David Low brings more than a decade of public policy and strategic communications experience to our work to end homelessness in Silicon Valley. Prior to joining Destination: Home, David served as a senior advisor and communications director to San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, where he was intricately involved in the mayor’s efforts to combat Silicon Valley’s homelessness and affordable housing crises. He also spent a number of years working on the team of former Mayor Chuck Reed, as well as in the nonprofit sector, including as marketing and communications director for the YMCA of Silicon Valley and regional communications director for Breathe California.David grew up in Silicon Valley and is an alumnus of UCLA, where he earned a dual bachelor’s degree in political science and communication studies.

Mathew has a decades long commitment to affordable housing development, preservation and policy. Beginning as a tenant organizer in New Jersey in the 1990s, he has worked to bring community interests to housing policy discussions and to insure that affordable housing is a part of our understanding of inequality and our movements for social justice. In the Bay Area, he has worked in the public, non-profit, and the private sectors as a housing demographer, a social policy evaluator, and an organizer. Mathew holds a PhD in Urban Sociology and Social Policy from Northwestern University.

Erin Neff is a staff attorney at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley where they fight for housing rights through policy advocacy, affirmative litigation,and defending tenants in eviction cases. Their work includes partnering with other community organization to support tenant centered laws, such as the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, as well as advocating against laws that criminalize homelessness and perpetuate discriminatory housing practices. Prior to joining the Law Foundation, Erin worked in rural parts of California, defending indigent families in eviction proceedings. Erin also spent several years in New York City, where she worked at the Legal Aid Society, defending families from eviction in Brooklyn.

Thomas has worked in the Technology field for over 25 years. With a very impressive list of experience and accomplishments, issues with homelessness and the criminal justice system were never anticipated. Thomas had struggled with Mental Health issues most of his life, diagnosed with Bi-Polar, General Anxiety Disorder, and Conversion Disorder in his early twenties it appeared to most he had it under control. However, in 2017 during a complete mental break onset by undiagnosed PTSD, Thomas attempted to take his own life by overdosing on Prescription medication and Alcohol. This attempt resulted in a state of psychosis. Thomas woke up days later handcuffed to a hospital bed being told he had hurt someone, this resulted in a 4-year and 1 month incarceration in the California prison system. Upon his release in 2021 and the months that proceeded, Thomas experienced homelessness, admittance to a behavioral health hospital after another suicide attempt, and the many challenges faced by the un-housed especially those with mental health and criminal justice issues. Thomas now is a member of Destination: Home’s Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB) and speaks with groups throughout California and the Nation on issues of Homelessness, Mental Health, and Criminal Justice Reform.

Jaime Alvarado is a Co-Chair of the Alum Rock Urban Village Advocates (ARUVA). ARUVA is a volunteer group of Alum Rock residents and business people who are advancing the ARUVA Plan for Equitable Development to ensure equity-focused development of the Alum Rock Urban Village. Visit our website at: https://www.aruva.org/

Erin Arredondo is a Co-Chair of the Alum Rock Urban Village Advocates (ARUVA). ARUVA is a volunteer group of Alum Rock residents and business people who are advancing the ARUVA Plan for Equitable Development to ensure equity-focused development of the Alum Rock Urban Village. Visit our website at: https://www.aruva.org/