Barriers To Education
Maha Ibrahim
has served as a staff attorney at ERA since 2016. She came to ERA with seven
years of professional community organizing and policy-framing experience as an
East Bay political staffer. A 2006 graduate of UC Berkeley, Maha served as a
staff member in the offices of Congresswoman Barbara Lee (2006-2009) and former
State Assemblywoman (now Senator) Nancy Skinner (2009-2012) before entering UCLA
Law. A graduate of UCLA’s Epstein Public Interest Law Program and a student in
the law school’s Critical Race Studies program, Maha brings her experience in
hands-on community relations and training as a public interest lawyer through
the lens of Critical Race Theory to her work as a Staff Attorney at ERA. Maha
is a proud product of the California Community College System.
Anne Ehresman,
MSW, has over 25 years of experience in non-profit leadership creating and
sustaining programs to strengthen communities and low-income families. For the
past 11 years she was Executive Director of YMCA Project Cornerstone, the
nationally recognized youth development initiative of Silicon Valley impacting
over 300 schools and 85,000 youth. She has served on national YMCA committees
focused on character development and family strengthening and on local boards
and initiatives including the Children’s Vision Council, United Way of Silicon
Valley, and the recently launched Girl Scout Giving Circle.
Megan
Farrell is a recognized expert in legal and educational compliance.
She currently serves as the Title IX Coordinator and Civil Rights Officer for
Palo Alto Unified School District and also provides consulting services focused
on Title IX to schools, colleges, and universities across the country. Over the
course of her career, Megan has served the education community in a variety of
positions. She has been the Title IX Coordinator, University Counsel, a
full-time faculty member, and graduate school program director.
Julinda
Caldwell LeDee holds a Master’s in Public Administration and
currently works as an Academic Services Analyst at San José City College. In
addition to her duties with curricula, she led the way to create a Classified
Senate at San José City College and served as its president. While working at
the college, Julinda created a safe place for students in the Language Arts
department; which included a homework table, a snack table supported by
donations and a book shelf to offer students free books, supported by donations.
She also is a motivational speaker, spoken word poet and author. She is
passionate about addressing those who have been negatively impacted by social
ills with words of encouragement. She too is a former foster youth from Santa
Clara County who is a true definition of resilience.
Katie Causey is a Community Advocate and member of AAUW from Palo
Alto, CA. She attended PAUSD before the district’s Title IX crisis had
been addressed, and went on to graduate from George Washington University in
2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Women’s Studies. At GW she worked
as Photo Editor of the student paper, assisting with coverage when GW fell
under Title IX investigation, and studied how campuses address harassment and
discrimination under Title IX expert Professor Bonnie Morris and Professor Anya
Lanker of The American Bar Association Commission on Domestic & Sexual
Violence.
