who we are

Founding Partner

Ally is an expert in coalition building and management, federal education policy, direct lobbying, and bringing diverse groups together to advance shared policy goals. All of Ally’s work on behalf of her clients is centered around a mission to close the equity gaps across all sectors of the education system, which disproportionately impact underserved students and families, especially those of color, in low-income communities. 

In 2016, Ally brought a wide array of organizations together to form the Title IV-A Coalition, an organization that advocates for maximum funding for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE), the flexible block grant under Title IV-A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Under her leadership and guidance, she successfully lobbied Capitol Hill on behalf of a diverse group of education nonprofits that make up the Title IV-A Coalition and helped raise funding for the program from $400 million to $1.1 billion in just one year. She currently serves as their Executive Director and strongly advocates for continued investments for safe and healthy students, well-rounded education programs, and the effective use of technology. 

Additionally, Ally’s work on behalf of the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) to ensure every child, especially those in marginalized communities, has access to high quality summer programs, youth workforce programs, and nutritious summer meals underscores her commitment to supporting the most vulnerable children.

Lastly, Ally’s dedication to advancing policies that promote a $100 billion investment to rebuild America’s schools in the highest poverty communities is showcased by her leadership of the [Re]Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition (BASIC), which is a coalition made up of industries, nonprofits, civic, and education organizations to advance these policy goals. Most recently, Ally helped secure the inclusion of the “Rebuild America’s Schools Act” (RASA) in the House’s comprehensive infrastructure package, known as HR2, which, had it become law, would have provided a $130 billion investment in school facilities. 

While in law school, Ally Taught 4th and 5th grade students in low-income schools as part of the "Humane Education Program", where she taught social and emotional learning evidence-based programs. At her law school graduation, Ally received the Outstanding Pro Bono Service award for her dedication to community service.  She received her Juris Doctorate from Pace University School of Law, her Bachelors degree from Florida State University, and is a member of the Virginia State Bar Association.

In addition to her direct lobbying work and coalition building, Ally is an active member of Women in Government Relations (WGR), served on the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) board of directors from 2015-2018, and graduated from the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) Washington DC Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) in 2017.

Most recently, Ally won the Rising Advocate award at the Professional Women in Advocacy Conference, hosted by WGR, for help in securing billions of education dollars for underserved communities.

Founding Partner

Rachel has nearly a decade of experience using legal and policy analysis to advance social justice and racial justice issues. She is a true policy wonk and loves to dive into case law, legislation, and regulations and is effective at conveying weedy issues in ways that are accessible to the public. 

Rachel has extensive experience as a legislative lawyer, engaging in direct lobbying, legal and policy analysis, and legislative drafting at the state and federal level. Her work has historically focused on complex health care and civil rights issues. She also has deep expertise in Administrative advocacy, particularly focused on the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services.

This includes experience leading organizational responses to proposed rule-making, shaping public education campaigns, coordinating Congressional responses to administrative action, and advising transition teams to shape incoming administrative priorities. In addition, she is proficient in coordinating policy advocacy with social impact litigation and has co-authored several organizational amicus briefs to the Supreme Court. She has worked closely with public opinion research firms to conduct nationwide polling and create messaging guidance for public awareness campaigns and talking points for policymakers.. 

Rachel believes in the importance of centering communities and coalescing organizations and individuals to advance social change. She engages in sincere relationship-building and trust building in order to advance organizational goals and remain true to progressive values.  In 2018, Rachel led a cross-movement campaign in response to administrative rule-making that ultimately garnered more than 200,000 comments, spurred the introduction of two bills in Congress, and helped form the basis of several federal lawsuits challenging the rule.

This work brought together organizations from across social justice movements to highlight the impact the policy would have on women, LGBTQ+ individuals, BIPOC folks and others. She has also worked on several diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including facilitating an anti-racist working group for white-identifying staff, co-creating a millennial working group to advocate for staff with less institutional power, and co-authoring an inclusive language guide. She approaches this work with a desire to learn from others, a willingness to be held accountable, and humility. 

Rachel received her Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School. While in law school, Rachel interned at the ASPCA, National Women’s Law Center, and Center for Reproductive Rights. Rachel also participated in the Stanford International Human Rights Clinic where she worked with the families of forcibly disappeared individuals, and she helped develop training modules to help health care providers identify and support patients who are victims of human trafficking. Rachel is a member of the Virginia and D.C. bars. She received her B.A. from the University of Virginia where she majored in History and Anthropology.