People

Founded in 1979 by people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities, DREDF remains board- and staff-led by members of the communities for whom it advocates.

Our Management Team

Michelle Uzeta

Executive Director

Portrait of Claudia Center

Claudia Center

Legal Director

Portrait of Susan Freundlich

Susan Freundlich

Development Director

Portrait of Leah, an Asian woman in her 40s with black hair, wearing a light-colored shirt and dark suit jacket.

Leah Kang

Supervising Senior Attorney

Portrait of Jinny, an Asian woman in her 50s with black hair, wearing a black suit jacket, dark top, and is standing in front of a brick wall.

Jinny Kim

Managing Attorney

Portrait of Tina, a mixed-race, mostly Asian-presenting woman in her 30s. She has long dark brown hair, wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt.

Tina Pinedo

Communications & Operations Director

Portrait of Karma, a white-appearing woman with light brown hair pulled back. She is wearing a navy blue shirtdress and black earrings, and is standing in front of a camellia tree.

Karma Quick-Panwala

Director of Children & Family Advocacy Services

Close-up photo of Silvia, a middle-aged smiling Asian woman with chin-length black hair wearing glasses, a navy top with white polka dots, and dangling earrings.

Silvia Yee

Public Policy Director

Policy

Portrait of Mary Lou, an older white woman with gray, wavy hair, wearing glasses, a blue-and-gray patterned scarf, and a black shirt. A bookshelf is in the background.

Mary Lou Breslin

Senior Analyst

Photo of Bowen, a nonbinary middle-aged person of Korean descent, with bright sunlight shining through diamond grid windows in the background.

Bowen Cho

Policy Intern

Photo of CT, a middle-aged white person with short hair and glasses.They are wearing a suit and standing next to a lawn on a sunny day. The US Capitol building and trees with fall leaves are in the background.

CT Tyson

Federal Affairs and Partnerships Director

Close-up photo of Silvia, a middle-aged smiling Asian woman with chin-length black hair wearing glasses, a navy top with white polka dots, and dangling earrings.

Silvia Yee

Public Policy Director

Legal

Portrait of Claudia Center

Claudia Center

Legal Director

Portrait of Ally, a white woman in her late 20s with long brown hair wearing a beige knit cardigan.

Ally Cline

Paralegal

Portrait of Leah, an Asian woman in her 40s with black hair, wearing a light-colored shirt and dark suit jacket.

Leah Kang

Supervising Senior Attorney

Portrait of Jinny, an Asian woman in her 50s with black hair, wearing a black suit jacket, dark top, and is standing in front of a brick wall.

Jinny Kim

Managing Attorney

Portrait of Ayesha Elaine Lewis, an African-American woman in her late thirties with an elegant hairstyle with her hair pulled away from her face. The background is dark. She wears pearl earrings and a single-stranded pearl necklace.

Ayesha Elaine Lewis

Senior Staff Attorney

Portrait of Jillian MacLeod, a white woman in her late twenties with shoulder-length dark brown hair and bangs, smiling into the camera. Jillian is wearing a navy blue suit jacket, white collared shirt, and a small necklace with a pearl. In the background is an out-of-focus San Francisco skyline.

Jillian MacLeod

Staff Attorney

Portrait of Erin Nguyen Neff, a half white, half Asian woman in her late 30s, with short black hair, wearing yellow earrings, with a dark green shirt and black cardigan.

Erin Nguyen Neff

Senior Staff Attorney

Portrait of Kavya Parthiban, an Indian woman in her early 30s with brown skin and long black hair worn down. She is smiling and wearing a black blazer over a dark blue collared shirt. Out of focus is a skyscraper building in New York City.

Kavya Parthiban

Staff Attorney

Portrait of Peter Talkington, a white man in his early thirties with short, wavy blond hair swept to his right, smiling at the camera. He is wearing a light blue collared shirt. In the background is an out-of-focus, bright, naturally-lit interior of a modern office building with a white ceiling and light wood-paneled walls.

Peter Talkington

Staff Attorney

Michelle Uzeta

Executive Director

Children & Family Advocacy

Portrait of Julie Barraza, Ben and Matt’s Mama. A smiling woman posing for a portrait. Long, wavy, curly hair styled with volume at the top, and wearing small diamond earrings. Facing slightly to the side while looking toward the camera, with a bright friendly red lipstick smile.

Juliet Barraza

Senior Education Advocate

Portrait of Angela Haynes, an African-American woman with short hair, combed back. White shirt with black and brown v shapes scattered on the shirt. Her head is slightly tilted, with a closed mouth smile.

Angela Haynes

Education Advocate

Portrait of Karma, a white-appearing woman with light brown hair pulled back. She is wearing a navy blue shirtdress and black earrings, and is standing in front of a camellia tree.

Karma Quick-Panwala

Director of Children & Family Advocacy Services

A Portrait of Andrea, a Latina woman with brown skin in her early 30s, with brown eyes and dark brown hair styled in a crown braid, smiling at the camera. She is facing slightly to the side, wearing a black jacket and silver earrings, with a yellow and blue background.

Andrea Yu

Education Advocate

Development & Communications

Picture of Shirley Carrillo, a Hispanic woman with dark brown curly hair and brown eyes, wearing framed eyeglasses and a denim jacket with colorful pins and a purple shirt.

Shirley Carrillo

Development Associate

Portrait of Susan Freundlich

Susan Freundlich

Development Director

Picture of Drew McKay, a white woman with long, light brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a green ruffled blouse and a black shawl.

Drew McKay

Communications Strategist

Portrait of Tina, a mixed-race, mostly Asian-presenting woman in her 30s. She has long dark brown hair, wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt.

Tina Pinedo

Communications & Operations Director

Administrative

Photo of Hongyu Min, an Asian man with blackish hair wearing glasses, a white shirt, and a grey jacket.

Hongyu Min

Resource Associate

Addison Uzeta

Project Assistant

Board of Directors

Photo of Steve Kaye, an older white man with fairly short gray hair and beard and wearing blue-framed eyeglasses.

H. Stephen Kaye

President and Chair

A portrait of Rachel, a white woman with long brown hair, smiling and wearing a purple sweater, photographed outdoors among trees.

Rachel Maida

Treasurer

Portrait of Hari

Hari Srinivasan

Secretary

A portrait of Cindy Downing, a dark-haired woman in her forties, smiling, with blue-purple ombré tips, round amber glasses, coral lipstick, and a tan top.

Cindy Downing

Portrait of Dorene Giacopini

Dorene Giacopini

A picture of Brittanie, who has brown skin and long, dark curly hair. She sits in her power wheelchair wearing a green-and-white patterned dress. The San Francisco skyline is softly blurred in the background.

Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson

A portrait of Brian, a man with Albinism in his 30s, wearing a blue suit and maize and blue striped tie.

Brian Kempfer

Portrait of Aubrie Lee, folding her hands and looking at the camera. She's riding a power wheelchair. Behind her is an oak tree.

Aubrie Lee

Rain Marshall speaking at a lectern with the ACLU and Northern California Indian Development Council logos

Rain Marshall

Indigenous Education Advocate

A portrait of Jenny McLelland, a white woman in her forties with pink glasses, bangs, and a bob haircut, wearing a pink suit. She is pictured with her son, James, who is a white teen boy wearing a black suit with a tracheostomy.

Jenny McLelland

A portrait of Nel Michel, a Black man in his early 40s with short dreadlocks, wearing an orange sweater.

Féchnel Michel

Portrait of Benita

Benita Shaw-Ayala

Portrait of Tauna Szymanski

Tauna Szymanski