Larysa Kautz Named Melwood General Counsel

UPPER MARLBORO, MD – May 6, 2014 – Melwood is pleased to announce that Larysa Kautz has been named General Counsel for the organization. Melwood is a leading nonprofit organization based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland that is dedicated to empowering people of differing abilities to transform their own lives through employment, job training and supportive and recreational services.

In this role, Kautz will serve as the chief legal advisor to the CEO and the Board of Directors. She will play a key role in managing Melwood’s legal affairs, providing oversight for corporate compliance, contracts, legislative affairs, labor and employment, to name a few. Ms. Kautz brings more than 10 years of experience in corporate governance, risk management, contracts, lobbying activities, joint ventures, fiscal sponsorship, real estate partnerships, UBTI issues, donation policies and agreements and other matters.

“We are thrilled to bring Larysa on board as Melwood’s first ever General Counsel.” said Cari DeSantis, President and CEO, Melwood. “She brings a wealth of experience in managing the legal matters for nonprofit organizations to her new role and we are confident that she will aid Melwood in furthering its mission.”

Prior to joining Melwood, Ms. Kautz was partner at the Schaner & Lubitz, PLLC law firm. Before that she served as counsel at Bingham McCutchen, LLP and previously an associate at Swidler Berlin, LLP prior to Swidler Berlin's merger with Bingham McCutchen. She has also lent her expertise to the Obama Administration as pro bono counsel and the Foundation for the National Archives.

Larysa Kautz holds a Juris Doctorate from the world renowned Yale Law School and a Master’s of Law (LLM) in the field of taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center.

About Melwood

Melwood is a 501(c)3 organization that advocates for and empowers individuals of differing abilities to transform their own lives through unique opportunities to work and play in the community. The organization provides employment, job training, life skill improvement, supportive and recreational services for more than 1900 people with differing abilities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region and serves as an international model that has been duplicated around the world. Melwood employs more than 750 people with differing abilities through 38 federal contracts at 43 sites through partnerships with community employers and the AbilityOne Program, providing total facility management, custodial, grounds keeping and recycling services in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. For more information, visit Melwood on Facebook or www.melwood.org.

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