A home is the bedrock to a strong foundation.

"I believe the difference between poverty and a brighter future is usually dependent on the existence of opportunity. I joined Tipping Point Community, because I’m dedicated to helping create more opportunities for individuals in the Bay Area."

Prior to joining Tipping Point Community, Nick was an Orfalea Fellow at the William J. Clinton Foundation in Harlem, where he worked on domestic programs focused on entrepreneurship and helping individuals gain access to the financial mainstream. He earned his M.P.A. from the University of Southern California and his B.A. in Political Science from Sonoma State University. He has worked as an Analyst at Wildan Financial Services and a Project Coordinator at the Sonoma Economic Development Board. Born in El Salvador, his Latino heritage inspires his passion for life, dancing and spicy food.

"I saw an opportunity to leverage creativity alongside funding to make lasting impacts on systems that serve our most vulnerable populations, the people who need system designers to remember that there are lives at the other end of the services being provided."

For the last eight years I have worked in almost every component of the homelessness system.  Beginning by filling the seat of a person with lived experience on the Continuum of Care Board of Napa County, I moved into a site coordinator position at a homeless respite, and have held a direct service position as the program manager of both the services and housing aspects of Napa’s homelessness system. I do this work because I understand what it is like to attempt to navigate systems with no insight into how they work. I know what it’s like to forget that you have value simply by being a human. I do this work so that it might impact others who are disenfranchised and overlooked to help them remember their worth. I do this work because even one life changed can have far reaching ripples which have the potential to change the world. I graduated high school in 1999 and have researched and navigated many punitive systems in the US. I am currently working towards a BA in Sociology. A fun fact about me is that I’m slightly obsessed with Mesopotamian history and will likely be an archeologist in my next life.

"Change is possible if we take action that is rooted in love and support for each other, and bravely interrogate the effectiveness of our work. It starts with your heart and radiates out."

Nina leads Tipping Point’s grantmaking and systems change efforts on homelessness in San Francisco, bringing a focus on equity and cross-sector collaboration. Before becoming the Senior Program Officer, she served as a Senior Planner with Tipping Point’s Chronic Homelessness Initiative, working with diverse partners to promote health and housing for all San Franciscans. Prior to joining Tipping Point, she worked with the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C. on legislative reform to reduce the use of prison and jail in response to social and public health needs. She previously served as a public defender in Alameda County, where in addition to providing legal representation, she led a needs assessment of indigent clients and participated in a regional working group to address racial disparities in the justice system. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School. A Bay Area native, Nina loves learning about the region’s natural ecosystems and trying new styles of dance.

“'While the systemic conditions that create cycles of poverty in this country feel impossible and unwieldy, “we have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And [we] have to do it all the time.' –Angela Davis. This reminder refreshes my resolve every day to do this work and I am proud to join Tipping Point in the pursuit of equity and radical love in the Bay Area.”

Throughout her nonprofit career, Justine has worked with nonprofit direct service organizations and philanthropic networks to support community-based equity initiatives. This support provided needed services to marginalized communities in support of greater access to justice, economic security, joy, and prosperity.Justine has managed several community-based workforce development programs primarily in youth development organizations. She has also served as an independent consultant to nonprofits supporting program design, talent recruitment, event planning, and multi-stakeholder engagement projects since 2014.Justine earned her Master’s in Urban Policy and Management from the New School of Public Engagement and her Bachelor’s Degree from Smith College in Sociology & Spanish.Justine is a Nuyorican (a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent) who loves to travel the world sharing culture and building bonds with others.

"Growing up in the Bay Area, I saw the barriers and challenges my peers and others have faced day-to-day, specifically homelessness and poverty. I am joining Tipping Point Community because I believe I am able to utilize my skills and knowledge in data analysis and evaluation to help end poverty in the Bay Area."

James first got into the nonprofit sector after the 2014 midterm election. He remembers feeling helpless and a little bit lost thinking about what to do next in his career/life. He spent months soul-searching and thinking about how he could ultimately make a difference in his community. He made a decision later that year to dedicate his life to making an impact in his community through his work.James earned his Master’s in Public Administration in 2017 from New York University – Wagner. Prior to joining Tipping Point Community, he was the School Support Data Manager at the Urban Assembly. In this role, he supported the program team through evaluating the impact of their programs through analysis and Tableau dashboards.In his spare time, James enjoys going to Broadway shows, live music shows, and sporting events (Go Lakers and 49ers!).

“Everyone deserves the opportunities and support necessary to thrive. Tipping Point recognizes the deep connection between poverty, opportunity, and life outcomes, and the need for collaborative and systemic action to promote equity.”

Jake’s work focuses on improving opportunities and outcomes for children, youth, and families through programs, policy, and research. Prior to joining Tipping Point, he was Associate Director at the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University. In that role, he collaborated with Bay Area school districts and youth-serving organizations to build capacity to use data for decision-making, and analyzed effective strategies for promoting low-income students’ development and success. Jake has also worked as a public policy professor at Claremont Graduate University, Director of Policy Research and Analysis at The After-School Corporation (TASC) in New York City, and school and community development volunteer with the US Peace Corps in Namibia. He has received a B.A. from Oberlin College, an MPA from Princeton and a Ph.D from New York University. When not at work, Jake can be found urban hiking with his family, and generally trying to keep up with his two young daughters.

“I'm grateful for the opportunity to join a community of people invested in both the idealism of pursuing an end to poverty in the Bay Area, and are also committed to the necessary actions to achieve it.”

Julie joined Tipping Point because of her belief that the right continuum of person-centered, trauma-informed services to address multiple domains of a person’s life can disrupt the harmful impacts of poverty that too many people continue to grapple with. Most recently, Julie was the Executive Director of California’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, where she served as a policy advisor and led a statewide entity responsible for significant homelessness initiatives and funding programs. Prior, Julie worked for Bay Area nonprofits (including Larkin Street Youth Services!) and as a consultant specializing in planning and evaluation. Julie earned a Master of Public Affairs from the University of California, Berkeley, and received her B.A. from Holy Names University. Julie is an avid learner and always reads the appendices first when reading reports, because that’s where all the good stuff lives.

“We must take care of the most vulnerable among us to thrive as a community. So long as we are content to allow the suffering of others, we will never achieve true prosperity.”

Hunter Meyer is happiest when he’s helping people. He comes to Tipping Point from the food and events world, where he ran large-scale food truck events for Off the Grid. Originally from Maine, Hunter earned a B.A. in Economics from Bard College. Since moving to the Bay Area over a decade ago, he’s fallen in love with the region, and is committed to making it even better through his work at Tipping Point. Outside of the office, Hunter enjoys spending time in nature with his young daughter, wife, and dog, and he is always on the lookout for a great taco.

"I believe that to be truly compassionate, one must directly support their neighbors who are struggling with poverty and also work to change and improve the systems that have allowed that poverty to exist."

Ali joined Tipping Point to more directly serve her community while also continuing to work on the critical system changes necessary to ensure meaningful reductions in poverty. Prior to joining Tipping Point, Ali served as the State of California’s Deputy Secretary for Homelessness where she oversaw the state’s interagency council on homelessness and several large state homelessness grant programs. Earlier in her career Ali served as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, focusing on a range of anti-poverty programs within the Administration for Children and Families. Ali graduated with a Masters in Public Policy from the University of California – Berkeley, and received her B.A from the University of Iowa. When not working to alleviate poverty, Ali can be found hiking, backpacking or reading a good book…outdoors!

"Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth." -Shirley Chisholm

Lara comes to Tipping Point with extensive experience working to address and end homelessness in both the public and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining Tipping Point she was the Manager of Community Homelessness Services for the City of Oakland, where she played a leadership role in the city’s homelessness policy direction and funding, and implementation of homelessness programs. Lara has also held leadership roles in local homeless services agencies, serving as the Director of Client Services for the Berkeley Food and Housing Project and as a Division Director for Larkin Street Youth Services, a Tipping Point grantee. She started her career as a homeless outreach worker in the South Bronx.  Lara received a BA from Brown University and an MSW from UC Berkeley.  In her free time, Lara likes to be outside hiking and camping, or in the kitchen cooking for friends and family.

“As long as poverty, injustice, and gross inequality exist in our world, none of us can truly rest.” — Nelson Mandela

The fight to end poverty hits close to home for Sam. When he was 11 months old, his birth mother placed him on the steps of an orphanage in Vietnam and walked away. She simply could not afford to raise him. Sam was dealt an early lesson on the power of community — its capacity to open doors, to radically change lives, and to break the cycle of poverty. His origin has molded his self-concept and forged his desire to pursue a career that enables others to thrive no matter their background.Prior to Tipping Point, Sam helped bring books into the world in marketing and editorial roles at HarperCollins and Pearson. He attended The Paideia School in Atlanta, Georgia and Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. In his spare time, Sam can be found running and training for upcoming races on the track and the roads around Lake Merritt and the East Bay.

“Inequality and injustice are built into our systems and institutions. It is our duty to transform our systems until everyone, regardless of identity or background, has equal opportunity to thrive.”

Bing is honored and humbled to be able to apply her research, business intelligence, and data analytics experience in support of Tipping Point’s empathetic and multi-faceted approach to fighting poverty. Prior to joining Tipping Point, she supported economic research and Cash Services strategy and operations as an analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Her passion for public service motivated her to pursue an M.S. in data science at the University of San Francisco, to better serve her community in an analytic capacity. During her master’s program, she interned at Human Rights Data Analysis Group, where she contributed to statistical analyses that enable accountability for human rights violations. Bing also holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Chicago. Bing is a proud first-generation Chinese-American immigrant and a Bostonian, and she enjoys running, exploring cities through food, and listening to pop punk.“Inequality and injustice are built into our systems and institutions. It is our duty to transform our systems until everyone, regardless of identity or background, has equal opportunity to thrive.”