Child Care Law Center

Advocating for Children Since 1980

Staff

Deanne Bray

Finance Director

Other

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Even the smallest one can change the world.

Peter Rabbit

Deanne Bray holds responsibility for Child Care Law Center’s fiscal strength in her role as Finance Director. Ms. Bray has more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit business management, primarily in the Bay Area and most recently at Project Ninety, a division of Caminar, where she served as controller. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Adamson University.

For questions about financial reporting, invoicing and inquiries for projects and grants, please contact Ms. Bray.

Kate Jessup

Coordinator, Special Projects

Other

Pronouns: (she/her)

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“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

— James Baldwin

Kate Jessup has served as a consultant and staff member to Child Care Law Center since 2008. Her experience in the publishing and nonprofit sectors includes work with Diablo Magazine, the Bay Area Book Festival, the Center for Investigative Reporting, the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators, Safe & Sound, and the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings. Ms. Jessup is a graduate of Barnard College and the University of California Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she studied food systems reporting with author Michael Pollan.

Connect with Ms. Jessup.

Sarah Carlin

Development Associate

Communications Team

Pronouns: (she/her)

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“I change myself, I change the world.”

Gloria Anzaldúa

Sarah Carlin supports the Child Care Law Center’s communications and funding requests, and is passionate about using writing for advocacy and social justice. Ms. Carlin enjoys activating families, child care providers, and supporters to create change in child care policy, and helping the Law Center flourish through foundation partnerships. Outside of her work at the Law Center, Ms. Carlin has acted as a writing instructor and served on the Board of Directors for a nonprofit combating sexual violence. Ms. Carlin received her Bachelor’s degree and certificate in Business Communication & Law from the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

For foundation and grant inquiries or questions about donations, please contact Ms. Carlin.

Lisa Nwankwo

Social Impact Writer Grants

Communications Team

Pronouns: (she/her)

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“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”

Angela Davis

Lisa Nwankwo contributes social impact writing for grants and communications at Child Care Law Center, knowing that there is an opportunity for community-positive advocacy in every part of social justice work — even in (or maybe especially in) fundraising. Lisa is committed to offering empowering narratives, teachable moments, and building clear cases for support in service of attending to the unique needs of our most under-served communities. 

As a Social Impact Consultant and Writer, Ms. Nwankwo has raised more than $12,000,000 for organizations locally, nationally, and internationally. Prior to her work at the Law Center, she served as Vice Chair of Grantmaking for the Spruce Foundation from 2012-2016, and the chair of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for multiple national organizations, with a focus on internal policy creation, language policy, all-staff engagement, and benchmarking. Ms. Nwankwo also founded and ran BRIDGE, a K-12 in-school yoga and social emotional learning program with the School District of Philadelphia Community Schools, KIPP Charter Schools, and Mastery Charter Schools. BRIDGE preceded and informed the District’s creation of Social Emotional Learning positions by two years. Ms. Nwankwo received her graduate degree in Fundraising from Villanova University and her bachelor’s degree from Temple University.

For foundation inquiries, foundation partnerships, grants, and OpEd partnerships, please contact Ms. Nwankwo.

Karina Laigo

Staff Attorney

Legal Team

Pronouns: (she/her)

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“All you’ve got to do is call, and I’ll be there–you’ve got a friend.”

James Taylor, You’ve Got a Friend.

Karina Laigo directs her passion to help others in public service through her work at the Child Care Law Center, providing legal assistance to family child care providers, parents, and elected officials. Ms. Laigo is on the legislative advocacy team, and through her role at the Law Center, has helped activate thousands of supporters and lawmakers to support the Family Fee Pandemic Relief Act (AB 92), which was adopted into the 2021-22 State Budget by Governor Newsom. 

Ms. Laigo reaches child care providers and families with crucial Covid-19 updates, from information about vaccines to specific pieces of legislation. To share this key information with families and providers, she manages the Law Center’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) pages, which can be found on the website. Ms. Laigo received her JD degree from California Western School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach.

For questions regarding legislative advocacy, including universal preschool and the federal Build Back Better Act, and for inquiries about child care policies, including issues with APs, CDSS or disability questions, or about the Law Center’s racial justice work, please contact Ms. Laigo.

Giani Interiano Brown

Staff Attorney

Legal Team

Pronouns: (she/her)

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“¡Si se puede!”

Dolores Huerta, American labor leader and civil rights activist

Giani Interiano Brown combines her passions for social justice work and educational advocacy in her work at the Child Care Law Center, and is interested in the intersection of child care law and anti-discrimination and anti-racist work. In her role at the Law Center, Ms. Interiano Brown assists child care providers in advocating for themselves against housing discrimination; she also provides bilingual training and educational tools to families and child care providers statewide on housing and disability rights. Outside of the Law Center, Ms. Interiano Brown has also worked with immigrant clients to combat unlawful deportation and gain them immigration relief in the U.S. She received her JD degree at the University of San Francisco School of Law and her bachelor’s degree from Mills College.

For questions about housing rights for California child care providers, children’s rights and child care providers’ responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please contact Ms. Interiano Brown. If you are a child care provider facing discrimination by a landlord, homeowner’s association, or leasing agent, please contact Ms. Interiano Brown for more information.