Background Information

Presenters/Resource Persons

Lynnette S. Araki, M.P.H. is a Program Analyst in the Office of Planning and Evaluation, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the lead staff on several cross-cutting projects for the agency. Ms. Araki is the lead staff for the HRSA Work Group on Homelessness that developed an agency work plan to address homelessness and to improve access to mainstream programs for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Work Group identified six cross-cutting projects for FY 2001 and FY 2002, including the conduct of the Policy Academies to focus on improving accessibility of mainstream resources at the State level for people who are homeless or who are at risk of homelessness. The Work Group received the HRSA Administrator’s Citation for Outstanding Group Performance in 2001. Other cross-cutting projects for which Ms. Araki is responsible include the HRSA Pacific Basin Initiative and the agency’s External Emergency Response Team to assure continuity of essential functions during a crisis or emergency.

Lawrence Bartlett, Ph.D. is the Director of Health Systems Research, Inc., a firm that helps national, State, and local policymakers weigh their options and make more informed decisions concerning health and human service policies and programs. The firm works collaboratively with its public and private sector clients to develop and implement innovative strategies to improve the health and social well being of individuals, families, and communities. Dr. Bartlett is an economist who brings to these efforts more than 25 years of experience in health services research, evaluation, and policy analysis and in providing “hands-on” technical assistance to State and local governments and private sector clients. Because Dr. Bartlett’s technical expertise is combined with strong group facilitation skills, he is often called upon to provide assistance to governors’ blue ribbon commissions, legislative task forces, and local health care coalitions.

In addition to his work with numerous States and localities, Dr. Bartlett has served as a consultant to a variety of national organizations, including the National Governors’ Association, the National Conference of State Legislators, the American Association of Retired Persons, the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. He formerly was the staff director of the State Medicaid Directors’ Association and the director of the National Governors’ Association’s State Medicaid Information Center. Dr. Bartlett holds a doctorate in economics and a master’s degree in health services administration.

Patricia Carlile is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs responsible for managing approximately $3 billion in new and existing HUD grants that serve homeless people, and others who are at risk of becoming homeless, along with persons with HIV/AIDS. She oversees the annual Continuum of Care homeless assistance competition that entails the review of over 3500 applications. The programs that she administers provide for a continuum of assistance that includes permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, emergency shelter, supportive services, and prevention. The President’s goal to end chronic homelessness within ten years is a primary focus of the office. Earlier under the first Bush Administration, Ms. Carlile was Executive Director of the Interagency Council on the Homeless, coordinating the homeless activities of seventeen Federal agencies. She has served in several other senior level positions in the Federal government.

Previously, Ms. Carlile owned her own management and executive search consulting firm, providing advice and guidance to corporate executives in an array of industries, including health care, high technology, housing, manufacturing, and real estate development, as well as associations and the Federal government. She created the Congressionally-mandated, industry sponsored commodities futures regulatory association and helped to restructure an international affordable housing systems engineering company. Ms. Carlile later became a partner of an international executive search firm and opened its Washington, DC office. She began her consulting career with Ernst & Young, an international management consulting firm.

Ms. Carlile received her BA from Pace University and a Master of Liberal Studies at Georgetown University. She is originally from Texas.

Charles S. (Chick) Ciccolella is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training at the U.S. Department of Labor. His agency, VETS, is responsible for helping veterans secure employment and for protecting their rights and benefits through a variety of new and existing programs. Prior to coming to the Department of Labor, he served in the U.S. Senate as the Chief of Operations for the Senate Sergeant at Arms and later, as Assistant Staff Director and Director of Information Technology Policy at the Senate Rules Committee. Before coming to the Senate, Mr. Ciccolella spent twenty-eight years in the U.S. Army, including service in Vietnam, Germany, and Panama prior to leaving as a full colonel. He and his wife make their home in Alexandria, Virginia.

Randy Cooper is a Senior Policy Advisor within the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy.

Michael Couty has worked in the public sector for almost thirty years with both youth and adult populations. He has been employed with the Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, since 1982 and has served as the Division Director since July, 1993.

In this position, Michael oversees alcohol and drug abuse prevention, education, and treatment initiatives throughout the state. The Division’s Comprehensive Substance Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation (CSTAR) program has received national recognition for its unique approach to treatment, particularly for women, pregnant women, and women with children. Michael has also been instrumental in developing a model for methadone treatment which includes a computerized system for tracking clients.

Mr. Couty also oversees several areas of Department-wide programming, including housing programs for consumers, employment of consumers, and deaf and linguistic services. This involves oversight of all funding streams for these initiatives as well as improving access to housing and employment options to improve consumer outcomes in the community.

He currently serves as President of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, a member of the SAMSHA Advisory Committee for Women’s Services, former Co-Chair and current member of the Governor’s Commission on DWI and Impaired Driving, member of the State of Missouri Drug Court Commission, and Board of Regents, St. Mary’s Health Center, Jefferson City, Missouri. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Sioux Falls University, Sioux Falls, South Dakota and his Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Dennis Culhane, Ph.D. is a Professor of Social Welfare Policy, Center for Mental Health Policy, at the University of Pennsylvania’s Schools of Medicine and Social Work. Dr. Culhane’s primary areas of research are homelessness, housing policy, and policy analysis research methods. His current work includes studies of the impact of homelessness on the utilization of public health, corrections and social services in New York City and Philadelphia. He has recently completed studies that model the process of housing abandonment, and that assess the neighborhood effects of assisted housing programs. He has also recently led an effort to produce an annual report on the prevalence and dynamics of homelessness in the U.S. based on standardized analyses of automated shelter records.

Tracy D’Alanno is the Manager of Homeless and Resource Development Programs for the Office of Supportive Housing and Homeless Programs at the Colorado Department of Human Services. Ms. D’Alanno has over thirteen years of experience in developing and implementing coordinated homeless service delivery systems at the public and private level. Her major emphasis has been to provide direction to providers, local governments, and state departments on the development of local and state plans to address homelessness. She is currently responsible for providing direction and leadership to the State of Colorado’s Homeless Policy Academy Team charged with developing and implementing a statewide plan on improving access to mainstream resources for homeless persons.

Deborah Dennis, M.A. is Vice President for Technical Assistance at Policy Research Associates in Delmar, New York. She is the project manager on PRA’s contracts and subcontracts related to homelessness and housing, including the National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness (since 1988), the Health Care for the Homeless Information Resource Center (since 1996), the CMHS Supported Housing Initiative, the CMHS/CSAT Homeless Families Program, and the PATH Technical Assistance Program. She has written extensively on the housing and support service needs of persons who have been homeless and who have behavioral health disorders. Prior to joining PRA in 1988, she worked as a research scientist in the New York State Office of Mental Health, where she evaluated programs for people with serious mental illnesses who were homeless.

Peter Hansen Dougherty serves as Director of Homeless Veterans Programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. He has been the Department’s principal advisor on homelessness for the past four years, having formerly worked as a program specialist to the Secretary’s Special Assistant on Homelessness. Prior to his current work with the VA, Mr. Dougherty worked for a number of Congressional staff on issues related to housing and veterans affairs. He was a staff member for Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV, where he prepared oversight and legislative hearings for a variety of programs, including housing, insurance, claims adjudication, mental health, and homelessness. He also drafted legislation on VA programs related to housing and the National Cemetery System. Mr. Doughtery has been recognized for his work on veterans issues through a number of awards, including from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Vera Drivalas is the Illinois Medicaid Programs Representative for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Responsibilities have included at the CMS: Project Officer for Peer Review Organization (PRO) and End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) organizations; monitoring medical review processes of PROs; surveyor of nursing facilities, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and home health agencies. She also provided consultation and technical assistance in occupational health and safety for a hospital and national organization. Ms. Drivalas directed the Health Information Services for a health benefits and pension fund. She has a Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Business Administration. Her licenses include Nursing Home Administrator and Registered Nurse.

Terri Fey is a Health Insurance Specialist with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She is based in the Chicago Regional Office (RO). The Chicago RO implements national policy at the regional level by ensuring the effective administration of CMS’ programs for the States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Ms. Fey works in the Division of Medicaid and Children’s Health. She is responsible for providing Federal oversight and technical assistance to Region V states in the implementation and daily operations of their Medicaid managed care programs covering more than 2.5 million recipients. Ms. Fey has been with CMS since 1991. Prior to her tenure with CMS, she worked for the Social Security Administration and the Administration for Children’s and Families. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Human Services from St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin.

Linda Finson has worked with Chicago Health Outreach for four and a half years facilitating groups for homeless persons with severe and chronic mental illness and doing street outreach and case management with one of the agency’s ACT teams. Ms. Finson attended the University of Oregon studying art and liberal arts. She has extensive experience advocating with state and Federal legislators about issues that effects homeless persons. She also was a founding member of the agency’s Consumer Advisory Council and has participated in a state advisory group that reviewed issues that impact mentally ill persons from a consumer perspective. Ms. Finson plays the jazz flute and is a passionate defender of the environment.

John Garrity, M.P.A. is the Director of the Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPs) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Mr. Garrity brings over 20 years of experience administering a variety of housing programs, including the former Urban Homesteading and HOPE III Programs. He currently oversees policy and program development for the six McKinney-Vento Act homeless assistance programs administered by HUD. Mr. Garrity is also responsible for implementing the award-winning “Continuum of Care” community-based planning process. Selected as the winner of the Harvard University/Ford Foundation “Innovations in Government” award in 1999, local Continuum of Care systems are competitively funded through the award of over $1.2 billion in HUD’s homeless assistance program grants annually.

Jean Hall is a Health Insurance Specialist and the National Account Representative at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the Chicago region. She serves as the primary point of contact between CMS and the Indiana State Medicaid Agency. She is responsible for review of State plan policies, and provides technical assistance in a wide variety of program areas and program monitoring activities. During the last ten years, Ms. Hall was the designated Specialist for Ohio and subsequently Indiana Medicaid programs. Prior to these assignments, she worked as an eligibility and third party liability policy specialist in the Division of Medicaid for two years. She also worked as a Specialist at CMS in the Division of Survey and Certification for seven years and four years in the Beneficiary Services Branch.

Lori Hartford, B.S.N., R.N. has worked as a Registered Nurse with the Yellowstone City-County Health Department since 1983. She has served as the Program Manager of the Healthcare for the Homeless program in Billings since it’s inception in 1992. She also has managed both the local Community Health Center and the Montana Statewide Ryan White Title III program over the last 10 years. The Billings HCH program has expanded to three other cities in Montana to form a network of HCH programs since 1998. She has presented at the National Healthcare for the Homeless Conference on Rural Issues relating to homelessness, and has participated on the National Healthcare for the Homeless Council Planning Committee. Lori is a third generation native Montanan, and has devoted her career to helping the underserved receive quality health care with dignity and respect as well as educating the public about the human side of homelessness.

Theresa Hayes, M.P.H., R.N. began working for the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1979 as Health Care Facilities Specialist in the Office of Construction conducting space and functional deficiencies in VA health care facilities. She is currently Program Manager for the $100 million Loan Guaranty for Multifamily Transitional Housing for Homeless Veterans (P.L. 105-368) pilot program. She also manages the VA's Programs of Excellence, VA's Innovative Programs and the National Therapeutic Employment Placement Support (TEPS) program. Ms. Hayes was Program Manager (1995-1999) of VA's Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program. She provides technical review for VISN strategic plans. Prior to the establishment of VISNs in the VA, Ms. Hayes was in the Regional Planning Office for Region I serving as a consultant and advocate for 41 VA health care facilities on current and future medical and staffing requirements. Before moving to the Washington, DC area, Ms. Hayes served as a clinical nurse at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC and health education specialist for the Durham Regional Medical Education Center.

Paul V. Hippolitus is currently a Senior Program Specialist in the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), U.S. Department of Labor. In this capacity he helps to develop, organize and implement many of ODEP’s initiatives, including their grant programs. ODEP has been formed to advance the employment of people with disabilities through policy development and related initiatives. Currently, Mr. Hippolitus oversees various grant programs, including the operation of a National Technical Assistance Center designed to assist the workforce development system to increase its ability to serve both youth and adults with disabilities.

Mr. Hippolitus helped create and has also managed the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a nationwide toll-free telephone consultative service providing job accommodation solutions, and the Employer Assistance Referral Network (EARN), a national referral service for employers helping them to locate job applicants with disabilities. Mr. Hippolitus’s major specialty areas in disability employment include: secondary special education programs, vocational education programs, Workforce Investment Act programs and disabled veterans employment programs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marquette University and a Master of Arts degree from The George Washington University.

Prior to his assignment with ODEP, he had been the Director of Programs for the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities from 1971 to 2001. Prior to that he was a Lieutenant in the U. S. Navy. He is a combat veteran of the Vietnam conflict.

Mary Ellen Hombs is Executive Director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA), a public policy alliance of more than 80 community-based agencies. MHSA's members operate over 250 programs serving homeless people through permanent housing, transitional programs, emergency shelter, outreach, economic development, and health care and treatment programs. Ms. Hombs was previously MHSA’s Director of Special Projects, a position she held for seven years.

Ms. Hombs is the former Executive Director of the Legal Services Homelessness Task Force in Washington, D.C. She worked for over 10 years with the National Coalition for the Homeless and was Housing Policy Director for the Coalition for the Homeless in New York City. She has more than 25 years of experience in homeless advocacy and programs. She is the author of numerous books and articles on homelessness. She holds a master’s degree in city planning.

Gail James received her formal education at Rust College in Holly Springs, MS where she received a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration in 1985. She received a Masters of Public Administration degree in Health Services Administration from Roosevelt University in 991. Ms. James began working for the Social Security Administration in 1985 as a Claims Representative. Her current position, as a SSI Program Expert, involves providing leadership and monitoring various SSA programs and initiatives, including serving as the Homeless Coordinator for the Social Security Administration - Chicago Region.

Mark Johnston, M.P.A. is the Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, which administers HUD’s homeless assistance programs. Among other responsibilities, he has served as Deputy Director of the Federal Interagency Council on the Homeless. He has a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University at Bloomington, and a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Brigham Young University.

Sandra Jordan has been with Chicago's regional office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment & Training Administration for approximately 5 years, and has been involved in a variety of activities, including Workforce Investment Act implementation, the Department's Welfare-to-Work program, and quality initiatives. She currently serves as the Federal Representative for Minnesota.

George A. Kanuck is a policy resource person in the Office of Policy Coordination and Planning, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Kanuck is responsible for homelessness issues, co-occurring disorders, Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant and demonstration grant activities.

Brian Kennedy has been with Job Corps for over three years. Just prior to moving to DOL, Mr. Kennedy worked at the White House, where he was a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, at the National Economic Counsel. At the White House, he advised the President on the job training, higher education and labor policy.

Prior to working at the White House, Mr. Kennedy worked for more than ten years on the job training, labor and education policy in the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. After two years serving as the General Counsel to United States Senator Harry Reid, he moved to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, where he served as Senator Paul Simon’s Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Employment and Productivity. The Subcommittee had jurisdiction over Federal job training programs. While he served as Staff Director, Mr. Kennedy led Senate efforts to pass Job Training Partnership Act Amendments, and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. In 1995, after Senator Simon announced his retirement, he moved to the House of Representatives’ Committee on Education Workforce, where he served as Labor Coordinator and Counsel. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Mr. Kennedy was instrumental in the passage of the Workforce Investment Act.

Born in 1959 in Poughkeepsie, New York, Mr. Kennedy received his Bachelor of Science degree from James Madison University in 1982, where he graduated with honors. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1985. His wife’s name is Elizabeth and they have twin daughters, Nicole and Samantha.

Nicholas Knuth has been employed at SSA for the past 27 years with the majority being in direct services for the disabled. He is currently involved in major outreach for the disabled in Chicago that is being conducted in two homeless shelters that are the largest HIV service centers in the U.S. Mr. Knuth also works with many agencies/health care providers who help the mentally ill/homeless.

Walter Leginski is on assignment to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), DHHS, as a Senior Advisor on Homelessness. He is located within ASPE’s Office of Human Services Policy and is responsible for the coordination and development of policies that address homelessness throughout the programs of the Department.

Prior to his assignment in ASPE, Dr. Leginski served for 7 years as the chief of homeless programs for persons with mental illnesses in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS. His career in the National Institute of Mental Health was directed to improving the ability of States and localities to manage and evaluate mental health delivery systems by the application of information systems technologies. Dr. Leginski received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University and held positions in academia and health consulting prior to joining Federal service.

Philip F. Mangano is the Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH). The Interagency Council is under the authority of the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy within the Executive Office of the President. Members of the Council are Cabinet Secretaries. ICH coordinates the activities of 15 Federal agencies to improve the delivery of housing and services to homeless individuals and families. Congress established the ICH in 1987 to help streamline the government’s approach to homelessness by coordinating multiple efforts of Federal agencies and other designated groups. ICH can recommend improvements in programs and activities conducted by Federal, State, and local government as well as local and volunteer organizations. The Interagency Council is charged with the prevention and reduction of homelessness.

Prior to his appointment by President Bush to lead the Interagency Council on Homelessness, Mr. Mangano was the founding Executive Director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA), a statewide coalition of 80 agencies which operate over 200 programs that serve homeless people through permanent housing, transitional programs, emergency shelters, outreach, economic development, and health programs. During the twelve years Mr. Mangano led MHSA, the organization coordinated a statewide continuum of care strategy of prevention and intervention focused on the provision of next step residential, housing, service, and employment options for homeless individuals. MHSA was awarded the 2001 “Nonprofit Sector Achievement Award” from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

For his work with homeless people, Mr. Mangano has received numerous awards and recognitions from media outlets, State agencies, and community organizations. He has been named a “City Light” by the Boston Globe, and received many community achievement recognitions, including citations and awards from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, City of Boston, the City of Cambridge, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and Public Health, United Way, Social Action Ministries, the Boston Rescue Mission, and the Black Pastors of Cambridge.

Cheryl (Cheri) Nolan has a long and distinguished career in the criminal justice field, servicing four Attorneys General and three Presidents, most currently as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Justice Programs. She was appointed to this position in July 2001. Ms. Nolan's current responsibilities in the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) include oversight of the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. In addition, she has led the development and release of the current government-wide initiative to help reduce recidivism, entitled The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative.

Ms. Nolan was affiliated for several years with the television show America's Most Wanted. There she continued the work she began at the Justice Department working with State and local law enforcement, elected officials and crime victims as executive assistant to John Walsh, the host of the program. Her extensive work in the justice field was preceded by distinguished service on the White House staff of President Ronald Reagan and in various Cabinet agencies including the Departments of Commerce, Energy and Treasury. She joined the Justice Department for the first time in 1987 on a temporary assignment for then Attorney General Edwin Meese. That temporary assignment turned to a permanent one as Deputy Director of the Office of Liaison Services for two succeeding attorneys general: Dick Thornburgh and William P. Barr. In that capacity she was involved in some of the most important judicial and legislative battles on crime issues of the late 1980's and early 1990's.

Richard Nystrom is a management analyst in the Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Region V Office in Chicago. He plans, controls, and accounts for the results of assigned projects. He is the Office of Community Services Liaison for ACF Region V, where, he controls and directs contractor staff through the contractor task leader. He contributes his analytical skills to regional and national plans and projects. He has led many grantee selection and contract technical review panels. Mr. Nystrom was the Executive Officer in ACF Region VIII Denver, Program Liaison Specialist in Region V Chicago, Supervisory Child and Families Program Specialist, Head Start Program Specialist and he has held several positions in the Social Security Administration. He was a caseworker and taught elementary school in Chicago. He has served as a volunteer and on the Boards of social service and community organizations.

Ann O'Hara is co-founder and Associate Director of the Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc., (TAC) a Boston-based non-profit organization. She has over 25 years experience in the development and administration of affordable housing programs at the national, state, and local level. She is known nationally for her public policy and technical assistance work to expand affordable housing opportunities for people with disabilities, and for her expertise in housing programs serving individuals and families who are homeless. Ms. O’Hara currently provides consulting services to the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force in Washington D.C., an affiliation which includes the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the Arc of the United States, Paralyzed Veterans of American, United Cerebral Palsy and 15 other national organizations working in partnership to expand affordable housing opportunities for people with disabilities. For the past eight years, Ms. O’Hara has led TAC’s HUD McKinney/Vento technical assistance program, which focuses on (1) expanding permanent housing and permanent supportive housing for homeless people; and (2) policies which can increase access to mainstream supportive services resources. Ms. O’Hara also frequently provides consulting services to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on housing policies and issues affecting people with disabilities. Prior to her work at TAC, Ms. O’Hara served as the Assistant Secretary for Housing and the Director of Rental Assistance Programs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Fred C. Osher, M.D. is a community psychiatrist with clinical and research interests focusing on the co-occurrence of mental and substance use disorders, and persons with these disorders within the justice system. Dr. Osher is the Director of the Center for Behavioral Health, Justice, and Public Policy and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He has a long history of public sector service at local, State, and Federal levels. Previous positions include: Director of Community Psychiatry at the University of Maryland; Acting Director of the Division of Demonstration Programs at the Center for Mental Health Services, SAMHSA; and Deputy Director of the Office of Programs for the Homeless Mentally Ill at the National Institute of Mental Health. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1974 and his doctor of medicine from Wayne State University in 1978.

Yvonne Perret is a psychiatric social worker who is the Executive Director of the Advocacy and Training Center in Cumberland, MD. This center is devoted to establishing programs and understanding for assisting adults with serious mental illness with accessing SSI and other public benefits as well as quality mental health services; the center's focus includes the training of mental health staff to provide such services. For 10 years, Ms. Perret was the Program Director of the SSI Outreach Project in Community Psychiatry at the University of Maryland Medical System. This innovative program assists homeless adults who have serious and persistent mental illness with accessing SSI and other benefits as well as the possibility of presumptive SSI benefits. In 2001, this project was named a Best Practice Program by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Ms. Perret has over 25 years of social work experience and has worked in foster care, geriatrics, child abuse and neglect, and mental health. She is the author of several articles and the co-author of Children with Disabilities: A Medical Primer, currently in its 4th edition. Ms. Perret is the past president of the Mental Health Association of Maryland, Chair of the Prevention and Adult Mental Health Services committee of the National Mental Health Association, and the recipient of several awards for advocacy and social work.

Randall Pletcher is the Chief of the Bureau of Policy and Analysis in the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health. He has worked in mental health for over eleven years, concentrating upon data systems and analysis and financing policy, including the Medicaid program for community mental health services. Prior to joining the Division of Mental Health, he worked as the budget director for a nursing home management firm and for many years with the Illinois Department of Public Aid as the head of the Office of Program Analysis, which set Medicaid reimbursement rates for managed care plans, hospitals, and nursing facilities and also developed the Illinois Medicaid budget. He holds a Master’s degree in sociology from the University of Illinois in Urbana and has completed doctoral coursework in medical sociology and criminology.

Patricia A. Post, M.P.A. is a policy analyst and communications manager for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council a membership organization of health care providers working with homeless people across the United States, based in Nashville, Tennessee. She is the author of a monograph on Medicaid enrollment barriers for eligible homeless people entitled Casualties of Complexity: Why Eligible Homeless People Are Not Enrolled, May 2001; and a monograph on health problems and health care access barriers experienced by homeless people in rural areas of the United States, entitled Hard to Reach: Rural Homelessness & Health Care, January 2002. Both documents were published by the National Council with support from the Bureau of Primary Health Care/HRSA/DHHS. Ms. Post writes and edits a clinical publication for homeless health care providers across the United States and staffs the National Council’s Medicaid Reform and Policy Committees. She is also a member of the TennCare Partners Monitoring Group, composed of mental health care providers, researchers, health care consumers and their advocates, who work to maximize the effectiveness of the behavioral health component of TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid managed care demonstration program.

Robyn S. Raysor, M.S.W. is a Specialist, Special Needs Assistance Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Her graduate degree/study is in psychiatric Social Work and Urban Planning/Community Psychiatry. Ms. Raysor has more than 20 years experience in local and Federal community development grants management.

Mary Ann Romeo is the Homeless Coordinator for the VA Great Lakes Health Care System, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 12. She is responsible for strategic planning and implementation of homeless programs encompassing seven VA’s in northern Illinois, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Ms. Romeo holds a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Northwestern University. She has served in the capacity of a Social Work Manager for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 17 years. Her primary areas of responsibility have been continuity of care planning and community based program development and management to meet the needs of the homeless and aging veteran populations. She has orchestrated service delivery in urban VA tertiary care facilities as well as more rural VA long-term care facilities.

Prior to social work administration, Ms. Romeo provided social work direct patient care in assigned areas including Medicine, Surgery, Spinal Cord Injury and Substance Abuse. In this post she conducted a Homeless Veterans Survey, the results of which were used in one of the first congressional hearings on homeless veterans, laying groundwork for award of the Homeless Chronically Mentally Ill Program.

Jeremy Rosen, J.D. is a Staff Attorney at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, in Washington, D.C. Mr. Rosen received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994, and his J.D. from the George Washington University Law School in 1998. Before joining the Law Center, Mr. Rosen was a staff attorney with Legal Services of Greater Miami, where he co-directed the Homeless Legal Assistance Project and specialized in government benefits law.

At the Law Center, Mr. Rosen focuses on issues relating to the receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, TANF (welfare), and other public benefits by homeless people. He monitors nationwide activity affecting the access of homeless people to benefits, and devises legal and policy strategies to ensure that Federal and State agencies take affirmative steps to help more homeless people receive the income assistance to which they are entitled.

Thomas A. Simpatico, M.D., A.C.P., D.F.A.P.A. did his psychiatric training at the University of Chicago and has been a member of the Northwestern University Medical School faculty since 1988. He is currently chief of the recently created Bureau of Chicago Network Operations for the Office of Mental Health, Illinois Department of Human Services. Dr. Simpatico is a teacher and clinical supervisor for psychiatrists-in-training at the Northwestern University Psychiatric Residency Program. For the last three years he has also been actively involved in the training of law enforcement officers, and serves as a guest faculty member of the Northeast Multi-Regional Training Institute.

He is active in organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the American Public Health Association, the Illinois Psychiatric Society, the American Association of Psychiatric Administrators, and mental health advocacy groups such as NAMI of Greater Chicago and the Mental Health Association in Illinois. He is an invited member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Mental Health Issues. He is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association/Illinois Psychiatric Society Conjoint Committee on Mental Health Issues.

Dr. Simpatico is certified by and serves as an examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and serves on many advisory boards. He has received numerous honors and awards, including having been named a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and was inducted into the prestigious American College of Psychiatry honorary society. Most recently he was a recipient of the Outstanding Psychiatrist Award presented by the Illinois chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Dan Wasmer holds a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Services Administration from DePaul University. He began his career in 1978 at Thresholds in Chicago, where he helped create and evaluate the Thresholds Bridge Program, an innovative assertive community treatment program for people with serious mental illness. He went on to replicate this program in other Chicago neighborhoods and played a central role in adapting the model for specific populations, including people who are deaf and hard of hearing, people who are homeless, and for people who have co-occurring serious mental illness and substance abuse disorders. From 1993 through 1999, he also functioned as Project Coordinator for the Thresholds site in the Access to Community Care and Emergency Services and Supports (ACCESS) Program conducted by the Center for Mental Health Services. Since 1999, Mr. Wasmer has worked for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health as Network Manager of the Metro North Network in Chicago.

Carol Wilkins, M.P.P. is the Director of Intergovernmental Policy with the Corporation for Supportive Housing, where she works to develop and support the implementation of policy solutions to end long-term homelessness for people who have complex health needs and multiple barriers to employment. She has more than 20 years of experience in public finance, human services and policy work, including work with the California Legislature’s Office of the Legislative Analyst, the State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, as Deputy Mayor of Finance in San Francisco, and as Finance Director for the San Francisco Housing Authority. She is the author of “Building a Model Managed Care System for Homeless Adults with Special Needs: the Health, Housing and Integrated Services Network” in Current Issues in Public Health and co-author of the chapter “Making Homeless Programs Accountable to Consumers, Funders and the Public,” presented at the 1998 National Symposium on Homelessness Research and published by HUD and HHS. She was a member of the expert panel convened by the GAO on homelessness and barriers to using mainstream programs.

Francine Williams, M.A. is the Center Director for the National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness, operated by Policy Research Associates (PRA) Inc. in Delmar, New York, under contract to the U.S. Center for Mental Health Services. She is responsible for managing and overseeing all of the Resource Center’s technical assistance, knowledge synthesis and knowledge application activities. Prior to this, Ms. Williams served as PRA’s Homeless and Housing Division Manager with oversight and management responsibility for all of PRA’s homeless and housing projects. Prior to coming to PRA in 1997, Ms. Williams worked in employment and residential programs for people with mental illnesses, many of whom had been homeless.

Phyllis Wolfe, M.A., L.I.C.S.W. is a Special Expert in the Homeless Programs Branch, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She has over 25 years of direct work in support of individuals that are homeless that includes policy, program, practice, research and advocacy.

Facilitators

Robert J. Burns is a Policy Analyst at the National Governors’ Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices. There he provides technical assistance to Governors and their staff on a variety of health policy issues, including health care oversight and quality, mental health, substance abuse, and oral health. Prior to joining NGA, Mr. Burns was a Research Analyst at Health Systems Research, Inc. in Washington, DC. In this role, he provided managed care technical assistance to State substance abuse agencies using Federal block grant funds. His professional experience also includes work in sales and marketing at CIGNA HealthCare in Atlanta, GA, and at Value Behavioral Health, Inc., a managed behavioral healthcare organization located in Falls Church, VA.

In 1995, Mr. Burns received his undergraduate degree in health policy and administration from the University of Tennessee, and he subsequently served as a White House intern in the Office of former Vice President Al Gore.

Martha Fleetwood is the Founder and Executive Director of HomeBase. Ms. Fleetwood founded HomeBase, out of her work as senior staff attorney at Public Advocates, in 1986, and has personally conducted many HomeBase projects. These include: designing the Regional Initiative to Reduce Homelessness around the Bay Area; designing a multi-service center to provide housing and services for homeless people in Alameda County; providing technical assistance to numerous cities and counties in developing planning documents on homelessness; designing community-wide responses to meeting State and Federal mandates; and, evaluating the grant programs and funding strategies on homelessness of the San Francisco Foundation. She spearheaded HomeBase's homeless health care project to survey the field of existing homeless health services delineating the systems and policies involved; identify innovative models of care; forecast the future gaps in meeting needs; and make preliminary suggestions on potential directions for service providers and funders. She is skilled at the use of technology in support of community initiatives; and has broad experience in a wide range of negotiation settings. Ms. Fleetwood holds a B.A. from the University of California at Irvine and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, and has held significant positions of responsibility with the Department of Justice and the legal arm of the National NAACP. An African-American woman who has personally experienced the domestic violence aspects of homelessness, she brings a level of compassion to technical assistance rarely glimpsed in someone so skilled. She has formed the HomeBase Board of Directors, a majority African-American group.

Donna Gold, R.N.C. has served as Project Director at Health Systems Research, Inc. managing CSAT, CDC, and HRSA’s Substance Abuse and Infectious Disease: Cross-Training for Collaborative Systems of Prevention, Treatment, and Care. In this initiative, Ms. Gold facilitates the Federal Interagency Advisory Group and also serves as a lead facilitator and curriculum developer for the project. Specializing in systems integration to address the multiple health care needs of clients, she brings 27 years experience as a certified psychiatric nurse. Administratively, her experiences include work as the former Chief Operating Officer for a national non-profit training firm, where she was also Director of Business Development credited with the start-up of 25 million dollars worth of new Federal Initiatives in eight years. As Project Director for the State of Connecticut’s Training Center for the Mental Health and Addictions, she coordinated a Center that designed and trained over 250 different courses annually. Previously, Ms. Gold also assumed the role of Deputy Director for CSAT’s Prison Technical Assistance Project and for 10 years was head nurse for three different mental health and dual diagnosis, inpatient treatment programs. Her commitment to people that are homeless began with her work as psychiatric liaison nurse working in the late 1970’s linking State hospital clients with Community Mental Health services statewide. Currently, she is involved as an onsite T/A provider and facilitator for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Veteran Affairs homelessness collaborative.

Jamie Hart, Ph.D., M.P.H., Senior Associate at Health Systems Research, Inc., brings vast experience in training, technical assistance, facilitation, systems integration, curriculum design, evaluation, and cultural competency. Dr. Hart’s work has consistently focused on integrating systems and improving access to health care for underserved populations, particularly for certain racial and ethnic populations, persons facing co-occurring disorders, and persons who are homeless. In her role as Project Director for the Homeless Policy Academies, she has facilitated pre-Academy site visits for nineteen of the thirty-five States involved in the Project, has served as a State team facilitator at the meetings, and is currently managing the day-to-day operations for the contract and is coordinating the provision of technical assistance to all participating States. In addition to this role, Dr. Hart also serves as the Deputy Project Director of Substance Abuse and Infectious Disease: Cross-Training for Collaborative Systems of Prevention, Treatment and Care, a CSAT, HRSA, and CDC-funded collaborative project that provides resources for training, technical assistance, and systems integration to infectious disease, substance abuse, mental health, and public health practitioners. Dr. Hart holds a M.P.H. in health behavior and health education, along with an M.A. and Ph.D. in African American history.

Sue Marshall is currently the Executive Director of The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, a public/private partnership in the District of Columbia. The Community Partnership works to foster local neighborhood initiatives to resolve chronic community problems, including homelessness. The Partnership was the implementing entity for the D.C. Initiative on Homelessness, a $20 million national demonstration in partnership with the District government and HUD. Currently, the Partnership administers more than $30 million of publicly funded services to the homeless in the District on an annual basis. Ms. Marshall has an extensive history of public service, including eight years as the Vice Chair of the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency. She has also served as Chief of Staff of the DC Department of Human Services, Mayor’s Homeless Coordinator, Staff Economist to the DC Council Committee on Finance and Revenue, Urban Policy Analyst for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and housing market analyst for the Urban Institute. She has significant experience in providing technical assistance to nonprofit community-based organizations in the areas of capacity building, organizational development and management and economic development.

Anna C. Martin, Senior Associate at BTW Consultants, is a program evaluator and consultant focusing on homelessness, poverty and health. Her work at BTW includes managing a large evaluation of social purpose enterprises created to employ people who are homeless, mentally ill and/or facing other problems entering the traditional job market. Prior to joining BTW, Ms. Martin served as Director of Evaluation for The Better Homes Fund (now the National Center on
Family Homelessness), a non-profit focused on homeless families. In that capacity, she worked on a SAMHSA-funded multi-site evaluation of services for homeless families with mental health and/or substance use issues and implemented an evaluation of services for homeless children. Ms. Martin has also worked in social service settings and public health programs, both in the U.S. and in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Her interests include integrating qualitative and quantitative research methods, participatory research, and including consumers in policy development, program planning and evaluation. She received her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1999.

Patrick Moynahan, Domestic Division Director of the QED Group, LLC, has more than 20 years experience in the design, implementation and assessment of social policy and programs for governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations, including housing, homelessness, economic and community development. Mr. Moynahan directs QED’s policy research and program evaluation work with domestic Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Recently, he supported HUD’s Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs in assisting Continuum of Care communities evaluate their Homeless Management Information Systems needs. Mr. Moynahan is an experienced trainer and technical assistance provider in HUD homeless assistance programs, and he has directed the development of policy reports and studies assessing the effectiveness of HUD programs, including reports to Congress.

Jamie Taylor has worked in planning, implementing and funding nonprofit programs for over 20 years. She has coordinated planning services for mental health care, housing, case management, employment, substance abuse prevention, HIV/AIDS services as well as public policy, legislative advocacy, peace and community organizing projects. Ms. Taylor has worked with collaborative planning teams to develop projects for housing and support services for special need and homeless populations as well as successful health care programs for families who are uninsured. Jamie provides technical planning and facilitation assistance to a broad variety of non-profit organizations in Connecticut.

Stacy Watts, M.P.A., J.D. Health Programs Specialist, has over 13 years of corporate, legal, and public administration experience with a background in implementation of sound project management strategies. She has demonstrated expertise in community outreach and partnership development, especially in support of hard-to-serve populations, with a particular interest in racial and ethnic health disparities. She has been responsible for program coordination activities under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) National Medicare Education Program (NMEP). In that role, she provided consulting services and acted as point of contact for multiple CMS Regional Offices. Last year as a Health Programs Specialist supporting the health initiative for the Neighborhood Networks Program, Office of Multifamily Housing Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Ms. Watts conducted health pilot development, developed partnerships with national and local community-based organizations, and identified strategies for program outreach and development. Ms. Watts currently serves as a task manager for the CMS Risk Adjustment Training for Medicare+Choice organizations, and develops training curriculum and supporting materials for the Medicare+Choice program.

David M. Wertheimer, M.S.W., M.Div., Principal Consultant with Kelly Point Partners (KP2), has worked in a variety of capacities in the human services arena for more than two decades. Between 1990 and 2000, he served in King County (Seattle, Washington) government developing and managing mental health services for persons with chronic and severe mental illnesses. From 1993 to 1997 he directed the King County ACCESS Project, a federally funded research and demonstration project focused on homelessness and mental illness. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Wertheimer oversaw the integration of King County's mental health and substance abuse treatment systems as Systems Integration Administrator for the Department of Community and Human Services. In this capacity he developed a regional initiative to promote excellence in public sector services.

As a clinician, Mr. Wertheimer has developed sub-specialties in working with sexual minorities and counseling persons experiencing post-traumatic stress. As an agency administrator, Mr. Wertheimer served as Executive Director of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP) from 195 to 1990, establishing the first clinical services on the east coast for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender survivors of bias-related violence, sexual assault and domestic abuse. The AVP remains the largest social service agency in the United States providing specialized services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender crime victims.

Mr. Wertheimer founded Kelly Point Partners in 2000. KP2 works to improve the lives of persons living with multiple disabilities and promote increased effectiveness and efficiency among public and private sector service systems. KP2 provides consultation, training and technical assistance on a broad range of human service system issues, with a focus on systems integration initiatives involving mental health, chemical dependency/substance abuse and criminal justice systems. Mr. Wertheimer is a graduate of Haverford College, Yale University Divinity School and the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. He serves on numerous boards and advisory groups, including the Board of Directors of the Downtown Emergency Service Center (Seattle), Christopher Housing (Seattle), and Enquiry, Inc. (Langley WA).