of Staff to support the team in fulfilling the Foundation's mission and goals. Her responsibilities will include fiscal duties, internal and external organizational processes, and office functions for the DC Bar Foundation. She works closely with the Foundation staff and external providers to develop, maintain, and improve work quality, productivity, and efficiency to maximize the impact of the Foundation. Read more...
Greer Richey
Development and Communications Specialist
Email: richey@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Greer helps manage the DC Bar Foundation’s major fundraising campaigns and generates the Foundation’s various public-facing communications. Through the Foundation’s communications, she seeks to connect with and educate the public in less legal, more understandable terms. Greer’s work and that of her colleagues is critical to bringing in resources that allow DCBF to distribute funds to those who need them most. In her words, she believes that access to justice is “non-negotiable.” Read more...
Stephanie Shain
Chief of Staff
Direct: (202) 853-9029
Email: shain@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Stephanie Shain joined the DC Bar Foundation as the Chief of Staff to support the work of the Foundation during a time of increasing service needs in the community. “My work has brought me into spaces of interacting with people and communities in various moments and stages of crisis. I have seen first-hand how the lack of access to, and awareness of, resources disproportionately impact people who are financially disenfranchised. The DC Bar Foundation’s vision of all residents having equal access to justice, regardless of income, speaks directly to my own personal commitment of equity and access to care and services.” Read more...
Khesia Taylor
Senior Communications Officer
Direct: (202) 852-9032
Email: taylor@dcbarfoundation.org
Bio: Khesia is responsible for communicating DC Bar Foundation’s mission, vision, values, and programmatic activities. In her work, she helps to formulate the Foundation’s strategic communications direction, develop a comprehensive content strategy, and bolster relationships and storytelling support to grantee organizations. With 15 years of experience in communications and magazine publishing, she seeks new ways to grow DCBF’s communications platforms and connect with its stakeholders. Read more...
The District of Columbia Bar Foundation
200 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20001
Main: (202) 467-3750
Fax: (202) 467-3753
The DC Bar Foundation does not provide direct legal services or lawyer referrals.