Katherine joined DLC in July, 2019. She is originally from the Pioneer Valley Region of New Hampshire and had the privilege to grow up in a family care home which allowed the inclusion of persons with disabilities as an integrated part of her family. Her family provided a home for people that came from institutions, family homes, group homes and other situations. The opportunity to live, work and play side by side with such a diverse population taught
Katherine the value of empowerment and advocacy. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Maine at Farmington where she studied special education. She later earned a Masters of Education and a Masters of Public Policy. Ms. Baldwin previously worked doing case management and as an IDD director in North Carolina. Katherine has devoted her career to advocacy and empowering outcomes for all persons in the mental health system. In working with families, she strives to educate them on the processes and systems at work to allow for self-empowerment for both guardians and the consumer of services. Katherine has been active in the Cumberland Provider Advisory Council and the Consumer and Family Advisory Committee.
Ms. Baldwin was named Rehabilitation Partner of the Year in 2010 by Service Source. Katherine’s focus at the Disability Law Center is as an Investigator for the Representative Payee Program. In her free time Katherine is a proud Army wife and mother, she enjoys playing volleyball, scrapbooking and reading.
Laura joined DLC in August 2019. She is originally from the Andersonville neighborhood on Chicago’s north side. She is a Cubs and a Bears fan, but will root for the Red Sox and Patriots if they are not playing her home teams. Her work with people with disabilities began when she worked as an inclusion companion at a summer camp outside of Chicago.
Ms. Best graduated from Boston University in May 2019 where she received a BA in Psychology and Political Science. While at BU, she studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium interning at a non-profit that assisted in refugee resettlement. She also completed an internship at Senator Edward Markey’s office in Boston where she wrote a legislative brief on migrants with mental illnesses, focusing on PTSD and other trauma related disabilities.
Hillary returned to DLC in 2014. She focuses on special education matters, abuse and neglect, and advocating for appropriate community supports and services for adults with disabilities. Ms. Dunn has been involved in legislative and regulatory advocacy regarding disability issues and has trained individuals with disabilities, families, and professionals in various areas of disability law. In addition to her work at the Disability Law Center, Ms. Dunn previously worked in the Special Needs and Elder Law Practice Group at a Massachusetts law firm where she practiced in the areas of special education, guardianship issues, and advocacy with adult human service agencies. Following law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Debra C. Freeman of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Dunn is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and Tufts University.
Caitlin joined DLC as a staff attorney in 2014. Her litigation and policy advocacy work with DLC includes public accommodations, effective communication, housing, special education, employment, and access to health care. She leads trainings on a wide range of topics, including the transition from high school to adult services, voting rights, and best practices for serving clients who are deaf and hard of hearing. Caitlin is deaf and uses cochlear implants. Caitlin has been an advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing from a young age, testifying before the U.S. Senate, Congress, and FDA in support of funding for research on cochlear implants. She has spoken across the country and internationally on access issues for the deaf and hard of hearing. Caitlin received her law degree from the City University of New York School of Law and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago. She was Co-Managing Editor of CUNY Law Review. During law school, she interned with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section; New York Lawyers for the Public Interest; and Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, among others. While she uses spoken language, Caitlin can also use ASL to communicate based on client preference.
Tatum joined DLC as the Director of Litigation in May 2019. Tatum has devoted her career to challenging systemic inequities and upholding the rights of people with disabilities and other vulnerable populations through litigation in various settings. As an attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts for over eight years, she has represented incarcerated individuals in strategic civil rights litigation in state and federal courts, including several class actions on behalf of people with disabilities. Since 2013, she has also served as Strategic Litigation Consultant for the International Justice Resource Center. Prior to her work at Prisoners’ Legal Services, Tatum was a visiting attorney at the Legal Resources Centre in South Africa where she engaged in impact litigation aimed at realizing the human rights enshrined in the South African Constitution, with an emphasis on socio-economic rights.
Immediately following law school, Tatum completed a clerkship with the Massachusetts Superior Court and, thereafter, spent three years as a Public Defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services representing indigent clients charged with crimes in Massachusetts District and Superior Courts. She has represented indigent criminal defendants in appellate proceedings as well. Tatum is a graduate of Colgate University and Boston College Law School and is admitted to the bars of Massachusetts, New York, the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Marlene recently joined DLC as Executive Director. Marlene has served as Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service (CRS), the Nation’s “Peacemaker” for community conflicts and tensions arising from conflicts based on race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and disability. Prior to assuming this role, Ms. Sallo was appointed by President Obama to serve as the Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. While at the Commission, Ms. Sallo had the opportunity to direct several fact-finding public hearings and reports investigating civil rights violations based on gender, religion, national origin, or in the administration of justice. Ms. Sallo previously worked at UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, where she developed issue awareness campaigns to educate UnidosUS affiliates, state and federal government officials, and the public on national and state level policies and initiatives that disparately and/or disproportionately impact Latino youth. Ms. Sallo has dedicated her career to protecting the rights of disenfranchised and vulnerable children through her work as a case manager, special education teacher, and child welfare attorney. As a zealous advocate for children, she has challenged policies and practices within public school systems that push minority students with disabilities out of school and into the juvenile justice system. Ms. Sallo holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Manhattanville College and a Juris Doctorate degree from Florida State University College of Law. Ms. Sallo is also the recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from Manhattanville College. Ms. Sallo serves as the Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Litigation, Children’s Rights Litigation Committee and previously served as both a Commissioner with the ABA’s Commission for Youth at Risk and as a member of the Florida Bar’s Standing Committee on the Legal Needs of Children.
