Susan Walker Goico is the director of Atlanta Legal Aid Society’s Disability Integration Project. Her advocacy focuses on the enforcement of Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W., the landmark disability rights decision based on the “integration mandate” of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She advocates for children and adults confined in or at risk of institutionalization in psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions who seek community-based services and supports. Since 2012, Susan has facilitated the Nick Project, a collaborative effort aimed at connecting inmates in the DeKalb County Jail with community mental health services and supported housing. Susan has worked in the disability rights arena since graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1998. She currently teaches the Olmstead Disability Rights Clinic at Georgia State University College of Law. Aside from her years working on Olmstead implementation at Atlanta Legal Aid, Susan has also been a contract attorney for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR), where she investigated Olmstead violation complaints and monitored an Olmstead-based voluntary compliance agreement.

Elizabeth Jones is the Independent Reviewer for the Settlement Agreements in United States v. Georgia. She also assists the Independent Reviewers in two other Olmstead cases (North Carolina and Virginia) and is an expert consultant In matters related to the development of community-based systems in lieu of institutionalization. Her previous work involved leadership roles in jurisdictions under federal or state court orders, including Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and Maine.

Maxwell Ruppersburg, MPA, PMP, (he/him) serves as Director for the Office of Supportive Housing with DBHDD, leading strategic transformation efforts in Georgia's supportive housing system. He serves on the boards for Georgia's Balance of State Continuum of Care and Atlanta's Continuum of Care.

Sam Tsemberis, Ph.D., is a clinical-community psychologist who originated the “Housing First” model, an evidence based program for effectively ending homelessness for individuals diagnosed with mental illness and addiction. Housing First programs are successfully implemented across the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Dr. Tsemberis has decades of experience in program operations, training, consultation, and research. He currently serves as CEO of the Pathways Housing First Institute, is on the faculty at UCLA Department of Psychiatry and serves as Executive Director of the UCLA-VA Center of Excellence for Training and Research on Veterans Homelessness and Recovery. He has published widely on the topics of homelessness, mental illness, and addiction and received recognition for Independent Contribution to Practice from the American Psychological Association and awarded the Meritorious Service Cross from the Government of Canada. The Pathways Housing First Institute and DESC founded and continue to convene the Housing First Partners Conference.