Gato Ian Gourley is the Center for Vulnerable Populations (CVP) Division Manager. He has worked with CVP for over 7 years. He is very excited to be supporting the newly created Division of the Center for Vulnerable Populations at ZSFG in order to further the CVP’s mission and continue its growth with the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. He is extremely passionate about the CVP’s mission and is deeply committed to pursuing social justice and health equity. He has an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in Sociology from the

Jared Martin, PhD, received his doctorate from Ohio State University in Human Development and Family Science. His research focus covers two areas: (1) housing and related supportive interventions for youth and families experiencing homelessness and housing instability, and (2) implementation science in human service organizations. His dissertation used mixed methods to understand the influence of system-level factors on the adoption of evidence-based practices among organizations serving youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. He has also conducted research on youth attitudes toward service providers, a tailored Housing First approach for youth populations, and implementation of a cross-system intervention to support vulnerable

Joseph Tay Wee Teck (Joe Tay) is a 2023–24 U.K. Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice. Joe Tay will be part of the BHHI Postdoctoral Program from August 21, 2023 to July 31, 2024. He has been a general practitioner (family doctor) working with marginalized groups and populations in Edinburgh for over 15 years. During the pandemic, he was part of the Edinburgh inclusion health initiative to provide primary and addiction care to people experiencing homelessness. He also specializes in addiction medicine and is currently the clinical services director for Forward Leeds, the second largest integrated addiction care

Lourdes Johanna Avelar Portillo earned her PhD in the Population, Health and Place at the University of Southern California where she focused on addressing interim-level needs, specifically drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) service needs of unhoused communities in Los Angeles. Prior to USC, Johanna earned her MA in Geography at Cal State Long Beach where she explored the intersections of gender, emotional geographies, and household water insecurity in rural communities of Santo Tomas, El Salvador. Johanna earned her BA in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. These research experiences have shaped Johanna’s research interests

Mark Hawes, PhD, MSW, is a mixed methods social work researcher focused on eliminating barriers to tobacco and substance use treatment among unhoused communities and those living in permanent supportive housing. He holds a joint appointment as a post-doctoral fellow at the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) and the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education (CTCRE). Dr. Hawes is currently working on a mixed-methods study with permanent supportive housing residents that seeks to understand treatment needs centered on the co-use of tobacco with other substances. The goal is to increase the availability of services that integrate tobacco

Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH is a second-year postdoctoral fellow with BHHI. He received his PhD in Epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health where he also received his MPH and earned his BS at the University of California, Irvine. Ryan’s work applies community-engaged practices, social determinants of health frameworks, and epidemiological methods to examine the intersections of infectious diseases, substance use and drug-related overdose, and sexual health among people experiencing homelessness and sexual and gender diverse populations. Prior to joining BHHI, Ryan was an epidemiologist at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. With nearly a