Melody Webb, Executive Director Melody is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. She has spent her career practicing public interest law, both paid and unpaid. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan, then on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Since then, Ms. Webb has focused on legislative and policy advocacy as Systemic Reform Attorney at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, as Legislative Counsel for US Senator Robert Casey, and as Associate General Counsel for Service Employees International Union. While at home raising her young children between 2002 and 2006 she ran several pro-bono advocacy campaigns on a variety of topics, working with local and national partners. She was quoted in the media often, including an appearance on the Dianne Rehm Show on NPR. She has supervised public interest attorneys as Legal Director for the Employment Justice Center, and public interest attorneys as Pro Bono Counsel for Neighborhood Legal Services Program of the District of Columbia. In addition, Ms. Webb has represented indigent parents through the Counsel for Child Abuse and Neglect of the DC Superior Court, and served on the DC Superior Court, Court Improvement Program Advisory Committee. In 2016, the student body of Harvard Law School selected her as the alumni Gary Bellow Public Service Award recipient. From 2019 to 2021, Melody served as the Program Director of GW Law School Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics, where she managed the legal operations and legal programming of the clinics. Additionally, she has designed and taught on the intersecting topics of race, class and family law and supervised students in the Family Justice Litigation Clinic.
Allegra Hatem, Project Coordinator Allegra Hatem (she/her) is a proud D.C. native. She is a 2022 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Chicago, having earned an A.B. in Sociology with Honors specializing in social policy. She also minored in Human Rights as well as Inequality, Social Problems, & Change. Her senior thesis, entitled “Defunding the (Alternatives to) Police: A Chicago Violence Prevention Program’s Barriers to State Funding,” was awarded the Sociology Department’s B.A. Thesis Excellence Award. During college she worked as a research assistant for the University of Chicago Justice Project and as an intern for the D.C. Council Committee for the Judiciary and Public Safety. Happy to be back in D.C., Allegra in her free time enjoys performing in, writing, and watching theater.
Angela Johnson, Development Manager Angela Johnson graduated with a Masters in Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She has a B.A. in Classics with a minor in Afro-American Studies from University of Massachusetts Amherst. Before joining Mothers Outreach Network, Angela was the Grants Coordinator at the B&O Railroad Museum where, in addition to managing grants, she facilitated their workforce development program for disenfranchised members of the Baltimore community. While at Carnegie Mellon, she was hired to produce a departmental podcast focusing on emerging technologies in the non-profit space and innovative professionals in the field. She also spent time in Pittsburgh interning at the Andy Warhol Museum and, later, the Industrial Arts Workshop. A DC native, she is excited to be back in the city and helping to serve the community.
Hannah Kahn, Senior Policy Analyst Hannah Kahn has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago and a Bachelors from Oberlin College. Before joining MON, she worked for the City of Providence in Mayor Jorge Elorza’s Policy Office and as Chief Innovation Officer. While there, she focused on issues of economic mobility and led the development and implementation of the City’s guaranteed income pilot. Before joining Mayor Elorza’s team, she worked with children in out-of-school-time programs in low-income communities in Rhode Island and Chicago. Her time working with children informs her commitment to advocating for policies that promote families’ economic stability and wellbeing.
Shazreh Khan, Senior Staff Attorney Shazreh Khan received her law degree from American University Washington College of Law, and her Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. After graduating, she received the JD Distinguished Fellowship to work as a Legal Fellow at TASSC. After finishing her fellowship, she worked as an Associate Attorney at an immigration firm. Shazreh returned to TASSC in September 2021. She represented clients at the Arlington Asylum office and the Hyattsville Immigration Court as well as providing Know Your Rights Presentations to clients and pro se individuals. In her immigration practice she advocated for marginalized families, predominantly women, to ensure they could stay together and access housing.