Miller Nash attorney Melissa Lehane Rawlinson recently was appointed to the Ascend (the Catholic Schools Endowment Foundation) Board of Directors. Ascend is a philanthropic organization established in 2017 to expand access to Catholic education. Through donor-supported tuition assistance, the organization helps ensure that families can attend Catholic elementary schools. It operates alongside the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon and its individual elementary schools.
About Melissa Lehane Rawlinson
Melissa is an attorney on Miller Nash’s education and employment team, focusing primarily on litigation and representing education institutions, including universities, colleges, and community colleges, as well as K-12 religious and private schools and public school districts. She also counsels public school districts on matters from infancy through post high school eligibility involving special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Melissa represents education clients in state and federal courts as well as in front of administrative bodies. She received her bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University before earning her law degree at the University of California Law, San Francisco. Through the years and connected with raising her children, she has volunteered for a range of leadership positions in Catholic schools and in Catholic youth sports.
