Our People

Ann Oliva is CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a public education, advocacy, and capacity building organization dedicated to ending homelessness in the United States. A career veteran of homelessness and housing policy, she is recognized as one of the foremost experts on homelessness in the nation. In her role, Ms. Oliva works closely with members of Congress and the Administration, as well as with officials and advocates at the state and local levels. As part of that role, she also collaborates closely with Alliance partners to educate the public on the real nature of homelessness and its solutions, and to advance known best practices within the homeless services sector.

Ms. Oliva previously served as Vice President for Housing Policy for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Corporation for Supportive Housing. Her distinguished career is also marked by a decade of federal service at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

During her 10-year tenure at HUD, Ms. Oliva successfully designed and implemented a variety of initiatives and programs, including homelessness prevention, supportive housing, and rapid re-housing programs, as well as a demonstration to end youth homelessness.

In 2015, Ms. Oliva was named one of the 50 Most Influential Leaders in the department’s first 50 years, and was honored with the True Colors Fund’s True Leader Award. She was a finalist for a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal (Sammie) in management excellence in 2011, and was part of an inter-agency team that won a Sammie for the team’s work on reducing Veteran homelessness in 2012.

Shalom Mulkey, the President and COO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, oversees the day-to-day operations and directs, administers and coordinates the activities of the Alliance in support of policies, goals and objectives established by the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors. Ms. Mulkey brings to the Alliance over 20 years of experience with nonprofit organizations and five-plus years working specifically in administrative and programmatic management of homeless service organizations. She has a strong background in budgeting, financial management, human resources and project monitoring. Before joining the Alliance, she served as the Executive Director of St. Luke’s Shelter and the Director of Administration and Programs for St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. She holds an M.P.A. with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from George Mason University and a B.A. in Communication Studies from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Steve Berg, Chief Policy Officer, specializes in employment, economic development and human services, and the crossover between those issues and housing. Mr. Berg came to the Alliance from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, where he worked on state-level welfare reform and employment. Before coming to Washington, he spent 14 years as a legal services attorney in California and Connecticut, working on housing, government benefits, employment and family integrity. His experience includes nonprofit management and staff training and development.

Chandra Crawford is the Alliance’s Chief Equity Officer, focused on leading the Alliance’s commitment and strategy to be a diverse, antiracist, equitable, and inclusive organization. She previously served in both the Program and Policy Analyst and Director of Individual Homeless Adults roles at the Alliance. Prior to joining the Alliance, she worked at Gilead Sciences and developed an evidence-based HIV screening initiative in two southern states heavily impacted by the epidemic. Chandra also served as the Policy Director at UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the HUD designated Continuum of Care, where she successfully lead an initiative to secure 3,000 permanent supportive housing vouchers from Congress for poor and disabled residents in the state of Louisiana. In this role, she was also instrumental in the creation of a statewide office designated to coordinate homeless services and the re-establishment of the Louisiana Interagency Council on Homelessness. Chandra is proud to note that her first legislative victory was the enactment of a five year pilot needle exchange program in the state of Delaware, while she was the Policy Coordinator at the Delaware HIV Consortium. Chandra earned her Ph.D. in public policy from Purdue University.

Kevin Anderson (he/him) is the Content Development Specialist at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. His primary responsibility is to draft, develop, and publish multimedia content that aligns with the Alliance’s external communications strategies. Before joining the Alliance, Kevin worked in various national service roles, including 5 years as a federal employee with AmeriCorps. During this time, he utilized his experience in graphic design and social media to support recruitment efforts, inspiring youth leaders to commit to a year of service with the AmeriCorps NCCC program. As a former AmeriCorps member who completed two years of full-time service, Kevin is a firm believer in the importance of service and the role it plays in driving impact in the world.

Jeania Davis is the Director of Meetings & Events for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In her role she works to coordinate, plan, and execute conferences, meetings, and events. Prior to joining the Alliance, Jeania was an experienced Meetings Developer and Certified Digital Event Strategist working in the civic & social organization industry, as well as the corporate sector. She is skilled in Conference and Event Management, Grants Management and Project Management. Jeania is a creative and highly organized professional having worked for iconic brands such as Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Girl Scouts of the USA. Early in her career, Jeania spent many years in social services and direct client care as a Project AIDS Care Case Manager which provided the skills needed to formulate programs that would house and care for those who found themselves homeless and severely ill. She served for 3 years as Vice Chair to the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, while working as the social service provider to the residents of one of the first SRO’s in Orlando. Jeania received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Central Florida. Her goal in life is to bring mindful people together who share a similar purpose to build thriving communities.

Nicole DuBois is a Senior Research Analyst & Coordinator for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In this role, she manages a research agenda focused on addressing key challenges confronting efforts to end homelessness, such as increases in unsheltered homelessness. Before joining the Alliance, she was a researcher at the Urban Institute in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center. Her work included multi-year evaluations of federal housing programs, case studies of homelessness response strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and research on the intersection between homelessness and the healthcare & criminal legal systems.

She holds an MSW with a concentration in Policy & Political Social Work from the University of Michigan and a BA in Government from Georgetown University. While at the University of Michigan, she completed her field placement at the Washtenaw County Continuum of Care.

As the Alliance’s Meetings and Events Associate, Teresa Ferrara supports the Director of Meetings and Events in coordinating annual conferences and meetings. She previously worked for an educational non-profit in DC where she closely assisted the leadership team in hosting their annual conference from its inception in 2015. With a passion for racial justice and equity, she led antiracist book studies during the pandemic as part of the Justice and Inclusion Committee at her church. Additional work with the committee included a successful campaign with RIP Medical Debt that resulted in the elimination of their DC/Maryland debt inventory.

Andrew Hall is a Research Analyst at the Homelessness Research Institute (HRI). Before joining the Alliance, Mr. Hall was an analyst at the Economic & Public Policy Research unit at the UMass Donahue Institute. For over 8 years, he conducted quantitative and qualitative research on a wide range of policy issues including state and local economic development strategies, workforce development initiatives, affordable housing and access to opportunity, and economic trends following the Great Recession and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He leverages his previous work involving program evaluations, economic impact analyses, statistical analyses, mapping and data visualizations, key informant interviews and focus groups, and survey design and analysis in HRI’s current portfolio of research projects.

Mr. Hall is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, where he received his Master of Public Affairs degree in Economic Development & Policy Analysis and Master of Arts degree in Russian & East European Studies. He also graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor of Arts degree with specialized honors in History.

Lindsay Hueston is the Editorial Specialist at the Alliance. In this role, she manages the development, revision, and publication of the organization’s written materials, including but not limited to: newsletters, blog posts, social media content, fact sheets, reports and briefs. Prior to her work at the Alliance, Lindsay worked in communications for NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice and served a year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest at Real Change News (Seattle, WA). She holds a B.A in English and French from Saint Joseph’s University.

Helen Johnson is the Finance and Administrative Manager at the Alliance, with responsibilities for managing the fiscal operations, financial reporting, the annual audit and benefits administration. She ensures effective internal controls and compliance with GAAP. Helen has significant financial and compliance experience as obtained while working for nonprofits, higher education, private industry and the federal government. She earned degrees from Howard University and George Washington University.

Josh (He/Him) is a Senior Technical Assistance Specialist with the Center for Capacity Building at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Before joining NAEH, he was the Director of Training and Equitable Practice at the Coalition On Homelessness and Housing In Ohio (COHHIO). There he promoted the utilization of evidence-based practices through equity-infused training and technical assistance, coalition building, and guidance creation throughout Ohio. He has worked in social services for over 15 years, beginning his career in the Mental and Behavioral Health field, working with adolescents and single adults. Josh worked as the Family Advocate Team Lead at the YWCA Family Shelter in Columbus, Ohio. He is a graduate of Hampton University and holds a degree in elementary education and psychology.

Jerry Jones is the National Field Director at the Alliance. He is the former Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless and served on the senior staff of the Center for Community Change for ten years. Other past roles include National Director of Project Vote and Policy Director at the Inner City Law Center. For four years prior to joining the Alliance’s staff, Jerry coordinated the Provider Alliance of 75 organizations providing services and housing to people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. His experience includes field mobilization and grassroots policy campaigns.

Mary Frances (she/her) is Vice President, Training and Technical Assistance at the Alliance. Mary Frances has spent more than 15 years helping nonprofits and local governments reimagine their homelessness response systems. Mrs. Kenion’s Continuum of Care (CoC) experience includes developing performance-based contracting, program design and implementation (including coordinated entry, housing problem-solving, and unified shelter), program and system-related policy development, compliance/monitoring, and coalition building to advance racial equity.

Prior to joining the Alliance, Mrs. Kenion was a Senior Manager, Homeless Services at ICF where she worked closely with communities on accelerating placements to permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness while reducing racial disparities in outcomes within homeless response systems. She led the development and delivery of a racial equity foundational workshop series for CoCs, spearheaded the development of a racial equity learning collaborative for HUD training and technical assistance providers, and recently led Oregon’s Task Force on Homelessness and Racial Disparities. Through training and technical assistance, Mrs. Kenion helps individuals and communities develop a deeper understanding of how structural and systemic racism perpetuates homelessness, get at the root causes and intersecting issues that compound disparities in homelessness, and identify actionable ways to reduce such disparities.

Kay Moshier McDivitt is the Senior Technical Assistance Specialist with the Center for Capacity Building at the Alliance. Ms. Moshier McDivitt has more than 20 years experience developing and administering rapid re-housing and homelessness programs, as well as leading a local homeless coalition and Continuum of Care. As a Technical Assistance Specialist, she develops and delivers training and technical assistance on best practices, including rapid re-housing, retooling transitional housing and building a crisis response system. Additionally, Ms. Moshier McDivitt developed the Alliance’s Rapid Re-Housing Learning Collaborative, which helps rapid re-housing providers build their capacity and adopt best practices. Before joining the Alliance, Ms. Moshier McDivitt served as the Community Homeless Advisor for the Lancaster County (Pa.) Coalition to End Homelessness, providing leadership for the county’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness and Continuum of Care. She also served as Vice President for Programs for Tabor Community Services Inc., during which time she oversaw a number of model program initiatives focused on ending homelessness, including prevention and rapid re-housing approaches. Ms. Moshier McDivitt received her degrees in Social Work and Sociology from Eastern Mennonite University.

Sharon McDonald is Senior Fellow for Families and Children with a focus on policy and program strategies to address family homelessness. Ms. McDonald joined the Alliance in 2001. Before that, she was a direct practitioner in a Richmond, Va., community-based service center for people who are homeless for nearly seven years. She has experience providing service-enhanced housing in a subsidized housing development for low-income families with children and in housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. She served as a Social Work Congressional Fellow in Sen. Paul D. Wellstone’s office where she focused on welfare and housing issues. Ms. McDonald holds a Ph.D. in Social Work and Social Policy from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Caitlin Mello (she/they) is the Executive Assistant at the Alliance. She assists the CEO and COO in their day-to-day work. Prior to joining the Alliance, Caitlin received her Masters’ degree in Social Work with a concentration on public policy from Columbia University in New York. While pursuing the degree, they interned for 9 months with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights State Advisory Committees where they assisted in policy analysis of the civil rights implications in the criminal legal systems of New Hampshire and Oregon. From 2019 – 2020, Ms. Mello received a Fulbright Grant to teach U.S. Politics and Conversational English at a university in Chełm, Poland. She has also previously worked in clinical social work settings in Vermont, focused on intimate partner violence, substance use disorder, mental health, and housing for a combined two years. They have a Bachelors’ degree from the University of Vermont in clinical social work with a focus on the neuroscience of behavioral health change.

Joy Moses is the Vice President of Research and Evidence. For over 15 years, she has worked to reduce poverty and advance racial justice. Before joining the Alliance, she was a private consultant and analyst with the Center for American Progress. Within those roles, she managed projects and developed research reports and other forms of analysis. Joy began her career as a legal advocate, representing the interests of children and youth through her work at the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. She is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and Stanford University.

Tom Murphy is Senior Director of Communications for the Alliance. In this role, he develops, implements, and oversees the Alliance’s communications, including defining strategy, goals, objectives, and priorities. Tom brings 20 years of experience in communications, including work in agency, non-profit, and consulting environments. In addition to his extensive work in healthcare communications, Tom previously served as Director of Communications for Miriam’s Kitchen in Washington, D.C., where he led the effort to re-position the organization to the local media as a leader in homeless advocacy. Tom received his communications degree from La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA.

Rachel Pearsall joined the Alliance as its Online Learning Manager. In this role she manages the Center for Learning, a comprehensive online training resource that helps frontline service providers, stakeholders, and homelessness response system leaders implement best practices to end homelessness. Rachel works to shape Center for Learning offerings to respond to the changing needs of the field and to emerging priorities in homelessness. Her passion lies in empowering people to engage imaginatively with ideas and to expand their own positive impact. Before joining the Alliance she trained and developed educators in the corporate sector. She holds an MA in political science from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a BA from Bard College.

Allie Pivik (she/her) is the Operations Associate at the Alliance. In this role, she provides financial, fundraising, event management, and operational support for the team. Before joining the Alliance, Allie worked as a Tax Accountant at Ernst & Young, LP in San Francisco specializing in Real Estate Partnerships. During the pandemic, Allie started her own business to assist families with remote learning. Additionally, Allie works with mentorship and homelessness nonprofits based in the Northern Virginia area in her free time. She graduated from the University of Delaware and holds a B.S. in Finance and Accounting.

Malik Rivers is the Project Associate with the Center for Capacity Building at the Alliance. In this role, he supports the effectiveness of the Center by providing administrative coordination and programmatic support to its core training and technical assistance activities, including the Center for Learning. Before joining the Alliance, Malik interned with DCPS as a High School Social Worker where he helped facilitate students’ educational, social, and emotional growth. He also worked as the Mentor Program Manager for a youth development non-profit in DC. Malik coordinated with mentors and mentees to ensure they had the opportunities and resources needed to enrich their relationships. Malik holds a B.A. in Sociology from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is pursuing a Master of Social Work degree from Howard University.

Yolanda Stevens is a Program and Policy Analyst with the Alliance with a focus on older adults and behavioral health and healthcare. In this capacity, she uses research and data combined with the experiences of local communities and people with lived expertise to develop responses to the health and housing needs of older adults who are experiencing homelessness or at high risk of homelessness. Dr. Stevens brings more than 25 years of leadership, evaluation and quality assurance, as well as budget and grants management experience to her role. She has spent the majority of her career at the local level on issues related to vulnerable populations-older adults, survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and individuals experiencing homelessness. Prior to joining the Alliance, Yolanda served as the Asst. Director of Community Services and Outreach in a local department of family services in Virginia where her portfolio included the Continuum of Care, coordinated entry, and homeless services. Yolanda strives to build healthy relationships and is interested in social change, is a fearless advocate, and has promoted safe, affordable, and accessible services. She earned a Master’s degree in Gerontology with a concentration in Healthcare from the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and a doctorate in Public Policy with emphasis on Long-term Care from George Mason University.

Marcy Thompson is the Alliance’s Vice President of Programs and Policy. In this role, she develops, coordinates and leads the implementation of the organization’s policy and advocacy agenda. Marcy brings more than 20 years of experience developing and implementing federal homelessness-related policy as a public servant, consultant, and frontline services practitioner. Most recently, Marcy served as the Director of Policy Initiatives at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness where she led the development of All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Her efforts directly ensured that the plan included a strong emphasis on addressing systemic racism as a root cause of homelessness and on ensuring that people with lived experience are partners and leaders in developing the policies and solutions. Marcy’s prior experience includes leading a national technical assistance team that provided equity-centered homelessness technical assistance and capacity-building support around the country and in various roles at HUD, where she worked collaboratively across the federal government to develop policy that sought to codify national best practices. Marcy earned her Masters in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

John Threlkeld is the Alliance’s Senior Congressional Affairs Manager. For almost a quarter-century, John was the assistant legislative director of a labor union which represents federal employees. Although he worked on a myriad of issues of interest to the working- and middle-class Americans who comprise the federal civil service—from child care to health care to depot maintenance of planes, tanks, and ships–John’s specialty was outsourcing/insourcing. Despite the opposition of a $250 billion industry and a blizzard of veto threats, John was ultimately successful in securing the enactment of a series of landmark reforms and safeguards to protect the interests of taxpayers, workers, and all Americans who depend on the federal government for efficient and effective performance of services–a few of which are actually followed by the executive branch. As his union represented federal employees in 70 different agencies, John can credibly claim to have to have worked on programmatic, personnel, procurement, and funding issues arising in all twelve of the appropriations bills. John has a B.A. in political science from Columbia University and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.

Alex Visotzky is the Senior California Policy Fellow for the Alliance, where he works to ground California’s response to homelessness in best practices and evidenced-based solutions. Prior to working for the Alliance, Alex worked for five years in local government, where he served most recently as the Director of Government Affairs for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), the lead administrative entity for the Los Angeles Continuum of Care (LA CoC). There, he directed LAHSA’s legislative, policy, and community engagement work. Prior to joining LAHSA, Alex worked for Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County, where he advocated for local and state policies to advance equitable land use, affordable housing, and affordable homeownership. He has a BA from Oberlin College and an MPP from the Price School of Public Policy at the University Southern California.

Samantha Wood is the National Field Organizer at the Alliance. Her primary role is to engage with homeless and housing organizations throughout the country to strengthen and build relationships concerning matters of policy. Her passion is to bring people together to fight for housing equity and justice. Prior to working at the Alliance, Samantha was employed at The Haven in Charlottesville, Virginia for 6 years as their Rapid Re-Housing Case Manager and most recently Rapid Re-Housing Administrator. Samantha has over 14 years of accumulated direct service/ case management experience with households experiencing homelessness or housing instability. She has worked at various organizations throughout the Charlottesville area including Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, Region Ten Community Services Board, WorkSource Enterprises, Charlottesville-Albemarle Health Department and Thrive Healthcare. Samantha is also a certified Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP). Samantha received a BA in Sociology from the College of William and Mary.

Co-Chairs

Jeffery Hayward, Fannie Mae

Gary M. Parsons

Vice Chair

Tim Marx, Counsel at Winthrop & Weinstine P.A.; Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis (retired)

Secretary

Bill Miller, American Gaming Association

Treasurer

Sharon Karaffa, Berkley Point Capital

CEO

Ann Marie Oliva, National Alliance to End Homelessness

Past Chairman

Susan G. Baker, Co-Founder, National Alliance to End Homelessness

Board Members

Meredith Attwell Baker, CTIA – The Wireless Association

Alan Banks, Friendship Place

Elizabeth Boyle, MSW, Co-Founder

Robert Broeksmit, Mortgage Bankers Association

Col. John Cochran, U.S. Army

Nate Davis, Stride, Inc. a Learning Company

Alan Hoffman

Irene Mabry Moses, Faith Realty, LLC

Michael R. Steed, Paladin Capital Group

Robert Villency, 250 RH, LLC

Anthony A. Williams, Federal City Council

Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour