Thank you to our Sponsors - Texas Homeless Education Office · Eric Samuels, THN, Austin - Moderator Camille Castillo, El Paso Coalition for the Homeless Cindy Crain, Metro Dallas

Thank you to our Sponsors:

Important Dates:

Tuesday, February 28, 2017Homelessness Awareness Day at the Capitol

THN + CSH Supportive Housing = Healthcare conference May 1-3, 2017, Omni Austin Hotel Southpark

25 Years of Collaboration

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Table of Contents

Pre-Conference Agenda ․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․ 2

Conference Agenda, Wednesday ․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․3-4

Conference Agenda, Thursday․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․5-10

Conference Agenda, Friday ․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․10-11

Keynote & Workshop Speaker Biographies ․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․12-21

THN Staff Bios ․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․20-21

Conference at a glance ․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․22-23

Hotel Map ․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․․24

Congratulations to the 2016 Outstanding Award Winners!

Award Categories & Winners:Outstanding Community Service Award - Be the Blessing Bakery - Randy Sams Outreach Shelter

Outstanding Community Organization - Pat DiGiovanni, Centro San Antonio

Outstanding Case Manager - Bilal Jaffri, The Salvation Army, Houston

We will present the awards at the beginning of our Networking Reception on Wednesday, September 21st, from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

2016 Texas Conference on Ending Homelessness

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

2:00 - 6:00 pm Registration Skylight Foyer

3:00 - 6:00 pm SPECIAL SESSION

Ethics in Action: Working with Students and Families in Homeless Situations Omni CThis workshop will examine current ethical standards and practices cited in the social work, counselor, case work and psychology professions, as they are applied to work with students and families in homeless situations. Special attention will be paid to schools and service providers working together using ethical practices. Participants will have the opportunity to address ethical dilemmas they currently face in their work as well as to explore other common ethical issues that often arise when working with students and their families who experience homelessness. The workshop will provide an ethical decision-making model that may be used to ensure ethical practice. Jeanne Stamp, Texas Homeless Education Office (THEO), Austin

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

7:30 - 5:00 pm Registration Check-in Skylight Foyer PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS

8:30 - 11:30 am Region 10 TEXSHEP Grantees (Required for TEXSHEP Grantees) Oaks THEO Staff Region 10 Staff Kelly Kravitz, TEA 9:00 - 11:30 am PATH: The Ever Changing Environment for Administrators and Omni B Outreach Workers (For PATH Outreach Workers, by Invitation Only) Nicole Bower, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Austin

9:00 - 10:30 am National and State Conversation on Ending Homelessness Omni A Mike Doyle, TICH Brooke Boston, TDHCA Kelly Kravitz, TEA Marjorie McColl Petty, HHS, Region 6 Robert Pulster, USICH Tammye Trevino, HUD, Region 6 Dorothy Thomas, VISN 16

9:00 - 10:30 am Coordinated Entry 101 Omni FCoordinated entry is a process developed to ensure that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access and are quickly identified, assessed for, referred, and connected to housing and assistance based on their strengths and needs. This session will provide an overview of Coordinated Entry. This session is meant for individuals in communities just getting started with Coordinated Entry as well as those working to improve existing implementations. This session is highly recommended for TX BoS CoC Program and ESG Program Grantees, and LHCs (Local Homeless Coalitions). Sophia Checa, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin

11:00 – 12:30 pm Texas Balance of State CoC General Membership Meeting Omni E&FJoin THN staff and the general membership of the TX BoS CoC for a meeting. Meet newly-elected members of the CoC Board, chat with THN staff, and provide input about what the CoC plans to do over the next year. THN, TX BoS CoC Staff

11:00 am – 12:45 pm Texas Interagency Council for the Homeless Meeting Southpark A&B


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LUNCH ON YOUR OWN

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

1:00 – 3:15 pm OPENING SESSION Omni Ballrooms WELCOME Eric Samuels, President/CEO, Texas Homeless Network Jana Burns, Special Populations Director, Region 10 Education Service Center Jeanne Stamp, Project Director, Texas Homeless Education Office

OPENING KEYNOTE SPEAKER Robert Pulster, Regional Director, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Bob directed the Division of Housing Stabilization for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, funding a statewide system of family and individual shelter programs as well as shelter diversion and rehousing programs. Bob spearheaded efforts to transform a system that relied on shelter as the primary response to homelessness to one that offered a range of flexible resources to prevent homelessness and provide rehousing assistance. Bob has also served as executive director of a variety of community agencies in the Boston area.

Collaborations in Practice Addressing School-Aged Youth Experiencing Homelessness Panel Discussion Yvonne Rossman, Family and KIDZconnection Center Coordinator, Victoria Susana Villagran-Majors, Corpus Christi ISD Jesse Elizondo, The Salvation Army, Corpus Christi Eva Thibaudeau, Coalition for the Homeless, Houston Jill Gracely, Alief ISD, Houston

3:30 – 5:00 pm BREAKOUT SESSION #1

1.1 Creating Safer Places: The Intersection of Mental Health, Trauma, and Domestic Violence Omni A&BResearch has indicated that there is a strong link between trauma, mental health, and the well-being of survivors of domestic vio-lence. Additionally, survivors with ongoing mental health issues can be re-victimized as a result of their status and may need specific supports while working with advocates and case managers on their goals, including identifying different housing options. This ses-sion will explore the link between trauma and domestic violence and explain how trauma and mental health can affect a survivor’s everyday responses. Participants will be provided with tools for creating safer spaces that enhance the advocacy/case management relationship. Molly Voyles, Texas Council on Family Violence Elyssa Schroeder, Texas Council on Family Violence

1.2 Designing an Amazing Emergency Shelter Omni CThis session will orient shelters to their vital role in an effective crisis response system that works to end homelessness and provide key design elements of an effective shelter. This in-depth and interactive session will present how emergency shelters can provide immediate access to safe shelter and crisis services without barriers to entry and help emergency shelters build capacity to be more housing-focused and rapidly exit clients to permanent housing solutions. Zach Brown, OrgCode Consulting


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1.3 Project Reallocation - Transitioning from TH to RRH Omni EReallocation is when a CoC shifts funds in whole or part from existing eligible renewal CoC program funded projects to create one or more new projects without decreasing the CoC’s Annual Renewal Demand (ARD). Reallocation of HUD CoC program dollars used to fund Supportive Service Only, Transitional Housing, and Permanent Supportive Housing programs to those funding Rapid Re-Housing Solutions is something many communities have taken advantage to create new projects. However, getting from A to B in this process isn’t always as straightforward as it might seem. Panelists in this session will describe their experiences initiating the reallocation process and managing reallocations from application submission to program implementation. Eric Samuels, THN, Austin - Moderator Camille Castillo, El Paso Coalition for the Homeless Cindy Crain, Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance Eva Thibaudeau, Coalition for the Homeless, Houston

1.4 SSA Programs OmniDJoin us for a presentation of the basic services from the Social Security Administration. We will discuss Retirement, Disability, Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Cards. Valery Maercklein, SSA, Austin

1.5 Tools for A Do It Yourself Strategic Plan Omni FWhen was the last you looked at the strategic plan? If it’s been more than a month, we need to talk! Strategic plans are essential to ensure that your organization continues to grow but not everyone needs to hire an outsider to take you through the process.

• Learn the difference between a strategic plan and a work plan• Identify tools you can use to conduct an in-house planning session• Discuss who should be ultimately responsible for carrying out the plan• Tips and Tricks to keeping the plan alive

Mary Beth Harrington, 501c3 - Taking Nonprofits to the Third Power, Dallas

1.6 Help! He’s 16 with No Place to Stay: Accessing Shelter and Housing Services for OaksUnaccompanied Homeless Minors School staff and youth service providers struggle with finding safe housing for underage youth without parents or guardians. This session will identify the provisions of pertinent federal and state laws, state licensing requirements, and evidence-based practices for assisting unaccompanied homeless minor children to access shelter and other housing options without parental consent. Erin Whelan, LifeWorks, Austin Jack Nowicki, Texas Network of Youth Services, Austin Gabriella McDonald, Texas Appleseed, Austin

1.7 Targeted but Unrestricted: An Open Topic Session for TEXSHEP Subgrantees Southpark A&B A Q and A format is the basis for this session designed for conference participants who receive TEXSHEP subgrants from Region 10 ESC. Topics will focus on subgrant collaboration requirements, upcoming changes to the education for children and youth experienc-ing homelessness as reauthorized in the ESSA legislation, and other topics raised by participants. Tim Stahlke, THEO, Austin

5:30 – 7:00 pm AWARDS & NETWORKING RECEPTION Omni C&DJoin us for the Outstanding Award Winners and celebrate THN’s 25th birthday!

We will also have a networking activity with an opportunity to win a prize. Cash bar. Cake will be served.


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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

7:30 - 5:00 pm Registration Skylight Foyer

7:30 – 8:30 am Breakfast & THN General Membership Meeting (8:00) Omni C

8:30 - 10:00 am BREAKOUT SESSION #2

2.1/CMI Case Management in Homeless Services Conference Center(This is the first workshop in the Case Management Institute.) This session will focus on the purpose, principles, and values of effec-tive case management services. In addition, we will examine the history of case management, effective documentation, and various case management models as they apply to street outreach, shelter-based services, transitional programs, and permanent supportive housing. Ken Kraybill, MSW, t3, Needham, MA

2.2 Housing First 101: Extracting the Fear Omni AThis session will review the basics for Housing First/Low Barriers, how to transition to the model, and shift agency and community culture. Bring your questions you’ve been holding onto because you’re afraid to ask. Think your area isn’t ready for Housing First? Learn how a local organization is bringing Housing First to the mid-sized, politically conservative city of Lubbock. Zach Brown, OrgCode Consulting Kameron Fowler, LMSW, THN, TX BoS CoC Chad Wheeler, Carpenter’s Church, Lubbock 2.3 Police Homeless Outreach Teams Omni BAfter achieving success in areas such as Houston, more police departments all over the State are starting to create Homeless Outreach Teams. The Houston Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) started as a pilot program in January 2011. After a very successful six-month pilot, it was made a permanent program. They recently helped the 1,000th person get off the streets. The Lubbock HOT started in February 2016 and have already made a big impact. Sgt. Eric Quijada, Lubbock PD Sgt. Steven Bergen, Lubbock PD Cpl. Korie Archambault, Lubbock PD Sgt. Steven Wick, Houston PD Senior Police Officer, Jaime Giraldo, Houston PD 2.4 Veteran Homelessness in Texas and how we’re ending it Omni CPanelists in this session will be providing information on Veteran Homelessness in Texas from a state and local perspective and dis-cussing what strategies work to end it. Information that was gathered in a report by TDHCA as a requirement of Senate Bill 1580 will be provided, an outlook from the Veterans’ Administration will be shared, and representatives from CoCs that have effectively ended Veteran Homelessness will share information. Eric Samuels, THN, Austin - Moderator Bettie Beckworth, TexVet, Round Rock Naomi Trejo, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, Austin Heloise Ferguson, MSW, VA Medical Center, Dallas Gary Grier, Coalition for the Homeless, Houston

2.5 Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore? Keeping Former Board Members and Others Engaged Omni EAlthough more than one-third of nonprofits employ advisory boards, far too many are not using them to their full potential. Too of-ten, these groups are formed because the nonprofit has individuals that they want to show support their organization but will not serve on the board. This is one possible but by far not the only purpose for these groups. This session will review how to get the most out of this group and answer important questions such as the proper size, appropriate terms length, the membership and most importantly how to disband the group when it is no longer effective. Mary Beth Harrington, 501c3 - Taking Nonprofits to the Third Power, Dallas


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2.6 Increasing Capacity by Utilizing AmeriCorps/VISTA Members Omni FThe Corporation for National and Community Service’s AmeriCorps program engages more than 75,000 Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the country. This session will discuss the difference between the AmeriCorps and VISTA programs, and how communities can utilize Members to build capacity and assist with the goal of ending homelessness. We will highlight three programs and hear from both supervisors and members. Find out what an AmeriCorps/VISTA member can do for you! Jason Phillips, THN, Austin - Moderator Lori Warren, Keep Austin Housed Dr. Chiquita W. Eugene, City of Austin Aaliyah Noble, TICH VISTA, Austin

2.7 Stickers, Stars and Candy Bars: Motivation M-V Students’ Attendance Oaks This panel will explore a variety of models for improving student attendance by overcoming barriers to attendance and increasing stu-dent motivation to come to school. Some funded programs’ homeless student attendance rates outshine the district-wide attendance. How did they do that? Marta Martinez, Northside ISD, San Antonio - Moderator Tyler Shoesmith, North East ISD, San Antonio Stephanie Braddock, Bushland ISD, Bushland Mary Patrick, Galveston ISD, Galveston

2.8 Collaborations Between District Departments, Campuses, and Local Service Providers Southpark A&BEvery district has its own unique internal dynamics. Collaboration between different district departments and campuses presents specific challenges that are different from those when working with local service providers. TEXSHEP projects frequently have to facilitate both types of collaborative relationships in order to deliver supplemental programs and activities to students in homeless situations. This presentation will feature a panel of TEXSHEP projects that have navigated both intra-district and external collabora-tive relationships in order to provide supplemental programs and activities to students experiencing homelessness. Patrick Lopez, THEO, Austin Marian Riner, Garland ISD David Schrandt, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Houston

10:15 - 11:45 am BREAKOUT SESSION #3

3.1/CMI Understanding Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care Conference Center(This is the second workshop in the Case Management Institute.) Using a trauma-informed approach is vital to providing effective case management services. This session will provide an overview of the bio-psycho-social-spiritual impact of trauma, principles and practices of a trauma-informed approach, and the difference between trauma-informed care and trauma-specific services. Ken Kraybill, MSW, t3, Needham, MA

3.2 Mobilizing Communities to End Homelessness Southpark AEnding Veteran homelessness is an enormous undertaking, requiring the commitment of the entire community to be successful. It can be hard to know how to get started. This session will offer a framework to create a strategic action plan to effectively end Veteran homelessness, and showcase both urban and rural approaches to mobilizing Texas communities to accomplish this goal. Caitlin Bayer, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Randall Webster, East Texas Veteran Resource Center, Longview Niki Paul, ECHO, Austin


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3.3 Silos to Systems: How Providers Manage the Shift to Coordinated Entry Southpark BImplementing a community-wide Coordinated Entry system can feel overwhelming and impossible. The good news- it doesn’t have to be! This session will explore the transition to a coordinated approach to housing from both a community and agency perspective. This session will explore unique strategies for repurposing agency, staff, and emergency response systems to support a Coordinated Entry. Learn how one community has staffed an entire Coordinated Access System with Housing Assessors, Housing Navigators, and Dedicated Outreach Teams with what they had and how their partnerships throughout the COC have grown. This session will also ex-plore the culture shift that happens when agencies move from a “me to we” approach- supervision of shared staff, opportunities for in-creased partnership and new layers of coordination, measuring collective impact, and relationship management with funders. Heather Muller, CSH, Houston Alexis Loving, SEARCH Homeless Services, Houston Ana Rausch, Coalition for the Homeless Houston/Harris County

3.4 Population and Housing in Texas Omni E&FThe population of Texas has been growing and with population growth comes an increased demand for housing. This presentation will provide an overview of the dynamics of population change in Texas and will examine characteristics of the housing stock and issues related to housing which may have implications for homelessness in Texas. Lloyd Potter, Ph.D., Texas State Demographer, San Antonio

3.5 CE for TX BoS CoC Room 102During this session, we will provide a brief overview of Coordinated Entry and discuss what has been done in the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care (TX BoS CoC) and what we have learned. We will discuss next steps for the implementation of Coordinated Entry in the TX BoS CoC. During this session, we will release the Coordinated Entry in the TX BoS CoC Toolkit and draft written standards. Sophia Checa, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin

3.6 Just a Fantasy? Homeless Students Achieve the Dream of College OaksThis panel will explore how liaisons creatively motivate and support the dream of a college education for students in homeless situa-tions. Reina Gallegos, La Pryor, ISD, Moderator Teresa Cuevas, Seguin ISD Olivia Narvaez, El Paso ISD Jennifer Jones, El Paso ISD

12:00 - 1:30 pm BUFFET LUNCH Omni Ballrooms

GUEST SPEAKER

Christian Moore, WHYTRY Founder, LCSW

Christian Moore is an internationally renowned author, speaker, licensed clinical social worker, advocate for at-risk youth, and founder of the WhyTry Program. As a child, Christian struggled with ADHD and severe learning disabilities. He was told by high school counselors that college was not a viable option, but fought his way to a Master’s degree in social work. His unique experiences and expertise have led to the development of the WhyTry Program and the Resilience Breakthrough for Youth, and to the writing of the highly-acclaimed book, The Resilience Breakthrough: 27 Tools for Turning Adversity into Action.


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4.1/CMI Applying MI in Case Management Conference Center(This is the third workshop in the Case Management Institute.) Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person’s own commitment and motivation to change. This interactive session will provide a “taste” of the spirit, processes and skills of MI in the context of case management practice. Ken Kraybill, MSW, t3, Needham, MA

4.2 From Status Quo to Awesome: Transforming our Response through Systems Change & Omni E&FPrioritization Homelessness is a complex social problem that requires that we engage in systems change, which transforms a collection of home-less service programs into a standardized and coordinated housing crisis response system. Prioritization, which allows communities to make objective decisions of how to allocate limited resources to households experiencing homelessness, is an important piece of developing a systematic response to homelessness. This session will provide attendees with an overview of systems change and priori-tization and why both are essential to ending homelessness. Zach Brown, OrgCode Consulting, West Virginia BoS Kameron Fowler, LMSW, THN, TX BoS CoC Sophia Checa, THN, TX BoS CoC

4.3 Interagency Collaboration to End Veteran Homelessness Omni C Interagency Collaboration to End Homeless The essential elements of sharing resources and eliminating waste to effectively house individuals / Veterans facing homelessness. Collective strategies to get individuals of the streets and into housing applying “Housing First” model. Luis Paulino, LCSW, CASAC, ICADC, CGP, US Department of Veterans Affairs Robert Birdow, LCSW, US Department of Veterans Affairs

4.4 SOAR - Work Incentives Omni DSocial Security Work Incentives make it possible for people with disabilities receiving Social Security Disability (SSDI) or Supplemen-tal Security Income Disability (SSI) to work and still receive monthly payments and Medicare or Medicaid. Learn how working affects benefits and how Work Incentives can help. Mandy Lomax, Social Security Administration, San Marcos

4.5 Ending Youth Homelessness in Texas: Youth Count Texas! Findings, Recommendations, Omni Aand Planning TogetherJoin us for an opportunity to focus on youth homelessness and give direct input on strategic recommendations to improve services and supports in Texas. This interactive session will include a presentation on findings from Youth Count Texas!, the first statewide study of youth experiencing homelessness in Texas that was conducted in 2015-2016 in collaboration with a network of service pro-viders and leaders across the state. You will hear what the surveys revealed – the trends, experiences and issues faced by youth. Most importantly, you will have the opportunity to learn about and contribute to policy recommendations and advocacy plans that could dramatically improve funding and programming for these vulnerable youth. Everyone with an interest in ending youth homelessness is invited – shelter staff, street outreach, school liaisons, CoC partners, community members, leaders, advocates, and more! Sarah Narendorf, University of Houston Lara O’Toole, TNOYS, Austin Jack Nowicki, TNOYS, Austin

4.6 Identifying the Tools Necessary to Build an Effective and Revenue Generating Board Omni BWhether building a house or building a nonprofit, you have to have the right tools for the job. The foundation of your organization is the Board of Directors and like in a house, your organization is only as strong as its foundation. Whether your organization has a staff or you are all volunteers, raising funds is always a challenging endeavor that requires the full commitment by everyone. In this content rich and interactive session, we will review all the elements of having a nonprofit board that can propel your organization forward. Mary Beth Harrington, 501c3 - Taking Nonprofits to the Third Power, Dallas


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4.7 School District Collaborations to Provide Housing OaksProviding permanent housing would be one of the best interventions for improving the school success of students in homeless situ-ations…if it were available. Unfortunately, schools and districts have nothing even close to the resources necessary for them to at-tempt this by themselves. However, several TEXSHEP projects have established housingfocused collaborations. This presentation will feature a panel of TEXSHEP projects that are assisting their student’s families obtain some form of permanent housing by working in close collaboration with local agencies and service providers. Patrick Lopez, THEO, Austin June W. Davis, Fort Worth ISD Shannon Kimble, Fort Worth Housing Solutions Cheryl Pooler, Waco ISD Jennifer Key, Alief ISD, Houston

4.8 Homeless but Healthy - Securing Medical Care for MV Students Southpark A&BThis panel will explore a variety of models for ensuring access to medical services for students in homeless situations. Mandy Tyler, Region 20 ESC, San Antonio - Moderator Nadine Wolfe, Harlandale ISD, San Antonio Rebecca Lott, Manor ISD Maria Cendejas, New Braunfels ISD


5.1/CMI An Introduction to Critical Time Intervention Conference Center(This is the fouth workshop in the Case Management Institute.) Critical Time Intervention (CTI) is a time-limited case management approach to help people experiencing homelessness successfully transition to housing and life in the community. We will examine the principles, key characteristics, and phases of the CTI approach and practice the basic skills of a CTI-focused conversation. Ken Kraybill, MSW, t3, Needham, MA

5.2 Making the Puzzle Pieces Fit - Data Quality and HMIS Omni E&FThis session will show how System Performance Measures, the Housing Inventory Count, and the Point-in-Time count all fit together. Learn how these pieces of the puzzle impact agencies, communities, and the CoC as a whole. There will be ample time for Q&A. Jesus DeLeon-Serratos, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Lindsay Marsh, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Victoria Lopez, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin

5.3 Income Now: Coordinating Access to Income & Housing Omni CThis session will describe how Income Now has imbedded the resources of the workforce system in the homeless response system. Participants will understand how to collaborate with the workforce boards and Workforce Solutions. The principles of employment first and proper training and project management will be outlined including assessment, training, and outcome measurement. Gary Grier, Coalition for the Homeless, Houston Heather Muller, CSH, Houston

5.4 Rapid Rehousing: Navigating vulnerable families into permanent housing Omni DProviding housing opportunities for vulnerable families can be quite challenging, especially when those families are coming from homelessness. This session is intended to provide an overview of The Way Home’s Rapid Rehousing Program and the collaboration required to provide families with affordable housing options in a tight, often exclusive, rental market. Samantha Maggiani, CSH, Houston James Gonzalez, Coalition for the Homeless, Houston

5.5 Connecting the Dots: Technology & Coordinated Assessment to Enhance Your PIT Omni AThis presentation will cover the expanded methodology used in the 2016 Houston/Harris Co./Ft. Bend Co. Point-In-Time. The 2016 PIT utilized tablets with GPS for the unsheltered count, over 3 days; as opposed to a purely observational unsheltered count (in 2015 and before). This allowed increased accuracy in the data gathered and the ability to perform Coordinated Access Housing Assess-ments with prioritized populations on-the-spot. Ana Rausch, Coalition for the Homeless, Houston


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5.6 Tracking Volunteer Data You Can Count On Omni BMost nonprofits know to use the Independent Sector’s value of a volunteer hour to calculate their volunteer hours, but does that pro-vide an accurate impact your volunteers have on your organization and should that be used for volunteer recognition? Join us as we discuss why you may consider tracking additional volunteer data, how to ensure that your data is accurate, reliable and useful and will even throw in some things to consider when shopping for volunteer management software. Mary Beth Harrington, 501c3 - Taking Nonprofits to the Third Power, Dallas

5.7 ESSA Implementation: Foster Care & Student Success OaksThis interactive session will provide an overview of the new ESSA legislation as it relates to students in foster care. Participants will have the opportunity to provide input to TEA to assist local and statewide planning efforts. Resource, tools, and information available will be shared. Kelly Kravitz, Texas Education Agency, Austin

5.8 McKinney-Vento 101: Helping Homeless Students Succeed Southpark A&BOne out of 50 children or 1.5 million children in America will be homeless this year, nearly 114,000 of them in Texas. Children who lack a stable home are vulnerable to a number of adverse outcomes – they are twice as likely as others to repeat a school grade, be expelled or suspended, or drop out of high school. This interactive session reviews all Texas statutes and Federal laws that provide assistance through public schools to children and youth experiencing homelessness. McKinney-Vento Act provisions reauthorized in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)—effective for the 2016-17 school year—will be reviewed, along with upcoming changes in Title I requirements. Living situation scenarios will be discussed to help participants understand and apply the law. Tim Stahlke, THEO, Austin

5:15 pm

TX BoS CoC Q&A Session OaksStaff from the Texas Homeless Network, the lead agency for the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care, will lead a discussion about their vision for ending homelessness. This session will include time for a lively Q&A about the 2016 local CoC Program competition, the TX BoS CoC requirements introduced in 2015-16, HMIS and System Wide Performance Measures and the priorities driving the TX Balance of State. Open to all members of the TX BoS CoC. Kameron Fowler, LMSW, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Caitlin Bayer, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Jesús DeLeón-Serratos, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Lindsay Marsh, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Mary Rychlik, LMSW, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Sophia Checa, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Victoria Lopez, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

8:00 - 9:30 am BREAKFAST PROGRAM Omni Ballrooms

BREAKOUT SESSION #6

9:30 - 12:30 pm Three Hour Session

6.1 Use It or Lose It! Data Literacy & Coordinated Entry Work Planning for the TX BoS CoC Omni AThis session will be very hands on, the first of its kind for the Texas Balance of State Continuum of Care. During the first hour, pre-senters will present on data literacy and provide ample time for attendees to practice reading reports and developing data driven decisions. The following two hours are an opportunity for attendees to reflect on what they learned about Coordinated Entry during the conference and develop CE workplans and action steps to take back to their respective communities with assistance and direction from TX BoS CoC staff. Sophia Checa, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Caitlin Bayer, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Kameron Fowler, LMSW, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin Mary Rychlik, LMSW, THN, TX BoS CoC, Austin


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9:30 - 11:30 am Two Hour Session

6.2 Sex Trafficking: Collaboratively Prevent, Rescue & Restore Omni E&FThis class will go beyond 101 to address the practical side of understanding sex trafficking, the victims involved, control factors of traf-fickers Jaime Wheeler, Voice of Hope/Carpenter’s Church, Lubbock

10:00 - 11:30 am One Hour and One Half Session

6.3/CMI Panel on Housing Case Management Omni B(This is the final workshop in the Case Management Institute.) The role of the housing case manager is to help the tenant function in society. Our experienced panelists will share best practices for dispute resolution, handling crises, landlord outreach, and addressing barriers to housing. Lauren Dreyer, Austin Travis County Integral Care, Austin - Moderator Jim Ward, Caritas of Austin Bree Williams, LMSW, ECHO, Austin Elizabeth Baker, Austin Travis County Integral Care, Austin

6.4 The SOAR Process from the SSA Perspective Omni CYou’ve gone through the SOAR training and know the elements of a SOAR claim. But what does the SSA representative look for when reviewing a SOAR application, and how can your claims get through quicker? Learn what it’s like to receive a SOAR application from the SSA side of the process. Whether you’re brand new to the SOAR process or you’ve submitted numerous claims, this workshop will provide information to help you be even more successful when submitting a SOAR claim.

SSA Representative

6.5 Beyond Homelessness: Supportive Housing for Special Populations Omni DPermanent Supportive Housing is an evidenced-based practice for ending chronic homelessness, but it has also proved to be an effective solution for providing long term health, stability and family connection for a variety of vulnerable people. Come learn about how sup-portive housing can be an important tool for stabilizing individuals and families beyond homelessness. Kelly Opot, CSH, Houston 6.6 Region 10 TEXSHEP Subgrantee Meeting (Required for ALL TEXSHEP Grantees) OaksThis session will allow TEXSHEP subgrantees to submit and present on a variety of topics related to the education of students experienc-ing homelessness. Jana Burns, Region 10 ESC, Richardson

6.7 The Education Rights of Homeless Children and Youth Southpark A&BThis session will provide an overview of the roles and responsibilities of public schools in regards to serving students in homeless situa-tions. Specifically we will discuss how service providers can coordinate with homeless liaisons to best serve students. David Ray, Region 10 ESC, Richardson

Conference Concludes

Save the date for the 2017 Conference!

Texas Conference on Ending Homelessness October 4-6, 2017, Omni Dallas Hotel Park West


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Workshop Presenter Biographies (in alphabetical order)

Corporal Korie Archambault was born in Seattle Washington. Korie moved to Tempe, Arizona where he received a bachelor’s degree in adminis-tration of justice. Korie met his wife Rachel there in Tempe and they soon moved to Lubbock where he pursued a career in law enforcement. Korie has been on the Police Department for 11 years and holds the rank of Corporal. Korie and Rachel have two children, Kash who is 7 and Greenley who is 3.

Elizabeth Baker has had her LCSW since 2012 and is a board approved supervisor. She obtained her MSW and BSW from the State University of New York at Albany. Upon graduation Elizabeth moved to Austin and began work with ATCIC.

During her 6 years employed with Austin Travis County Integral Care she has worked 2 years as a rehabilitation specialist, working with the homeless population, then began 2 years working as a LPHA Counselor at a transitional housing program, advanced to Program Manager of the transitional housing program and then Practice Manager over Supported Housing.

As Practice Manager, Elizabeth has developed existing PSH programs to incorporate Housing First philosophies and developed the first Housing First ACT team in Travis County, funded by the 1115 Waiver. Elizabeth has been an active member of the Housing First initiative in Austin, sitting on various workgroups to facilitate implementation of the Coordinated Assessment, Housing First and augmentation of Permanent Supported Housing Resources in Austin-Travis County.

Bettie Peebles Beckworth serves in the Veteran Services Division of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and resides in Austin. She holds a Master of Education degree in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University and Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She has more than 25 years’ executive management experience in academic medicine, healthcare and education including the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas Health ScienceCenter at Tyler and the University of Texas at El Paso. Ms. Beckworth has served in the private health care sector, as well as in state and federal government positions, including extensive experience with veterans, service members and families and federal partners.

Sergeant Steven Bergen was born and raised in west Texas. I have been married to Leeanne for 15 years and I have two daughters, Maddilynn, who is 6 years old and Charlize, who is 4 years old. I have an associates degree in Criminal Justice. I joined the Lubbock Police Department in 2005. While at the department I have worked in patrol, crimes against children, robbery homicide and the Homeless Outreach Team. In July of 2016, I promoted to Sergeant and I am currently assigned to the midnight shift.

Robert Birdow, Jr. began his career in Service as a Respite provided while earning dual Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Psychology at Prairie View A & M University. He worked for a homeless shelter during his graduate studies at the University of Texas at Arlington where he earned a Masters of Social Work degree.

Mr. Birdow has had varied work experiences over the course of his career. He was a Special Education Teacher for elementary age children in an impoverished area of Houston. A Therapist, Case Manager and Utilization Reviewer at a Behavioral hospital. A Team Lead & Care Advocate for a Medicare & Medicaid Managed Health Care Insurance company.

Mr. Birdow has been a Federal employee at the Michael E. DeBakey Veteran Affairs Medical Center for six years. He was hired as a Social Work Case Manager in the HUD-VASH program where he aided numerous veterans obtain affordable permanent housing. He transitioned into an ad-ministrative role and had oversite of four Residential Treatment programs which had contracts or grants to provide treatment to male and female veterans. In addition, he received Intensive Dialectical Behavioral Therapy training by Behavioral Tech Institute and was an Individual and Group Therapist. He is a Field Instructor and Preceptor for students beginning their Social Work career and a Clinical Supervisor for Social Workers who desire to further their learning and have a goal of becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Presently, Mr. Birdow is a Supervisor in the Health Care for Homeless Veterans program. He current supervises Social Workers, Peer Support Specialists and Housing Specialist while working col-laboratively with Interdisciplinary Teams at the VA and the Houston Homeless Continuum of Care community partners to serve or nations heroes.

Nicole Bower As a mental health professional it is important I have perspective and understanding of all sides of the system including how those I serve view the system. My 16 years of combined experience in the private sector, public sector, hospital side, and outpatient side has taught me the significance of being able to mesh the pieces together to form a whole and complete service package to address the true needs of each individual and ultimately promote recovery. My experience encompasses the life cycle of a client’s treatment to recovery and the oversight of government mental health and substance abuse programs pertaining to programmatic flow. Intake to discharge, and outpatient to client independence are areas I have the privilege of monitoring evidenced based practices and toolkits used to foster client integration into the community as self-sustaining individuals.

I currently assist contracted local mental health authorities, government agencies, and private non-profits provide homeless and housing services to chronically or imminently homeless individuals who have a mental health diagnosis or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder coupled with a chronic primary healthcare diagnosis. My role is to ensure the providers have all resources necessary to provide services to the home-less population. I enjoy advocating for additional provider resources as well as hearing the success stories of clients who make strides in recovery.

My educational background includes a MHA and a MBA from Columbia Southern University in Orange Beach, Alabama and a certification in grant writing from the American Grant Writers Association.


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Stephanie Braddock has served as homeless liaison for the past fourteen years in Bushland ISD. She provides homeless services for each campus and is responsible for the activities that occur ongoing and on a daily basis. She has successfully identified homeless children and youth and has ensured that they have the opportunity to enroll in, attend and succeed in school; ensured that homeless families, children, and youth are informed about all the programs and services for which they are eligible, including transportation to their school of origin; mediate enrollment disputes; ensured that parents have meaningful opportunities to participate in their children’s education; and disseminated the notice of educational rights of children and youth in homeless situations. She has successfully written and administered grants for our homeless population, phototherapy, sex offender sign-in program and badge system for our district for the past twelve years. March of 2008 she was selected as the Association of Texas Professional Educa-tor’s Special Services Educator of the Year. She currently updates policy and procedures annually to ensure proper identification and services to our homeless population. She has designed and implemented policies and procedures to remove barriers to the identification, enrollment and retention of children and youth in homeless situations in our district to better serve our homeless population. She continues to search out and develop rela-tionships in our community to better serve our homeless and at-risk population. She also serves as the campus at-risk monitor where she monitors students three times each school year.

Zach Brown is a relentless pursuer of ending homelessness utilizing the least lame strategies possible while striving to never be too “bored.” Zach holds his Masters in Public Administration from West Virginia University. Zach’s day job is as Executive Director of the WV Coalition to End Homelessness, an organization that leads the Balance of State CoC, Balance of State HMIS, and does The Rapid Re-Housing and The Street Outreach in West Virginia. Zach moonlights as a “bench player” for OrgCode Consulting, and is kept behind glass until data needs to be analyzed, opinions need to be rendered (his specialty), reports need to be written, or people in Texas require a knowledgeable and entertaining presenter. Whether it’s leading the strategic vision of WVCEH, assisting in propelling OrgCode into the the solutions stratosphere, being a mediocre husband, dad to a toddler and pre-teen, or surviving an opponent in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Zach always gives 85%, unless caffeine levels are optimal, and then he regularly gives roughly 105%.

Jana Burns serves as the Director of Special Populations for the Region 10 Education Service Center. Her work at Region 10 ESC includes statewide support for students experiencing homelessness and all areas of special education and Section 504. In addition to holding certifications for special education teacher, principal and superintendent, she is a 2001 graduate from Texas Woman’s University with a Master’s of Education. Jana taught in public schools for several years before serving as a principal and special education director. She has worked at Region 10 ESC for over three years supporting the success of students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness.

Camille Castillo Over the past 11 years Camille has served as the HUD Project Coordinator for the El Paso Coalition for the Homeless with the responsibility for the implementation of the yearly Continuum of Care Planning process which culminates with the submission of the annual Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) application to HUD. Additionally, a strong emphasis on program performance and oversight. Prior to that she was a Planning & Development Specialist with the State of New Mexico, Planning District 6, where she focused on the advancement of basic infrastructure in rural communities.

Maria Cendejas has been involved in all aspects of the McKinney-Vento program since 2004 including the enrollment process, working directly with families and students, connecting families to local resources, training staff and managing the budget. She is well versed on MV practices and has been a presenter at several state and national conferences.

Cindy Crain has 14 years’ experience in leading Continuum of Care. She is the President and CEO of Metro Dallas Homeless and was previously the Executive Director of Tarrant County Homeless Coalition. Crain has served five years on the Health Care for the Homeless National Council. Her achievements include implementation of coordinated assessment systems and two HMIS system conversions. Crain has written several edi-torials on homelessness for the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In 2016, MDHA lead the CoC’s largest point in time count with over 750 volunteer counters and closed a major homeless encampment in Dallas of nearly 300 persons.

Teresa Cuevas coordinates the Migrant, McKinney-Vento Homeless, and Foster Care Programs for Seguin ISD. She has held various positions including: Migrant Recruiter, New Generation System Data Entry Specialist, McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison, Foster Care Liaison, Truancy Support Staff, Migrant Education Coordinator. Ms. Cuevas helps to plan expenditures and maintain budgets according to fiscal requirements for the Texas Support for Homeless Education, Region XIII Homeless, and Migrant Education grants. She also conducts assessment and case management for eligible students to use results for instructional support and referrals to family support agencies and activities. Ms. Cuevas also coordinates, plans, hires and trains all personnel for LEADERS and Jr. LEADERS Programs, a week long summer residential programs focusing on college and career readiness, communication, leadership, and team building skills for high school and middle school students.

June Davis is the Director of Special Programs at the Fort Worth Independent School District. She has extensive experience with the education of homeless students, having worked with the McKinney-Vento program in Fort Worth ISD since 1992. She has also served on the board of the Tar-rant county Homeless Coalition, the Fort Worth Advisory Commission on Ending Homelessness, and the Mayor’s Taskforce to End Homelessness. Prior to her role as an LEA administrator, Ms. Davis taught school in various Texas districts for 14 years.

Lauren Dreyer, LCSW, is a program manager for the Healthy Communities Collaborative at Austin Travis County Integral Care. Lauren got into this field after volunteering with a local hospice agency and realizing how even a smile and willingness to listen can brighten someone’s day and help them find the motivation to work towards goals. Her first case management position was as an AmeriCorps case manager at the ARCH (Austin Resource Center for the Homeless) with primarily single homeless adults. After receiving an MSW from UT, she worked at LifeWorks with emerging adults and families, as a service coordinator with Family Eldercare in public housing properties, as an emergency room social worker, and as a social worker at ASH (Austin State Hospital). In addition, she has managed AmeriCorps case managers working with Katrina hurricane evacuees and AmeriCorps VISTA members working with homeless coalitions with THN. Lauren currently manages a wonderful team at ATCIC which is comprised of a SOAR specialist, peer support specialists, a group facilitator, and a jail liaison.


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Jesse Elizondo is the Director of Social Services at The Salvation Army. He is a native of Corpus Christi and a graduate of W.B. Ray High School and majored in psychology at Del Mar College. Jesse has been with The Salvation Army for 8 years focusing on a client friendly housing first ap-proach to Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing. Jesse was voted Chair of the Homeless Issues Partnership 2012-2015.

Dr. Chiquita W. Eugene is the citywide manager for Austin’s Youth and Family Services/Inistiatives. Dr. Eugene oversaw the AmeriCorps VISTA members that served on the housing homeless veterans initiative in Austin.

Heloise Ferguson is the VISN 17 Network Homeless Coordinator , a position that covers Veteran Homeless programs within the state of Texas. Ms. Ferguson has worked for the VA for over 34 years, over 20 in homeless programs. Mrs Ferguson has a Masters Degree in Social work, a Mas-ters Degree in Public Health and a Paralegal degree. She works closely with field staff in providing services to Veterans from Outreach to advocat-ing for Veterans involved in justice system to securing permanent housing, continuously emphasizing there is never a “wrong door”. Mrs Fergu-son serves on many local, state and national groups addressing Veteran homelessness and on developing and sustaining collaborative partnerships.

Reina Gallegos is the Director of Federal Programs at La Pryor ISD, a school-wide Title I district that serves about 500 students in La Pryor, Texas. In her newly appointed role, she oversees Homeless, Foster Care, Title I, Parent Involvement, Title III-ESL, Migrant, Special Education, Gifted and Talented and CTE programs. Before arriving to her new position in the fall of 2016, Ms. Gallegos was the Title I and III, Parent, Homeless and Foster Care Coordinator at Bastrop ISD, where she served and helped homeless and at-risk students with day-to-day events and academics, along with making sure that their high school alignment included a college and career plan.

Ms. Gallegos’ passion for seeing her students succeed is what guides and motivates her towards education. Witnessing her students graduate high school, and reaching and achieving their higher education goals is the highest reward anyone in education can ask for. Ms. Gallegos graduated from Southwest Texas State University-San Marcos with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Education from Texas State University-San Marcos.

Senior Police Officer Jaime Giraldo has almost 27 years of experience with the Houston Police Department and was hand selected as a founding member of the Homeless Outreach Team. Officer Giraldo is a Master Peace Officer, a veteran of the Coast Guard, speaks English and Spanish, State Certified Mental Health Officer, and T.C..O.L.E. instructor. Officer Giraldo’s communication and administrative skills have made him instru-mental in the development and success of H.O.T.

James Gonzalez is a licensed masters social worker from Houston, Tx. James has worked within homeless services for the last 6 years. Most of his work has been within permanent supportive housing and has made a shift into systems work. As a Project Manager at the Coalition, he works with the Rapid Rehousing Collaborative, Domestic Violence, and Youth and Young Adults Providers.

Jill Gracely is a McKinney-Vento Social Worker for the Alief Independent School Distrist. Jill has been a Licensed Master Social Worker in the State of Texas since 2014. In 2000, after receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Houston, Jill worked as president of a family foundation conducting site visits and distributing funds to local service organizations in the Greater Houston Area, including The Council on Recovery Houston, DePelchin Children’s Center, Family Services of Greater Houston, SEARCH, and Star of Hope. After working philanthropi-cally with these organizations for a number of years, Jill made the decision to return to school in the field of Social Work to be professionally trained to provide social services and aid to the economically, physically, mentally, or socially disadvantaged. She graduated with honors from the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston in 2014. Jill worked as a behavioral health specialist for Baylor College of Medicine before taking her current position with Alief Independent School District. In her role with Alief ISD, Jill works with students experiencing hous-ing instability. During this time, Jill and her colleague Maria Avalos have been able to facilitate a partnership between Coalition for the Homeless-Houston/Harris County and the district to establish a CoC and school system data share in HMIS.

Gary Grier is currently serving as Project Manager at the Coalition for the Homeless, where his work focuses on managing The Income Now Ini-tiative including acting as the CoC SOAR local lead, and coordinating access to housing and income with the workforce system. Additionally, Gary has extensive experiencing managing the SSVF and Rapid Rehousing System expansion, the Point in Time Count and community needs assess-ment, and capacity building and training. He has been a frequent presenter at regional and national conferences and served as state co-captain forCapitol Hill Day. Gary has been providing social services for twenty years in the greater Houston area and has fourteen years of community orga-nizing experience. Gary graduated the University of Houston with a BA in Political Science and attended the University of Houston Law Center.

Mary Beth Harrington For over 20 years, Mary Beth Harrington has been one of the Texas nonprofit sectors most passionate supporters. Her career path is unique, as she has not focused on one particular sector. Rather, she has worked with all nonprofits from Aids to Zoos and everything in be-tween; usually providing training most notably as Director of Curriculum & Development at the San Antonio Area Foundation, Director of Agency Relations at the Volunteer Center of North Texas, and as Director of Community Outreach at the Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations (TANO).Previous to her experience in nonprofits, Harrington spent ten years in public relations and advertising promotingeverything from a building implosion to psychiatric hospitals and cinnamon rolls!

A passionate expert for the nonprofit sector, Harrington averages over 20,000 miles a year crisscrossing the state articulating issues facing our non-profit community; urging nonprofits to welcome new leadership, collaborate to be more effective, and develop their boards to be more sustainable. A much sought after speaker, her presentations are characterized as energetic, thought provoking and content rich. (So hang onto your seats!) Har-rington was born and raised in Dallas which she still calls home although she has been own to take up temporary residence in Austin, San Antonio and Houston. When not speaking on behalf of nonprofits, Harrington spends time with her husband Rick, her grown children Kaylee and Chris as well as her “puppies” Cali and Rugby Roo (photos available upon request!).


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Jennifer Jones has extensive educator and mid-management experience. She has been the Homeless Liaison for 8 years and has transformed the Homeless Educator Program into a strong student advocacy program. During her tenure in education, she has worked in a variety of school districts in the El Paso area with students who qualified for Title I supplemental support. She taught for 11 years in one of the 10 poorest school districts in Texas. Ms. Jones serves on the El Paso Coalition for the Homeless and the Texas Homeless Network Board of Directors. She has worked to increase the number of identified students from 24 to 668 during her time as the district’s homeless liaison.

Jennifer Key taught Middle School Science for 9 years and has been an administrator in Alief for 16 years. For the past 15 years, she has been in-volved in developing awareness and providing services for homeless and unaccompanied youth in the district. Most recently, she has been involved with a non-profit group, to establish a community-based solution for homeless children and youth in Alief. This collaboration, in partnership with the Alief School District, will provide these children and youth with a safe and healthy environment for out-of-school time. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Master of Arts in Education Administration.

Kelly Kravitz serves as the Foster Care Education & Policy and McKinney-Vento Homeless Education, State Coordinator in the Division of Instruc-tional Resources and State Programs at Texas Education Agency. Ms. Kravitz champions the agencies foster care and homeless education initiatives and leads development and coordination of policy and program activities at TEA. Kelly works closely with Education Service Center Region 10 and the Texas Homeless Education Office to implement the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education program in Texas. Prior to TEA, Kelly worked in higher education to promote college access, retention, and graduation of students who had experienced foster care and homelessness. Ms. Kravitz is deeply committed to improving the education and life outcomes of students impacted by foster care and homelessness.

Ken Kraybill, MSW, has worked in health, behavioral health, homelessness and housing for over 30 years. He is the Director of Training for t3 (think. teach. transform.), the Center for Social Innovation’s training institute dedicated to improving the quality of care provided to marginalized and vulnerable people. Ken develops curricula and facilitates in-person and online training nationally on topics including motivational inter-viewing, trauma-informed care, outreach and engagement, case management, critical time intervention, supervision, and finding resiliency and renewal for care providers. He is a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). Ken has an MSW from the University of Washington in Seattle and an undergraduate degree from Goshen College in Indiana.

Patrick Lopez is a Senior Program Coordinator for the Texas Homeless Education Office (THEO). Since 1992 he has been at THEO, working to improve the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness.

Mandy Lomax is the Social Security Area Work Incentive Coordinator for Central and South Texas. She is responsible for providing guidance and training to Social Security staff, Community Advocates and Agencies on Social Security and SSI Work Incentives. She has served in many positions with Social Security including District Manager, Operations Supervisor, Automation Training Specialist, Systems Analyst, Social Security Claims Representative and SSI Claims Representative.

Becky Lott is the Manor ISD Director of Student and Family Support Services, supervising social services, nursing, primary care, behavioral health, pregnancy related services, homeless education services, general education homebound instruction, and community/family engagement.In her two decades of service with the district, she has built relationships with corporate partners, including Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Ap-plied Materials and the United Way for Greater Austin, that have led to more than $2.6 million in outside funding and thousands of hours of vol-unteer time.

Over the past 20 years, Lott has seen Manor evolve from a sleepy, mostly rural community known for a horse track to a headquarters of worldwide innovation – albeit one still struggling with deep pockets of poverty. Lott has leveraged her relationships with both segments of the community to help keep students healthy, safe and ready to learn. Lott is a graduate from Baylor University, a tennis player, and a deacon at the University Presby-terian Church. She is married and has two children.

Alexis Loving has more than 7 years’ experience in social services, specifically in the homeless services sector. She currently serves as the Program Manager of Engagement and Stabilization Services at SEARCH Homeless Services managing a team of 22 staff throughout seven unique areas of programming that work to meet people where they are and guide people toward behavioral change and self-sufficiency. She served on Houston’s Co-ordinated Access Transition Team, helping to establish SEARCH as an instrumental partner in Houston’s The Way Home. Ms. Loving has previous experience in Case Management, Motivational Interviewing, and Volunteer Coordination/Development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Services from Northeastern University and is currently pursuing a master’s in business administration.

Gabriella C. McDonald is an attorney who connects private law firms, practitioners, and other interested community members to Texas Appleseed’s new and ongoing projects, allowing these entities and individuals to fully engage in Texas Appleseed’s mission of promoting social and economic justice for all Texans. Gabriella received her undergraduate degrees in psychology and government from The University of Texas at Austin. She received her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 2009. Prior to her employment with Appleseed, she was in private practice in Los Angeles, CA.


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Valery Maercklein serves as the Public Affairs Specialist for the Area IV, Dallas Region of the Social Security Administration. In this capacity, she specializes in outreach efforts for Retirement, Medicare and Social Security Disability. Her home office is in Austin and her service area includes several cities in Central Texas such as Georgetown, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Elgin and Bastrop.

Valery started her federal career in the U.S. Air Force where she was a Radar Technician on the AWACS Aircraft. After her four year commitment, she returned to Austin to finish her Bachelors Degree in the field of Business Management. She attended Saint Edward’s University and was awarded with the honor of Summa Cum Laude in her graduating class. After graduation, she decided to continue her federal service with a short stay at the IRS and an eventual transition to the Social Security Administration in the Fall of 2003.

Samantha Maggiani is an analytical problem solver with diverse experience in project management, homeless services planning and policy. Cur-rently a Program Manager for CSH Texas Program, Ms. Maggiani is responsible for advancing long term systems change efforts in housing and ser-vice delivery for vulnerable residents in Houston. Her work includes building provider capacity and aligning public and private resources to increase efficiency and support creation of supportive housing units, as well as development and implementation of local rapid re-housing expansion project. Samantha earned a Master’s degree in Social Work from Texas State University with a focus in Administrative Leadership.

Marta Martinez has worked with Northside Independent School District for twenty-two years working with students and families in homeless situations. She has worked for Northside Independent School District as a Family Outreach Worker and Program Coordinator. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and serves as Homeless Education Liaison and coordinates the Texas Support for Homeless Education (TEXSHEP) grant program. She has worked with families at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as an Adoption Worker and as a Caseworker in The Center for Health Care Services (MHMR) Family Resources Unit.

Heather Muller is experienced in and driven toward system innovation and change implementation and logistics. She has seventeen years of ser-vice delivery and program management experience in Social Services. Currently a Senior Program Manager in CSH’s Houston office, Ms. Muller is responsible for project managing the implementation of Houston’s Coordinated Access system, implementation of Houston’s Income Now system and the implementation of several new supportive housing programs in the community. Prior to joining CSH, Ms. Muller was a Program Manager at SEARCH Homeless Services in Houston, TX, a Continuum of Care funded non-profit agency, where she operated and managed Employment and Engagement Services programs serving homeless individuals. She also worked for two years at Transitions Mental Health Association in San Luis Obispo, CA, where she started and managed a Permanent Supportive Housing program. Heather earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of San Francisco.

Sarah Narendorf is an assistant professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Her research focuses on the service needs of vulnerable adolescents and young adults, particularly those who are homeless, have mental health issues, and/or are aging out of foster care.

Olivia Narvaez, LBSW, has sixteen years of experience working with the homeless population. Currently, she serves as the Homeless Liaison for the El Paso Independent School District, which receives a TEXSHEP grant.

Aaliyah Noble is THN’s 2015-2016 AmeriCorps VISTA member. She is responsible for the coordination and implementation of a pilot program for the Texas Interagency Council for the Homeless, that will help link people experiencing homelessness with employment resources. Aaliyah relocated from Los Angeles to serve as the THN VISTA member. Prior to her VISTA service she spent 6 years as a Production Coordinator for various television and film projects as well as 10 years in non-profit program management. Aaliyah is currently working on attaining her Bachelor’s degree in Communication from Southern New Hampshire University.

Jack Nowicki, LCSW, is Senior Program Development Specialist at the Texas Network of Youth Services, providing training and consulting for network members and TNOYS contracts. He also lectures at UT’s School of Social Work and has a private Consulting & Counseling practice. He has worked for CPS, an RTC, and a non-profit crisis counseling center.Mr. Nowicki has presented workshops at over 50 conferences, including the TAMFT, the National Conference on Nonviolence, the Governor’s Conference on the Prevention of Child Abuse, CWLA’s Southwest Training Conference, the CAMA Conference, and the National SFBTA Confer-ence. He is published in academic journals and has a chapter about crisis counseling in the Social Worker’s Desk Reference. He serves as a consult-ing editor for NASW’s Children & Schools journal.

Mr. Nowicki is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Texas, approved as a clinical supervisor for Social Workers, and a Master Practitio-ner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. He is a member of NASW and the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association.

Lara O’Toole, Director of Training and Program Development, Texas Network of Youth Services, has more than 15 years of experience in a variety of youth and community services organizations and statewide initiatives. She has worked with and for children and teens of all ages, including in a laboratory preschool; a school readiness initiative; an inner-city elementary school; domestic violence shelters; sexual assault prevention projects; a teen parent program; youth poetry slams; hip hop creative writing projects; and social justice theater arts events. She also has experience in social marketing, communications/outreach, and professional development. Lara has an undergraduate degree from Vassar College and a graduate degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin.


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Kelly Sowards Opot has varied and continually progressive experience in housing, homelessness and public services within public, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Currently the Acting Associate Director for the Texas Program at CSH, Ms. Opot is responsible for developing and imple-menting innovative approaches to policy and to expanding supportive housing’s reach to vulnerable and high costs populations in Texas. Kelly supports CSH Texas staff providing momentum to the long term systems change in housing and service delivery for vulnerable people. Her work includes building sustainable support for integrated care in supportive housing and increasing opportunities for investment in local developments in Houston. In addition to her work in Houston, Kelly works across the State of Texas to improve and build systems oriented around housing as a platform to improve lives for vulnerable people and increase access to care. Prior to her role as Acting Associate Director, Kelly was a Program Manager with the Texas team providing support to supportive housing development, philanthropic investment and improving access to rapid re-housing as part of the overall systems redesign in Houston. Before joining CSH, Ms. Opot was the Development Manager for Harris County Community Services Department, where she managed the annual request for proposals process that distributes over $15 million to local govern-ments and nonprofits annually. In addition to her work at the County, Ms. Opot worked for a philanthropic consulting firm providing program evaluation services and served on the board of a philanthropic foundation that supported service providers to end homelessness and hunger in Minnesota. Kelly is a Certified Community Development Finance Professional, holds a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Policy in Social Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Mary Patrick is the Executive Director of Special Programs/ECH/Homeless Liaison. Ms. Patrick has 29 years of experience working as a district administrator in Special Education, Drop- out Prevention and Pre- K /Head Start services. She is very knowledgeable in grant management and administrative duties involving at-risk children and youth. The Homeless Liaison has a total of 38 years working with students and families who are at risk. She received several honors as Director of the Year Award in Special Education in 2004, Above and Beyond the Call of Duty in 2008 (after IKE) – opened a day care in the school with the collaboration from the community, 2010 Juneteenth Emancipator Award for service to the community, Un Sung Hero Award in Galveston in 2012 for outstanding services to the community. She is currently serving on many Boards in the community that deal with families who are experiencing homelessness and has assisted in writing other federal and state grants for the school district.

Niki Paul is the Director of Operations for the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), the Continuum of Care lead agency for the Austin/Travis County area. Niki brings 10 years of fierce commitment and diverse experience with planning and implementing strategies to end homelessness in Austin, TX and Philadelphia, PA. Niki currently serves on the Austin Homeless Veterans Initiative dedicated to sustaining the ef-forts of ending homelessness among Veterans in the Austin area and previously implemented the Philadelphia Alliance for Supportive Services for Veteran Families (PASSVF) program in Philadelphia, PA. In addition to her dedication to end homelessness, Niki loves spending time in the great outdoors with her partner and 3 dogs.

Luis Paulino, LCSW, CASAC.ICADC, is the director of the Michael E. De Bakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center Health Care for Homeless Veter-ans Program (HCHV). Mr. Paulino serves as the facility’s Point of Contact for homeless issues and is responsible for the day to day operations and management of the Health Care For Homeless Veterans Program. Prior to joining the MEDVAMC, Mr. Paulino served as the director for Mental Health Intensive Case Management program (MHICM) and coordinator for OEF/OIF veterans at VA Hudson Valley New York. He was a member of numerous VA and New York State Committees on Veterans, Mental Health and Criminal Justice issues. Mr. Paulino holds a B.S. from The University of New York, Marist College and a master degree in Social Work Administration from The State of New York, Hunter College Graduate School of Social Work. He is licensed as a Clinical Social Worker and Certified Substance Abuse and Alcohol Counselor, Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ICADC) specializing in Mental Health and Chemical Dependence.

Cheryl Pooler is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Waco ISD. She is the Homeless Liaison providing resources and services to over 1000 students per year. Prior to her move to Waco in 2009, she spent over 20 years working in Community Mental Health. Cheryl is the past President of the Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition and has served on several local boards and planning committees in Waco. She was selected to serve on the Poverty Solutions Steering Committee in 2010 and remains actively involved in Prosper Waco. Her passion and work on behalf of child and family homelessness has resulted in several community collaborations that have been nationally acknowledged resulting in invitations to speak on National panels with HUD (Housing and Urban Development), and the DOE (Department of Education). Cheryl was invited to speak at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness in Washington D.C. this summer on the topic of Coordinating with School Systems to Sup-port Students and Their Families. Cheryl is happily married for 24 years to David (also a social worker and professor at Baylor) with two teenage daughters.

Dr. Lloyd Potter was appointed as the Texas State Demographer by the Governor in May of 2010. He is also the Director of the Texas Demograph-ic Center base within the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) where he is a Professor of Demography. He holds a Ph.D. in Demography and Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin, Masters of Public Health from Emory University, Master’s degree in Education from the University of Houston at Clear Lake and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Texas A&M. His current work focuses upon training applied demog-raphers and conducting policy relevant demographic research.

Sergeant Eric Quijada was born and raised in Lubbock, Tx. He is married to Desirae and they have two children, Ashtyn who is twelve and Tony who is nine. Eric has been on the Police Department 11 years and currently holds the rank of Sergeant.

David Ray currently works at Region 10 Education Service Center as a consultant in the areas of homeless and foster care education. He assists dis-tricts and charter schools across Texas with implementing best practices for the achievement of highly mobile students and procedures for remaining in compliance with all federal and state laws pertaining to the education of homeless children and youth.


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Ana Rausch has more than 16 years of experience in project management and social services with a passion for advocacy and improving services that are provided to the community. Ms. Rausch currently serves as Coordinated Access Project Manager with the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County and has led in the development and operations management of The Way Home’s (TX-700 CoC) Coordinated Access system. This system assesses and matches homeless households with appropriate housing and has resulted in more than 1,100 households obtain-ing permanent housing since implementation. Her previous experience includes managing large housing and basic needs programs for several Houston-area service providers with a success rate of almost 90%; and obtaining and managing grants that allowed services to be expanded to both Veterans and clients living with HIV/AIDS. Ana holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology.

Marian Riner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1998, and her Master in Social Work in 1999 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She holds a License to practice social work in both Arkansas and Texas. She has spent her career working in a variety of settings including community mental health, hospital and hospice, and school social work. She has presented at National, Regional and State conferences on homeless issues and projects that she developed to address disparities for students living in poverty. Marian recently moved to Texas from Arkansas where she spent the last six years working for Fayetteville Public Schools as the District Homeless Liaison. Currently she is the District Homeless Liaison for Garland Independent School District.

Yvonne Rossman is the District Homeless & Foster Care Liaison for the Victoria ISD’s KIDZconnection program. She is a board member of the Victoria Area Homeless Coalition & the local Community Action Committee. She oversees three grants (TEXSHEP & 2 CDBG) which help fund staff and resources for the homeless program and students. She trains and mentors key personnel on 25 campuses regarding identification and support of homeless and foster care students in the district. She continually seeks partnerships with individuals and local organizations to help support the needs of homeless or at- risk students in the district. Yvonne has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Houston-Victoria.

David Schrandt serves as the Director of Student Services for Admissions, Attendance and Transfers for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. In addition, he also serves as the district’s Homeless Liaison and is on the board of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY).

Elyssa Schroeder is a Policy Analyst with the Texas Council on Family Violence, where she provides programmatic policy support to service providers across the state. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker with an MSSW from the University of Texas at Austin. Her past professional experiences center on creating safe spaces for victims of genderbased violence including developing a health and wellness program for women in India, direct client counseling and advocacy in a domestic violence program in Central Texas, and working with local officials to create a Victim Services Department in rural Texas.

Tyler Shoesmith, M.Ed. is currently serving as the Director of Family Support Services for North East ISD. This program includes oversight of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Project, School Age Parenting and Dropout Prevention. Prior to this position, Tyler was the District Dropout Coor-dinator and Special Populations Coordinator. Tyler’s department has been recognized by the Texas Homeless Education Office as a best practices model and they have received commendations from the federal level. He has given presentations at the National Dropout Presentations, National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth and has attended the Harvard Institute for Engaging Families. He has been in edu-cation for the last 14 years.

Prior to coming to North East ISD, he was with the Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office and the Bexar County Pre-sentence In-vestigation Unit. He has a B.A. in Criminal Justice and M.Ed in Management of Technical Education.

Tim Stahlke - Born and raised in Central America, Tim has language and cultural skills well-suited for the changing communities across the country. As a Senior Program Coordinator for the Texas Homeless Education Office (THEO) his duties include resolving school enrollment and attendance complaints regarding homeless and unaccompanied children and youth, conducting training for school administrators, head start prac-titioners, parents, and community advocates about the laws and rules regarding the education of children who are homeless, addressing legislative issues that impact on children and youth experiencing homelessness, and providing assistance to the McKinney-Vento Homeless AssistanceAct discretionary grant recipients in Texas.

Jeanne Stamp, LCSW, LMFT, LCDC, Project Director, The Texas Homeless Education Office, The University of Texas, Austin, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, board approved social work supervisor, and chemical dependency counselor. Currently she is the Project Director for the Texas Homeless Education Office at the University of Texas, providing training, consultation, technical assistance, legislative input, and oversight of grant programs that provide educational and social services to children and their families in homeless situations, as well as with children and families with CPS involvement.

Eva Thibaudeau is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in the homeless field since 1996. She currently serves as Director of Programs with the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin‐Madison and the Graduate Col-lege of Social Work at the University of Houston. Her career has ranged from direct client services to program design and management to systems level leadership.


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Naomi Trejo. For the past year, Naomi Trejo has served as the Coordinator for Homelessness Programs and Policy at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. She administers the Emergency Solutions Grants Program, which is a federal program, and the Homeless Hous-ing and Services Program, which is a Texas program. She is the lead for the Department’s effort to meet the requirements of Senate Bill 1580, which requires a study on homelessness among veterans. She has also been the lead on a research project on homeless among youth, called Youth Count Texas!. Previously, Naomi worked as a Policy Analyst at the Department where she updated state and federal plans and reports, wrote fiscal notes and tracked legislation, represented the Department in interagency groups, and assisted in organizing the first Housing and Services Partnership Academy. Naomi holds her Masters in City Planning.

Mandy Tyler is the Education Specialist for Coordinated School Health at ESC-20 and serves as the point of contact for McKinney-Vento, Foster Care, and School Health. Mandy has worked at ESC-20 for six years and has worked directly with the McKinney-Vento and School Health pro-grams since 2012. In this position Mandy provides training and technical assistance to district personnel in school health related areas, McKinney-Vento, and Foster Care; facilitates districts with the development of School Health Advisory Councils; and serves as a liaison between districts and community resources and state and federal agencies. Mandy has a Bachelor of Arts Degree, a Master of Education, and is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. Mandy is the Co-Chair of the San Antonio Mayor’s Fitness Council’s Healthy Schools Committee and has recently been appointed to the Texas School Health Advisory Committee (TSHAC).

Susana Villagran Majors is the District Liaison for Students in Transition for the Corpus Christi Independent School District. She manages and coordinates education support services for the homeless, foster care, military, asylee and refugee students. She has expanded support services to include a Pantry and a Clothes Closet making available much needed food and clothing to over 1,700 homeless students. Susana received her BA in Psychology from Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 1996. Prior to joining Corpus Christi ISD Susana spent 16 years as an advocate for victims of crime. She started as the legal coordinator for the South Texas Women’s Shelter and continued serving victims of crime as the Outreach Victim’s Advocate in the District Attorney’s Office. She served for 10 years with the Corpus Christi Police Department where she created the Victim Advocacy Unit program, developing the policies, procedures and trainings that are still in use today. In her current position advocating for the homeless student population of CCISD, Susana also serves as a board member of both the Homeless Issues Partnership (HIP) and the Coastal Bend Coordinated Community Response Coalition (CCBCCRC).

Molly Voyles is a Public Policy Manager for the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) and has worked at the coalition for over nine years. In her position at TCFV, she provides technical assistance and training across the state on family violence program policy issues with a focus on sup-porting survivor-centered services. Prior to joining TCFV, Ms. Voyles worked in a variety of roles within domestic violence programs including assisting survivors with accessing stable housing and working with children exposed to domestic violence. She has worked with survivors in both rural and urban settings and has an understanding of the unique challenges, and solutions, available to these different communities. She attended Indiana University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work.

Jim Ward, Caritas Supportive Housing Programs Manager. After years of working in a shelter, Jim began working as a community-based Housing Stability Case Manager, with a deep investment in the Housing First and Harm Reduction models. Throughout the years, those models have re-mained the structure of his work with clients. Today, with Caritas of Austin, he manages 3 HUD Supportive Housing Programs and a City of Austin Behavioral Health Contract that serve the most vulnerable Chronically Homeless population in Austin. Jim wanted to work with ex-offenders and when he started his work at the ARCH (Austin Resource Center for the Homeless), he soon realized that not only was he able to work with that population, but he found that the connections, shared struggles (such as housing location for ex-offenders), and the meaning that he gets from this work keeps him coming back. He uses every experience as an opportunity for personal and professional growth which keeps him engaged in the fight against poverty and homelessness.

Lori Warren completed a term of service with the Keep Austin Housed AmeriCorps program from 2011 to 2012, after which she worked as a Housing Stability Specialist with Caritas of Austin. Through her direct service experience, Lori became familiar with the barriers that low income families face in their journey to self-sufficiency as well as how to best support direct care providers. In 2013 Lori became the Keep Austin Housed Coordinator, where she combines her interests in affordable housing and national service.

Randall Webster is the Program Supervisor of the East Texas Veterans Resource Center in Longview and has worked in social services for the last 6 years. Over the past three years, he has specialized in rapidly re-housing chronically homeless persons.. Randall served 5 years in United States Marine Corps and is a graduate of Texas A&M Texarkana. He currently serves as the president of the North East Texas Homeless Consortium and as a committee chair of the Texarkana Homeless Coalition.

Chad Wheeler has been a minister at Carpenter’s Church since 2007. His primary responsibilities include administrative oversight and pastoral leadership. He chairs the Carpenter’s Housing First Task Force and oversees the details of all Housing First planning, including budget, building, renovation, and programming. He holds a B.A. in Biblical Text from Lubbock Christian University and is currently completing an M.A. in Global Service from Abilene Christian University. He is also the current President of the South Plains Homeless Consortium.

Jaime Wheeler has been a part of the Carpenter’s community since 2006 and became a staff member in 2011. Jaime is currently the senior staff member over the Carpenter’s Church Day Shelter. She oversees the operations of the Day Shelter, including classes, events, and meals. Jaime also serves as the caseworker for the Carpenter’s Housing First program. She is the author and editor of emPOWER, a workbook for individuals and groups who have been victims of abuse, controlling relationships, or the sex industry. Jaime is a licensed social worker and holds Master of Science in Social Work from Lubbock Christian University.


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Erin Whelan has more than 13 years of experience working in the areas of crisis intervention, youth homelessness, and foster care youth. Before relocating to Austin five years ago, Erin worked with homeless youth as a therapist at Teen Living Programs on the South Side of Chicago. Her 6 years in Chicago also included advocacy and policy work at the state level in order to influence change in regards to the issue of young adult homelessness. Since returning to Austin she has worked at the Settlement Home which is a residential treatment center for girls in foster care who are healing from neglect, abuse, and trauma and is currently the Division Director for Housing and Homeless Services at LifeWorks. Her current role allows her to help youth and families find their paths to self-sufficiency amidst challenges such as homelessness, abuse, and poverty. Erin is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor. She lives in Austin with her wife Shannon and two children Graceyn and Soren.

Sergeant Stephen Wick has almost 33 years of law enforcement experience and is a founding member of the Houston Police Department’s Home-less Outreach Team (H.O.T.). Sergeant Wick is a master peace officer. Sergeant Wick has worked in numerous capacities within the department which include: patrol, bicycle patrol, mounted patrol, and as a jail supervisor. Sergeant Wick is extremely familiar with homeless issues and he has worked with the chronic homeless in the downtown area for nearly twenty years. H.O.T. has been instrumental in the department’s training on homeless issues.

Bree Williams is a Licensed Master Social Worker fiercely committed to ending homelessness in Austin/ Travis County. Bree currently serves as the Director Community Housing for the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, or ECHO in Austin, Texas. ECHO is the lead agency for the Austin/ Travis County Continuum of Care. As the Director of Community Housing, Bree is responsible for developing and implementing creative strategies to increase access to low barrier housing opportunities for households experiencing homelessness who are receiving Permanent Supportive Housing or Rapid Rehousing services. Bree builds partnerships with both affordable housing and markethousing providers, funders, developers, and property managers to accomplish this goal.

Nadine Wolfe is currently the Director for Student Support Services and Special Programs for Harlandale ISD, located in San Antonio. She has 20 plus years of experience in working with students and families in at-risk situations. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Life/Earth Science and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership, with Principal Certification. For the past 16 years, she has worked at the central office level administering state and federal programs. She is a Past-President of ACET (Association for Compensatory Educators of Texas) and sits on the National Board of NAFEPA (National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators.) in Washington, DC. She has received various awards at the State and the National Level for her leadership role in education. Mrs. Wolfe currently sits on the Committee of Practitioners Board for the Texas Education Agency in Austin.

THN Staff Bios:

Eric Samuels, President & CEO, has over sixteen years of experience working with local, state and national organizations on the development of services and shelter for homeless individuals and families. Eric also has several years of experience in direct service and management of homeless service organizations and has conducted extensive research into the issue of homelessness in Texas. Mr. Samuels holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from Texas State University.

Kameron Fowler, LMSW is the Continuum of Care Director at THN. She earned her MSSW from the University of Texas at Austin’s Advanced Standing Program and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Texas Tech University. She has over 14 years of experience in housing and homelessness programs in Austin, Los Angeles and Australia. She has held varied administrative and direct care roles within the homeless services sector in the specialties of medical respite, shelter case management, housing stability case management, mental health case management, HIV services, DV, and street outreach.

Brian Goodner, Director of Finance. Brian has nineteen years of experience in accounting. Brian has worked as Controller for multiple companies and has diverse experience in accounting, auditing, financial reporting and budgeting. During this time, Brian has worked with these companies establishing proper internal controls surrounding accounting and finance activities while working with management to improve any areas of defi-ciency. This has included doing field audits of service locations to ensure that company processes and procedures were being followed. Brian also worked with management on budgeting, forecasting, preparing financial statements and reviewing monthly and quarterly financial results. Brian has been employed as the THN Accountant for two years. He has a BS in Accounting from the University of Arizona.

Jennifer Paulsen, Director of Development & Communications, has over 10 years of experience working in homeless services. Jennifer plans the conferences, oversees the VISTA program, and development and communications. Jennifer’s diverse experience includes working in marketing at a ski resort, marketing and managing a screen printing program for a hard-core juvenile offender facility in New Mexico, and managing the Team in Training program for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Salt Lake City. Jennifer worked as part of the development team for The Road Home homeless shelter in Salt Lake City prior to relocating to her native Texas and starting at Texas Homeless Network. She has a B.A. in English from UTSA.

Caitlin Bayer, Balance of State (BoS) Programs Coordinator. The Balance of State Programs Coordinator develops tools, strategies, and resources to aid the Continuum of Care planning process. Caitlin comes to THN from AIDS Service of Austin, where she administered HOPWA funding and served as a Housing Case Manager. Before that, she completed a term of service with AmeriCorp’s ACE program where she provided bilingual reading interventions for low-income students. She looks forward to facilitating collaboration between BoS partners. Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.


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Sophia Checa, Systems Change Coordinator, began her tenure with THN in 2013. She has a Master’s degree in Public Affairs with a concentration in nonprofit studies from the University of Texas – Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Prior to attending the LBJ School, Sophia worked as the Lead Intake Specialist on Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing (HPRP) at Catholic Charities of the East Bay. This was the job that spurred her passion for housing and ending homelessness. She has her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California - Berkeley. Sophia lives in Austin with her fiancée and their cat, dog, and two chickens and loves to box.

Jesús DeLeón-Serratos, Project Manager for the Homeless Management Information Systems. Jesús is a creative bilingual award-winning writer with experience in social media. His eclectic background ranges from six years in communications as a journalist, radio DJ, TV writer, and in theater and film production, to eight years in the non-profit galaxy with solid experience in social work, case management, placement specialist, and trainer. With THN, he looks forward to assist in endeavors geared towards ending homelessness one organization at a time. He believes that communications in non-profit have an undetermined potential yet to be unleashed fully. You may say he is a dreamer, but he is not the only one.

Kraig Fiero, Program Assistant. Kraig has been involved with the work at THN for more than 8 years. He answers all technical assistance calls that come to this office as well as all homeless assistance referrals. By utilizing internal databases of service providers, as well as making new contacts for future referrals, he works closely with Texas homeless coalitions and service providers around the state. Kraig has completed two one-year stints as an AmeriCorp VISTA volunteer for THN and uses that experience to help connect community outreach specialists and service providers with THN’s expertise. He served as a VISTA Leader his second term, assisting in the management of THN VISTA placements around the state.

Deanne Lock is the Accounting and Human Resources Generalist and assists the President/CEO and the Director of Finance and HR with admin-istrative, human resources, and financial operations. Deanne started as a volunteer with THN in 2012 before being hired as the Office Manager in 2013. Deanne holds an MS in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine which explains her calming effect on the office atmosphere. She was born in Corpus Christi, and spent 20 years of her life in the Middle East.

Jason Phillips, VISTA Project Manager, oversees the THN VISTA projects. Jason joined THN in August 2016. He has several years of experience working with individuals experiencing homelessness, as a Keep Austin Housed AmeriCorps member and a case manager with Front Steps. Jason has a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Texas State University. His other areas of interest and experience include: alternatives to incarcera-tion, changing systems to break down barriers and build up pathways, and organizational development and planning. He currently serves as a board member for the Prison Justice League. Jason hopes to strengthen the presence and impact of THN’s AmeriCorps VISTA projects throughout Texas.

Victoria Lopez, HMIS Help Specialist. The Help Desk Specialist is responsible for providing technical assistance to agencies within the Texas BOS CoC. She joined THN on December 1st and hopes to help streamline how agencies enter data, track their clients, and evaluate their programs. Victoria holds a Masters in Rhetoric and Professional Communication from Iowa State University and a Bachelor’s in English from Texas A & M-Corpus Christi.

Benjamin Mahoney, HMIS Support Specialist, completed an undergraduate degree in Anthropology. Has worked for Blackbaud as a Support Analyst for the Raiser’s Edge. Taught oral English in southern China. Hobbies include language learning, art, music, and most things nerdy. Is a part of the HMIS support team and is excited to work in expanding THN’s services.

Lindsay Marsh, Balance of State Data Coordinator, has 6 years of experience working in homeless services. Lindsay was the HMIS Project Coor-dinator for THN prior to moving into the Data Coordinator position. In her current position, she is responsible for all data collection, statistical analysis, and reporting of the PIT count for the Balance of State. She is also responsible for planning, coordination, training, and implementation of the PIT count. Prior to working at THN, Lindsay worked with Equality Texas.

Mary Rychlik, LMSW, CoC Manager, conducts CoC planning and operations activities to strategically prevent and end homelessness. Ms. Rychlik has expertise in HUD’s Continuum of Care and Emergency Solutions Grant programs, facilitating Continuum of Care processes on a CoC-level and with local homeless coalitions and ESG recipients. She has 19 years’ experience in homeless services, including direct practice, program administra-tion, performance evaluation, and grant applications in a school district, city and state governments, and nonprofit organizations. Ms. Rychlik is a Licensed Master Social Worker who earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in social work from The University of Texas at Austin.

THN VISTA MEMBERS

Katherine Gonzales - DentonLaura Herridge - AbileneCristina Loera - HarlingenAaliyah Noble - AustinLuke Owa - TylerJessica Pulido - BeaumontTina Shipp - LubbockKristen Wieliczka - AustinLoretta Williams - Victoria


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Conference at a glance

Tuesday, September 21 Event Location

2:00 - 6:00 pm Registration Check-in Skylight Foyer

3:00 - 6:00 pm Ethics Omni C Wednesday, September 22

7:30 am - 5:00 pm Registration Check-in Skylight Foyer

7:30 - 9:00 am Continental Breakfast Skylight Foyer

8:30 - 11:30 am Region 10 TEXSHEP Grantees Oaks

9:00 - 10:30 am National and State Conversation on Ending Homelessness Omni A

9:00 - 10:30 am Coordinated Entry 101 Omni F

9:00 - 11:30 am PATH: The Ever Changing Environment for Administrators Omni B and Outreach Workers (State Meeting by invitation only) 11:00 - 12:30 pm TX Balance of State CoC General Membership Meeting Omni E&F

11:00 - 12:45 pm TICH Meeting Southpark A&B

LUNCH ON YOUR OWN

1:00 - 3:15 pm Plenary Session Omni Ballrooms

3:30 - 5:00 pm Breakout Session #1 1.1 Creating Safer Places: The Intersection of Mental Health, Omni A&B Trauma, and Domestic Violence 1.2 Designing an Amazing Emergency Shelter Omni C 1.3 Reallocation of Projects Omni E 1.4 SSA Programs Omni D 1.5 Tools For A Do It Yourself Strategic Plan Omni F 1.6 Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Shelter and Housing Laws, Oaks Rules, Regulations, and Effective Practices 1.7 Targeted but Unrestricted: An Open Topic Session for TEXSHEP Southpark A&B Subgrantees

5:30 - 7:00 pm Networking Reception & Awards Presentation Omni C&D Thursday, September 22 Event Location

7:30 am - 5:00 pm Registration Check-in Skylight Foyer

7:00 - 8:30 am Breakfast Omni Ballrooms

8:30 - 10:00 am Breakout Session #2 2.1/CMI #1 Case Management in Homeless Services Conference Center 2.2 Housing First 101: Extracting the Fear Omni A 2.3 Police Homeless Outreach Teams Omni B 2.4 Veterans in Texas and how we’re ending it Omni C 2.5 Why Don’t You Love Me Anymore? Keeping Former Board Omni E Members and Others Engaged 2.6 Increasing Capacity by Utilizing AmeriCorps/VISTA Members Omni F 2.7 Stickers, Stars and Candy Bars: Motivating M-V Students’ Oaks Attendance 2.8 Collaborations Between District Departments, Campuses, Southpark A&B and Local Service Providers

10:15 – 11:45 am Breakout Session #3 3.1/CMI #2 Understanding Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care Conference Center 3.2 Mobilizing Communities to End Veteran Homelessness Southpark A 3.3 Silos to Systems: How Providers Manage the Shift to Southpark B Coordinated Entry 3.4 State Demographer - What Do the Numbers Tell Us? Omni E&F 3.5 CE for TX BoS CoC Room 102 3.6 Just a Fantasy? Homeless Students Achieve the Dream of Oaks College

12:00 – 1:30 pm Lunch + Speaker, Christian Moore Omni Ballrooms 1:45 – 3:15 pm Breakout Session #4 4.1/CMI #3 Applying MI in Case Management Conference Center 4.2 Systems Change/Prioritization Omni E&F 4.3 Interagency Collaboration to End Veteran Homelessness Omni C 4.4 SOAR - Work Incentives Omni D 4.5 Ending Youth Homelessness in Texas: Youth Count Texas! Omni A Findings, Recommendations, and Planning Together 4.6 Identifying the Tools Necessary to Build an Effective and Omni B Revenue Generating Board 4.7 School District Collaborations to Provide Housing Oaks 4.8 Homeless but Healthy - Securing Medical Care for MV Students Southpark A&B 3:30 – 5:00 pm Breakout Session #5 5.1/CMI #4 An Introduction to Critical Time Intervention Conference Center 5.2 System-Wide Performance Measures Omni E&F 5.3 Income Now: Coordinating Access to Income & Housing Omni C 5.4 Trouble Shooting Rapid Re-Housing Omni D 5.5 Using a Coordinated Access Approach for Your PIT Omni A 5.6 Tracking Volunteer Data You Can Count On Omni B 5.7 ESSA Title I: Educating Children in Foster Care Oaks 5.8 McKinney-Vento 101: Helping Homeless Students Succeed Southpark A&B

5:15 pm TX BoS CoC Q&A Session Skylight Foyer

Friday, September 23

8:00 – 9:30 am Breakfast + Collaborations Continued Omni Ballrooms

9:30 - 12:30 pm 6.1 CE TX BoS CoC Work Planning & Data Literacy Omni A

9:30 - 11:30 am 6.2 Sex Trafficking: Collaboratively Prevent, Rescue & Restore Omni E&F 10:00 – 11:30 am Breakout Session #6 6.3/CMI #5 Panel on Housing Case Management Omni B 6.4 SOAR Omni C 6.5 Beyond Homelessness: Supportive Housing for Special Omni D Populations 6.6 Region 10 TEXSHEP Grantee Meeting (Required) Oaks 6.7 The Education Rights of Homeless Children & Youth Southpark A&B Conference concludes


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Present your conference nametag and receive 10% off of your food order at the Cedar Door, located at 201 Brazos Street in downtown Austin. (The discount will be applied to food orders only.)

Documents

Thank you to our Sponsors - Texas Homeless Education Office · Eric Samuels, THN, Austin - Moderator Camille Castillo, El Paso Coalition for the Homeless Cindy Crain, Metro Dallas