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.

Jacob Mihalak has a long career as technical assistance advisor to local and state governments, nonprofit housing and service providers, and philanthropists regarding housing and services for people living HIV and/or experiencing homelessness. He has been a core member of the HFPC organizing team from the beginning, and in 2022, with London-based filmmaker Josh Hayes, he produced “Homecoming: Life after Incarceration,” a suite of 10 training videos and a companion resource toolkit. You can access them at: www.hudexchange.info/homecoming