Rick Aubry joined HomeRise as the CEO November 2019. He has a distinguished career in the leadership of nonprofit and academic organizations known for their innovative work in creating social change. Most recently Rick was the founder/CEO of New Foundry Ventures, a US based NGO that launches and supports social enterprises to create scaled social impact. 

Rick also served as Assistant Provost for Social Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement and Professor of the Practice at Tulane University from 2010-2016. During his tenure he developed academic and community programs in social entrepreneurship through a $15 million gift he secured for the university and created the Tulane Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design. 

Previously, Rick was a member of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business faculty, teaching social entrepreneurship and innovation and launching numerous global programs that allowed students to work with social entrepreneurs around the world.

From 1986-2009 Rick was the CEO of Rubicon Programs, a social enterprise in Richmond, CA.  During his tenure, he launched social programs and ventures that served over 50,000 people confronting homeless, poverty, economic inequality and disabilities. Rubicon became the progenitor of many of the social enterprises now operating in the US. 

Rick has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, a part of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The Schwab Foundation is a network of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs who are exclusively invited to present their work at the WEF meeting in Davos. Rick co-authored “Generating/ Sustaining Nonprofit Earned Income” and “Nonprofit Management 101”, two leading books on effective nonprofit leadership and management as well as numerous Stanford GSB case studies of effective and failed social innovation models throughout the world. 

Rick was featured in the CNN/Time Magazine series “Principal Voices” in 2008 and was a Fast Company Magazine “Social Capitalist of the Year”. He has been a World Economic Forum (WEF) Schwab Social Entrepreneurs since the inaugural year in 2001 and served as chair of the WEF Global Council of Social Entrepreneurs. Rick has been an Ashoka Senior Fellow since 2009.

Gerald Turner is responsible for the overall operational performance of all HomeRise departments including programs, real estate development, housing operations, finance, asset management, compliance, and human resources.

He has focused extensively on real estate development initiatives to spur the creation and retention of jobs, reconnecting neighborhoods to educational, commercial, social, workplace and health services. Having directed community, economic and real estate development programs, Gerald joined HomeRise in July 2021 having managed and developed over 2,500 units of housing totaling $700 million in value for various public, private and non-profit organization.

David joined HomeRise in 2015, and is responsible for managing and maintaining the overall condition of each building within the HomeRise portfolio. He is also responsible for the annual maintenance budgets, vendor selection, and teams with Real Estate Development, Asset Management, Finance and Human Resources to achieve success for HomeRise.

David has also created an upward mobility ladder to promote advancement within Facilities. As the hiring manger he brought in several staff with advanced skills and knowledge, including creating three new positions which ensure training in repairs and for the administrative duties needed to be successful and promote advancement. David brings well over 30 years of experience in Plant Operations and a degree from Excelsior College in Science and Technology. He is also an annual lecturer at Santa Clara University and Co-Facilitator for Restorative Freedom who assist formerly incarcerated during their transition back into society.

Iesha Fraser joined HomeRise in 2012. She has over 20 years of experience in business management. As Director of Employment Opportunities, Iesha oversees HomeRise’s Community Volunteer Team (CVT), Training Program, and the Social Enterprise (Solutions SF).

Prior to joining HomeRise, Iesha served as Program Director at Manos Home Care where she oversaw two teams assisting children, seniors, and adults in the East Bay in their daily activities in the home and the community. Iesha graduated from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.

Ken Harootunian is responsible for fundraising, marketing, communications, and social media.

He has focused on fundraising and nonprofit management since the 1980’s, helping to spur growth and scale impact for three different Planned Parenthood affiliates, Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the East Bay Community Foundation.  Ken joined HomeRise in August 2021 having managed and led numerous successful major gift and capital campaigns.  He currently serves as Board Chair for Exposing Hope (focused on the global refugee crisis) and is a board member of the Numi Foundation (which provided more than 600,000 pounds of food to families and seniors here in the Bay Area during the Pandemic and is currently working to provide critical water filtration technology/hardware for the citizens of Ukraine).

Anat Leonard joined HomeRise in August 2014 as the Clinical Services Director and became the Director of Resident Services in July 2016. She brings over 15 years of experience in the field, having held various positions of increasing responsibility across the homeless services system of care (e.g. shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and supported employment) serving multiple sub-populations, including survivors of domestic violence, youth, families, seniors, persons living with HIV/AIDS, and persons with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Prior to joining HomeRise, Anat was the Deputy Executive Director of Bowery Residents’ Committee, Inc. in New York City. She holds a Masters in Social Work from Columbia, and licensure as a Clinical Social Worker in the States of New York and California.

Bimi oversees all aspects of HomeRise’s Human Resource department including recruitment, orientation, performance management, staff development, compensation, benefits and more. Previously Bimi worked as a Director at Pundir Group in San Francisco in Human Resources. Other experience includes work at Kamlich Group in Napa, and Enovity in San Francisco. Bimi has a BA in Business Management at CA State Hayward and has attained her SPHR and SHRM certificates.

Kevin joined HomeRise in 2021 and brings eight years of experience in direct service and business management for non-profits and healthcare. Kevin’s educational background is in Healthcare Administration from DeVry Education Group.

Most recently, Kevin worked in human resources, business administration, and contracts compliance for The Salvation Army. Within his six years with the Army, he also served as a case manager for formerly homeless veterans and deployed on disasters as an Emergency Responder. He has a passion for helping people who have experienced homelessness and people with substance use disorders.

Kevin currently serves on the California Board of State and Community Corrections Executive Steering Committee for the Proposition 47 Grant Program. He also sits on the Advisory Circle for Harbor Light Center, a local substance use disorder and mental health treatment center.

Jocelyn Michelsen is responsible for driving greater mission impact by linking HomeRise’s strategy, operations, and evaluation work.

Jocelyn joined HomeRise in June 2017 with deep experience helping government, nonprofits, and foundations to better serve their participants. She has focused on advocating for displaced and vulnerable communities through a mission impact lens for the last dozen-plus years, working in Doctors Without Borders medical projects in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, and in community and workforce development projects in India, Africa, and the Bay Area. She currently serves on the board of Acta Non Verba Youth Urban Farm Project in East Oakland (which teaches urban farming to youth, sells the produce in a CSA box, and deposits the proceeds into college accounts for each participant).

Bilal Shah is responsible for finance, accounting, audits, and taxation among key areas.

He has 15 years experience in finance in addition to three masters degrees, (two in finance and one in statistics). He has worked in all aspects of finance including investment banking, asset management, private equity, corporate, regulatory and nonprofit finance and accounting. He comes to HomeRise in 2022 after spending seven years at the Salvation Army as their Business Director.

Sara Shortt brings over 25 years of experience in community organizing, policy advocacy, program management and service delivery in the areas of economic justice, anti-poverty organizing, affordable housing, homelessness and tenants’ rights and anti-displacement issues. Sara spent the past three years running an innovative, multi-disciplinary homeless outreach program in LA’s Skid Row, which successfully housed hundreds of chronically homeless residents.

Before that she was the Executive Director of the Housing Rights Committee, where for 11 years she was at the forefront of eviction prevention efforts, rent control preservation, renter anti-displacement measures and renter’s rights public education and legal services. Sara started out in San Francisco 20 years ago organizing residents of SROs in the Tenderloin. She is a passionate and fierce advocate for the rights and dignity of the city’s lowest income renters.