our board of directors

Our Board of Directors is composed of a diverse group of individuals who are passionate about helping those in need. They bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in law, education, public relations, accounting, and relative caregiving.

Donnequa Grantham, Esquire
President and Board Chair

  • Donnequa E. Grantham is employed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as an Attorney in the Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication.  She is also a certified mediator.  Ms. Grantham has served as a volunteer attorney with the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (now Volunteer Legal Advocates) since 2013.  Through DCVLP, Ms. Grantham represents children as a court appointed guardian ad litem (GAL) in custody cases in D.C. Superior Court.  While serving as a GAL, she had the opportunity to advocate for children who are members of kinship families.  Ms. Grantham’s passion for kinship advocacy derives from her experience as a member of an alternative family. Growing up, her parents participated in the foster care program.  As such, Ms. Grantham has 6 foster siblings and over 14 foster nieces and nephews.  She also was a relative caregiver for her two nephews, for whom she shared parenting responsibility.  Ms. Grantham is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and earned her J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.

Linda Rhodes, Esquire
Vice President

  • Linda Rhodes is the General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, the mission of which is to develop in-vehicle, non-intrusive alcohol detection technologies to prevent impaired driving. Linda is a former partner with Mayer Brown LLP and Reed Smith LLP. Linda has represented clients over the past 36 years in complex commercial transactions, primarily focusing on technology transactions and outsourcing, including IT and business process outsourcing, digital transformation, as-a-service solutions, cloud, data, AI and software. Linda has been ranked as a leading lawyer in the field of “Technology and Outsourcing” over 14 consecutive years by Chambers USA. Clients have included multi-national companies in the technology, automotive, hospitality, chemicals, consumer products and finance industries. Linda’s passion has been to support the needs of at-risk children and other vulnerable persons. Over the past eight (8) years, Linda has devoted a substantial amount of pro bono time supporting the needs of at-risk children and domestic violence survivors. In particular, she has volunteered with the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project (now Volunteer Legal Advocates) to serve as guardian ad litem, representing the best interest of children in difficult custody matters. She also volunteers at DCVLP’s D.C. and Maryland domestic violence clinics.

Noah Van Zandt CPA, ABV, CFE
Treasurer

  • Noah Van Zandt is a Manager and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) at FAZ Forensics, a boutique forensic accounting and litigation support firm.  Mr. Van Zandt specializes in financial and fraud investigations as well as prevailing wage audits. In addition to being a CPA, Mr. Van Zandt is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), and is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). A Saratoga Springs, New York, native, Mr. Van Zandt moved to Washington, DC in 2021. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics with a concentration in finance from The State University of New York at Geneseo.

Beth Stekler, Esquire
Secretary

  • Beth A. Stekler is a member of the Board of Directors of DC KinCare Alliance and serves as Secretary of the Board.  Ms. Stekler has been a volunteer attorney with the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (now Volunteer Legal Advocates) since 2015. Through DCVLP, Ms. Stekler has represented at-risk children in Washington, DC by acting as a court-appointed guardian ad litem in custody cases.  She also has engaged in advocacy work focusing on D.C. child welfare policy, including issues related to kinship care.  Previously, Ms. Stekler was a partner in the Securities Department at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. She earned a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. in Government from Cornell University.

Samantha Badlam, Esquire
Board Member

  • Samantha Barrett Badlam is a partner with Ropes & Gray LLP and a member of its litigation & enforcement group. She focuses her practice on white-collar criminal and civil defense and has more than 16 years of experience representing multinational corporations and their executives in internal and government investigations of potential violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), False Claims Act (FCA), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other fraud and enforcement matters. Samantha dedicates a significant portion of her practice to advising clients on compliance matters and risk mitigation, and has assisted some of the world’s largest companies by assessing and enhancing their compliance programs through a measured, risk-based approach that carefully considers companies’ business models and highest areas of actual risk.

Michelle Brown
Board Member

  • Michelle Brown is the Senior Director of Training for the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning (NCECDTL) and oversees training and technical assistance.  Ms. Brown is a nationally recognized early care and education expert with over three decades of knowledge and firsthand experience.  She began her career in early childhood as a Head Start teacher and Early Childhood Lab School Director in Toledo, Ohio. She continued her work advocating for children and families in positions at the local, state and national levels. Her work in Washington, DC, began at the Council for Professional recognition as a participant in the National Head Start Fellowship program. She has held key positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Head Start, National Head Start Association and ZERO TO THREE.  Ms. Brown attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Community Services in 1992, and a Masters in Education in Early Childhood Special Education in 2001. She lives in Ward 8 in D.C. and cares for her young niece.

Massiel Leiva, Esquire
Board Member

  • Massiel Leiva is a DC resident and a Judicial Law Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Prior to her clerkship, Ms. Leiva was a litigation associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. She earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Human and Social Development from the University of Miami.

Carolin Sagawa
Board Member

  • Carolin Sagawa is the Global Head of Strategy and Business Development for Hogan Lovells’ Litigation, Arbitration, and Employment practice. With more than 20 years of marketing and business development experience, Carolin is an adroit marketing and business development leader who has helped raise brand awareness and grow businesses for companies and organizations across a range of industries. Known for strategic vision and translating strategy into action, Carolin looks forward to drawing on her broad portfolio of marketing experience to help DC KinCare Alliance develop effective messaging and innovative outreach programs that engage audiences.

Ravi Shah, Esquire
Board Member

  • Ravi Shah is an associate at Mayer Brown LLP and a member of its Global Investigations & White Collar Defense, Internal Investigations, and Securities Litigation & Enforcement groups. He routinely helps clients navigate high-stakes, crisis situations that garner the attention of multiple regulators, enforcement authorities, private litigants, and the media. These matters often involve internal and external investigations and involve interpreting and resolving complex issues arising under laws related to antitrust, securities, campaign finance, False Claims Act (FCA), Foreign Corruption Practices Act (FCPA), Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), international trade, and money laundering. Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Mr. Shah clerked for the Hon. Rebecca B. Connelly in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia. Mr. Shah has always had a passion for community development and financial literacy, and he looks forward to helping DC KinCare Alliance execute its mission.