DESTINATION - Key Persons
Alex's story is one that consisted of significant pain, loss, and dysfunction, which led him to make choices that were neither healthy for him nor those around him. These destructive choices resulted in Alex spending a total of 26 years in and out of the California correctional system. In 2014 while serving his last term, he was introduced to the Enneagram, which as he says, "introduced Alex to Alex."
Today, Alex is a father, grandfather, an ordained minister, certified drug and alcohol counselor, court liaison, mental health specialist, and program manager at Destiny Reentry center in San Jose, California. He serves as both an EPP Ambassador and Board member, is pursuing certification to become an Enneagram teacher, and speaks on behalf of EPP with a passion for helping people overcome many of the same challenges in life that he has endured. Alex is an advocate for the homeless and those that are living on the margins of society. He is also actively engaged in raising awareness and speaking out against the unjust and inhumane response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in prisons and jails across the nation. Alex has committed himself and his voice to be a bridge to foster understanding, support learning and transformation, and move individual and collective hearts toward the creation of a socially just and equitable world.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Executive Assistant Read More
Arleen has a strong background in banking, financial systems, investments, and office administration and management. She provides direct support to the chief executive officer, reports to the chief impact officer, manages communication with the Destination: Home Board of Directors, and provides administrative assistance to the entire organization. Prior to joining Destination: Home, Arleen worked with Raising A Reader as senior manager of administrative services and board liaison for six years. She also worked previously at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in the investments and accounting departments.
Arleen holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and economics from the University of the East in the Philippines. She began her career as a banker specializing in international trade finance.
Job Titles:
- Lived Experience Coordinator Read More
Born and raised in San Jose, Ashley has spent her time giving back to her community whenever she can. Having experienced housing instability due to the 2008 recession, Ashley learned at a young age the importance of safe and secure housing. Ashley is a first generation college graduate born to parents of Jungapeo, Michoacan. Growing up, Ashley's parents instilled in her the importance of education and hard work.
Ashley attended De Anza College where she worked as an English as a Second Language tutor. She was also a part of the Honors Program, Dean's List, and Humanities Mellon Scholar during her two years at De Anza College. After her time at De Anza College, she transferred to the University of California, Berkeley where she was a part of Sigma Kappa sorority and majored in Gender & Women's Studies.
During her time in college, Ashley worked as a Graphic Designer at Free the Period CA, a menstrual equity organization. She also worked as a Graphic Designer for the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles.
In her free time, Ashley enjoys cooking and baking, spending time with her dog Pecos, and going to Disneyland whenever she can.
Benjamin Spero - Chairman, Managing Director
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Managing Director
- Board Chair Read More
- Managing Director at Spectrum Equity
Benjamin Spero is a Managing Director at Spectrum Equity. Prior to joining Spectrum, Ben was a consultant at Bain & Company and co-founder of TouchPak Inc. He also serves on the boards of directors of Ancestry.com, Animoto, GrubHub, ExactBid, SurveyMonkey, and WeddingWire.
Ben earned a B.A. in economics and history from Duke University.
Job Titles:
- Chief
- Program Officer
- Chief Program Officer Read More
- Senior Fellow of American Leadership Forum
Chad is a mission-driven change agent dedicated to ending homelessness. As a volunteer, he was awarded the Silver Bowl Award from the Junior League of San Jose, the Community Quarterback Award from the San Francisco 49ers, and Bank of America's Local Hero Award in 2011. As a case manager at InnVision, he crafted his approach helping women and families toward self-sufficiency through homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing. Chad also played a critical role in the growth of Downtown Streets Team in terms of size, scope, impact and geography. Over five years, he helped craft a whatever-it-takes approach to case management and employment services, co-founded a social enterprise as a living-wage job creation platform, and launched an East Bay branch of the organization. The Golden State Warriors and the San Jose mayor's office named Chad as their 2015 Champion in the Community.
Chad is a senior fellow of American Leadership Forum, a graduate of Leadership San Jose, a two-time Most Valuable Player in the international sport power soccer, and holds a bachelor's degree in business psychology from Palo Alto University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
- Director of Communications Read More
Chelsea has focused her career on building and preserving healthy and affordable communities in government and nonprofit roles. Bringing more than a decade of communications and public policy experience to the Destination: Home team, she served in several roles in New York State government, most recently as deputy chief of staff and director of marketing for New York's affordable housing agency, and as an inaugural member of the state's Superstorm Sandy recovery team. Beginning with a year of service in AmeriCorps, Chelsea also served in various roles with the housing nonprofit Rebuilding Together, including Executive Director of the NYC affiliate.
Chelsea holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and media studies and a master's in public administration from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.
Job Titles:
- Director of Lived Experience and Innovation
- Director, Lived Experience and Innovation Read More
Claudine is the Director of Lived Experience and Innovation at Destination: Home. Originally from American Samoa, Claudine served in the United States Navy and the Army National Guard before starting her work in the nonprofit sector. Previous to joining Destination: Home, Claudine developed and implemented programs to help unhoused and justice-involved populations earn a living wage and find stable housing.
Her lived experience of homelessness makes her a subject matter expert intent on building compassion, disrupting status-quo systems, and helping sector leaders clarify our local community's understanding of the root causes and scope of homelessness. She is an active advocate for ending homelessness and is passionate about improving quality of life for unsheltered individuals. Claudine serves on the Santa Clara County Continuum of Care (CoC) Governance Board, the Santa Clara County Lived Experience Advisory Board, and as the Northern California Co-Chairman of the Statewide Lived Expertise Advisory Board.
In her spare time, Claudine enjoys drinking locally-roasted coffee and being out in nature, whether off-roading or overlanding in her Jeep.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Policy and Communications Read More
David Low brings more than a decade of public policy and strategic communications experience to our work to end homelessness in Silicon Valley. Prior to joining Destination: Home, David served as a senior advisor and communications director to San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, where he was intricately involved in the mayor's efforts to combat Silicon Valley's homelessness and affordable housing crises. He also spent a number of years working on the team of former Mayor Chuck Reed, as well as in the nonprofit sector, including as marketing and communications director for the YMCA of Silicon Valley and regional communications director for Breathe California.
David grew up in Silicon Valley and is an alumnus of UCLA, where he earned a dual bachelor's degree in political science and communication studies.
Dontae Lartigue is a native of the Peninsula and was raised in East Palo Alto for the first few years of his life. He entered care at a very early age and has lived most of his life in San Jose in shelters, group homes and various foster placements. Fortunately for Dontae, he had mentors that invested in him. After graduating from high school, Dontae went on to receive his Associates Degree in Liberal Arts/Social and Behavioral Sciences from DeAnza College. He then went on to receive his Bachelors Degree in Psychology from San Jose State University. Dontae plans to continue furthering his education by attending a local graduate school to pursue a Masters Degree in Nonprofit Management.
Job Titles:
- Community Outreach & Education Officer Read More
Native of Michoacan, Mexico Esmeralda brings over a decade of non-profit experience and a wide range of community-building skills to her outreach and educational role with Destination: Home. Previous to joining the team, Esmeralda served in several roles including being a volunteer, leader, direct service worker and most recently as a community organizer at PACT: People Acting in Community Together where she had the opportunity to practice grassroots- and faith-based community organizing. She specializes in training and empowering leaders throughout Santa Clara County to take action in the public arena regardless of faith, race, gender and economic status, connecting issues affecting the most vulnerable populations in our communities to local, state and national policy.
Esmeralda believes housing should be accessible to all, and that understanding the root causes of homelessness is key to our community's success in ending and preventing homelessness.
In her spare time, she enjoys being out in nature and spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Apple 's Former Corporate Treasurer
- Vice President & Corporate Treasurer
Gary Wipfler is Apple's former Corporate Treasurer, a position he's held since 1997. Gary was responsible for the company's cash and investments, foreign exchange, treasury operations, corporate finance, risk management, investor relations, credit/debit card payment platforms and return of capital program. Since joining Apple in 1986, Gary had held several treasury positions including assistant treasurer and capital markets and foreign exchange management. Gary holds a BA from the University of Washington, and an MBA from Santa Clara University ('86). While at the University of Washington, he was a member of the Husky track and field team, competing in the high hurdles and decathlon. Gary is married with four children and lives in Los Altos, California.
Job Titles:
- Director of Public Information at Gavilan College
Jan Bernstein Chargin is the Director of Public Information at Gavilan College. She is passionately involved with homelessness and housing issues in the community.
Jan serves as facilitator of the South County Homeless Outreach Task Force and has been the Board Chair of Gilroy Compassion Center since its beginning in 2011. She also serves on the Gilroy Housing Advisory Committee. Prior to joining Gavilan College, Jan worked for InnVision. She holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the Panetta Institute at California State University, Monterey Bay, and an Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics from Cornell University.
Jan's other passion is art. She has worked in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, digital, sculpture, and installation. It was through her personal involvement and experience as an artist that Jan became intimately connected with homelessness. She serves as a formerly homeless representative on the board of Destination: Home.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Executive Officer Read More
With more than 25 years working in a variety of shelter, street and housing programs, Jennifer Loving has spent her career working to solve homelessness in Silicon Valley.
Since being tapped to lead Destination: Home in 2010, Jennifer has brought together public officials, government agencies, private sector leaders, nonprofit executives and leaders with lived experience to implement a collective impact model in Santa Clara County, resulting in well over $1.5B in new public, private and philanthropic funding and over 25,000 people permanently off our streets. She has developed and collaborated on numerous innovative models for addressing chronic homelessness, led the effort to establish California's first Countywide Homelessness Prevention System and led our community's COVID relief effort resulting in $85M in direct cash aid distributed to over 20,000 people.
Jennifer holds a master's degree in counseling psychology from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School's Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. In addition to her role with Destination: Home, she currently serves as Chairperson for the Santa Clara County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and is a board member for Somos Mayfair and All Home. Jennifer is also an ALFSV Senior Fellow, a SVBJ 2023 Power 100 awardee and was a California Senate appointee to the State Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of San Diego 's Regional Continuum of Care Board of Directors
For 21 years, Joel John Roberts has led PATH, and its housing development agency PATH Ventures, as the Chief Executive Officer. The mission of PATH is to end homelessness for individuals, families, and communities. This community-based organization currently has 26 locations throughout the State of California. The major regions where PATH is located are: Los Angeles/Southern California, San Diego/South, Santa Barbara/Central Coast, and San Jose/Bay Area.
Roberts is currently a member of San Diego's Regional Continuum of Care Board of Directors, San Diego's New Market Tax Credit Advisory Board, and recently was the co-Chairperson for the Governor's California Interagency Council on Veterans/Interventions to Solve Homelessness Sub-Committee.
Job Titles:
- Chairman / the Sobrato Organization
As founder and principal of The Sobrato Organization, John heads one of the most successful real estate development organizations in California.
John's career in real estate dates back to the late 1950s. He began selling homes in Palo Alto, and while attending Santa Clara University, John arranged his classes to allow him to work three days a week. After graduating in 1960, John founded Midtown Realty and specialized in "Eichler" home re-sales. Building on his residential success, he expanded into commercial real estate, working with his mother Ann Sobrato to develop industrial properties nearly a decade before the name "Silicon Valley" was coined. In 1974, John sold Midtown Realty to focus on commercial development for the rapidly emerging high technology industry. The Sobrato Organization has since been responsible for development and construction of more than 150 office and research & development facilities, totaling more than 15 million square feet and 10,000 apartment units.
While a corporate leader, John is a community leader-supporting many organizations in both board leadership and advisor positions, and believing that despite deep and compelling need, this entire Silicon Valley can thrive.
Job Titles:
- Communications Officer
- Communications Officer Read More
Kathie Pham is a second-generation Vietnamese American and first-generation college graduate. Having experienced homelessness and housing instability herself, Kathie is passionate about ending and preventing homelessness in her community. She believes an intersectional approach is instrumental in developing strategies to address social issues. As Destination: Home's Communications Specialist, Kathie utilizes a blend of public relations and marketing to craft messages with intention.
Kathie holds a Bachelor of Science in public relations and a minor in business from San Jose State University. Her previous work with local non-profit organizations like The San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory and Next Door Solutions fostered her passion for social work and love for her Bay Area community. Before joining Destination: Home, she worked in the education sector and was responsible for marketing one of the leading college prep companies in the United States, FLEX College Prep.
Job Titles:
- Deputy County Executive for the County of Santa Clara
Since the Fall of 2021, Ky Le has served as a Deputy County Executive for the County of Santa Clara. He assists the County Executive by primarily supporting initiatives to increase affordable housing and improve safety-net services. His other County roles include Director for the Office of Supportive Housing and Mental Health Services Act Coordinator. Prior to joining the County in 2008, Ky held leadership positions at a homeless services nonprofit organization and in the U.S. Army. He earned his bachelor's degrees from UC Davis and was recognized as a Distinguished Military Graduate. Ky was born at Camp Pendleton, California, after his family fled Vietnam in 1975. He currently lives in San Jose, CA, with his wife and their cat, Mothy. His community activities include serving as Palo Alto University Trustee, an Advisory Council Member for United Way Bay Area, and a volunteer coach for Girls on the Run Silicon Valley.
Louis Chicoine has more than 20 years of experience finding solutions to homelessness. Louis brings a vast knowledge of local and regional housing policy, and the issues surrounding homelessness to our board.
Louis began his tenure at Abode Services as a program director in 1992 and became executive director two years later. Under his guidance and leadership, Abode Services has grown from a local "start-up" with one shelter serving 66 adults and children into a regional organization that provides housing services to more than 4,400 adults and children each year in Alameda, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties. Those services include programs for emancipated foster youth, and episodic and chronically homeless individuals and families.
In addition to his leadership of Abode Services, Louis' expertise in housing and homeless solutions is widely recognized in the community. He serves as President of the Alameda County Council of Mental Health Agencies Board of Directors, is a senior fellow at the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley, and is often sought for expert consultation and speaking engagements at groups seeking to learn more about supportive housing. Louis holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Holy Names University in Oakland and Master's degrees in social work administration and pastoral ministry.
Job Titles:
- Administration and Development Officer Read More
Lydia is a values-driven professional focused on collaborating with others to create sustainable solutions to systemic inequities. With experience in grant management and reporting, data analysis, and teaching, Lydia brings a wide range of perspectives and skills to her work. Lydia most recently worked as an analyst for the local Homelessness Prevention System COVID-19 program, and previously served as a high school special education teacher in Denver.
Lydia holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Music from Santa Clara University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Administration and Development
Maia Bookoff has over a decade of experience cultivating government agencies, private foundations, and corporations to invest in innovative, high-impact programs that make communities healthier and more vibrant. Prior to joining Destination: Home, Maia managed institutional fundraising at The Health Trust in San Jose, and was assistant director of development at the Fund for Public Health in New York City.
Maia earned a bachelor's degree in urban studies and planning from the University of California (San Diego), and a master's degree from the Columbia University School of Social Work.
Job Titles:
- Senior Initiatives Officer
Maureen Damrel has focused her career on lifting up and empowering underserved populations in her community. With more than 10 years of professional nonprofit experience, she has worked to help people on their path out of homelessness, connect families to supportive services, and supplement the public school system. Prior to joining Destination: Home, Maureen worked for six years with Downtown Streets Team as case manager, project manager, and director of Santa Clara County programming. Maureen is passionate about the need to strengthen community, and believes that building community partnerships is the key to developing effective solutions to address pressing social challenges at the local level.
Maureen holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from San Jose State University, is a graduate of Leadership San Jose, a Community Advocates Leadership Academy (CALA) participant, and an active community volunteer.
Job Titles:
- President & Chief Executive Officer / Silicon Valley Community Foundation
- President and CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Nicole Taylor is president and CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. She brings together a rich background in Bay Area philanthropy, nonprofit administration and fundraising with extensive experience in both the private and public sectors.
In joining SVCF in December 2018, Nicole returns to the Bay Area from Arizona, where she served as vice president of the ASU Foundation. She also previously served as deputy vice president and dean of students at Arizona State University. Prior to her time at ASU, Nicole was the associate vice provost of student affairs and dean of community engagement and diversity at Stanford University, after serving as president and CEO of Thrive Foundation for Youth in Silicon Valley.
Nicole also spent more than 15 years with the East Bay Community Foundation, eventually serving as its president and CEO for six years. Nicole received both her M.A. in Education and A.B. in Human Biology from Stanford University, and she began her career as an educator in Oakland public schools. She served on the board of the Federal Reserve of San Francisco for six years and is currently a board member for Common Sense Media.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director / Santa Clara County Housing Authority
Preston Prince joined the Santa Clara County Housing Authority in 2021. As Executive Director, Prince runs one of the largest public housing authorities in the nation. He came to SCCHA following 14 years as CEO and executive director of the Fresno Housing Authority, that county's largest affordable housing developer and landlord, where he oversaw a diverse housing portfolio serving 50,000 low-income residents through 13,000 housing choice vouchers and 5,000 public and affordable units, of which 2,400 new units were added during his tenure.
Prior to Fresno Housing, Prince was executive director of the Aurora Housing Authority in Aurora, Colo. His early professional career focused on the creation and financing of affordable housing for both nonprofits and public housing agencies throughout Washington state, where he developed thousands of housing units for people with special needs, families, seniors and homeowners. Prince has long been involved in creating affordable housing policy at the national level as well as local and statewide efforts to prevent homelessness and improve economic mobility for low-income families. He serves on the boards of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), California Housing Finance Agency and National Public Housing Museum. He is a past board member of the National Organization of African-Americans in Housing. Prince holds a master's degree in urban affairs and policy analysis and a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from New School University in New York City.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Operating Officer Read More
Ray works systematically to meet Destination: Home's goals by addressing key staffing, process, and infrastructure issues, while also overseeing the organization's housing loan portfolio, grantmaking, and development functions. Having focused on homelessness and affordable housing issues for the majority of his career, Ray previously worked for the City of San Jose, leading the city's Homelessness Interventions and Solutions Division for over five years.
Prior to joining the city, he was a philanthropy manager at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and before that Ray worked with HomeFirst-a Santa Clara County safety net organization-as director of development. An alumnus of UC Santa Barbara, Ray spent the year following his graduation with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps serving impoverished communities throughout the southeastern United States. He is a senior fellow with American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley and a board member for Housing Matters and Veggielution. Ray is also currently pursuing his Masters in Liberal Arts from Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President and Corporate Treasurer of Cisco Systems Inc
- SVP, Corporate Treasurer and Head of Global Corporate Security / Cisco Systems, Inc.
Roger is Senior Vice President and Corporate Treasurer of Cisco Systems Inc. He is also Cisco's Head of Global Corporate Security. In these capacities he maintains global responsibility for: capital markets activities; liquidity and cash management operations; insurance and risk management; business resiliency and continuity planning; physical safety and security; technology architectures and standards; compliance governance and controls
Roger serves as Cisco's executive sponsor for several key Fortune 50 customers. He is actively engaged with Cisco shareholders, serves as a fiduciary for the company's defined contribution plan. He also leads the Cisco Foundation's Investment Committee. Prior to joining Cisco in 1999, Roger held senior financial markets positions in the areas of fixed income, equity, foreign exchange, and derivatives with major global financial institutions including the Royal Bank of Canada, Banque Paribas and Lehman Brothers in New York, London, Paris and San Francisco.
In addition to his role with Destination: Home, Roger serves on board, audit and finance committees for several other non-profits such as the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, Diocese of San Jose and St. Simon's Catholic Parish.
Roger holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of San Francisco.
Ted Wang was an investment partner at Cowboy Ventures, a seed stage venture fund based in the Bay Area. Cowboy's focus is backing founders building products that "reimagine work and personal life in large and growing markets" which they refer to as Life 2.0.
Ted invests in both enterprise software and consumer facing technology companies. At Cowboy, Ted led investments in companies such as Vic.ai, Lumatax, Fullcast.io, and Aura Health, once describing his investment focus as "unsexy tech". He also invests in consumer applications promoting wellness. At Cowboy, Ted was best known for helping companies understand metrics and hit milestones needed to get to Series A financing.
Prior to joining Cowboy, Ted was a leading startup lawyer, including as a partner at technology law firm Fenwick & West. Ted was outside counsel to an array of venture-backed technology companies, including Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Square, Sonos, Spotify, Jet, Zuora, Apprio, Samsara, Gusto, Honor, Satellogic, Stripe and Wealthfront.