Larysa Kautz currently serves as Melwood’s President & CEO, having previously served as Melwood’s Chief of Staff and General Counsel.
After receiving her law degrees from Yale Law School (JD) and the Georgetown University Law Center (LLM), Larysa focused her career on affordable housing development, venture philanthropy, and advising national and international nonprofits. Prior to joining Melwood, Larysa was a partner at the Schaner & Lubitz law firm. Before that, she served as counsel at Bingham McCutchen (now Morgan Lewis).
Larysa currently serves on the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) State Rehabilitation Council and the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. She has previously volunteered as a consultant for President Obama’s Office of White House Counsel and Virginia Governor Northam’s Transition Team on the Policy Council on Workforce Development. Larysa has also lent her expertise to the Foundation for the National Archives as pro bono general counsel. As the mother of a child on the autism spectrum, she is passionate about Melwood’s mission of inclusion.
Larysa was named one of the 2017 Leading Women in Maryland by The Daily Record, has been honored by the Association of Corporate Counsel with the 2019 In-House Innovator Award, and is an alumna of the Arlington Leadership Center for Excellence.
Outside of work, Ms. Kautz enjoys sailing and ballroom dancing. She lives in Alexandria, VA, with her husband, Ryan; their son, Symon; and their dogs, Lucky and Ziggy.
