Advisory Board

Advisory Board

As part of SKHHP’s commitment to amplifying and ensuring community voices lead our work, we created an Advisory Board which will inform and influence SKHHP Executive Board decisions by providing recommendations that advance the broader interests of the communities they represent. All Advisory Board members live or work in South King County and possess a personal and/or professional commitment to understanding and working to undo the impacts of institutionalized racism and disparities experienced by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities.

Board Members

HAMDI ABDULLE

Hamdi is a prominent leader in the Puget Sound region, who has over 20 years of experience working with the African Diaspora immigrant and refugee community. She is a co-founder of ACHD and a former educator with degrees from Lafoole University and George Mason University. She is a member of the Community Café Collaborative, the Communities of Concern Commission, WA Dept of Commerce Rental Assistance & Homeless System Performance Measures Steering Committee, and King County Parks Healthy Communities & Parks Fund Commission. Hamdi is a proud recipient of King County Council’s MLK Jr Medal of Distinguished Service, as well as Congressman Adam Smith's Champion of Justice award in recognition of her contribution to the communities of the 9th Congressional District. Hamdi also received South King County Council's Human Services Equity and Social Justice award for exemplary community leadership and advocacy. Hamdi is polylingual (English, Somali, Arabic, and Italian) and a Somali-language poet.

MARIA LYNN ARNS

Founder and Executive Director of a newly formed nonprofit called Jimmy’s Place.  This nonprofit focuses on helping the unsheltered in the South King County/Pac Hwy Corridor. I have always had a heart and passion for the unsheltered and believe that if we all work together, we can see an end to homelessness.   Jimmy’s Place partners with various community organizations to help connect the unsheltered to case management and bridges the gap by connecting them to local available resources. I currently serve as the Vice Chairperson of the Health Care for the Homeless Network (HCHN), Chair of United Way’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) and active in educating and engaging religious organizations in the community. Having experienced similar hardships in my past has given me a unique insight and into the struggles that many are facing in our community. My plan is to educate and engage others to reach out and provide solutions for those who are in need.  Currently, Jimmy’s hosts monthly pop-ups, weekly outreaches, daily support of emergency supplies when there is inclement weather, and we host Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for the unsheltered. Jimmy’s Place ultimate goal is to have a resource center that will support existing facilities and case managers to serve our community.

ANDREW CALKINS

Andrew is the Director of Policy & Intergovernmental Affairs at the King County Housing Authority. Andrew has worked at KCHA since 2015 and brings to the SKHHP Advisory Board experience working for a large affordable housing developer, operator, and provider of low-income housing assistance in South King County. Andrew is an advocate for more equitable and impactful affordable housing solutions, and works at the federal, state, and local level to bring additional resources to the region. He originally worked on researching South King County housing challenges as part of his graduate program and is excited by the opportunity to help advise and support SKHHP during its initial years. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys backpacking, tinkering with synthesizers, and playing with his two cats.

KENT HAY

Kent Hay is the Human Services Director for the City of Auburn and oversees the Department of Anti-Homelessness. Kent Hay has worked for the City of Auburn since 2020 and has worked within the social services and criminal justice field for over 20 years. He believes that everyone should have access to true (within their price range) affordable housing and that everyone experiencing homelessness South King County should have access to sheltering within their city.  In his spare time, he enjoys diving into virtual reality, relaxing and spending time with his dog.

KATHLEEN HOSFELD

Kathleen Hosfeld is Homestead’s CEO and Executive Director. In addition to overall agency leadership, Kathleen leads Homestead’s initiatives to grow the number of permanently affordable homes for ownership in our region through community partnerships. She came to Homestead in 2014, after more than two decades as a strategic consultant to financial services and non-profit organizations. Under her leadership, Homestead has increased homes in trust by 30% and has built a pipeline for housing development of over 200 homes. She leads efforts to deepen partnerships for equitable development in neighborhoods at high risk of displacement from rapid growth and gentrification. She has led the agency to develop two exemplary “deep green” housing developments that pilot standards for future replication. She serves as the chair of the Housing Development Consortium’s Homeownership Affinity Group, and served in two officer roles on the Board of the Northwest Community Land Trust Coalition.

ASHLEY KENNY

Ashley is the Housing Location Manager at Mary’s Place. Ashley has worked at Mary’s Place since 2017 and has seen how the intersecting issues of racism, rising housing costs, and the shortage of affordable housing continue to contribute to our region’s family homelessness crisis. Ashley is passionate about homelessness prevention and has assisted in the development of the new homelessness prevention program at Mary’s Place. Ashley believes that safe and stable housing is a basic human right. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys spending time with her family, spending time in nature, and reading.

OLGA LINDBOM

Olga is the Economic Stability Programs Manager at Open Doors for Multicultural Families, a nonprofit based in Kent focused on serving individuals with developmental & intellectual disabilities from diverse cultural communities. In her 10 years at ODMF, she has held a variety of roles, all grounded in her experience as an immigrant and as a parent of a child with a disability. In her role as a manager for the Economic Stability department, she and her team see families as their own strongest advocates, assisting them to take the lead in their individual journeys to housing stability and financial wellness. Olga believes that through collaborative efforts, safe and inclusive communities for all can be achieved.

PATIENCE MALABA

Patience is the Executive Director of the Housing Development Consortium and leads the 200-member association working on affordable housing and homelessness in King County, in a shared effort to scale access to affordable housing. Prior to this role, she served as HDC’s Director of Government Relations and Policy. She is recognized for her leadership in addressing the intersecting crises of affordable housing, racial equity, and climate change and is the 2020 Bullitt Foundation Environmental award winner. A commitment to environmental and economic justice and her passion for an equitable society led her directly to the affordable housing sector.
She joined HDC at an instrumental time for South King County cities and provided critical project management support for the South King Housing and Homelessness Partners (SKHHP) collaboration efforts and formal launch. Joining 10 years of work by HDC with South King County Cities to deepen interjurisdictional coordination on housing and homelessness, Patience provided staff support towards creating an inter¬ local collaboration across the finish line.
She is a regional leader who co-chairs the Eastside Housing Roundtable, co-chairs Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC)’s Regional TOD Advisory Committee, recently was the Chair of the Seattle Redistricting Commission and serves on the PSRC Growth Management Policy Board. She also serves on several boards in our region and nationally.

TINA NARRON

Tina provides a wealth of experience in the financial services industry. She started her career as a teller and has worked her way up through senior lending positions before ending up in executive leadership. In addition to managing all aspects of lending for billion-dollar loan portfolios, Tina has also helped lead organizational and cultural transformations at credit unions to improve member service.
In her role as Verity Credit Union’s Chief Lending Officer, Tina believes that her team is essential to helping people achieve their dreams. As such, she is responsible for contributing to the development of loan products and services and equipping her lending team with the tools they need to be successful. Verity is here to empower communities to dream boldly, but also feel good about how they will get there.
In her spare time, Tina enjoys charity work, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.

UCHE OKEZIE

Uche brings 18 years of housing experience and is currently Director of Real Estate Development at HomeSight, managing affordable housing and commercial projects. Uche also lives in Burien and is eager to be more involved in affordable housing decisions affecting her community. Uche is very aware of the worsening housing crisis in the South King County region and believes that housing is a human right and is excited to work to create solutions and policies that incorporate a holistic platform for people most impacted by the housing crisis, while ensuring that voices are heard. Uche demonstrates a passion for working to create more equitable housing solutions for BIPOC communities and in particular, Black home ownership.

MAJU QURESHI

Maju has lived in Federal Way for 10 years, attended community college in Des Moines and has volunteered for environmental, youth, mental health and equity in education, and transportation access causes over the years. Maju is now the Economic Stability Director at the Multi-Service Center, where she oversees employment, youth services, housing (transitional and PSH), emergency assistance and shelter programs. Maju’s motto is taking things one day at a time and working intentionally with staff, partners, and community members to uplift members of the community who are in need of some help, hope and change. Maju brings to the SKHHP Advisory Board a collaborative mindset, enthusiasm, and extensive knowledge of local resources. Maju demonstrates a strong commitment to serving communities of color who have been systematically oppressed and working to reduce and eventually eliminate disparities in the housing system while using an equity lens to define strategies.

CATHY SISK

Cathy has worked for Mary’s Place for the last five years as a Family Engagement and Stability Coordinator. A resident of South King County, she brings a first-hand experience of the challenges of housing displacement leading to homelessness. Taking from that experience, Cathy now works to ensure families have rental stability and the resources to stay a part of their communities. When not working, she coaches cheerleading, and is the Director of the Youth & Children’s Division of the Pacific Northwest Conference A.M.E Church.

MENKA SONI

Menka is founder and president of the nonprofit, AmPowering, which focuses on communities in King County and works at a grassroots level to address homelessness and food security along with other transformative empowerment projects. Through their mobile food bank, she is helping families on the verge of homelessness by providing interim shelters in hotels and all necessary support. She is an advocate of equitable and impactful resources for affordable housing. Outside AmPowering, Menka is Arts Commissioner with City of Redmond, Executive Board member with Redmond Chamber of Commerce known as One Redmond Foundation, LTAC board member with City of Renton and appointed by the Mayor of Renton as special Inclusion Task Force member. Menka is known as a community connector and organizer of big charity events that not only bring communities together to bridge the gap, but also help to provide resources to homeless neighbors. Menka also works for T Mobile, where she is an Employee Diversity Committee member. With her involvement in the city, community & corporate, she brings great experience.  She also brings real estate knowledge and experience with her. Menka demonstrates a personal passion for relationship building and community outreach work and will bring to the SKHHP Advisory Board both her grassroots level experience along with corporate connections.

RUMI TAKAHASHI

Rumi’s passion is to provide high quality architectural design and services to organizations that serve our community’s most vulnerable, most under-represented members. Her practice focuses on design for affordable housing, childcare, and social services. Rumi joined SMR Architects in 2014 and was promoted to Principal in 2019. She oversees SMR’s mentorship program focusing on exposure to the profession for women of color.  Rumi inherited her drive for social justice from her educator/civil rights activist mother and her immigrant father. Through architecture, she found a way to apply her creativity and problem-solving gifts in service of equity and humanity. Rumi has led design efforts for diverse clientele, incorporating their unique cultural perspectives and priorities into building design.

---

Please send all questions and inquiries to info@skhhp.org