Crucial to the success of Community Housing Partnership are the more than 200 dedicated staff members who work for CHP. Our staff members bring a wide variety of experience and a high level of commitment to our mission to their work. We pride ourselves on learning from the insight and talents of formerly homeless people, and to that end, hire extensively from the community we serve. Over half of our staff members were once homeless, and many graduated from our job training programs.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT

Gail Gilman, Executive Director
Gail has over 14 years of experience in the supportive housing field and for the past eight years has served as the Director of Tenant Services at Community Housing Partnership. Previous to her work with Community Housing Partnership, Ms. Gilman served as Program Director for the Bridge Project, a Special Project of National Significance (SPNS) grantee. Ms. Gilman has been involved in policy and advocacy work, at both the local and national levels, and has spoken at numerous conferences across the country. She has also served on San Francisco’s Local Homeless Coordinating Board and numerous task forces dealing with housing and homelessness issues. Ms. Gilman holds a Masters in Non-Profit Administration from the University of San Francisco and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San Francisco State University.

Laurie Bernstein, Director of Social Enterprises
Laurie joins Community Housing Partnership with 6 years of non-profit experience and 15 years of for-profit experience. Her early career was spent in the retail industry where she rose to the level of VP Retail Operations with Sephora. Since 2006, she has been involved in workforce development work with Goodwill Industries where she held a variety of positions including Senior Program Manager and Director of Training & Development. Her work has been focused on helping populations with barriers to employment rejoin the workforce. She earned an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School.

Lisa Blakely, Director of Tenant Services
Lisa has 20 years of experience working to develop the capacity of individuals to reach their highest potential. She has spent the last 12 years working in the field of supportive housing and workforce development. Prior to joining Community Housing Partnership in 2010, she worked for the Corporation for Supportive Housing as a Senior Program Manager providing technical assistance and training across CA. In addition to front line positions in supportive housing, Lisa has provided consulting to job training organizations working primarily in communities of color. She also spent 8 years working for Kraft Foods as a Regional Customer Service Manager. Lisa graduated from Howard University with a B.A. in International Business and Finance and is a Certified Life Coach and Massage Therapist.

Eric Broque, Chief Financial Officer
Eric joined Community Housing Partnership in June 2011. He manages the financial affairs of CHP and its affiliates to assure the strength of CHP’s business strategy, the integrity of financial operations and the prudent stewardship of resources. Eric brings over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector having served in senior management positions at The Nature Conservancy, San Francisco Opera, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Stanford University and the University of California – Berkeley.

Vikki Davis, Director of Human Resources
Vikki has over 15 years in Human Resources Management. She has worked in several different industries from education to technology. Prior to joining Community Housing Partnership in 2010, she was working in healthcare. She brings a wide range of expertise in the areas of management consulting, executive leadership and team development, employee training, and strategic planning. She received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and holds Master's degree in Organizational Development and Human Resources Management from the University of San Francisco.

Christine Galvez, Director of Employment and Training Programs
Christine has been working in the non-profit sector since 1985 and joined Community Housing Partnership in 2005. She specializes in managing and developing employment programs for formerly homeless adults with multiple barriers. Prior to coming to CHP, Christine worked with children, youth and families through popular education programs in San Francisco, East Palo Alto and the East Bay, including over 10 years as a Charter School Administrator for a high school serving at-risk youth. Christine holds a degree in Spanish from San Francisco State University as well as the Adult Basic Education teaching credential.

Elizabeth Hewson, Chief Operating Officer
Elizabeth has been working in the non-profit sector since 1994. Her prior experience includes developing and facilitating training programs for homeless adults in San Francisco, displaced communities in Guatemala, and immigrants in Italy. Since joining Community Housing Partnership in 2000, Elizabeth has served as Program Assistant, Training Manager, Director of Employment and Training, Deputy Director and is now the Chief Operating Officer. She holds a degree in Literature from the University of California, San Diego.

Jeffrey Kohler, Director of Property Management
Joining CHP in 2011, Jeffrey brings 25 years of real estate management experience in both the conventional and affordable housing industry. During the most recent 12-years, Jeffrey’s focus has been on tenant-oriented property management and asset management for affordable multi-family, retail, office, mixed-use and student housing communities. Jeffrey served as Regional Vice-President - Property Operations for Mercy Housing (2009-2011) and Vice-President of Real Estate Management for EAH Housing (2000-2009). Jeffrey is a Certified Property Manager (CPM) with the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), holds a BA in Psychology from the American School of Professional Psychology/Argosy University and is a licensed California Real Estate Broker.

Geoff MacDonald, Director of Asset Management
Geoff has an extensive background in banking, finance and accounting. He brings 20 years of experience as a lender focused on affordable housing finance at Bank of America and California Bank & Trust. Prior to that, Geoff worked in accounting and finance for 8 years. Before joining the senior management team of Community Housing Partnership, Geoff was a member of the Board of Directors for 18 years, and served as President of the Board for 8 years. Geoff graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.S. in Accounting.

David Schnur, Director of Housing Development
David joined Community Housing Partnership in 2005 and has been working in the field of affordable housing development since 1999. Prior to joining Community Housing Partnership, he was a Project Manager for Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition. He holds a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Zeke Weiner, Development and Communications Director
Since 1990, Zeke’s professional work has centered on housing and homelessness in both San Francisco and New York. With Community Housing Partnership since 2000, Zeke has served as the Director of Asset Management, Director of Administration, Director of Property Management, and now Development and Communications Director. He holds a California real estate broker’s license and a Masters of Anthropology from the University of Chicago.