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STAFF


    

Natalie Harris
Executive Director

nharris@louhomeless.org

     

    
Natalie Harris joined Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, a nonprofit supportive housing provider in Dayton, Ohio in August of 2005. MVHO manages almost 600 units of supportive housing throughout Montgomery County. MVHO also operates the PATH outreach program which provides street outreach to homeless, mentally persons in Montgomery County. PATH staff partner with community groups including the Sunrise Center and Weed and Seed to reach eligible persons. Prior to joining MVHO, Natalie was a partner at The Partnership Center, Ltd in Cincinnati where she served as a HUD technical assistance provider and nonprofit grant writer. For 12 years prior to 2005, Natalie served as director of the Specialized Housing Resources Department at Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), the state housing finance agency. There, she was responsible for development, implementation and coordination of policies and procedures relating to the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) Program, Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF), Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Program, Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Program and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care Programs. She was additionally responsible for developing new partnerships and housing solutions for homeless and special needs populations in Kentucky and for creating a pipeline to fund over 1,500 units of permanent, supportive housing for the homeless. She has served as a consultant to the U.S. Census Bureau, Corporation for Supportive Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Urban Institute on issues related to rural homelessness and supportive housing. Before joining KHC, Natalie served as director of the statewide Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky and the Appalachia Service Project home repair program. She earned her bachelor?s degree from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.
     


    

Mary Frances Schafer
Director of Community Coordination

mfschafer@louhomeless.org
      

   

Areas of Expertise: Continuum of Care, Strategic Planning & Community Coordination
Mary Frances has been on staff at the Coalition since July 2006. Her duties include coordination of Louisville's Continuum of Care process, writing Exhibit 1 (the overall community's portion) of the HUD Continuum of Care grant, coordination of the Homeless Partnership Grants Committee, working with homeless service providers to coordinate a community effort toward addressing the issue of homelessness and working with City representatives to update and implement the community's 10 year plan to end homelessness. Before coming to the Coalition she served twelve years as Program Manager for a transitional housing facility serving homeless single parent families. She spent seven years providing in-home case management services for the elderly. In 1993, she received her Masters of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis with concentrations in Social and Economic Development, and Management.
    


    
Roman Vodacek
Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Coordinator

rvodacek@louhomeless.org
      

   

Areas of Expertise: HMIS Administration & Technical Support
Roman joined the Coalition in 2004. He is responsible for administration and support of the of the Kentucky HMIS database in Louisville. He works with Kentucky Housing Corp. on HMIS development and manages the HMIS grant. Roman has background in IT support from the University of Louisville and in project management from the US Peace Corps. Roman received B.S. degree in Electrical engineering from the Technical University of Brno, Czech Republic and B.S. in Aeronautics from Hawthorne College in NH.
   


    
Becki Winchel
Development and Community Relations Manager

bwinchel@louhomeless.org
      

   

Areas of Expertise: Education & Volunteer Coordination
Becki became the Poverty Simulation Coordinator in July of 2006. She works with a variety of community groups to schedule and coordinate the logistics and materials involved with conducting the poverty simulations. She is also responsible for training volunteer facilitators. Becki came to the Coalition with 15 years event coordinating and supervisory experience. She also volunteers extensively with several social justice and environmental groups in the community. A committed advocate for systems change, you may hear her convincing groups to contact their elected officials.
    


   
Pat Facktor

HMIS and CoC Assistant

pfacktor@louhomeless.org

       
Areas of Expertise: Quality assurance standards & Blueprint University workshops
As the Quality Assurance Standards (QAS) Coordinator, Pat Facktor monitors the Coalition's member shelters, assuring standards for housing, health and safety, business administration, social services, HMIS compliance, and homeless advocacy. She also facilitates Blueprint University, monthly workshops addressing issues relating to case managers and front-line staff working with the homeless. Prior to joining the Coalition staff in January 2006, Pat had 30 years experience in early childhood education, several years in college admissions and experience teaching elementary band and orchestra. She has many years of administrative experience in various settings. Pat holds a bachelor's degree in music education from Michigan State University and has done graduate work in business at the University of Louisville.
   


   

Senlin Ward

QAS Manager

sward@louhomeless.org

     

      
Senlin is in charge of the Quality Assurance Standards (QAS) program at the Coalition.  She also assists with updating the community's 10-year strategic plan for reducing homelessness and ending chronic homelessness.   Senlin is also an advisor to the KIPDA region as it develops its approach to reducing homelessness and ending chronic homelessness.  In the past she has been in charge of the local HUD Continuum of Care process, the Louisville Homeless Partnership Grants Process and the agency's development department. Senlin has over 18 years of social service experience having worked with women's issues, education and other social justice issues in a variety of settings. She has a Master's Degree in Public Administration and Bachelor's Degree in English, both from the University of Louisville.
      


   
Marsha Bailey
Office Manager

mbailey@louhomeless.org

     

   
Areas of Expertise: Administration & finance
Marsha Bailey is the Office Manager and has been with the Coalition since 2004. She assists the Executive Director in managing the organization's administrative and financial functions. Her responsibilities include accounts payable and receivables, account reconciliations, and recording contributions. She also produces a weekly e-newsletter, updates Louisville Street Tips, a resource booklet for homeless individuals, and controls inventory. She is responsible for human resource duties including payroll and employee benefits. Marsha coordinates the logistics of meetings and supervises volunteer staff. She came to the Coalition with 15 years of administrative experience.

         


         

Merrit Gill

HPRP Project Support

mgill@louhomeless.org

    

Merritt Gill is the HMIS assistant/HPRP project support worker. She takes tech support phone calls for the HMIS system, manages site visits and helps conduct training classes. She graduated from the University of Louisville with a Bachelor’s Degree in 2009, and is currently working on a Master’s Degree.