Kay Bailey is WOLA’s Director of Institutional Partnerships, managing WOLA’s relationships with philanthropic foundations and giving structure and guidance to all funding proposals.
Ms. Bailey studied abroad at the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico, then worked as a bilingual legal assistant in the Mexico City law firm of Arochi Marroquín & Lindner. She also spent time in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, studying at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
A great part of her professional life has been devoted to programs that help people stand up for themselves. She worked at Creative Associates International first as a program associate, backstopping USAID projects to strengthen civil society and the rule of law in Central and South America. She later earned her J.D. at the Georgetown University Law Center and returned to Creative as its first in-house counsel. While she was in law school she taught Street Law classes to prisoners and provided technical assistance to housing cooperatives.
Language has woven its way through all of these experiences. Kay’s fluency in Spanish and Portuguese give her extra insight into English. Law school brought an appreciation for precise, well-structured writing. She takes particular delight in writing grant proposals, and loves how the right language can build bridges quickly between people on different sides of a vast divide.