Prior to joining BHHI, Abraham worked as a legal intern with Sin Fronteras, an organization based in Mexico City providing legal assistance to migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and their families as well as helping individuals secure access to medical, educational, employment, and housing resources. He has also worked providing nutritional resources to underserved communities in his hometown of Watsonville, California. He graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in Sociology. Today, he continues to work as a volunteer translator for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.

Alma Yates, MSW is BHHI’s Education Program Manager. In this role, Alma coordinates predoctoral and postdoctoral activities. Prior to joining BHHI, she worked at the University of California San Francisco, including the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, AIDS Research Institute and Stanford University. Alma received her master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Social Work in New York City, with a focus on Social Enterprise Administration, International Social Welfare, and Services for Immigrants and Refugees. She is also a graduate of Santa Clara University, where she earned her BS in Anthropology. Alma is a former refugee from Bosnia

Angelica is a researcher with an interdisciplinary background in anthropology, sociology, international relations, and law. After working in direct service for many years, she worked in multiple research settings before joining CVP/BHHI—including three years conducting public opinion research to advance policy on a range of issues. She looks forward to continue informing policy and practice recommendations as a researcher with CVP/BHHI. Angelica holds an LL.M from the University of Essex and an M.Phil from the University of Oxford.

Ashley Smith is a Data Analyst at BHHI. Her interest in public health and research is rooted in non-profit work as a young adult in the diverse city of San Francisco. Ashley accepted a position at UCSF DGIM as a research coordinator in 2019, before joining BHHI in July 2020. She has spent her time at UCSF supporting multiple research projects focused on examining health disparities – working on projects spanning from equitable cancer care for underserved populations, housing insecurity, and telehealth for aging populations. She has experience in program evaluation, community engagement, and qualitative data analysis. She earned her

Celeste Enriquez joins CVP as a Clinical Research Coordinator (CRC) for Dr. Margot Kushel’s HOPE HOME study. Before joining UCSF in the spring of 2018, Celeste was working on various public health projects in government, academia, and nonprofit organizations nationally. Her work focusing on the health effects to agricultural workers in the central coast of California began her interest in research. She is also a Research Data Analyst on a qualitative research study at DAHSM, examining the consequences of reductions in opioid prescribing for chronic non-cancer pain on patients, clinical care delivery, and community health (ECROP) with Dr. Kelly Knight

Cheyenne Garcia is a senior research data analyst at BHHI. She helps produce academic papers using HOPE HOME and CASPEH data. She is primarily interested in intergenerational trauma, homelessness among families, and how early life experiences influence homelessness. Prior to joining BHHI, Cheyenne was a Fulbright Scholar in the Netherlands studying parenting at Leiden University. Cheyenne graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with Honors. She graduated from American River College with four associate degrees.

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

Colette (Coco) is an Associate Professor in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and Director of the UC Berkeley–UCSF Joint Medical Program. She holds academic positions at both the Berkeley and San Francisco campuses of the University of California. She is a pediatrician specialized in adolescent medicine. Her research consistently focuses on the social determinants of health of our society’s most disadvantaged youth and on structural interventions to positively impact on their health while employing a community collaborative and youth-engaged approach. She is the co-founder and co-director of i4Y (Innovations for Youth) and the faculty lead for the Ending

Prior to joining BHHI, Corbin served as an IQ shelter supervisor for the Santa Cruz County Health and Human Services Department, and as an EMT in the Bay Area. Corbin recently graduated from UCLA with a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology, where he spent considerable time studying the relationship between maternal health and child outcomes. He looks forward to applying his experiences in epidemiology and emergency medicine to improve health outcomes within vulnerable populations and to promote sustainable housing for all.

Daisy Esmeralda Hernandez is a recent MPH graduate from SFSU. As a first-generation Latina from East Side of San Jose, Daisy is driven by a profound love for science, guiding her towards a career in research and medicine. Her aspirations are deeply rooted in addressing healthcare disparities for minority populations. Daisy envisions a future where she serves as a passionate advocate for disenfranchised communities in the Bay Area.

Dallas Augustine is a trained criminologist and sociolegal scholar who uses mixed methods approaches to examine punishment and inequality, with a focus on prisons, community supervision, and prisoner reentry. Dr. Augustine joined BHHI as a postdoctoral scholar in 2021 to research the intersection of criminal legal involvement, homelessness, and substance use. Beyond research, Dallas works in harm reduction to provide direct services to people who use drugs, experience homelessness, or are otherwise impacted by the criminal legal system; prior to joining BHHI, she played an integral role with the Orange County Needle Exchange Program – the first syringe exchange in

Dalliana is from San Jose, California, and joined CVP in 2022 as a Research Analyst. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Public Health Science from Santa Clara University and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health at San Jose State University.

Prior to accepting his role with the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, Dante Skidmore worked in downtown Los Angeles on Skidrow at the Weingart Center for the Homeless as a Program Monitor. Most recently, he worked at SQA Services as a Program Manager managing and supporting clients such as NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Honeywell. Dante currently resides in Oakland, California, where he was born and raised. Before moving back to Oakland, he lived in Los Angeles where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from California State University at Dominguez Hills.

Dave serves as a Senior Statistician to lead the quantitative team at the BHHI. Dave has worked in the field of policy analysis for the last 14 years, primarily focusing on issues of labor standards, such as raising regional minimum wages, and expanding health care affordability and access in California. Most recently, he worked as a statistician for the UC Berkeley Labor Center where he provided the quantitative results for dozens of studies to inform legislative debates. In his first week at the Labor Center, he provided the analysis which led to requirements for San Francisco businesses to provide basic

DeDe Hancock is a senior native of San Diego and was raised in the Valencia Park community of District 4 from the age of 5. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The University of California San Diego and worked for 23 years helping organizations such as Neighborhood House Association and Pacific Bell with technical training, data, and special services. Following a job termination in 2006, DeDe lost the home that she had purchased as a single mom and became homeless for seven years. DeDe believes that her greatest education and life skills were acquired during this seven-year journey

Desiree (Dez) Martinez is the Executive Director of We Are NOT Invisible, a non-profit organization that advocates for and assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Born in Los Alamitos, Ca, Dez moved to Fresno, California when she was 16 years old. At the age of 43, she became homeless for the first time after fleeing domestic violence. During her five years being unhoused, Dez lived on the streets due to lack of shelter for domestic violence, in her car, in DV shelters, garages, and rooms for rent. Finally, a local property owner allowed her to move into a renovated flip

Dontae Lartigue is the CEO and Co-founder of a non-profit organization, Razing the Bar, that provides comprehensive mentorship and housing support services to current and former foster youth, as well as other under-resourced youth populations in San Jose. Believing that relationships are the key to successful youth development, Dontae’s organization has created a successful model of mentorship and housing support to help transition-aged youth (TAY) achieve permanent connections and self-sufficiency. Dontae is driven to pursue this work because of his own lived experience. He entered foster care at a very early age and lived most of his life in shelters

Emily, a native of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in the Sociomedical Science department, specializing in Climate and Health. Emily completed her undergraduate degree in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior at the University of California, Davis. Prior to beginner her graduate studies, she worked as an Assistant Language Teacher on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Emily has a deep passion for education and teaching, with solid experience in program design and evaluation.

Erin Hartman, MS, is BHHI's Director of Communications. Prior to joining the staff of UCSF BHHI, Ms. Hartman worked in the UCSF Division of Hospital Medicine as Project Director and Editorial Director for AHRQ Patient Safety Network/WebM&M, a pioneering online patient safety journal and weekly news service advocating worldwide patient safety improvement. Before that, she was Managing Editor of the groundbreaking Clinical Crossroads series in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). She has substantively edited more than 1000 articles published in the medical literature. She received a BA in Linguistics from the University of Michigan with High Honors

Prior to accepting the role with BHHI, Eve was a Research and Policy Associate at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, where she focused on low-wage and health care policy research. They have also worked as the Policy Manager at TechEquity Collaborative and a research assistant at M.I.T. focusing on the design and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Eve received a Master of Public Policy degree from the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy in 2017 and Bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University in 2009.

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