Staff Members

Administration

Douglas Schenkelberg
Executive Director
doug@chicagohomeless.org

Thelma Morales
Administrative Director
thelma@chicagohomeless.org

Sherry Johnson
Associate Director of Administration and Technology
sherry@chicagohomeless.org

Gloria Davis
Administrative Assistant
gloria@chicagohomeless.org

Development

Michael Nameche
Director of Development
michael@chicagohomeless.org

Erin Sindewald
Associate Director of Development
erin@chicagohomeless.org

Chris Jelkes
Development Associate
Special Projects Coordinator
cjelkes@chicagohomeless.org

Communications

Media inquiries, call (773) 906-3419

Vanessa Álvarez
Director of Communications
vanessa@chicagohomeless.org

Karianne Canfield
Digital Communications Manager
karianne@chicagohomeless.org

Sue Um
Content Creator Specialist
sue@chicagohomeless.org

Community Organizing

Wayne Richard
Director of Organizing
wrichard@chicagohomeless.org

Jim Picchetti
Associate Director of Organizing
State Network Coordinator
jpicchetti@chicagohomeless.org

Nick Jefferson
Associate Director of Organizing, Strategic Campaigns
nick@chicagohomeless.org

Alyssa Rodriguez
Community Organizer – School, Youth, and Latinx Communities
arodriguez@chicagohomeless.org

Claudia Cabrera
Special Projects Organizer – Speakers Bureau & Horizons
ccabrera@chicagohomeless.org

Alex Shapiro
Northern Illinois Community Organizer
alex@chicagohomeless.org

Lorna Bennett
Outreach Assistant/Organizer
lorna@chicagohomeless.org

April Harris
Outreach Assistant/Grassroots Leader
april@chicagohomeless.org

Myron Byrd
Outreach Assistant/Grassroots Leader
myron@chicagohomeless.org

Nina Martinez
Reentry Organizer
nina@chicagohomeless.org

Advocacy and Public Policy

Julie Dworkin
Director of Policy
julie@chicagohomeless.org

Niya K. Kelly
Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation
niya@chicagohomeless.org

Mary Tarullo
Associate Director of Policy and Strategic Campaigns
mary@chicagohomeless.org

Samuel Paler-Ponce
Manager of Research and Outreach
sam@chicagohomeless.org

Sontcerá McWilliams
State Policy Coordinator
sontcera@chicagohomeless.org

The Law Project

Patricia Nix-Hodes
Director of the Law Project
patricia@chicagohomeless.org

Beth Cunningham Malik
Associate Director of the Law Project
Youth Futures Lead Attorney
beth@chicagohomeless.org

Arturo Hernandez
Senior Attorney
arturo@chicagohomeless.org

Alyssa Phillips 
Education Attorney
aphillips@chicagohomeless.org

Camilla Krauss
Staff Attorney
camilla@chicagohomeless.org

Thomas Edwards
Equal Justice Works Fellow
thomas@chicagohomeless.org

Venus Rivera
Public Benefits Specialist
venus@chicagohomeless.org

Ali Simmons
Outreach and Case Worker
ali-s@chicagohomeless.org

Christy Joyce L. Berretta
Intake and Support Manager
christy@chicagohomeless.org 
Legal aid inquiries, call (800) 940-1119

Interns

Scott Hulver
Policy (JD candidate, Loyola University School of Law)

Sana Sami
Policy (JD candidate, Loyola University School of Law)

Ayan Hassan
Policy