Melody Webb
Executive Director
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. She has taught on the intersecting topics of race, class and family law.
Linda Brown
Parent Peer Organizer
Linda Brown, Parent Peer Organizer
The first Parent Peer Organizer for Mother’s Outreach Network, Linda is a founding member of two Mother’s Outreach Network programs, Mother Up Guaranteed Income Research Program Community Advisory Board as well as a Moms Empower Advocacy Fellowship. Other community leadership roles that Linda plays involve serving on the board of a disability rights organization. She is also the mother of an adult daughter with a disability.
Lianne Urriza
Family Law Staff Attorney
Lianne Urriza, Family Law Staff Attorney
Lianne is a graduate from the State University of New York at Oswego and Southwestern Law School. Coming from immigrant parents who struggled to access legal resources, Lianne realized at a young age that she wanted to become an advocate for her parents and communities. She has spent her entire undergraduate and law school career being involved in public interest matters. During law school she devoted herself to learning more about child welfare in the special education and foster care context. She fell in love working with families and helping parents actualize their legal rights. Lianne is excited to support MON’s mission of empowering mothers and looks forward to bringing her expertise regarding special education and child welfare to the forefront of MON’s advocacy work.
Akua Danqua
Program Operations Manager
Akua Danqua, Program Operations Manager
Akua joins Mother’s Outreach Network from years as a mom leader including as a member of the organization’s Mother Up Community Advisory Board. She brings her passion for racial justice and economic equity to the position. In this role, Akua will oversee the day-to-day operational systems that power MON’s programs, ensuring that each program runs with efficiency, accountability, and fidelity to MON’s mission of transforming child welfare systems and income policies from punitive to empowering. As Program Operations Manager, Akua serves as the connective tissue between program strategy and on-the-ground execution, coordinating processes so that Black mothers in DC receive the consistent, high-quality support they deserve. With more than 10 years of experience in operations and data management and as a Ward 7 resident, Akua is deeply committed to the belief that poverty is not neglect — and that every family deserves the tools to stay together and thrive.