Board of Directors

Lisa is currently a partner at Arent Fox LLP and contributes her firm’s resources towards Street Sense. She is a champion for the cause and publicly advocates for Street Sense in her personal and professional circles. Favorite book: The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder.

Brad is a Senior Researcher at National Geographic. He brings a diverse skill set and provides guidance in the areas of content, advertising and operations. Favorite book: Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury.

Yebegashet Alemayehu | Treasurer

Yebegashet is a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.

at this time

Manas comes to Street Sense with a legal background and experience as a web developer. He is currently an attorney in the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, focusing on identity theft issues. Before joining the FTC, he served as a litigation associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Goodwin Procter LLP. He also served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable José Antonio Fusté, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Prior to entering law school, Manas worked as a senior web developer for Nickelodeon Online. Manas has also served on the board of the South Asian Bar Association. Favorite book: Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse.

Margaret Chapman | Board Member

Margaret currently works as a grants administrator for a large non-profit but has a professional background in financial consulting for political parties and campaigns. She holds bachelor’s degrees in International Affairs and Economics and is completing her MBA and MA in European and Eurasian Studies from the George Washington University. Favorite book: Pollyanna, by Eleanor Porter.

at this time

Kristal is Communications Director in the Office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee. She brings insight on veteran’s issues and plays an active role in fundraising events. Favorite Book: The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Robin is Chief Development Officer at the Center for Public Integrity, an international non-profit investigative journalism organization based in Washington, DC. She has served as a non-profit executive and development officer for a range of academic and human service organizations, including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Center for Bioethics at University of Pennsylvania, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and Children’s Defense Fund. She received her bachelor’s in comparative literature at Northwestern University and her master’s in social work from Columbia University. She divides her time between Philadelphia and Washington. Her latest favorite Book: Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age, by Clay Shirky.

Heidi Keller | Board Member

Heidi is Contracting and Business Operations Director at Freddie Mac. Favorite book: Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien.

Sommer is Editor at The Atlantic Cities. Favorite Book: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.

Michael is the Director of Community Organizing for the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). Since 1972, he has been working full-time (primarily as a volunteer) with homeless and formerly homeless people and homeless advocacy groups. He was a founding board member of NCH, and joined NCH’s staff in 1988. Since 1988, he has worked to establish and provide ongoing support to local/statewide homeless/housing coalitions, and homeless self-help and social justice/action groups. He is the project director for NCH’s National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project and serves as an advisor to NCH’s Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau. He also coordinates NCH’s national events such as National Homeless Voter Registration Week, National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, and National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. He has a bachelor’s degree in social work.