Kristen Pisani-Jacques is the Deputy Legal and Advocacy Director at Maryland Legal Aid. In this role, she designs and implements supervision and management policies, guides appellate and litigation strategies, and advances MLA’s strategic plan goals. Before joining MLA, Kristen served as the Training Director at the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC), where she led the training department to promote excellence in child welfare, focusing on race equity and the engagement of individuals with lived expertise. Prior to that, she was the Deputy Director of the Guardian ad Litem Project at the Children’s Law Center in Washington, D.C., where she helped manage and evaluate the GAL program, ensuring high-quality representation in the D.C. child welfare system. Kristen earned her undergraduate degree from Loyola University in Maryland and her J.D. from Georgetown University, where she participated in the Street Law and Domestic Violence clinics. She is barred in Maryland and the District of Columbia and is certified as a Child Welfare Law Specialist by NACC. Outside of work, Kristen enjoys family dance parties, watching both Jeopardy! and Real Housewives, and planning her family’s annual Halloween costume.