Claudine Sipili

Claudine Sipili is the Northern California Board Co-Chair for the BHHI Lived Expertise Advisory Board. She is currently the Director of Lived Experience and Innovation at Destination: Home, a nonprofit that convenes public and private partners to end homelessness. 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 her current organization, 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, addiction, and justice involvement 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. Claudine is a champion in reminding communities the dignity of what it is to be human and that each individual regardless of housing status should be treated equally and has the right to access their basic needs. Her beliefs rooted in empathy drive her work and advocacy to end homelessness, bring awareness to communities, and improve the quality of life for unsheltered individuals. Claudine serves on the Santa Clara County Continuum of Care (CoC) Governance Board and Lived Experience Advisory Board, sits on the National Alliance to End Homelessness’s Capacity Building Network, and is consulting on a national project called “Reimagining and Transforming Approaches to Interim Housing”.

In her spare time, Claudine enjoys drinking locally roasted coffee and being out in nature, whether off-roading, overlanding, camping, or hiking.