Leadership
Executive Team
Since Mr. Merriman joined the organization in 2021, LifeMoves has rapidly expanded its housing and services, opening three new interim supportive housing sites and additional programs that together serve more than 1,000 people annually. Gov. Gavin Newsom has praised LifeMoves’ approach, which prioritizes modular construction to deliver housing quickly and affordably. Three additional LifeMoves sites and programs serving an additional 1,000 individuals, families and veterans annually will open in 2025.
In recognition of his leadership, Mr. Merriman received Bank of America’s 2024 Neighborhood Builders Social Equality Award, which recognizes just six leaders nationally for their work advancing social equity and economic opportunity.
Mr. Merriman is a graduate of the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at Stanford University School of Business and a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum of Silicon Valley. He was one of 15 researchers nationwide selected to attend the prestigious Community Fellows Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Mr. Merriman graduated summa cum laude with an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Hawaii Pacific University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Hawaii. He serves on the board of directors for Santa Clara County's Continuum of Care and Silicon Valley at Home (SV@Home
Aubrey Merriman
Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Niklaus
Interim Chief Program Officer
For over 15 years, Shannon has been a development leader in Bay Area nonprofits. She started her career working for grassroots organizations as a direct service provider. Inspired by seeing the significant impact that a small group of people with shared values can have in their community, Shannon then set out to learn everything she could about building effective nonprofits. She went on to raise funds for social services, healthcare, civil liberties, arts, and education organizations across the Bay Area.
Shannon most recently served as the Campaign Director at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, where she successfully helmed the most ambitious campaign in the organization’s history - a $150M capital campaign to expand and unify the agency’s operations. Prior to Second Harvest, Shannon served as Development Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, where she was part of a team that doubled revenue in three years to close the opportunity gap for students.
Shannon serves as Board President for the Redwood City Education Foundation. She led the evolution of their mission from equal resource distribution to students to equitable support focused on the district’s most under-resourced schools.
Shannon received her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and, with a full Presidential Scholarship, earned her master’s degree in mass communication and media arts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Shannon Petrello
Chief Philanthropy Officer
Paul is an Oakland, CA. native with strong and long-term ties to the Bay Area. He is a respected executive with outstanding interpersonal and consensus-building skills, capable of leading and motivating teams to deliver superior results. Recognized as a creative and effective strategic planner, facilitator, and problem solver.
In addition to strong financial acumen, Paul brings a wealth of leadership qualities from his 20-year career in advising companies on financial strategies, acquisitions, and technology rollouts. In addition to his deep financial acumen and experience, he has extensive experience in Technology/IT/Data, fundraising, strategy, and venture investing.
His dynamic leadership style that values and promotes diversity, collaboration, accountability, and teamwork carries over from his professional to community service activities. He currently serves on the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, The Compton Community College Foundation, and E3 – Education, Excellence & Equity boards. He has previously served on The Marin Academy Board of Trustees, and UC Santa Cruz Alumni Association. He is also the Founder and COO of Silicon Valley Soldiers and Prospects on Deck. Paul’s passion is in his belief that each person has amazing potential and systems need to be designed to propel people’s brilliance.
Paul’s education experience built the foundation for his professional journey with a BA from UC Santa Cruz in Business Management Economics and an MBA from the Haas School at UC Berkeley.
Paul Simpson
Chief Financial Officer
Jeff Galipeaux
Vice President, Human Resources
Philanthropy Leadership Team
Tina is a Certified Fundraising Executive who started her career over 20 years ago at Big Brothers Big Sisters in Northwest Washington. As Fund Development Manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters, she led the development team and was instrumental in significantly increasing funding to eliminate their debt. Before becoming Fund Development Manager, she was an intern, volunteer mentor, and Big Brothers Big Sisters board member. Tina also served as the Interim Chief Development Officer at SMASH. As Senior Director at the University of San Francisco, she established multiple new scholarships for first-generation students and teachers of color. As the San Francisco Executive Director at the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), she led a team that served over 2,500 Bay Area clients. She managed the development team and volunteer services team at Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, creating their mid-level donor program and redesigning their volunteer strategy.
Tina served a mayoral appointment on the Oversight and Advisory Committee for the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families. She is a Philanthropy Committee member at Voice of Witness and was the 2nd Vice-President of the parent-teacher board at St. Thomas the Apostle School. Tina was previously named Big Sister of the Year, received a Helping Hands award from Big Brothers Big Sisters, and received the Seattle Jaycees Community Service award.
Tina Burgelman
Vice President, Philanthropy – Head of Principal Gifts Team
Prior to joining LifeMoves as a full-time employee, Denise consulted for LifeMoves and Silicon Valley Venture Fund (SV2). Denise spent over a decade at Legacy Venture, as Director of the Community where she built and managed Legacy’s diverse community of philanthropic individuals and foundations invested in Legacy funds. She worked with members to refine Legacy’s community strategy to provide effective ways to engage, connect and collaborate for a greater philanthropic impact.
Denise pursues broad and active philanthropic interests and is excited to focus on the great local need and help address the crisis of homelessness.
Denise is a native of Highland Park, IL and holds a B.S. in Business from Indiana University, Bloomington. She lives in the bay area with her husband and has two adult children.
Denise Chilow
Vice President, Philanthropy
Prior to Sierra Club, Michelle was the Chief Development Officer for ValleyPBS, the PBS affiliate broadcasting from Merced to Bakersfield, where she collaborated on strategy, fundraising, and content decisions as an executive team member of the station. Before moving into the nonprofit arena, Michelle spent a decade in a range of marketing and new product development roles at BookSpan, the largest direct response bookseller in the US prior to the emergence of Amazon.
Michelle holds an MBA (with a Marketing concentration) from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and a B.S. in Finance + Management Information Systems from State University of New York at Albany.
Michelle Epstein
Vice President, Philanthropy
Alex is an OnDeck Fellow, a Berkeley Skydeck Key Advisor, and advises social impact companies on how to achieve and scale their missions. He is completing his master’s thesis at the Frankfurt School of Finance in Germany, where he is researching the use of Donor Advised Funds for impact investment, and holds an MBA from Quantic School of Business.
Before joining LifeMoves, Alex founded Surf For Life. This international development organization has completed over 62 brick-and-mortar projects in developing nations that have helped over 600,000 children access clean water, shelter, health care, and education. In addition, he has raised over $28 Million in Venture Capital and has exited a company for $43 million.
Alexander Fang
Vice President, Philanthropy
With over ten years of frontline fundraising experience, in both the higher education and the non-profit sectors, Daan has had the experience of working firsthand with donors across all giving levels and most recently was the Senior Director of Development for Principal Gifts at San Jose State University where he built the giving program for seven-figure+ donors. His solutions-driven approach combined with a passion for working collaboratively to strengthen our community makes LifeMoves and its mission of ending homelessness a natural fit, both personally and professionally.
Daan is a Bay Area native who resides in San Jose with his wife, son, dog, and cat.
Daan Giron
Vice President, Philanthropy
Programs | Data | Operations Team
Before joining LifeMoves, Rosa contributed her expertise as a Fair Housing Counselor at Project Sentinel. In this role, she provided invaluable assistance and counseling, guided by a deep understanding of fair housing laws. Rosa's commitment to ensuring equal housing opportunities emerged from her early experiences in property management and her academic pursuits in Sociology.
A proud first-generation college graduate, Rosa embodies the spirit of curiosity and a relentless motivation to understand the world around her. Her belief in the transformative power of passion fuels her commitment to community change and equity. Rosa exemplifies how individual drive and dedication can make a significant impact, proving that passion truly makes a world of difference.
In her role at LifeMoves, Rosa Cervantes continues to be a beacon of hope and positive change for those facing housing insecurity. Her journey is a testament to the profound impact that compassionate leadership can have on communities and individuals striving for a brighter future.
Rosa Cervantes
Director of Housing
Heather Griffin
Director of Shelter and Services, Santa Clara County
Anat's dedication to creating robust, client-focused programs that cater to the most vulnerable in our society is a hallmark of her career. She has held senior leadership roles at HomeRise, San Francisco and Bowery Residents’ Committee, New York City, where she has managed a broad spectrum of services, from emergency shelters to workforce development programs. Her work consistently aims to create sustainable, replicable models that address the needs of those experiencing homelessness and offers support to the dedicated staff on the ground.
Anat is a licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York and California and holds a Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University. She is a fervent advocate for harm reduction and social justice and is deeply invested in recognizing and nurturing the wisdom within each individual. Anat's passion extends beyond her work, as she actively contributes to non-profits through her Board Service, currently with the Harm Reduction Therapy Center in San Francisco, and previously at Mission Action (Dolores Street Community Services). Anat is a mom to a creative and kind kid and volunteers as a Crew Leader with the Sutro Stewards, keeping her connected with nature.
Anat Leonard-Wookey
Vice President of Programs
Jocelyn Michelsen
Vice President of Impact + Learning
Eve Stoller, LCSW
Senior Director, Clinical Services and Training
Throughout her career, Hannah has excelled in mobilizing resources, fostering partnerships, and aligning strategies with long-term goals. Her journey spans impactful roles such as professional counselor, case manager, communications expert, and Chief Services Officer. At Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, Hannah served as Chief of Staff, overseeing operations and driving significant legislative victories, securing $275B in emergency healthcare and benefits legislation for 3.5M veterans. Her leadership yielded a 25% increase in operational efficiency, a 400%+ growth in digital revenue, and a 500% increase in program capacity.
With a commitment to fostering diverse teams and innovative problem-solving, Hannah has played pivotal roles in national case management programs and large-scale advocacy campaigns. Her mission-driven approach continues as the Director of Regional Outreach Initiatives at LifeMoves, where she focuses on program development, strategic planning, financial management, operations, and community relations for the agency's diverse portfolio of homeless outreach programs in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
Hannah holds a Master of Science in Counselor Education from Queens College, City University of New York, and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Hannah Sinoway
Director of Regional Outreach Initiatives
Jacob Stone
Director of Shelter and Services, San Mateo County
Melissa Selcher
Chair
LifeMoves Board
Former Vice President, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, LinkedIn
Carrie Owen Plietz
Regional President, Northern California Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals
Jillian Manus
Managing Partner, Structure Capital
Marcia Pade
Former Board Chair, LifeMoves
William V. Regan, III
Former Board Chair, LifeMoves
Christina Dickerson
Chair Emeritus | Vice President Corporate Development, Corium Inc.
Jackie Speier
Former Congresswoman & Founder, The Jackie Speier Foundation
Senior Administrative Assistant, Human Resources
Brandi Andino
Outreach Housing Specialist
Sylvia Bambra
Program Manager
Dolores Del Carmen Ruiz
Human Resources
Johnathan Hill
HR Administrative & Talent Associate
Tammie Hussar-Whiteman
Case Manager
Toni Lynch
Vocational Specialist | Villa
DeLoria White
DEI & Belonging Definitions
Diversity
Everything that makes us who we are, seen and unseen
The full range of staff differences both visible and invisible including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, generation, socioeconomic status, education, citizenship status, religious affiliations & beliefs, mental or physical ability, communication styles, national origin, political beliefs, language, and cultural norms, traditions, and values.
Inclusion
Celebrating & embracing all backgrounds
The active practice of celebrating and embracing staff of all backgrounds, identities, abilities, and perspectives to feel accepted, safe, empowered, supported, and affirmed to be their authentic selves at work.
Equity
Eliminating barriers
Eliminating barriers that have prevented the full participation of communities and individuals most impacted by systemic oppression. We achieve equity by ensuring that everyone has support and access to the resources they need to be successful.
Belonging
A culture of trust, where all voices are heard
Fostering a workplace where all people are recognized for their inherent worth and dignity, talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of living without feeling the need to change, alter, or assimilate. Belonging is a real sense of fitting in as yourself and feeling like you are an important member of the team.
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