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Gina Sakoda, BS
Gina is a research data analyst with BHHI. Previously conducting interviews and managing data quality for the CA Statewide Study of Homelessness (CASPEH), Gina now works as a quantitative researcher on a CDSS Home Safe program evaluation, and co-coordinates the statistics and data science team at BHHI. Gina spent over 5 years in direct service provision for folks who are unhoused in the East Bay, most recently as a street outreach worker in Downtown Oakland, and is interested in the intersections of structural inequity, the environment, and homelessness. Gina graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS in Bioengineering and a
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Grace Taylor, BA
Grace Taylor is a Research Analyst at BHHI. Grace uses their qualitative expertise to conduct interviews in the field as part of the California State Survey. While focused on medical anthropology during their undergraduate studies, Grace worked with BHHI faculty member, Dr. Colette Auerswald to conduct public health research on youth homelessness and permanent supportive housing in the Bay Area. Grace has long been involved in activism related to homelessness and housing, inspired by their own experiences with housing instability. They have worked with various grassroots organizations in the East Bay and beyond since 2016. Grace holds a Bachelor of
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Graham Pruss, PhD
Graham J. Pruss, PhD, is an ethno-archaeologist who studies vehicle residency in North America. His research focuses on the intersection of lived experiences, social services, legal systems, and public policy development. He mixes participatory, qualitative, and quantitative methods to better inform policymakers and convey complex research to non-academic audiences. He joined the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative as a Postdoctoral Scholar in 2020. Extensive travel with his family in vehicles during his childhood and relationships with long-term vehicle residents inspired Graham to focus on vehicle habitation in public space. At Seattle University, Graham directed the Vehicular Residency Research Program whose
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Jared Martin, PhD
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
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Jenna Birkmeyer, MPH
Jenna Birkmeyer, MPH is a statistician at BHHI. In her role, she manages data and conducts statistical analyses as part of the Quantitative Data Team. She has been involved in a variety of projects since joining BHHI in May 2020, primarily focusing on the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) and homeless mortality in San Francisco. Jenna previously served as an epidemiologist for the state of Ohio. She graduated from The Ohio State University College of Public Health with MPH and BS degrees in Environmental Health Sciences, as well as a minor in Spanish linguistics.
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Jennifer Evans, MS
Jennifer Evans joined the Center for Vulnerable Populations and the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative in April 2020 as Senior Statistician working with Dr. Margot Kushel on research studies focusing on homelessness and its effects on health. She has over 20 years of experience at UCSF providing statistical support to various epidemiologic studies. Most recently she served as principal statistician within Global Health Sciences focusing on the epidemiology of HIV and hepatitis C virus infections in marginalized populations. She holds a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Spanish
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Jesica Giannola
Jesica Giannola currently works as a Housing Case Manager with survivors of recent wildfires. Jesica is also part of a network of volunteers who meet the needs of people who are unhoused by regularly providing resources, showers, meals, and advocacy support to those living in encampments. She began this grassroots advocacy work during her previous job as a Disaster Case Manager where she provided outreach to wildfire survivors living in local encampments. Jesica uses her experiences of growing up in unstable housing to advocate for housing and services for the increasing numbers of unhoused residents in her county. She has
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John Weeks
John Weeks has been with UCSF for 11 years. His most recent research project involved the study of homelessness among people age 50 and older in Oakland, CA. Prior to that, John had worked as a Project Coordinator for the Bruthas Project, which was a CAPS intervention study focusing on HIV prevention among MSM populations in San Francisco and Oakland. John joined Dr. Kushel's HOPE HOME Study in August 2015 as a Clinical Research Coordinator.
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Joseph Tay Wee Teck, PhD
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
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Kenny Perez, MPH
Kenny is the Co-Director of Research Operations at BHHI. He began working at UCSF in 2013 as an intern while attending UC Berkeley for his bachelor's degree in Psychology and Peace and Conflict Studies. He has since served as an Assistant CRC, CRC, Project Manager, and Senior Project Manager. Kenny holds an MPH from UC Berkeley. His primary professional and academic interests focus on using research methods to work with and for homeless and underserved populations within the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Kim Nguyen, ScD, MPH
Dr. Nguyen is an epidemiologist and health services research scientist with 12+ years of experience in academic and healthcare settings, with expertise in health equity, population health/chronic disease prevention, and digital health/informatics. Her research focuses on the influence of social, structural, and geographic determinants on chronic disease and other health outcomes among vulnerable populations and their contribution to health inequities. She is particularly interested in leveraging electronic health records for health equity and place-based research. In collaboration with academic researchers and clinical leaders, Kim uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand and address inequities in critical public health
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Layan Kaileh, MSW
Layan Kaileh is a Project Manager for the Advance Care Planning in Permanent Supportive Housing Project (ACP-PSH) at BHHI and was previously the Operations Manager for the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH). Prior to joining BHHI, Layan led various research projects including the Demographic Survey as part of the PIT Count in LA County. Layan has a passion for our unhoused neighbors across the nation and strives to understand the barriers and solutions. Working with many populations, she believes that housing is a human right, and hopes to capture individual's voices through research to inform best policies
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Lourdes Johanna Avelar Portillo, PhD
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
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Ludmilla Bade
Ludmilla Bade is a second-generation Californian who has lived and worked in Alameda, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mendocino and Sonoma Counties. She is currently living near Santa Rosa, California where she is a returning student majoring in social and behavioral science. After graduating early from high school, she worked in many fields including the arts, office and accounting, food service, grocery, retail, property management, organizing and decluttering, and as a caregiver. After her father moved into assisted living, she could not afford market rents and became homeless. She moved into a small trailer which she drove to work
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Mai See Yang, PhD, MS
Mai See is a mixed method researcher with 15+ years of experience in both policy research and survey development in the social sciences field. She has expertise in survey design, validation, and implementation, as well as a deep knowledge of data analytics. She leverages knowledge of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis to generate insights to inform curriculum development, reports, and decision making. Mai See has been primarily engaged and trained in two areas of research: 1) mental health issues related to older minorities; and 2) subjective well-being among aging Veterans. She is also interested in applied research, Age-Friendly Communities
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Margaret Handley, PhD, MPH
Dr. Margaret Handley is a public heath-trained epidemiologist in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Medicine. She is core faculty at the Center for Vulnerable Populations and at the Benioff Housing and Homelessness Initiative. Dr. Handley’s research focuses on bridging the fields of primary care, public health, and health communication for improving health outcomes and equity. She co-directs the UCSF PRISE Center, Partnerships for Research in Implementation Science for Equity) which focuses on applying implementation science methods to meet the challenges of inequitable health and health care. At BHHI she is one of the Principal Investigators along with Drs
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Margo Pottebaum, BA
Margo graduated from UC Berkeley in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Mathematics and Economics and completed an honors thesis analyzing the effects of bail reform in reducing mass incarceration and racial disparities within the criminal justice system. Prior to joining BHHI, Margo worked as a research assistant on housing insecurity related projects at the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment and as a research program manager on USAID-ASEAN projects regarding conflict prevention and gender equality within Southeast Asia. Margo is passionate about utilizing research to address poverty and inequality and to tackle the deeply rooted issue
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Margot Kushel, MD
Margot Kushel, MD, is Professor of Medicine at UCSF, Division Chief of the Center for Vulnerable Populations, and Director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG). Her research focuses on reducing the burden of homelessness on health through examining efforts to prevent and end homelessness and mitigating its effects on health care outcomes. Margot is a primary care physician at ZSFG’s Richard H. Fine People's Clinic. A leading homelessness researcher, her research has been funded by the NIH, government, and foundations. Margot is quoted frequently in the press. She provides
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