Lived Experience Partners

Damon Talbot is a lived experience leader, advocate, and Operations Director with Unsheltered Utah in Salt Lake City. His work is rooted in the belief that people closest to homelessness must be part of shaping the systems, programs, and community responses meant to serve them. 

Damon spent many years experiencing homelessness and understands how difficult it can be to break out of that cycle without meaningful connection, trust, and community. His path changed through his connection to the Clubhouse Model, where he found belonging, purpose, and a renewed sense of personal worth. That experience helped him move from surviving homelessness to rebuilding his life, and it continues to shape the way he shows up in his work today. 

Since then, Damon has helped lead direct service efforts for unsheltered neighbors in Utah, including emergency winter shelter response, case management development, and the creation of new community-based day program models. His approach combines practical operations, frontline problem solving, and a deep commitment to dignity, belonging, and trust. 

As a member of the National Alliance to End Homelessness Community Strategic Team, Damon hopes to help strengthen the role of lived experience in policy, program design, and national conversations about homelessness. He is especially passionate about unsheltered homelessness, peer leadership, community connection, and building systems that do not just manage homelessness, but help people move toward stability, purpose, and belonging. 

Starting in August 1992, I begin advocating for homeless/healthcare.  In the beginning or 2022 I relocated to the City of Atlanta, GA from the City of Newark, NJ.  During my advocacy tenure in Newark, I became a member of the City of Newark HIV Services Planning Council in 2002, where I was an influential member.  In 2004, I became a member of the Mayor Commission to End Homelessness.  I was then elected Vice Chair of the City of Newark Homeless Coalition. I then became the Chair of the City of Newark Lead & Health Homes Partnership.  In 2009, The Mayor Commission on Homelessness was, by City Ordinance, combined with the City of Newark Mayors Commission Homelessness with the City of Newark Department of Health, where I served on it’s Board of Directors for more than 14 years. In1998, begin my employment at St. James AME Church in Newark, NJ where, in 2011, I was appointed as Director of Health & Wellness for St. James Social Service Corporation.  I resigned from each of these bodies in “excellent” standing to relocate to the City of Atlanta.   

Currently, I am a member of the City of Atlanta HIV Services Planning Council where I also serve on its Homeless and Priorities Committees. I was recently selected to serve as a member on the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Since 2013, I have been associated with the National Health Care for the Homeless Council where I begin as a Regional Representative, then elected as Member as Large and then was selected, where I current sever as the Vice Chair of it Steering Committee and am a Member of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council’s Board of Directors.

In all my 30+ years advocating and working in the homeless/health care field, I realized that adapting best practices and being honest to the people we serve and being pro-client results in great outcomes. 

Tania Hughes works at the intersection of lived expertise, systems change, and community leadership within the homelessness response system in Austin/Travis County, Texas. She currently serves with the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), the region’s lead Continuum of Care, where she supports lived experience leadership initiatives that center the voices of people directly impacted by homelessness in community decision-making and systems planning. 

Tania has facilitated lived experience leadership initiatives including the Austin Youth Collective (AYC) and the Austin Homelessness Advisory Council (AHAC), supporting youth and adult leaders with lived experience of homelessness as they engage in policy, program design, advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration. Her work focuses on building authentic relationships, creating spaces where people feel seen and heard, and helping systems move beyond performative engagement toward meaningful partnership with impacted communities.

Before joining ECHO, Tania worked as a Permanent Supportive Housing Case Manager and as a peer support specialist serving individuals experiencing homelessness and mental health challenges. As the first peer specialists integrated into her previous organization’s homelessness services team, she helped bridge gaps between service providers and clients through trust-building, advocacy, and person-centered support grounded in her own lived experience. 

Throughout her career, Tania has remained deeply committed to equity, accountability, and leadership development among people with lived expertise. She has contributed to system improvement efforts including the development of an equity review tool for the local homelessness response system and regularly collaborates with providers, government partners, and community stakeholders to ensure policies and programs reflect the realities of those most impacted. 

Tania brings a leadership style rooted in authenticity, compassion, and action. She believes that the people closest to the challenges communities face should also be closest to the decisions shaping the solutions. 

Tonya Jones is a behavioral health and social services leader with more than 16 years of experience supporting vulnerable and historically underserved communities across Oregon. Her work spans direct services, program leadership, operations management, behavioral health, homelessness response, recovery support, and systems coordination. 

Throughout her career, Tonya has held leadership roles overseeing complex community-based programs, multidisciplinary teams, operational systems, and strategic initiatives focused on equity, trauma-informed care, and culturally responsive service delivery. She has extensive experience in program development, staff supervision, community partnerships, crisis response, case management, and policy implementation. 

Tonya’s professional background includes work in behavioral health resource centers, transitional housing, peer support services, recovery-oriented systems of care, and nonprofit executive leadership. She has also contributed to systems-level equity efforts through advisory leadership focused on reducing disparities within homelessness and human services systems. 

As a woman with lived experience who has personally benefited from community-based services, Tonya brings both professional expertise and authentic understanding to her work. She is deeply committed to advocacy, empowerment, and creating pathways for healing, recovery, and long-term stability for the communities she serves. 

Victor Loo (he/him) is a public health and equity leader, consultant, and community advocate based in Seattle. With expertise in integrated managed care, behavioral health, housing stability, and health equity, Victor has worked across government, healthcare, and community sectors to advance culturally responsive policies and services for underserved populations. As a first-generation East Asian immigrant and LGBTQIA+ community leader, Victor brings both professional expertise and lived experience to initiatives focused on homelessness, immigrant and refugee health, economic justice, and inclusive public policy. Victor has collaborated with policy makers, government/public agencies, and grassroots organizations to promote equity-driven systems change and community-centered solutions.

My name is Crystal Baker, and I am 41 years old, a mother of two daughters, ages 24 and 18, and the proud owner of three chonky cats. I currently live in Bozeman and have been here full time since January 2020, although much of my life has been spent between Colorado and Montana.

In my current role, I support a team of case managers who work with individuals experiencing homelessness, with a focus on mental health and substance use support. Over the past five years at the nonprofit where I work, I have worn many different hats and have been fortunate to contribute in a variety of ways that support both our clients and our team.

I was originally drawn to this work through my own lived experience. I experienced prolonged periods of homelessness throughout different stages of my life, beginning in childhood. I also struggled with mental health and substance use for many years. In December 2025, I celebrated six years in recovery, a milestone that continues to shape both my personal life and the work I do every day.

I am incredibly excited and honored to be part of this group through the National Alliance to End Homelessness. I believe that people with lived experience bring an important perspective to these conversations, and I am grateful for the opportunity to help create meaningful change across our communities.

Jae Lange (they/them) is an advocate and hands-on service provider, who has devoted their life to effecting positive transformation in Richmond. Their journey from housing instability to becoming an influential leader is a testament to their passion and tenacity. Jae, is a multifaceted individual with an unwavering commitment to community growth. As a person with lived experience, Jae’s empathy and understanding makes them a compassionate advocate for those facing challenges. In 2015, Jae became part of Advocates for Richmond Youth, an organization committed to improving the lives of young people. Their personal hardships fueled their desire for the work done with ARY (Advocates for Richmond Youth) and they have continued to create change ever sense.

Today Jae works as a Direct Service Specialist with Marsha and Marians Neighbors and works on the National Alliance to End Homelessness Community Strategic Team. Jae’s passions include ending youth homelessness, empowering young individuals, promoting mental health and education, and advocating for affirming spaces where all identities are celebrated and safe. Jae Lange’s story is a powerful example of resilience, compassion, and the belief in the possibility of change. They are not just a believer in change, but are determined to be the catalyst for it. In addition to their advocacy work, Jae is a dedicated mother, a BSW student , small business owner and self-published author to a mental wellness and self-care activity book. Jae balances these responsibilities with an unyielding determination to learn and grow which ignites their purpose for creating a better world

Allysha Bryant, LMSW, CAPM, CASAC-T, is a social worker, educator, researcher, and community-based program leader focused on housing stability, behavioral health, and equitable systems change. She currently serves as Program Director for NY Connects Brooklyn at Presbyterian Senior Services, where she supports older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers, and underserved communities in navigating complex housing, healthcare, and public benefit systems.

As a member of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Bryant brings both frontline systems expertise and lived understanding of the barriers many families face when trying to secure stable housing, supportive services, and long-term community stability. Her work is grounded in the belief that people closest to the challenges should help shape the solutions. 

Bryant is also a PhD candidate in Social Welfare at Wurzweiler School of Social Work, where her emerging research explores mutual aid, community resilience, behavioral health equity, and sustainable support systems within historically marginalized communities. In addition to her academic and program leadership work, she is the Founder of Fulcrum Community Partners, an equity-centered consulting practice supporting nonprofits and community organizations in program development, strategy, and capacity building. 

Her advocacy and public scholarship focus on housing access, systems navigation, and community sustainability, with writing featured in City Limits and National League of Cities. Bryant is passionate about building systems that are not only responsive in times of crisis, but sustainable, community-rooted, and accountable to the people they serve. 

In recovery since 2019, Robert is currently a Peer Support Specialist for the University of Washington, based out of Harborview Medical Center. His desire is through his faith and relationship with God to be used as a vessel to advocate and truly connect with peers he meets; utilize all he can to make a lasting impact. Everyday he tries his hardest to share his strength, experience and hope using what he’s learned in his own journey. He aims to be genuine and positive in all that he does. 

Amanda Saurber is a person with lived experience, who has been impacted by many socioeconomic challenges and through her own recovery journey, has become an advocate for change. 

In January of 2021, Amanda got her Peer Support Cert. and started working as an Intake Coordinator for one of the largest recovery housing providers in Hamilton County and was eventually promoted to Operations Manager. Faced with the need to connect individuals to resources, Amanda realized how little herself and others knew about the resources available in her community and took it upon herself to learn what the organizations in her community had to offer. And in April of 2021, Amanda created a Facebook page called Our Community Resources, where she aimed to provide resources available in her community to her community. 

In June of 2022, Amanda was hired at the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio where she currently works as a Peer Support Specialist for a Jobs and Family Services program called Benefits Bridge. Benefits Bridge is a program that assists individuals with children, who have received a reduction in benefits due to employment, find stability and sustainability through financial literacy, barrier removal, education assistance and connection to higher paying jobs. 

In February 2024, Amanda was selected as a member of the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ Community Strategic Team. The Community Strategic Team and the Alliance are working to support lived experience community work around the nation by developing, designing, and deploying a plan to partner with lived experience individuals. 

These last four years Amanda has built a reputation for being a Resource Specialist. She has accumulated a list of over 3000 organizations that provide resources to the community by collaborating with other individuals with lived experience, participating in outreach event, word of mouth, or community engagements. 

In turn, Amanda launched www.OurCommunityResources.org in January 2024, and established Our Community Resources, LLC as it own organization in April of 2024. Our Community Resources, LLC provides individualized case management to justice-impacted and/or chronically homeless individuals in need of removing barriers that prevent that individual from living a stable and sustainable life.  

Amanda has a passion for connecting individuals to wrap-around services and firmly believes a holistic approach to removing the barriers that prevent individuals from living a stable and sustainable life would further eliminate the poverty within our community.

Stanley Sorrell is the Public Policy and Advocacy Manager at the San Antonio Food Bank. He advocates for policies that feed families and individuals at the local, state, and federal levels. 

In addition, Stanley is also a lived experience member of the Community Fellowship Team with the National Alliance to End Homelessness. He believes in creating space for those with lived experience because it’s important that the voices at the table are coming from those closest to the issue.