HOMERISE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner at the Venture Capital Firm NEA
Aaron Jacobson is a partner at the venture capital firm NEA where he invests in entrepreneurs seeking to build, scale and secure the next-generation of SaaS applications, big data platforms, cloud infrastructure, and robotics.
In 2016 he was named to Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30" in Venture Capital and the Silicon Valley Business Journal's "40 Under 40".
Anat Leonard joined HomeRise in August 2014 as the Clinical Services Director and became the Director of Resident Services in July 2016. She brings over 15 years of experience in the field, having held various positions of increasing responsibility across the homeless services system of care (e.g. shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and supported employment) serving multiple sub-populations, including survivors of domestic violence, youth, families, seniors, persons living with HIV/AIDS, and persons with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Prior to joining HomeRise, Anat was the Deputy Executive Director of Bowery Residents' Committee, Inc. in New York City. She holds a Masters in Social Work from Columbia, and licensure as a Clinical Social Worker in the States of New York and California.
Bilal Shah is responsible for finance, accounting, audits, and taxation among key areas.
He has 15 years experience in finance in addition to three masters degrees, (two in finance and one in statistics). He has worked in all aspects of finance including investment banking, asset management, private equity, corporate, regulatory and nonprofit finance and accounting. He comes to HomeRise in 2022 after spending seven years at the Salvation Army as their Business Director.
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
Bimi oversees all aspects of HomeRise's Human Resource department including recruitment, orientation, performance management, staff development, compensation, benefits and more. Previously Bimi worked as a Director at Pundir Group in San Francisco in Human Resources. Other experience includes work at Kamlich Group in Napa, and Enovity in San Francisco. Bimi has a BA in Business Management at CA State Hayward and has attained her SPHR and SHRM certificates.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientific Officer for Tivic Health
Dr. Gurfein is the Chief Scientific Officer for Tivic Health, a Bay Area company that develops bioelectronic device therapies. Dr. Gurfein also holds an appointment as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco and received an Sc.B. in Neuroscience from Brown University, a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In Dr. Gurfein's academic and industry research, he has focused on developing therapies for patients with unmet treatment needs. Dr. Gurfein started volunteering with HomeRise in 2016.
Chuck Palley has almost 30 years of experience within the building construction industry, over 25 of which have been at Cahill. Chuck has served as President of Cahill Contractors, Inc. since 2005. Chuck has overseen such projects as the Argonaut Hotel, Oxford Plaza / David Brower Center, The Cecil Williams Glide Community House, and Hilton San Francisco Union Square.
Chuck has been a leader in the Bay Area construction industry, serving as a past president and current Board Member of the Contractor's Employers Association (CEA). Chuck also spearheaded the founding of the Construction Industry and Workforce Initiative (CIWI), a young adult workforce initiative intended to provide construction industry internship positions and access to development opportunities for students from under-resourced families and neighborhoods.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Construction Management from University of Illinois, and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of California and LEED Accredited Professional.
Dale Zeigler has over 30 years of commercial banking relationship management experience with more than 20 years in San Francisco. Dale is currently Senior Vice President, Group Director with Signature Bank, a $48 Billion commercial and private bank which opened a San Francisco branch in early 2019. For over 12 years, Dale was Vice President, Principal Business Relationship Manager with Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco managing the financial needs of a large portfolio of middle market companies in a variety of industries. He has an established network of professional resources and has extensive experience in complex commercial lending and cash management including specialties in legal & professional services, contractors, non-profits, low income housing, tax exempt financing, commercial real estate, property management, escrow accounts and deposit account control agreements. Dale is a graduate of the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce with a concentration in Finance.
Dale lives in San Francisco and is a past-President of the Rotary Club of South San Francisco and past-Treasurer of the non-profit LYRIC.
David joined HomeRise in 2015, and is responsible for managing and maintaining the overall condition of each building within the HomeRise portfolio. He is also responsible for the annual maintenance budgets, vendor selection, and teams with Real Estate Development, Asset Management, Finance and Human Resources to achieve success for HomeRise.
David has also created an upward mobility ladder to promote advancement within Facilities. As the hiring manger he brought in several staff with advanced skills and knowledge, including creating three new positions which ensure training in repairs and for the administrative duties needed to be successful and promote advancement. David brings well over 30 years of experience in Plant Operations and a degree from Excelsior College in Science and Technology. He is also an annual lecturer at Santa Clara University and Co-Facilitator for Restorative Freedom who assist formerly incarcerated during their transition back into society.
A resident in a HomeRise property, David joined the Board in 2010. Trained as an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist, David has worked as a consultant to large organizations, created and fielded software to assist in executive performance assessment, and taught Masters level courses in the Human Resources and Organizational Development program at the University of San Francisco. Recently David has been engaged in political writing, activism and volunteering to improve his community.
Job Titles:
- Director of Programs at Hamilton Families
Devra Edelman is the Director of Programs at Hamilton Families, where she's worked since 2005. She previously worked for five years as Executive Director of the Haight Ashbury Food Program. She received a Master of Social Work and a Master of Arts in International Development from the University of Denver in 1996 and worked in Colorado, California and internationally with homeless families and individuals for more than 18 years. She provides operational oversight and directly supervises the program directors of Hamilton Families' shelter and transitional housing programs, including case management and children's services.
Elizabeth Funk has spent the past 20 years as an impact investor, managing funds that invest with a social purpose. She was the founder of the Dignity Fund which invested in microfinance globally. She is now a partner in DevEquity, which invests in low income housing and sustainable agriculture in Latin America. Elizabeth was one of the earliest employees at Yahoo! and was responsible for business development and strategic planning for services such as Yahoo! Finance, Search, Auctions, Greetings, Travel and others.
Previously she served as a Product Marketing Manager for Microsoft Word and Office. Elizabeth has served on over a dozen boards, including as Chair of Unitus (microfinance), LifeMoves, and of Glide Memorial Church's Community Housing program in San Francisco's Tenderloin District.
Job Titles:
- Chief Strategy & Operating Officer
Gerald Turner is responsible for the overall operational performance of all HomeRise departments including programs, real estate development, housing operations, finance, asset management, compliance, and human resources.
He has focused extensively on real estate development initiatives to spur the creation and retention of jobs, reconnecting neighborhoods to educational, commercial, social, workplace and health services. Having directed community, economic and real estate development programs, Gerald joined HomeRise in July 2021 having managed and developed over 2,500 units of housing totaling $700 million in value for various public, private and non-profit organization.
Working out of the San Francisco office, Gordon is a past chair of the firm's Business Transactions Practice Group, and an active member of the firm's Intellectual Property and Commercial Litigation Practice Groups, as well as our Diversity Committee. He specializes in corporate governance, compliance, transactions and litigation, including venture capital financing, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), technology and intellectual property development and licensing, privacy, ecommerce, and commercialization and protection of intellectual property.
Gordon focuses on industries in the high technology sector (including software, hardware, IT, and telecom), biotech, and cloud-based platforms. He also practiced law in-house for a large telecommunications company. He serves as outside general counsel for many company clients, with his broad and deep knowledge of contract, intellectual property, competition, employment, governance, and shareholder issues. He works with internal clients to provide practical and proactive problem-solving advice in order to make his in-house colleagues' jobs easier. At Gordon & Rees, Gordon has extensive IP and commercial litigation experience, including multi-billion dollar complex contract cases.
Job Titles:
- President of the Board of Directors
Gregg joined HomeRise's board in 2012, bringing many years of experience in real estate and land use law as a partner at the firm of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP. At Coblentz, Gregg represents developers, managers, brokers, owners, and operators in the acquisition, financing, entitlement, development, leasing and sale of various property types. He has done extensive pro bono work throughout San Francisco, representing HomeRise in the acquisition and entitlement of the Edward II hotel for development into housing for transition- aged youth.
Job Titles:
- Director of Employment Opportunities
Iesha Fraser joined HomeRise in 2012. She has over 20 years of experience in business management. As Director of Employment Opportunities, Iesha oversees HomeRise's Community Volunteer Team (CVT), Training Program, and the Social Enterprise (Solutions SF).
Prior to joining HomeRise, Iesha served as Program Director at Manos Home Care where she oversaw two teams assisting children, seniors, and adults in the East Bay in their daily activities in the home and the community. Iesha graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.
Prior to merging her firm with Heffernan, Janice was President and CEO of J. Berthold Insurance Service Inc. and a Principal of All West Insurance Brokers, one of the top five closely held insurance brokerage firms in Silicon Valley. She is the one of the few brokers who works with clients on a "Referral Only" basis.
Janice has over 25 years of commercial insurance experience and holds the insurance designations of Professional Workers' Compensation Advisor, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, Chartered Life Underwriter, and Chartered Financial Consultant. An Advisor for the California State Senate Committee on Insurance, she is a featured writer for the Business Journal. In 1999, she was named Small Business Owner of the Year by the San Jose Mercury News and the Women's Fund and in 2003 The Business Journal named her Enterprising Woman of the Year. Janice is a graduate of the University of San Francisco. She sits on Santa Clara University Board of Fellows, Opportunity International Board of Governors and Housing Industry Forum Board & Advisors.
Jocelyn Michelsen is responsible for driving greater mission impact by linking HomeRise's strategy, operations, and evaluation work.
Jocelyn joined HomeRise in June 2017 with deep experience helping government, nonprofits, and foundations to better serve their participants. She has focused on advocating for displaced and vulnerable communities through a mission impact lens for the last dozen-plus years, working in Doctors Without Borders medical projects in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, and in community and workforce development projects in India, Africa, and the Bay Area. She currently serves on the board of Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farm Project in East Oakland (which teaches urban farming to youth, sells the produce in a CSA box, and deposits the proceeds into college accounts for each participant).
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Project Manager at SKS Partners
John is a Project Manager at SKS Partners, a San Francisco-based developer of commercial real estate. John joined the Board in 2015 and occupies an at-large seat. He serves on the Advancement Committee and Housing Committee, where he adds his experience in design, city approvals, and construction. John also has experience in urban planning and community outreach from his previous job as an urban planner in New Orleans. As a San Francisco native, John is committed to making his hometown an equitable and vibrant place for all people.
Jon joined the Board in 2014. He serves on the Advancement and Finance committees. Jon works with a number of entrepreneurial businesses through his role investing in medical technology companies at SV Life Sciences, one of the largest international healthcare-focused venture capital firms.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Business Development at Schwab Charitable
Julia is Managing Director of Business Development at Schwab Charitable, serving financial advisors, family offices, non-profits and donor communities nationwide. She has provided charitable planning consultation to wealth management professionals and their clients since 2005. Julia is a subject matter expert on all aspects of effective philanthropy, including complex gifts, legacy planning, and social impact strategy. She has spent more than 20 years in the financial services industry, working on two security exchanges before transitioning to private wealth management. Julia joined the Board in 2021 and is native to San Francisco where she still lives with her family.
Juthaporn joins the board as the first new board member of HomeRise. She has been a resident at Arnett Watson Apartments since 2016. Twenty years of lived experience with drug addiction and homelessness enable her to bring a fresh new lens and perspective to her role as resident board member. She understands what it means to go from being homeless to having a home. Because her life was stabilized through permanent supportive housing, she has been able to establish work, graduate from San Francisco State University, and raise her now six-year-old son, all while continuing to stay clean and sober. She is a community leader who believes in going big or go home. Her success is the success of the core mission of HomeRise: housing gives hope to the hopeless.
Karen Sheffield is a long-time corporate finance professional, working in a number of industries and for large companies such as American Airlines and PepsiCo. She has also held board leadership roles over a couple of professional organizations and has enthusiastically volunteered for various non-profit organizations including those serving people experiencing homelessness in Raleigh, NC. Currently, she works at Visa as a finance director and she also serves as an advisory board member for BeeFree, a CPG startup company that makes all-natural and gluten free snacks.
Born in Peru, Karen is passionate about investing in underestimated founders. In 2021, she started making angel investments with the goal of building a diverse portfolio. She enjoys mentoring entrepreneurs and individuals with an eye on career growth and financial freedom.
Ken Harootunian is responsible for fundraising, marketing, communications, and social media.
He has focused on fundraising and nonprofit management since the 1980's, helping to spur growth and scale impact for three different Planned Parenthood affiliates, Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the East Bay Community Foundation. Ken joined HomeRise in August 2021 having managed and led numerous successful major gift and capital campaigns. He currently serves as Board Chair for Exposing Hope (focused on the global refugee crisis) and is a board member of the Numi Foundation (which provided more than 600,000 pounds of food to families and seniors here in the Bay Area during the Pandemic and is currently working to provide critical water filtration technology/hardware for the citizens of Ukraine).
Job Titles:
- Administrative Manager
- Executive
Kevin joined HomeRise in 2021 and brings eight years of experience in direct service and business management for non-profits and healthcare. Kevin's educational background is in Healthcare Administration from DeVry Education Group.
Most recently, Kevin worked in human resources, business administration, and contracts compliance for The Salvation Army. Within his six years with the Army, he also served as a case manager for formerly homeless veterans and deployed on disasters as an Emergency Responder. He has a passion for helping people who have experienced homelessness and people with substance use disorders.
Kevin currently serves on the California Board of State and Community Corrections Executive Steering Committee for the Proposition 47 Grant Program. He also sits on the Advisory Circle for Harbor Light Center, a local substance use disorder and mental health treatment center.
Job Titles:
- Finance Consultant at the California Housing Partnership
Lauren Maddock is a Senior Housing Finance Consultant at the California Housing Partnership where she provides financial consulting, technical assistance and training to nonprofit and government partners. Prior to joining the Partnership, Lauren worked for 13 years at Mercy Housing California in a variety of roles including Senior Project Developer and Director of Asset Management encompassing nearly 8,500 affordable units. Lauren fills one of the five "Nominated Directors" on the Board, as nominated by the Council of Community Housing Organizations. Lauren brings extensive industry experience in housing development, which informs her personal advocacy for supportive housing for the homeless population. The subject-matter expertise she brings to the Board underscores the value of the HomeRise By-Laws that carve out representation on the Board from this sector.
Malea L. Chavez is an attorney specializing in housing rights, family law, and probate. She is a native San Franciscan born in the Mission District where she currently works as the Deputy Director of the Homeless Prenatal Program. Her commitment to social justice is expressed through a career working with monolingual Spanish-speakers and low-income communities. She is a graduate of Arizona State University and earned her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law where she was a founding member of the UC Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal. Malea started her legal career at the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) and La Raza Centro Legal, providing legal services and eviction defense for small businesses and families being displaced. As a staff attorney for the San Francisco Superior Court, and later as the Managing Attorney for the Alameda County Superior Court, she conducted bilingual community based legal clinics with several community-based organizations to provide greater access to the justice system for monolingual Spanish-speakers.
Mark covers employment collective bargaining jurisdiction for over 100,000 women and men employed at United Parcel Service (UPS), the construction industry, logistics delivery, warehouse and transportation service sectors in Northern California and Nevada. Mark serves as chair of the Bay Area Automotive Group which provides health benefits to 3000 union members and their families in the greater Bay Area.
Mark also sits on the Executive Board of the San Francisco Labor Council and is a delegate to the San Mateo Central Labor Council. Mark is a current director of the Teamster Assistance Program (TAP) providing rehabilitation services for those suffering from alcohol and substance addiction. As a City native, Mark attended San Francisco public schools, City College and San Francisco State University, and has raised his three children in the City's local public educational system. Mark considers housing a "workplace issue" and is passionate about incorporating housing crisis solutions into effective advocacy for economic improvements in the lives of working women and men.
Mike Petricca has been at the Academy of Art for the last 16 Years and is the Vice President of Campus Safety. Before taking that position he worked at AT&T leveraging his expertise with their Public Safety 9-1-1 team.
Previously, he worked as the Chief of Police in Webster City, Iowa from 1987 to 1996. He was the department head of an innovative Police Department and one the first to deploy Enhanced 9-1-1. As Chief of Police, he coordinated the state-wide narcotics task force and implemented crime-prevention strategies locally. Mr. Petricca was also Chief of Police in Sac City, Iowa from 1984 to 1987.
Mr. Petricca received his Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Central Missouri State University in 1986. He also taught as an Adjunct Professor at Iowa Central Community College and Buena Vista College.
Neil retired as Managing Partner and Technology Sector Practice Leader for the San Francisco office of Boyden Global Executive Search. Throughout his adult life, Neil has served in voluntary leadership roles within his community. Neil's most recent contributions include Board President and long-standing board member for Openhouse, a pioneering non-profit offering low income housing and services to LGBT seniors in San Francisco. He also served as a Commissioner for the San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services.
Patrick Valentino is a housing, transit and neighborhood activist living in the SOMA district of San Francisco. After volunteering for HomeRise for a few years, he was elected to the board in January of 2014 and serves as Chair of the Advancement Committee, and is also a member of the Housing Committee. Patrick has been practicing real estate law for over 22 years. Patrick is also the Vice Chair of the South Beach Mission Bay Merchants Association, and a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Transbay Transit Center.
Job Titles:
- Director of Resident Services
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs
Rick Aubry joined HomeRise as the CEO November 2019. He has a distinguished career in the leadership of nonprofit and academic organizations known for their innovative work in creating social change. Most recently Rick was the founder/CEO of New Foundry Ventures, a US based NGO that launches and supports social enterprises to create scaled social impact.
Rick also served as Assistant Provost for Social Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement and Professor of the Practice at Tulane University from 2010-2016. During his tenure he developed academic and community programs in social entrepreneurship through a $15 million gift he secured for the university and created the Tulane Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design.
Previously, Rick was a member of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business faculty, teaching social entrepreneurship and innovation and launching numerous global programs that allowed students to work with social entrepreneurs around the world.
From 1986-2009 Rick was the CEO of Rubicon Programs, a social enterprise in Richmond, CA. During his tenure, he launched social programs and ventures that served over 50,000 people confronting homeless, poverty, economic inequality and disabilities. Rubicon became the progenitor of many of the social enterprises now operating in the US.
Rick has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, a part of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The Schwab Foundation is a network of the world's leading social entrepreneurs who are exclusively invited to present their work at the WEF meeting in Davos. Rick co-authored "Generating/ Sustaining Nonprofit Earned Income" and "Nonprofit Management 101", two leading books on effective nonprofit leadership and management as well as numerous Stanford GSB case studies of effective and failed social innovation models throughout the world.
Rick was featured in the CNN/Time Magazine series "Principal Voices" in 2008 and was a Fast Company Magazine "Social Capitalist of the Year". He has been a World Economic Forum (WEF) Schwab Social Entrepreneurs since the inaugural year in 2001 and served as chair of the WEF Global Council of Social Entrepreneurs. Rick has been an Ashoka Senior Fellow since 2009.
Job Titles:
- Director of Public Policy & Community Organizing
Sara Shortt brings over 25 years of experience in community organizing, policy advocacy, program management and service delivery in the areas of economic justice, anti-poverty organizing, affordable housing, homelessness and tenants' rights and anti-displacement issues. Sara spent the past three years running an innovative, multi-disciplinary homeless outreach program in LA's Skid Row, which successfully housed hundreds of chronically homeless residents.
Before that she was the Executive Director of the Housing Rights Committee, where for 11 years she was at the forefront of eviction prevention efforts, rent control preservation, renter anti-displacement measures and renter's rights public education and legal services. Sara started out in San Francisco 20 years ago organizing residents of SROs in the Tenderloin. She is a passionate and fierce advocate for the rights and dignity of the city's lowest income renters.
Sheila joined the Board in early 2014 and serves on the Finance committee. She brings 30 years of sales leadership experience from GE and several technology startups. Sheila moved to San Francisco 24 years ago at which time she launched and led GE's San Francisco Chapter of Volunteers, an organization designed to build stronger communities where employees live and work. She is aiming for greater HomeRise awareness and engagement in San Francisco, especially in the Technology sector.
Ty joined TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP) in 2012, and is based in San Francisco. TPG Real Estate Partners focuses primarily on investments in real estate-rich companies, property portfolios, and select single assets located in North America and Europe. Employing a value-add approach to investing, it leverages the full resources of TPG's global network to optimize property performance and enhance platform capabilities. TREP has approximately $6.4 billion of assets under management. Before joining TPG, Ty worked as an Analyst in both the Investment Banking and Private Equity Investing arms of Morgan Stanley Real Estate and as a Finance Analyst for Developers Diversified Realty, a publicly traded REIT. Ty received his B.A. in Economics with a certificate in Markets and Management studies from Duke University.
Ty is proud to serve on both the HomeRise Advisory Circle and as a volunteer on the HomeRise Housing Committee and currently lives in Tiburon with his wife and two young children.
For more than 20 years, Vanna's work has focused on under represented communities while promoting environmental, social, and financial sustainability. Her projects provide varying amounts of permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness, as well housing serving low-income families in the San Francisco Bay Area. Vanna's projects have recognized with awards from local and national organizations. One of her projects, Rene Cazenave Apartments which provides housing for the formerly unhoused, was selected as an AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project in the U.S.
Job Titles:
- Analyst and Consultant With MCorp
Will works as an analyst and consultant with MCorp - a leading CX Consultancy that provides actionable, data-driven insights into how companies' interactions with their customers can be improved to boost customer experiences. Prior to MCorp, Will worked at Colliers International for five years with San Francisco's top-selling commercial residential investment brokerage team. At the time of his departure, the team had been responsible for >$3.7B in sales.
Will was born and raised just across the Golden Gate in San Anselmo, and holds an abiding love for San Francisco. Before he began his career with Colliers, Will taught intensive SAT and college application courses to at-risk inner-city high school students for two years in Worcester, MA, an experience which added fuel to his desire to help marginalized members within his community.