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Abraham Renteria-Ramirez, BA
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.
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Academic Collaborations
"BHHI is a really innovative initiative which brings together a cross section of people — I represent one of those as an academic researcher — with a shared mission to end homelessness and to use evidence to help inform policies to help end homelessness." - Meghan Morris, Associate Professor, UCSF Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology We collaborate with leading academic institutions, drawing from the expertise of UCSF faculty, researchers, and educators from across the United States. UCSF BHHI acts as a bridge between research and decision-making, facilitating common ground between the academic world and policymakers. Since our launch, we have
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Alma Yates, MSW
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
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Angelica DeGaetano, LLM
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.
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Ashley Smith, BA
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
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Background
California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness
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Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
The Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) provides accurate, timely policy-oriented research about homelessness for local, state, and national policymakers and practitioners. Funded by a generous gift from Marc and Lynne Benioff and based at the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations, BHHI aims to be a trusted source for evidence-based practice, policy, and scalable solutions—turning evidence into action to prevent and end homelessness.
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BHHI Postdoctoral Scholars Program
The BHHI postdoctoral scholars training program educates the next generation of strategic scientists empowered to address upstream causes of homelessness. Our projects rely on diverse research methodologies including quantitative methods, qualitative methods, or mixed methods and utilize a diverse set of research designs including longitudinal, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, natural experiments, implementation and translational science, and policy evaluation. Overview UCSF BHHI is seeking highly motivated scholars to join a multidisciplinary team for a 2-year postdoctoral program. This full-time position is suitable for graduating doctoral students looking to gain research experience and further career development in either an academic or applied setting. Scholars
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BHHI Summer Explore Research Program
Overview The Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) provides accurate, timely policy-oriented research about homelessness for local, state, and national policymakers and practitioners. BHHI is seeking highly motivated students to join our multidisciplinary team for this 8-week summer program. The Summer Explore Fellowships are designed for medical students for the UCSF School of Medicine, who are typically between their first and second year of professional school. The primary goals are to provide a mentored-research experience and to provide students an introduction to conducting strategic science research with communities affected by homelessness. Contact For more information, contact Dr. Michael Duke (
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Celeste Enriquez, BA
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
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Cheyenne Garcia, BA
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.
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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
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Colette (Coco) Auerswald, MD, MS
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
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Community Advisory Boards
UCSF BHHI convened three community advisory boards (CABS) to collaborate with our researchers and staff throughout the duration of the California Statewide Survey of People Experiencing Homelessness. Together, these community advisors play a vital role in: Providing input into survey question design, sampling, and data collection strategies Helping craft best practices for community engagement across the counties where we conducted the survey Illuminating blind spots and providing feedback on issues our survey team may have missed or misinterpreted Interpreting study findings, shaping policy recommendations, and framing our data for maximum impact Lived Expertise Advisory Board The Lived Expertise Advisory Board
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Community Engagement
Fellows and staff share a community-first mindset at UCSF BHHI. We ask people what they need and conduct research underpinned by strategic science, while partnering with the communities most impacted by homelessness and housing insecurity. Our work aims to shift decision-making to communities by turning policy solutions and proven best practices into workable, successful, on-the-ground programs.
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