Gregg joined HomeRise’s board in 2012, bringing many years of experience in real estate and land use law as a partner at the firm of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP.  At Coblentz, Gregg represents developers, managers, brokers, owners, and operators in the acquisition, financing, entitlement, development, leasing and sale of various property types. He has done extensive pro bono work throughout San Francisco, representing HomeRise in the acquisition and entitlement of the Edward II hotel for development into housing for transition- aged youth.

Jon joined the Board in 2014.  He serves on the Advancement and Finance committees.  Jon works with a number of entrepreneurial businesses through his role investing in medical technology companies at SV Life Sciences, one of the largest international healthcare-focused venture capital firms.

Sheila joined the Board in early 2014 and serves on the Finance committee. She brings 30 years of sales leadership experience from GE and several technology startups. Sheila moved to San Francisco 24 years ago at which time she launched and led GE’s San Francisco Chapter of Volunteers, an organization designed to build stronger communities where employees live and work. She is aiming for greater HomeRise awareness and engagement in San Francisco, especially in the Technology sector.

CEO, East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA)

Derek Barnes has over 15 years of executive leadership transforming organizations through all stages of a business’ lifecycle – startup, rapid growth, business turnarounds, and M&A. Derek’s expertise includes building strategy, global organizations, and new technologies in highly competitive markets. He has worked within high-tech, nonprofit, telecom, financial services, real estate, healthcare, and retail sectors. 

Derek is CEO at EBRHA and responsible for developing programs and services to support the organization’s growing membership, who own and operate over 45,000 rental homes accross the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa.

He is also Senior Advisor at Ignition Point Consulting, supporting clients such as Fremont Bank, Homebridge, Microsoft, T-Mobile, and TeleNav. 

Previously, he’s held positions as COO/CTO and co-founder at g-dii Enterprises, COO at Executive Networks, Global Operations Director at Openwave, and VP of Technical Services and Operations at PlanetOut/Here! Media. 

Heidy joined the HomeRise board in 2022. She has a longtime interest in the problem of housing and the issue of low rates of voter engagement in the United States. Currently, she is also serving on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Quality Housing Opportunities in addition to being a partner in the development of both Senior and Family Affordable Housing. She is retired from a 40 year career in the concrete repair and strengthening industry. Previously, she served on the Board of Directors for the International Concrete Repair Institute as well as many American Concrete Institute Technical and Development Committees.

Juthaporn joined the Board in 2020, having been a HomeRise resident at Arnett Watson Apartments since 2016. Twenty years of lived experience with drug addiction and homelessness enable her to bring a fresh new lens and perspective to her role as resident board member. She understands what it means to go from being homeless to having a home. Because her life was stabilized through permanent supportive housing, she has been able to establish work, graduate from San Francisco State University, and raise her now six-year-old son, all while continuing to stay clean and sober. She is a community leader who believes in going big or going home. Her success is the success of the core mission of HomeRise: housing gives hope to the hopeless.

Devra Edelman is the Director of Programs at Hamilton Families, where she’s worked since 2005. She previously worked for five years as Executive Director of the Haight Ashbury Food Program. She received a Master of Social Work and a Master of Arts in International Development from the University of Denver in 1996 and worked in Colorado, California and internationally with homeless families and individuals for more than 18 years. She provides operational oversight and directly supervises the program directors of Hamilton Families’ shelter and transitional housing programs, including case management and children’s services.

Originally from Toledo, OH and growing up in Chandler, AZ, Ty has lived all around the Midwest and the Bay Area. They come from a background of electoral organizing and building power in the Midwest and Northern California with an emphasis on shining a light on poverty and helping lead the fight for dignified and equitable services/housing for low income, unhoused, and BIPOC communities. Ty is committed to making long-lasting change for Black and Brown folks across the Bay Area.

John Avalos is the Executive Director of the Council of Community Housing Organizations, one of the founding organizations of HomeRise and San Franciscan’s long-time convenor of affordable housing developers and providers.  John is a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, a social worker, and a community and labor organizer with over 25 years of experience in building coalitions inside and outside of public office to develop public policy, pass people-oriented budgets, support tenants, and develop successful revenue measures to build affordable housing in San Francisco. John has been part of years of struggle for racial equity and affordable housing that has led to dramatic changes in how City Hall relates to and addresses the needs of working-class and BIPOC communities. As a community organizer with community nonprofits and later as a legislative aide and member of the Board of Supervisors, John played a pivotal role in making City Hall more accountable and accessible to everyday people, working with labor and community to create policies, resources, and structures to address inequality in San Francisco. 

Neil Sims joined the HomeRise board in 2021 after retiring as Managing Partner and Technology Sector Practice Leader for the San Francisco office of Boyden Global Executive Search. Throughout his adult life, Neil has served in voluntary leadership roles within his community. His most recent contributions include Board President and long-standing board member for Openhouse, a pioneering non-profit offering low income housing and services to LGBT seniors in San Francisco. He also served as a Commissioner for the San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services.