Pat Baker

attorney, MA Law Reform Institute

As a Senior Policy Advocate at MLRI, Pat works on a range of legislative, administrative, and policy matters that affect low-income families, elders and persons with disabilities. Prior to joining MLRI, Pat was a paralegal in Western Massachusetts Legal Services from 1977 to 1983 where she focused on disability, unemployment, and public benefits cases. Since 2002, under her leadership as chair of the Massachusetts Food Stamp Improvement Coalition, the Coalition has negotiated extensive policy changes to restore significant federal nutrition benefits to the Commonwealth. She has been a contributing author and edited numerous publications, including *the Food Stamp Advocacy Guide*, *EAEDC Advocacy Guide*, and *TAFDC and EA Advocacy Guide*; as well as the original *Down and Out Advocacy Guide* and the benefits section of *Legal Tactics*, 4th and 5th Editions.