8:30 am PT

Check-in, Breakfast, and Networking

Join us for breakfast and networking before the Funders Forum officially kicks off.

9:00 am PT

Welcome to the 2023 Funders Forum

We'll kick off the Funders Forum with words of welcome and grounding in our vision for housing justice. 

Keynote: Building a Vision for Housing Justice

We will kick off our 2023 Funders Forum with housing justice organizers sharing their vision of housing justice. These co-keynote speakers will share how their movement building and housing justice vision is aligned across the state and how the contexts of their respective communities shape the nuances of their work. They will create an umbrella and provide context for deeper conversation about their transformational goals and strategies, such as de-commodifying housing, and how they share their power with philanthropy.

Speakers:

• Veronica Garibay, Co-Executive Director, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
• Laura Raymond, Director, ACT LA  

Fireside Chat: What True Philanthropic Partnership and Accountability Look Like in Housing Justice Work

After the keynote, we’ll have a fireside chat between keynote speakers and a funder from the Fund for an Inclusive California, a philanthropic effort to advance racial and economic equity by building the power of communities of color. This discussion will explore the balance of power between philanthropy and movement leaders, how philanthropy is holding themselves accountable in this partnership, and lessons that funders can take back to their communities.

Speakers:

• Veronica Garibay, Co-Executive Director, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
• Laura Raymond, Director, ACT LA
• Jennifer Martinez, Policy Director, Housing Affordability, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
• Andrea Evans, Funders Together Consultant and Advisor (moderator)

 A brief mid-morning break will follow this morning session. 

 11:00 am PT

Stronger Together: Building Alignment to Advance Housing Justice

A vision for housing justice will remain a vision without alignment of values, knowledge, and actions. If we want our vision for housing justice to be real, we must transform how we work together, engage in principled struggle, and care for one another. Doing so requires forging deeper relationships and building coalitions that disrupt the status quo. In this conversation, we will lift housing justice work at the national and local levels with concrete ways philanthropy can fund, convene, and advocate for housing justice. Nationally, we’ll highlight the work of the National Coalition for Housing Justice, its impact on the housing and homelessness field, and the Coalition’s housing justice policy agenda. Locally, we’ll share the work of Chicago Funders Together to End Homelessness and the Housing Justice Fund they recently launched. We hope you’ll bring your questions about what it takes to build alignment to advance housing justice.

Speakers: 

• Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness (she/her) 
• Alexander Rey Perez, Advocate, National Coalition for Housing Justice member (Divine, They, He, King)
• Ann Oliva, CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness (she/her) 
• Emily Krisciunas, Director, Chicago Funders Together to End Homelessness (she/her)

12:00 pm PT

Lunch

Lunch will be provided onsite. This is unstructured time to network and connect with your peers. 

1:00 pm PT

How Philanthropy Can Be ALL IN: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness

In December 2022, USICH released ALL IN: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. During this conversation, we'll have senior leadership from USICH share concrete ideas for how philanthropy can engage with and support this plan that prioritizes equity and evidence-based practices. We'll then transition to an interactive conversation for philanthropy to share what they are hearing and seeing on the ground and provide thought partnership to USICH. We are designing this session to be interactive and to get participants talking to each other and to USICH leadership and will provide questions to consider in advance. 

Speakers: 

• Marcy Thompson, Director of Policy Initiatives, US Interagency Council on Homelessness (she/her)

1:45 pm PT

Concurrent Afternoon Programming

The Funders Forum will continue with concurrent programming, which will take place in different rooms. The Funders Forum will continue in the main room, and there will be a special afternoon convening designed specifically for those that lead funder networks. 

Concurrent Program A: Deep Dives to Explore Narrative Change, Health x Homelessness, Coalition Building, and Program Design & Evaluation

As stated in Funders Together’s new strategic framework, true justice and liberation cannot be achieved until we confront and hold accountable the reality that the current ways philanthropy operates need to be dismantled, then reoriented and reimagined towards a more liberated way of resourcing communities. Doing so will require a nuanced understand of the difference and connection between equity and justice and how these concepts apply concretely to our funding strategies and priorities.  

We will begin with a fishbowl conversation between to uncover themes and questions related to four topics our funder network has expressed interest in learning more about. After we’ve had this opportunity to jumpstart our thinking, participants will have an opportunity to choose one of four tables to explore a topic in greater nuance before we come back together to close out the Funders Forum.  

Table 1: Exploring the Crossroads of Policy and Advocacy with Narrative Change

Several funders have shared common questions about connecting their current grantmaking and advocacy work with narrative change, measuring the success of narrative change work, and what is needed across the field. This table will offer a practical and concrete space for funders to raise questions, test ideas, and receive feedback from other funders working on narrative change and ending homelessness. 

Table Hosts:

• Sarah Armour-Jones, Deputy Director, Housing Narrative Lab
• Unai Montes-Irueste, Narrative and Strategic Communications Director, Housing California 

Table 2: A Deeper Dive into Philanthropy’s Role in Coalition Building  

Using questions surfaced over the course of the day, this conversation will answer practical questions about philanthropy’s role in supporting coalitions and navigating the internal and external tensions between movements and philanthropic institutions. Join this table to learn more about the Fund for an Inclusive California and its impact on its philanthropic partners. Bring your questions and challenges related to being in partnership with movement leaders and organizers for coaching from other funders who are doing similar work.  

Table Hosts:

• Joe Lucero, Executive Administrator and Interim Director, Fund for an Inclusive California, Common Counsel Foundation

Table 3: Structuring the Design & Evaluation of Programs to Lead with Equity and Justice 

How do you structure the work to overcome the resistance of institutions to cede power to those most impacted? And, how can we as funders better understand evaluation is a core piece of strategy and design it so that we are measuring how successful we are at advancing housing justice and building power? This table conversation will lay out a few themes and experiences related to these questions in short vignettes before table participants decide how they want to deepen this conversation. 

Table hosts:

• Bill Block, Block Leavitt Foundation
• Matt Morton, Executive Director of CoLab, Constellation Fund
• Maddox Guerilla 

Table 4: Health, Homelessness, and Housing Justice 

What would it look like to bring “health funders” and “housing funders” in closer partnership toward a shared set of goals? How do we think about messaging, narrative, program design, and measuring success at the intersection of health, homelessness, and housing? This roundtable, led by the California Health Care Foundation, is the perfect opportunity to bring your ideas, questions, and challenges about how health and homelessness to weave together themes from the Funders Forum to coalition building, narrative, program design, and policy.

Table hosts:

• Michelle Schneidermann, M.D., Director of People-Centered Care, California Health Care Foundation  
• Dalma Diaz, Health Equity Fellow, Homelessness and Health Care, California Health Care Foundation 

Concurrent Program B: Regional Funder Network Learning Circle

Participants who lead or help facilitate regional funder networks dedicated to homelessness and housing justice are invited to participate in this convening. Send questions to Director of Networks, Michael Durham, at [email protected]  

Funders Together supports several place-based funder networks and collaboratives that bridge national advocacy and best practices with local efforts to end homelessness. This funder network convening will provide an opportunity for participants to learn with other regional network leaders, discuss what it would look like to mobilize regional networks behind housing justice values, and identify the type of support FTEH can provide to live into this vision.  

The gathering is meant to be relevant for: 

• Directors and staff of Funders Together regional networks  
• Chairs/co-chairs and consultant leaders of FTEH regional networks 
• Facilitators of funder-collaborative members of Funders Together  
• Point-persons of other place-based networks working on housing/homelessness  
• Anyone in philanthropy (non-government entities) in the exploration phase of forming funder networks  

Come prepared to showcase what your network has been up to or how you envision a new network, as applicable. Note that this meeting takes place concurrently with other Funders Forum sessions. 

4:00 pm PT

Funder Networking Reception

District Oakland
827 Washington St, Oakland, CA 94607

Ann Oliva

Chief Executive Officer

National Alliance to End Homelessness

She/Her/Hers

Barbara Poppe

Founder and Principal

Barbara Poppe and Associates

She/Her/Hers

Barbara Poppe is the founder of Barbara Poppe and Associates and the former executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. During her tenure, Opening Doors, the first comprehensive federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness was launched in June 2010. Ms. Poppe is a nationally recognized expert on homelessness and results-driven public-private partnerships. Barbara Poppe and Associates, established in 2014, is an independent consulting firm that develops the capacity of communities and organizations to tackle complex issues using a collaborative systems approach to achieves results and impact. Ms. Poppe is a frequent national, state, and local speaker on homelessness and serves on the national board of the Enterprise Community Partners and the national advisory board for the Center for Evidence-based Solution to Homelessness.

Bianca Carter

Program Officer

Housing & Homelessness initiative at Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies

She/her/hers

Bianca Carter is the Program Officer for the Housing & Homelessness initiative at Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies. In this capacity, Bianca builds relationships with people and organizations in furtherance of Trinity’s commitment to end homelessness, promote housing stability, influence policymakers, and preserve extremely affordable housing units in New York City. Previously, Bianca was a Program Officer at The New York Women’s Foundation, where she managed a diverse portfolio of community-based organizations and technical assistance providers serving vulnerable women, girls, and gender-fluid individuals. Bianca has also served as Finance and Operations Assistant at the Arcus Foundation and at ABFE as Membership and Program Assistant.

Bianca earned her BA at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia and her MS at the University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut. Bianca is native to and resides in New York City with her husband.

Brook Fadley

Fellow 

Housing Justice Narrative, Community Change

She/her/hers

Brook Fadley lives in Vancouver WA. She is a Non-profit Board Member, Resident Action Project (RAP) Steering Committee Member and Housing Justice Advocate. She serves those who are unhoused in her community through volunteering and work. She is a Legislative District Lead for the 49th and is a Housing Justice Narrative Fellow graduate. She has lived experience of being homeless, unstably housed and is currently living in affordable housing. Brook has a Master of Science in Social Administration-Community Practice (MSSA) and a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). She cares for her six year old grandson and loves to be out in Nature.

Casey Trupin

Consultant

Jeff and Tricia Raikes Family Office

He/Him/His

Casey Trupin is a consultant to the North Forty, the family office of Jeff and Tricia Raikes, co-founders of the Raikes Foundation. When not consulting with North Forty, Casey serves as the director of the Raikes Foundation’s youth homelessness strategy, which supports efforts in Washington state as well as national approaches to ensure that all youth have a safe and stable place to live. Prior to 2015, Trupin was the Directing Attorney for the Children and Youth Project at Columbia Legal Services, where he engaged in litigation, legislative advocacy and other systemic initiatives to improve outcomes for children, youth and adults experiencing homelessness, as well as those in foster care and the justice system. Casey has chaired a number of national initiatives related to children and youth, including the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Commission on Homelessness and Poverty and the ABA’s Children’s Rights Litigation Committee. He has authored and edited numerous books and articles on at-risk, homeless and foster children and, in 2011, was awarded the ABA’s Child Advocacy Award—Distinguished Lawyer. Trupin has worked on issues related to youth experiencing homelessness since 1994 in Seattle, California, Washington DC and throughout Latin America.

Donald H. Whitehead Jr.

Executive Director

National Coalition for the Homeless 

He/Him/His

Donald Hugh Whitehead Jr. is recognized as a leading expert on homelessness, having served as the Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Assistant Director at St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore, Program Director at Ohio Valley Goodwill, Grant Manager at Goodwill of Greater Washington and Director of Communications at Greenpeace Ohio. Donald served two terms as President of the Board of Directors for the National Coalition for the Homeless, two terms on the Board of Directors for Faces and Voices of Recovery and two terms on the Georgetown Center for Cultural Competency.

Jennifer Cossyleon

Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager

Community Change

She/Her/Hers

Jennifer has over a decade of community-engaged research experience including program evaluations, and policy informing investigations. As a former Graduate Research Fellow at the Center for Urban Research and Learning, she collaborated on many policy informing projects and publications including but not limited to work related to: community organizing, housing, and the criminal justice system.

Currently, as a Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow at Community Change, Jennifer serves on the New Deal for Housing Justice Advisory Committee, to advance racial equity within federal housing policy.

As a Public Fellow, Jennifer draws from research to inform policy solutions to race and gender inequities within intersecting issue areas including: housing, poverty reduction, immigration reform, and economic justice. Translating research into accessible tools, she creates content for leadership trainings of grassroots organizers across the country, particularly focused on participatory action research and methods of creating healthier social movements that are kinship and healing centered.

Before this, Jennifer was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Poverty and Inequality Research Lab (PIRL) at Johns Hopkins University (2018-2019). She co-directed a study of investment, divestment, and grassroots responses to neighborhood change across 16 different neighborhoods in Baltimore. She worked with Stefanie DeLuca, Kathryn Edin, Philip ME Garboden and Christine Jang (Principal Investigators). While at PIRL, she also helped to lead a study of property landlords in opportunity areas.

Jennifer Olney

Senior Program Officer

Partnership to End Homelessness

She/Her/Hers

Jennifer joined the Greater Washington Community Foundation in November 2019. As the Senior Program Officer for the Partnership to End Homelessness, Jennifer brings together the public and private sectors to advance effective and innovative solutions to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring in DC.

Prior to joining The Community Foundation, Jennifer worked as the Director of Networks and Programs at Funders Together to End Homelessness. In this role she worked with funders across the country dedicated to ending homelessness. In addition to her work leading local and national networks, she designed and facilitated communities of practice looking at intersectional issues and focused on collective action. Jennifer has spent her career working to end homelessness and is excited to be back in the District, where her career began.

Jennifer earned her Bachelors degree in Communications from Clemson University and completed her Masters in Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.

Katy Miller

Senior Regional Advisor

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)

She/Her/Hers

Katy Miller is on the National Initiatives Team at the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). She works across the Western U.S. with states and communities to implement best practice solutions to prevent and end homelessness. She works with local leaders to bridge efforts happening on the ground to the policy work that is taking place in Washington D.C. through the Council’s 19 federal member agencies. Katy is based in Seattle, Washington and has worked to design and implement innovative solutions to homelessness for more than two decades.

Kevin Solarte

Owner-Worker

Housing Justice Collective

He/Him/His

Kevin is a systems and policy analyst with more than a decade of experience designing and implementing cross-system initiatives focused on youth and family homelessness, affordable housing, child welfare, and domestic violence. Kevin has held a number of roles across non-profit and foundations all focused on activating communities to transform the system meant to serve them. At the federal level, he also served as a special assistant, in the Office of the Secretary at HUD, where he contributed to the federal interagency plan to prevent and end youth homelessness, the development of the Final Rule implementing the housing protection in the Violence Against Women Act, and the creation of strategies to improve the educational outcomes of children living in HUD assisted housing. Kevin holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s in Social Work from Illinois State University. He resides in New York City.

Kimberly Waller

Associate Commissioner

Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) 

She/Her/Hers

Kimberly A. Waller serves as the associate commissioner for the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) in the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, located within the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Prior to joining the Biden Administration in December 2021, Waller served as a senior policy advisor in the District of Columbia's interagency council on homelessness, where she led the implementation of the District’s strategic plans to prevent and end youth and family homelessness. In this role, Waller applied an integrated, interagency approach to coordinating diverse systems impacting service delivery for children, youth and families.

Waller previously worked as a policy advisor with FYSB where she led policy, legislative and regulatory initiatives on matters related to youth experiencing homelessness and domestic violence. She began her career in the United States Senate where she advised on health and human services initiatives. In addition to her federal experience, Waller also has extensive local and state level experience developing and implementing child welfare and human services policies. She served as a senior policy attorney with the Children’s Law Center in the District of Columbia and a fellow at the University of Michigan Law School.

Waller holds a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh.

LaMont Green

Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and WA State Lived Experience Coalition

He/Him/His

Dr. LaMont Green has nearly 20 years of experience helping local communities and governments identify and dismantle the persistent drivers of inequity in human services, homelessness, housing, behavioral health, and justice systems. He has led several community-driven initiatives centered on improving systems of care for complex health and historically disenfranchised populations by harnessing social innovation to address complex social problems. Dr. Green also brings expertise in Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) homelessness programs, inclusive human-centered design, continuous quality improvement, and implementation science. He is a nationally recognized racial equity leader and has spoken at numerous conferences to inspire action towards undoing institutional racism and other forms of oppression. 

Lindsay Knotts

Managing Director, Impact Strategies

TheCaseMade

She/Her/Hers

Lindsay (she/her) has more than a decade of subject matter expertise on ending homelessness and advancing housing justice. She is an expert in building consensus toward a shared vision, developing teams and partnerships, strategic planning, and communication. Before joining TheCaseMade, Lindsay served as a policy and content expert for The Housing Playbook Project for the Biden Administration. She also formerly served as policy director for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, where she led the Council in developing Home Together: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, a roadmap for federal agencies, national partners, and communities. Lindsay is a trained Social Worker who started her career on the ground in rural West Virginia. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from West Virginia University and resides in Appalachia with her family.

Lucky Michael

Program Officer

Arlene & Michael Rosen Foundation

She/Her/Hers

Lucky Michael (she/her) has worked for more than 15 years as an advocate and leader serving San Diegans experiencing homelessness and helping them gain access to treatment and housing. She believes love and unconditional positive regard are vital ingredients needed to promote community wellness and recovery. Lucky is committed to centering the voices of people with lived experiences and returning power to communities by advocating for the redistribution of wealth.  Lucky is of mixed origin, a daughter of the African diaspora. She was raised in City Heights, San Diego, before the disruptive construction of interstate 15. A survivor of poverty and displacement, Lucky is hoping to create a world where everyone has access, stability, and a sense of belonging. Lucky speaks and dreams in three languages and frequently travels as a way to tap into the metaphysical traditions that inform indigenous cultures. Lucky is the Southern California Program Officer for the Arlene and Michael Rosen Foundation, a  philanthropic foundation dedicated to the community work of racial justice, de-criminalization of mental health, substance use disorders, and homelessness.

Marcella Middleton

Executive Director

A Way Home America 

She/Her/Hers

Marcella Middleton based in Raleigh, North Carolina is a connector, motivator, and survivor. Determined to challenge the stereotype that “people mostly do what they see and not what they hear”, Marcella dedicated her life to traditional ideas of success such as school and a career. It is through personal and professional experiences that Marcella has gained the confidence and knowledge to challenge society’s ideals of success. Her evolution through consistent adversities has shifted her values which empowers greater self awareness and awareness of the world around her.  

Marcella is a Black mom, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend fighting everyday for freedom, equity, and protection for herself and those just like her. Marcella is book smart, street smart, and everything in between. She has a degree in Social Work and has advocated for 15 years for youth in foster care and other nontraditional living arrangements. Marcella’s advocacy started in 2005 at an organization called Sayso where she advocated, mentored, and worked on behalf of youth that are or have been in substitute care. After being introduced to the work in 2005 she went on to continue work as a social worker, social work trainer, and member of Hope Centers Board of Directors. Her work on the National Forum on Homelessness empowered Marcella to center her lived experiences to help guide the transformation of the youth homelessness system. 

Marisol Bello

Director

Housing Narrative Lab

She/her/hers

Marisol Bello (she/her) has spent a career championing the stories and voices of people with lived experience, so they lead in creating the solutions that help every family thrive. First as a career journalist - most recently at USA TODAY - telling the stories of families working to make ends meet, and then in the nonprofit world, where she led narrative strategies to change hearts and minds about those living on the brink and move people to action. A first generation American from a Caribbean family full of colorful storytellers, Marisol is originally from the Bronx and yes, she is a Yankees fan. She's still on the East Coast, where she lives with her family and a pandemic puppy named Chloe.

Mark Horvath

Founder

Invisible People

He/His/His

Mark Horvath has broken the mold. He’s not doing what makes sense. He is living out his passion and doing what burns deep inside of him. Mark has developed Invisible People to give a face and voice to homelessness, something he knows all too well since he once lived among them. His work is extremely innovative and his ingenious use of social media for storytelling is a model for both the corporate and not-for-profit worlds.

After an extended period of unemployment due to the 2008 crash and losing everything facing homelessness a second time, Mark grabbed his camera and started to use social media to help tell the stories of people experiencing homelessness. With only a $45 start-up budget and lots of tenacity, Mark has used social media to reach the general public and change how people perceive a very serious social crisis that’s mostly ignored.

Mark regularly works on cause campaigns with major brands like Hanes, Ford, Pepsi, General Motors, and Ritz Crackers, and has consulted for the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles Police Department, Utah, the City of San Francisco, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, and more. In addition, Mark has served as a guest lecturer at educational institutions across the globe including Geneva Forum on Social Change, UCLA, USC, NYU, and Syracuse University. In 2018, The Nonprofit Times included Mark in their 2018 Power & Influence Top 50 nonprofit executives.

Mike Dickerson

Co-Founder

Ktown for All

He/His/His

Mike Dickerson is a co-founder of Ktown for All, an advocacy group in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ktown for All does outreach in Koreatown to build relationships with unhoused neighbors that inform its political advocacy.

Phoebe VanCleefe

Senior Program Officer

True Colors United

She/Her/Hers

Phoebe VanCleefe, born and raised in Houston, Texas, comes to True Colors United from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a background in direct service work and counseling for QTPOC youth and young adults experiencing housing instability. As a founding former member of the National Youth Forum on Homelessness, Phoebe has a wealth of experience in homelessness and sex work activism. Phoebe aspires to bring about a world in which Black trans and gender variant people are able to thrive and be protected holistically.

Phoebe is also a singer-songwriter, and fills her downtime with creating captivating performance art within the Drag and Ballroom scenes of Philly, foraging, and supporting the work of Bantu Safe Haven as Board President.

Roshan Bliss

Principal Consultant

Bliss Collaborations

He/Him/His

Roshan Bliss is an accomplished community organizer, policy advocate, trainer, and consultant based in Denver, Colorado with a serious-minded commitment to the modern-day struggle for abolition who has been a recognized leader in several social justice movements, from the international student movement to Denver's manifestations of Occupy Wall Street and the Movement for Black Lives. In 2015, Roshan helped co-found the Denver Justice Project – a local community organization dedicated to transforming law enforcement, ending mass incarceration, and seeking racial justice. In his 5 years as a lead organizer with the group, he helped craft and pass multiple ordinances to strengthen Denver's police accountability mechanisms, organized the coalition that abolished the exception for prison slavery from Colorado’s constitution, and he was a key leader in the community-driven effort to create Denver’s STAR program – the first non-law enforcement alternative emergency response in a major city focused on addressing crises involving mental health, substance use, and homelessness.

As an abolitionist, Roshan whole-heartedly believes our society would be safer and more just without police, prisons, or the logic of punishment and human disposability they rely on, and he is invested in helping change makers and everyday people shift how we think about what it would take to achieve such a transformed, yet entirely possible world.

While Roshan holds a BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Purdue University and his graduate studies in conflict resolution at the University of Denver focused on civic theory, participatory democracy, and dialogue across divides, it is his independent study of transformative justice, truth and reconciliation processes, and social change movements that have left him with real hope that alternative paths to creating safety, justice, accountability, and healing are possible if we are willing to work for them.

Susan Thomas

CEO

Melville Charitable Trust

She/Her/Hers

Formerly the Melville Trust’s Program Director, Susan led the Melville Trust’s housing and racial equity efforts for five years, while managing a state and national portfolio of grants supporting solutions to homelessness. Susan has been instrumental in the creation of Funders for Housing and Opportunity, a national non-partisan, cross-sector funder collaborative focused on tackling the housing affordability crisis by supporting advocacy, narrative change work, and efforts to scale effective practices at the intersection of housing, health, economic mobility, and education. While at the Trust, she was also selected to participate in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Fellowship program targeting leaders working to improve outcomes for children, families, and communities.

Prior to joining the Trust, Susan was Project Officer for Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta, where she was responsible for leading “Unsheltered No More!,” an initiative to dramatically reduce street homelessness that placed over 1,000 homeless men, women, and children into permanent housing. As the former president of Providence Consulting Group, she helped launch a statewide foundation to assist foster families, and co-chaired an effort for the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Atlanta Housing Authority to rehouse 420 families as part of a major HOPE VI redevelopment project. Susan is a former Vice President of Community Investment and Area Development at the United Way of Greater Atlanta. Prior to her nonprofit career, she worked for 15 years in the areas of accounting, management consulting, and strategic planning. She holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Bachelors of Science in Accounting from the University of Maryland.

9:00 – 9:30 ET

Check-in, Breakfast, and Networking

Join us for breakfast and networking before the Funders Institute officially kicks off. Breakfast buffet will likely include oatmeal, crust-less quiche, fruit, and pastries. 

If you have opted for JOINT registration (Funders Institute and NAEH conference), Funders Together will have your NAEH conference registration materials. DO NOT check in at the NAEH registration desk. 

9:30 – 10:20 ET

Housing Justice is the Solution to Ending Homelessness 

Day 1 will kick off with remarks by Amanda Andere, CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness, who will talk about Funders Together’s new strategic direction and the connection between homelessness and housing justice. Participants will grapple with we can push for real transformation so that preventing and ending homelessness means that everyone is connected to the resources that will allow them to thrive.  

Ann Oliva, the new CEO of National Alliance to End Homelessness, will also offer remarks about her vision for the Alliance’s work moving forward. 

Speakers:

• Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness
• Ann Oliva, CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness

10:20 – 12:00 ET

Deep Dives on Bringing Narrative Change Research, Advocacy, and Philanthropy Together   

Narrative change has been a frequent conversation: what it is (and is not), what research is telling us, and how narrative change and policy change are linked. Funders Together has hosted several of these conversations with experts to share their research and strategies, and now it’s time to bring experts and philanthropy together for deeper conversations about how philanthropy can invest their dollars, voice, and time in supporting this work. During these roundtable conversations, funders will have an opportunity to sit down with narrative change experts and brainstorm together how philanthropy should be investing in narrative change work that builds knowledge and power among messengers and policymakers so that we can see real transformation.    

Speakers: 

• Marisol Bello, Director, Housing Narrative Lab 
• Jennifer Cossyleon, Senior Policy and Advocacy Manager, Community Change
• Mike Dickerson, Researcher, Invisible People and Ktown for All 
• Mark Horvath, Founder, Invisible People 
• Lindsay Knotts, Managing Director, Impact Strategies, TheCaseMade
• Barb Poppe, Founder and Principal, Barbara Poppe and Associates 
• Michelle Thurston, Housing Justice Narrative Fellow, Community Change

12:00 – 1:00 ET

Lunch on your own

1:00 – 1:45 ET

National Conference on Ending Homelessness Opening Plenary with Ann Oliva, CEO of National Alliance to End Homelessness

Please note: the opening plenary is limited to those who have also jointly registered for the National Conference on Ending Homelessness.

2:00 – 3:15 ET

Alternatives to Policing in our Vision for Housing Justice 

Housing justice necessitates that we dismantle carceral and punitive approaches both in strategies to resolve the crisis of homelessness and in any effort to prevent it in the first place. This includes an honest reflection of our perceptions of law enforcement and movements to defund – or even abolish – the prison-industrial complex. Despite the racial justice uprisings of 2020, police violence has scarcely reduced, and recent calls to increase police presence in schools threatens further regression. But even if we could assume all funders agree we should pursue a future without policing, the role of philanthropy in the decriminalization of homelessness is all but clear. This session will dive into the complexity of criminalization and policing in the movement to end homelessness by exploring how funders have grappled with these issues and uplifting promising models.  

Speakers:

• Roshan Bliss, Principal Consultant, Bliss Collaborations 
• Katy Miller, Regional Coordinator, USICH

5:00 ET

Funder Networking Reception

Off-site, location TBA

8:30 - 9:00 ET

Breakfast available

Join us starting at 8:30 for a light breakfast before the program begins at 9am. 

9:00 – 10:30 ET

Creating New Tables for Systems Transformation: Partnerships to Shift Power to People with Lived Experience 

Please note, participation in Day 2 is limited to those who have opted for JOINT registration.

The phrase “centering people with lived experience” is everywhere and is lifted up as the way to end homelessness and achieve housing justice. However, if we don’t intentionally and thoughtfully build partnerships, people are tokenized and retraumatized, and systems remain inequitable. So, what does it mean to build authentic partnerships with people with lived experience? How do we best co-create new tables for lived experience to carry equal weight and importance? And, how can philanthropy better support new ways of working? During this conversation, systems thinkers with lived experience will share the work they are doing to build community, transform systems, and advance housing and racial justice.   

Speakers: 

• Donald Whitehead, Executive Director, National Coalition for the Homeless 
• LaMont D. Green, DSW. Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and WA State Lived Experience Coalition 
• Phoebe VanCleefe, Senior Program Officer, True Colors United 
• Moderator: Bianca Carter, Program Officer for Housing and Homelessness, Trinity Church Wall Street  

1:30 - 2:45 ET

Philanthropic Partnerships and Strategies for Systems Transformation 

Please note, this session is part of the NAEH conference and is only open to those who are also registered for the National Conference on Ending Homelessness. 

Implementing solutions to ending homelessness that are rooted in equity and justice requires true partnership and alignment of values. Though philanthropy’s roots come from racialized capitalism and the exploitation of labor and resources from Black and Indigenous peoples, philanthropy still has a role to play to change the systems and policies that result in the disproportionate number of people of color experiencing homelessness. This session, organized by Funders Together to End Homelessness, will highlight funders from across the country who are working to partner with systems leaders and policymakers to stand up public-private partnerships, advocate for policies rooted in equity, and fund systems change. This session is geared toward systems leaders and thinkers, advocates, policymakers, and funders who are ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and build new partnerships that are built on deep trust and relationships.  

Speakers: 

• Susan Thomas, CEO, Melville Charitable Trust 
• Lucky Michael, Program Officer, Arlene and Michael Rosen Foundation 
• Jennifer Olney, Senior Program Officer, Partnership to End Homelessness, Greater Washington Community Foundation 
• Moderator: Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness 

8:30 – 9:30 ET

Cross-Systems Policy Opportunities to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness

Please note, participation in Day 3 is limited to those who have opted for JOINT registration.

Join us on the final day of the Funders Institute for a conversation about policy opportunities to prevent and end youth homelessness. 

Coffee and tea will be available. We encourage those who would like breakfast to grab breakfast from the conference's continental breakfast spread and bring it to this session. 

Speakers

• Marcella Middleton, Executive Director, A Way Home America
• Kevin Solarte, Owner-Worker, Housing Justice Collective
• Casey Trupin, Director of Youth Homelessness, Raikes Foundation
• Kimberly Waller, Associate Commissioner for the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Monday, June 27 at 1pm ET 

Joint registration for Funders Institute and NAEH conference closes 

Before June 30, 2022 

Funders Together will process cancellation and transfer requests for JOINT registration before June 30. Cancel or transfer your Funders Institute or NAEH conference registration by emailing Stephanie Chan.  

Thursday, June 30, 2022 

Joint registration payment due date 

June 30, 2022 – July 8, 2022 

Cancel or transfer your Funders Institute by emailing Stephanie Chan 

Submit request to cancel or transfer your NAEH conference registration by completing the NAEH Cancel Registration Form ($150 cancellation fee) 

After July 8, 2022 

Cancel or transfer your Funders Institute by emailing Stephanie Chan 

Submit request to cancel or transfer your NAEH conference registration by completing the NAEH Cancel Registration Form (no refund) 

Friday, July 15, 2022 at 1pm ET 

Deadline to register for the Funders Institute 

Deadline to transfer or cancel Funders Institute registration; after this date no Funders Institute refunds will be given 

Suggested Level of Annual Support

Under $200,000

$300

$200,000 and under $500,000

$1,000

$500,000 and under $1 million

$2,000

$1 million and under $5 million

$4,000

$5 million and under $10 million

$7,000

$10 million and under $20 million

$10,000

$20 million and over

$15,000

Annual Grantmaking Budget for Preventing and  Ending Homelessness 

Suggested Level of Annual Support for United Ways

Under $200,000

$300

$200,000 and under $500,000

$1,000

Over $500,000

$2,000

Barbara Poppe

Founder and Principal

Barbara Poppe and Associates

She/Her/Hers

Barbara Poppe is the founder of Barbara Poppe and Associates and the former executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. During her tenure, Opening Doors, the first comprehensive federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness was launched in June 2010. Ms. Poppe is a nationally recognized expert on homelessness and results-driven public-private partnerships. Barbara Poppe and Associates, established in 2014, is an independent consulting firm that develops the capacity of communities and organizations to tackle complex issues using a collaborative systems approach to achieves results and impact. Ms. Poppe is a frequent national, state, and local speaker on homelessness and serves on the national board of the Enterprise Community Partners and the national advisory board for the Center for Evidence-based Solution to Homelessness.

Chantelle Fisher-Borne

Project Director, Out in the Initiative

Funders For LGBTQ Issues

She/Her/Hers

Chantelle joins Funders for LGBTQ Issues after almost two decades working in the nonprofit sector. Her professional career began in the public health field with a focus on community development and LGBTQ youth. She has worked to address issues of affordable housing and homelessness through transforming community based services to better meet the needs of families living in poverty. Most recently, she has been working in the philanthropic sector as a consultant supporting funders concerned about issues of poverty and economic justice. Chantelle has a proven track record of working with groups tackling tough issues such as poverty, homelessness and religious based bigotry in the South.

Chantelle is inspired by the legacy of resilience and resistance found in communities throughout the South. In recent years, she and her wife were the lead plaintiffs for North Carolina’s lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on adoption and marriage rights for same sex couples. Years ago, she helped build the first statewide network of LGBTQ affirming faith leaders in North Carolina and worked with nonprofit organizations to build their capacity to address issues of oppression with a focus on institutionalized racism.

The descendant of Catholic Cajuns, Chantelle spent the first 25 years of her life in southern Louisiana and has lived in North Carolina for the past 15 years. She and her wife, who is originally from Mississippi, are proud to call the South home. They have two kids that keep them happy and busy on most days. In her spare time, Chantelle likes to go for a run and cook food with friends.

Chinwe Onyekere, MPH

Director of Equity and Inclusion

HealthSpark Foundation

She/Her/Hers

In her current role as Director of Equity & Inclusion at HealthSpark Foundation, Ms. Onyekere is responsible for developing and implementing the strategic vision for equity and social justice within the foundation and with its community partners. This vision guides HealthSpark’s philanthropic investments and partnership with the Montgomery County community to create an equitable and just safety net.

Before coming to HealthSpark Foundation, Ms. Onyekere served as the System Director for Health Equity and Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official at Main Line Health, Ms. Onyekere was responsible for system-wide efforts focusing on community health and equity, overseeing graduate medical education, as well implementing innovative models for addressing social determinants of health, health care disparities, and quality of care.

Ms. Onyekere’s professional experience has provided her with the unique opportunity to develop a keen understanding of how to create and manage programs that have the potential for far-reaching impact on people's health, the quality of care they receive, and the systems that provide that care. During her tenure as a Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Ms. Onyekere focused on reducing health care disparities, reversing the childhood obesity epidemic, and identifying innovative ideas for breakthroughs in health and health care. After RWJF, Ms. Onyekere served as the Executive Director for Health Leads New York, where she had the opportunity to establish a new model of health care delivery, in which patients' unmet resource needs are addressed as a standard element of patient care. 

Ms. Onyekere received her Master of Public Health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, a Certificate in Business Essentials from Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania, and her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College. Ms. Onyekere was awarded the 2015 Forum Award for Emerging Women Leaders by The Forum of Executive Women and accepted into the 2019 Class of Leadership Main Line.

Deborah Gilbert White, Ph.D

Founder and Coordinator

HerStory Ensemble

She/Her/Hers

DeBorah Gilbert White is a diversity and inclusion specialist, social justice and community advocate for people experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness, or formerly homeless.  She is founder of HerStory Ensemble LLC, an awareness, education, and advocacy community-based group focused on women and homelessness.  She serves as a member of the National Coalition for the Homeless Faces of Homelessness Speakers Bureau, where she shares her story and work connected to homelessness.  HerStory Ensemble LLC is a member organization of the National Coalition for the Homeless, Delaware Continuum of Care (DE CoC), and the Delaware H.O.M.E.S. (Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, Equity, Stability) Campaign.  She and her organization work as advocates locally and nationally for protective homeless policy and legislation.

DeBorah’s experience with shelter homelessness led to her advocacy work for homeless rights and housing justice. She has been working in community since 2012 toward a Delaware Bill of Rights for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness, and to dismantle stereotypes, myths, and misinformation about homelessness. Her work continues today to eliminate discrimination based on housing status, to stop the criminalization of homelessness, and to promote more low-income and affordable housing.

Dr. Gilbert White is author of Beyond Charity: A Sojourner’s Reflections on Homelessness, Advocacy, Empowerment and Hope, a memoir to be released September 2021.

Dylan Waguespack

Public Policy and External Affairs Director

True Colors

He/His/His

Dylan Waguespack is the Public Policy and External Affairs Director at True Colors United, where he develops, directs, and implements our federal, state, and local administrative and legislative public policy agenda. Before joining True Colors United, Waguespack was a political communications and advocacy consultant working in Baton Rouge, La and Washington, D.C. His past clients include the National Center for Transgender Equality, American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Secure and Modern Elections, Louisiana Budget Project, and more.

Before opening his consulting firm, Waguespack served as Executive Director of Louisiana Progress, the progressive movement-building partnership where he started his career as an intern in 2011. While there, he drafted and successfully lobbied for a number of bills to expand opportunity for children, youth, and families impacted by homelessness, including protection from eviction for survivors of domestic abuse, expanded eligibility for child care assistance for families experiencing homelessness, and in-state tuition and campus housing for current and former homeless and foster youth in postsecondary education.

Waguespack is a proud New Orleanian and a graduate of Ben Franklin High School. He lives in Northeast D.C. with his partner, Matthew, and his dog, Ham.

Edward Jones

Vice President of Programs and Philanthropic Advising Services

The Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE)

He/His/His

Edward Jones is the Vice President of Programs and Philanthropic Advising Services at ABFE – A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities, where he deeply embraces the organization’s vision. In his role, he leads philanthropic professional development & convening activities as well as supports the design and implementation of the organization’s racial justice and equity program initiatives for over 900+ members and partners across the globe. Prior to joining ABFE, he was the Director of Conference Programming at the Council on Foundations, before joining ABFE. Edward is a founding member of Black Benefactors, a social investment club/giving circle comprised of individuals, local businesses and organizations that are dedicated to addressing the societal ills facing Black people in the DC region. He is also a founding member of Black Philanthropic Alliance and board member of Us Helping Us, People into Living, Inc. a regionally-focused HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, overall health and well-being organization. Jones also serves as a board member with Weissberg Foundation. He serves on the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers Racial Equity Working Group, an active member/volunteer of Zion Church in Maryland and founding member of its Justice League. Edward is a commissioner of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Serve DC Commission for volunteerism. Born in Los Angeles, Edward is a graduate of the University of Akron, OH and long time resident of D.C.

Elly Bludworth

Director of Youth Housing

SMYAL

She/her/hers

Elly is the Director of Youth Housing at SMYAL. She is originally from Sanford, Florida, but has lived all over the country. She’s always wanted to live in DC and views this as her forever home. Throughout her career, she has worked as a Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking Victim Advocate, a Shelter Supervisor, and a Forensic Interviewer. She also served as an AmeriCorps volunteer with City Year Orlando, and spent two years as a Resident Assistant and one year as a Head Resident Assistant at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. Elly is passionate about creating a world where youth have a voice; where housing isn’t a barrier to success.

Outside of work, you can find Elly training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, lifting Atlas stones and logs while training Strongman, or taking innumerable pictures of her dog, Amara, and her cat, Mr. Crowley. Elly also loves cooking and baking vegan food for her friends.

Eric Ares

Senior Manager, Homeless System Change

United Way of Greater Los Angeles

He/His/His

Eric Ares is the Senior Manager, Homeless System Change with the UWGLA Home Food Good Initiative. In this capacity, he works with public agencies, service providers, community organizations, and people with lived expertise to create policy and system solutions that better serve the immediate service and long-term housing needs of people experiencing homelessness. Prior to joining UWGLA in 2018, he worked as a community organizer and policy advocate alongside unhoused and/or extremely low-income residents in the Skid Row/DTLA community. When he’s not working, he enjoys losing to his 7 year-old daughter at UNO and unironically cheering for the LA Clippers.

Eric Tars

Legal Director

National Homelessness Law Center

He/His/His

Eric Tars serves as the National Homelessness Law Center’s legal director, leading its human rights, civil rights, and children’s rights programs and managing its cutting edge litigation, strategic policy advocacy, and outreach and training initiatives at the international, national, and local levels. Eric helped spearhead the launch of the Law Center’s national Housing Not Handcuffs campaign, has served as counsel of record in multiple precedent-setting cases, including Martin v. Boise in the 9^th Circuit, and is frequently quoted in national and local media, including NPR, AP, New York Times, Washington Post, and VICE News.

Before coming to the Law Center, Eric was a Fellow with Global Rights’ U.S. Racial Discrimination Program and consulted with Columbia University Law School’s Human Rights Institute and the US Human Rights Network, where he currently serves as the vice-chair of the Network’s Board.

Eric received his J.D. magna cum laude as a Global Law Scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center. He received his B.A. magna cum laude in political science from Haverford College and studied international human rights in Vienna at the Institute for European Studies and at the University of Vienna.

Eric also teaches human rights advocacy as an adjunct professor at Drexel University Kline School of Law.

Harmony Giovanni

Youth Advocate

Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL)

She/her/they

I have been featured in articles posted by “Washington Blade” & “Street Sense Media.” I am currently a community board member working with “Greater Washington Community Foundation” which is an organization that gives grants to LGBTQIA+ Organizations in the Local & even outer layer communities. I have been working with SMYAL as a consultant for two years in raising awareness about transgender equality & equity.

Mark Horvath

Founder

Invisible People

He/His/His

Mark Horvath has broken the mold. He’s not doing what makes sense. He is living out his passion and doing what burns deep inside of him. Mark has developed Invisible People to give a face and voice to homelessness, something he knows all too well since he once lived among them. His work is extremely innovative and his ingenious use of social media for storytelling is a model for both the corporate and not-for-profit worlds.

After an extended period of unemployment due to the 2008 crash and losing everything facing homelessness a second time, Mark grabbed his camera and started to use social media to help tell the stories of people experiencing homelessness. With only a $45 start-up budget and lots of tenacity, Mark has used social media to reach the general public and change how people perceive a very serious social crisis that’s mostly ignored.

Mark regularly works on cause campaigns with major brands like Hanes, Ford, Pepsi, General Motors, and Ritz Crackers, and has consulted for the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles Police Department, Utah, the City of San Francisco, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, and more. In addition, Mark has served as a guest lecturer at educational institutions across the globe including Geneva Forum on Social Change, UCLA, USC, NYU, and Syracuse University. In 2018, The Nonprofit Times included Mark in their 2018 Power & Influence Top 50 nonprofit executives.

Martha Toll

Author and Funders Together board member

She/Her/Hers

Martha Anne Toll recently completed twenty-six years as the founding Executive Director of the Butler Family Fund. Under her leadership, the Fund developed and expanded two major philanthropic programs with a deep commitment to racial equity: advocacy to end homelessness and to fight injustices in the criminal “justice” system. Martha now works fulltime as a writer. Her debut novel, Three Muses, is the 2020 winner of the Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction and is forthcoming in Fall 2022. Martha regularly publishes book reviews and essays on NPR Books and in The Millions, as well as in the Washington Post, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She has served as a nominator for the annual NPR Book Concierge since 2017. Her personal essay, “Dayenu,” was selected for inclusion in the anthology Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19.

Martha graduated from Yale College and received her law degree from the Boston University School of Law. She lives with her husband, a climate activist, and their espresso machine just outside of Washington, DC. They are the lucky parents of two daughters.

Michael Parkhurst

Housing Opportunities Program Officer

Meyer Memorial Trust

He/His/His

Michael has a need to do work that makes a difference and to learn new things constantly along the way.

He is fascinated by the space where social justice, public policy, market forces and the practical challenges of real estate come together. Michael also admires and enjoys working with the dedicated and creative people working on housing issues throughout Oregon.

After a stretch in academia, Michael worked in local government for about 15 years in community development, housing policy and revitalization. He also served on the board of Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives Inc. for nearly a decade.

Michael came on board at Meyer in 2014.

Mike Dickerson

Co-Founder

Ktown for All

He/His/His

Mike Dickerson is a co-founder of Ktown for All, an advocacy group in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ktown for All does outreach in Koreatown to build relationships with unhoused neighbors that inform its political advocacy

Monique King-Viehland

Associate Vice President, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy

Urban Institute

She/Her/Hers

Monique King-Viehland is associate vice president for metropolitan housing and communities policy at the Urban Institute where she is leading new work on racial equity and housing justice, as well as working with researchers on policy, communications, and business development to grow compelling bodies of work and embedding racial equity across Metro’s practice areas.

King-Viehland previously served as executive director of the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) where she oversaw 580 employees and a budget of $600 million. She was the first woman and African American to take the helm of the 40-year-old agency. She led the agency through significant transformation, including the merger of the Community Development Commission and housing authority into one unified agency to augment cross-agency thinking and client service, increase organizational effectiveness, and reposition the agency as a forward-thinking, industry leader in the provision of housing, community, and economic development.

She enhanced the LACDA’s efforts to fight the homelessness and affordability crises, including a 10-fold increase in affordable and supportive units funded, increasing project based rental voucher commitments by more than 100 percent while providing housing and housing assistance to hundreds of thousands annually. In 2019, she was recognized as an LA Power Woman by Bisnow.

King-Viehland has 20 years of experience in housing, community, and economic development. She is a member of the LAHSA Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness and a member of the Policy Advisory Committee for the California Roadmap HOME 2030 initiative.

In late 2020, King-Viehland served as a member of the US Housing and Urban Development Agency Review Team for the Biden-Harris Transition Team.

She graduated with honors from Smith College and has a master’s in public policy from Carnegie Mellon.

Ryan Moser

Vice President for Strategy and External Affairs

Corporation for Supportive Housing

He/him/his

Ryan Moser is an innovator and futurist grounded by twenty years of experience in housing, justice, health and human services, education and international development. Currently the Vice President for Strategy and External Affairs at CSH, they are responsible for CSH’s Data & Analytics, Strategic Alignment, and Impact Investment portfolios. Ryan is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, ceramicist and guitarist with a BA from the University of Richmond and an M Ed from Pennsylvania State University. When Ryan isn’t at work he’s probably chasing after his kid and happy to be doing it.

Sarah Amour-Jones

Director of Communications

Melville Trust

She/Her/Hers

Sarah joined the Melville Trust in spring 2020 as Director of Communications. In this role she is helping to elevate the work of the Trust and its grantees; shift national and state-based narratives around homelessness and affordable housing; and develop and implement strategic communications that support the Trust’s mission of ending homelessness.

For eleven years prior to joining the Trust, Sarah served as a communications, program and research consultant to foundations, nonprofits and academic institutions. Earlier in her career she worked as Special Projects Manager for philanthropist David Haas, Officer of Program Administration at the Pew Charitable Trusts, Marketing Director at Free Press and Editorial Assistant at the British Film Institute.

Sarah earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

Sarah Hunter

Owner-Worker

Housing Justice Collective

She/her/hers

Sarah is a big-picture strategist with experience at the local and federal levels. She looks across all the moving parts of a system, community, or set of efforts and turns them into collective vision. Specializing in housing and homelessness solutions, Sarah formerly served as Policy Advisor to Secretary Julián Castro at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She led the original design of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, and spent several years as a technical assistance provider, learning and emerging alongside communities in its implementation. Previously, Sarah spent time as a community organizer, leading lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) youth policy and practice shifts, and centering the experinces of young people. If you need your motorcycle repaired, a puzzle figured out, or a ridiculous metaphor for some complex problem you’re experiencing or solution you're seeking to design, she’s your go to. She is currently based in the Washington, DC Metro area.

Tara Raghuveer

Founding Director of KC Tenants

Homes Guarantee Campaign Director at People's Action

She/Her/Hers

Tara Raghuveer is the founding director of KC Tenants. She is also the Homes Guarantee Campaign Director at People’s Action, a national network of grassroots organizations committed to racial, economic, gender, and climate justice. Tara is an Australian-born, Indian-American immigrant who came to the US with her family in 1995 and grew up in Kansas City.

Terri Davis-Merchant

Program Director

Trinity Church Wall Stree

She/Her/Hers

Terri Davis-Merchant serves as the Program Director for the Housing & Homelessness initiative with the Philanthropies team at Trinity Church Wall Street. In this capacity, she manages Trinity’s grantmaking in furtherance of its ten-year strategy to combat homelessness and to support the development of affordable housing in New York City. Previously, Terri was the Director of Predevelopment Planning at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where she managed the Request for Proposals process for upcoming affordable housing development projects on publicly owned land as well as solicited ideas for the Agency’s future pilots and initiatives. Her past roles have included legislative advocacy around various housing issues as well as financing for and the legal representation of community-based organizations building affordable housing. Terri received her BA in African American studies from Yale University and JD from the University of Michigan Law School.

Dr. Tiffany Manuel (Dr. T)

President and CEO

TheCaseMade

She/Her/Hers

DrT (as she prefers to be called) is a dynamic speaker, bestselling author and the President and CEO of TheCaseMade, an organization dedicated to helping leaders powerfully and intentionally make the case for systems change. In her role at TheCaseMade, DrT works with hundreds of passionate social changemakers, innovators and adaptive leaders around the United States who are building better, stronger communities that are diverse, equitable and inclusive. By aligning their community stakeholders around the kind of deep systems changes that can improve population outcomes, these leaders are able to grow their impact, scale their programs, and harness the investments they need to improve their communitie

Tonia Wellons

President and CEO

Greater Washington Community Foundation

She/Her/Hers

Tonia Wellons is the President & CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, the largest public foundation in the Greater Washington region. Leading an organization with a staff of 35, nearly $400 million in assets under management, and $70 million in annual grants, Tonia oversees the day-to-day business of the organization, serves as chief development officer, and works with the Board of Trustees and staff to determine the strategic priorities of The Community Foundation. Tonia has successfully launched and led programmatic and development efforts for several key initiatives at The Community Foundation, including the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, VoicesDMV, the Resilience Fund, and the Partnership to End Homelessness. She also has purview over all grantmaking, community engagement, and strategic partnerships.

Prior to joining The Community Foundation in July 2016, she served as a political appointee for the Obama Administration as head of global partnerships at the Peace Corps. Tonia previously served as fund manager of a multi-donor initiative focused on financial access and inclusion at the World Bank Group. She also spent a significant part of her career working on USAID-funded capacity development initiatives during the immediate post-apartheid era in South Africa and the broader sub-Sahara region.

Tonia is a 23-year resident of Prince George's County and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She has a master’s degree in Public Administration and International Development Policy from the University of Delaware, and a bachelor’s in Political Science from North Carolina A&T State University. 

Tonia serves on the board of Leadership Greater Washington and the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers. She also serves as co-chair of the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund DMV’s Black Justice Fellowship and a member of the Federal City Council and the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Funders Together to End Homelessness is excited to announce Clint Smith III as the keynote speaker for our 2021 Funders Institute. Clint Smith III is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, which was a #1 New York Times bestseller, and the poetry collection Counting Descent, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. 

As Martha Toll, author, Funders Together board member, and founding Executive Director of the Butler Family Fund, wrote in her Washington Post book review of How the Word Is Passed, Smith has “much to offer about teaching (and unlearning) history, the toxic effects of racism and public policy.” At a moment in time when people are deepening their awareness of structural racial inequities, it is critical to understand the legacy of slavery in our country and its ongoing consequences hidden in plain view. Join us for this keynote fireside chat between Clint Smith and Martha Toll to listen and challenge your own understanding of our history, the stories we tell about it, and the spaces we move through every day.