Mr. Baca has 31 books in various genres, his last three, No Enemies, American Orphan, The Misfits–published by Arte Publico Press, U. of Houston; he lives with his family (three boys, two girls) in New Mexico, and he’s currently working on a novel. He has a musical, Redemption Time, that will tour the USA in January, and a new coffee-table book of never-before seen pics, poems and paintings from the classic film he wrote and executive produced, coming out in Oct., from Hat & Beard Press.

Linda Fitzgibbons is a retired District Homeless Liaison for Nye County School District, with over 20 years of experience working with homeless children and families. She has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the field, including receiving the Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY). In 2018, Linda was named State of Nevada District Homeless Liaison, further cementing her reputation as a leading advocate for homeless youth. She has established various programs in her county and schools to help homeless students, including setting up the first rural scholarship in Nevada for homeless students. Linda is widely recognized as a valuable resource in rural Nevada for homeless advocacy and fundraising.

Arash Ghafoori is the CEO of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY), Southern Nevada’s most comprehensive service provider for homeless youth. Leveraging his diverse background in policy, academia, and the start-up and corporate worlds, Arash has transformed NPHY into a community leader on issues affecting Southern Nevada’s homeless youth. Arash is a passionate advocate for disadvantaged populations and is an active leader in the national and local movements to end youth homelessness, serving on the Board of Directors of the National Network for Youth, the Advisory Board of National Safe Place, and the Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care Board. A firm believer in leveraging the intersections between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to create visionary solutions for social problems, Arash speaks locally and nationally on best practices in serving homeless youth and how to incorporate sound business practices into non-profit management.

Arash holds a multidisciplinary B.A. in International Relations and Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He was honored in 2014 as a “40 Under 40” business trailblazer by Vegas Inc. and received the 2016 Executive Leadership Award from National Safe Place, the 2017 Sustainable Leadership Award from Impact NV, and the 2019 HOME Award for outstanding individual member of the Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care. He is currently in the Leadership Las Vegas 2024 class.

Catrina Grigsby-Thedford is the current Executive Director of Nevada Homeless Alliance. She moved to Las Vegas in 2000, where she experienced literal homelessness for 9 years. She received help from local organizations in Las Vegas and started to change her life for the better in 2009.

Catrina has 13 years of professional experience working with those experiencing homelessness and substance abuse abuse. Catrina is a Peer Recovery Support Specialist, Licensed Social Worker, and a Certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor-Supervisor She obtained her Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Public Administration, and Doctorate in Public Policy from UNLV.

As a person with lived experience with homelessness, Catrina is passionate about ending homelessness and is dedicated to collaborating with community partners who are working towards similar goals. “I was saved from homelessness to serve the homeless.”

Melissa Jacobowitz (she/they) is the Chief of Development and Strategy at Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY). Melissa leads NPHY’s Community Development and Engagement Department, overseeing NPHY’s fundraising, marketing and communications, community outreach and engagement, and advocacy efforts. In her more than eleven years at NPHY, Melissa has written millions of dollars in successfully funded public and private grant proposals and worked to enhance NPHY’s best practice programs through research, data, and ongoing evaluation. They are also an active leader in systems-level work to end youth homelessness and have written about youth homelessness for local and national publications. Melissa serves as the Co-Champion of the Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care (CoC) Youth Working Group and on the National Network for Youth’s Policy Advisory Committee. They hold an MPA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and are a former AmeriCorps member and U.S. Department of State Fulbright Fellow. 

Trevor Macaluso is a native Nevadan who was born and raised in Reno/Sparks. He graduated from the University of Nevada with a B.A. in Economics, Political Science, and International Affairs.

Trevor spent over a decade working in development and nonprofit organizations throughout the state. Most recently, serving as the Outreach Director at The Crossing in Las Vegas. He has also served as a Major Gift Officer at Opportunity Village and was a consultant for October, Inc., a nationally recognized full-service fundraising firm. Having relocated to his hometown with his wife and three kids, they are all excited to be enjoying the activities our community has to offer. 

Trevor has been the Chief Executive Officer of Eddy House since August 2021. Eddy House is the only nonprofit agency in Northern Nevada that serves any homeless and at-risk youth aged 18-24, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or race. Eddy House provides 24/7/365 emergency and overnight shelter, transitional living, and wrap-around recovery-focused supportive services and programs. The mission of Eddy House is to create a safe space for homeless and at-risk youth to obtain the life and job skills that will enable them to attain and sustain successful independent lives. 

Trevor has served on the board of Refuge for Women, the Nevada Alumni Council, and the UNR Southern Alumni Chapter. In his off time, he enjoys hiking, camping, local coffee shops, and a good book.

Stacey Montooth, a citizen of the Walker River Paiute Nation, is the Executive Director of the Nevada Indian Commission (NIC), appointed by Governor Steve Sisolak on Sept. 1, 2019. Under recently elected Governor Joe Lombardo, Montooth continues as the liaison between our 28 federally recognized Tribal Nations, Bands, Colonies, and 62,000+ Urban Indians who choose to make Nevada their second home. She is a member of Governor Lombardo’s cabinet.

The NIC was created by statute in 1965 to “study matters affecting the social and economic welfare and well-being of American Indians residing in Nevada” and serves as the liaison between Tribal communities, Tribal citizens, and the State.

A direct descendent of a survivor of the Stewart Indian School, Montooth is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She has spent over a decade in service to Nevada Tribes. From 2012-2019, Montooth worked at the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony as that Tribe’s first public relations/ community information officer. During her six-year tenure, she organized community events and implemented communications plans and campaigns on behalf of tribes and thousands of Native Americans. Montooth also served as a crucial liaison for press inquiries as well as legislation involving key tribal issues, including health care and taxation.

Upon returning to Northern Nevada in 2007, Montooth was the Indian Education liaison for her alma mater, Churchill County High in Fallon, Nev. Prior to returning home to the Great Basin, Montooth spent nearly 12 years working in community relations, primarily in higher education and college athletics.

Lanette Rivera (she/her) is the Director of Engagement and Communications at Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY), brings over a decade of communications expertise and nine years of nonprofit dedication, championing underserved populations. With a corporate communications background at a major trade organization, Lanette’s passion led her to transition to the nonprofit sector.

For nine years, she’s devoted her career to addressing youth homelessness. At NPHY, work spans corporate and community engagement, marketing, event organization, youth leadership development, and more. Lanette played a pivotal role in establishing the annual Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit, uniting community leaders to drive systemic change.

Beyond her extensive volunteer and advocacy work in Southern California and Southern Nevada, Lanette’s current focus is climate change advocacy, actively contributing to the Climate Reality Las Vegas chapter.

Lanette has served on local and national boards, including The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN) National Membership committee and the Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Committee. Holding a Mass Communications and Media Studies degree from Arizona State University, Lanette’s dedication earned her recognition as one of Las Vegas Weekly’s 2022 Top 40 Under 40 Most Influential Young Professionals.

Dr. Stacey Chimimba Ault (she, her, dr) is a professor emerita, author, speaker and award winning community scholar originally from the UK.  Dr. Ault currently leads the Race and Gender Equity (RAGE) Project a non-profit and social impact organization that advances the wellbeing of Black women and youth, locally and around the globe, through healing, education, advocacy and research. Dr. Stacey also founded Restful Leadership an intersectional anti-racist  and trauma informed approach to being well at work, and in life, that is rooted in liberatory leadership and literal rest.

Dr. Ault received her doctorate in International and Multicultural Education, with an emphasis in Human Rights Education, from the University of San Francisco, and her Masters of Social Work from Sacramento State. She uses participatory action research to explore trauma and critical post-traumatic growth among Black women and youth. She has also published articles about youth homelessness, race, class and gender. Her current research explores the intersection of anti-racism, rest and leadership, and examines the relationship between work and rest in the US, UK and throughout the diaspora. These days, Dr. Stacey is particularly interested in uplifting narratives of Black joy, rest and liberation.  She lives in Sacramento with her family.  Her favorite things to do are lay down somewhere, travel with her lil friends (aka her adult children) and read (she has way too many books – if that is even possible).

Ashley (they/them) has spent the last decade working at the intersection of youth homelessness and other caring systems in Washington State and nationally, with organizations such as the Mockingbird Society, YouthCare, the Minnesota Alliance with Youth, the MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth and A Way Home Washington. Most recently, they worked with incredible local communities to redesign their homelessness response systems with quality By-Name List (BNL) data, prevention, youth expertise, and racial and LGBTQ justice at the center, coaching the first two communities in WA to show measurable, sustained reductions in youth homelessness. Ashley is passionate about harnessing the creative power of communities to design systems and processes that actually work – because that is what young people deserve. Ashley is based in the Seattle area, and holds a Master of Education in Prevention Science and Practice from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, focusing on Youth Participatory Action Research and the intersections of adolescent trauma and liberatory education praxis. 

Kelly Marschall (she/her), MSW, is President and Principal of Social Entrepreneurs, Inc. (SEI) and has over 35 years of experience working in and assisting nonprofit organizations. She has planned, administered, and provided direct services at both a local and state level as well as having provided regulatory oversight and planning for the state of Nevada. 

Kelly served as the Northern Nevada Continuum of Care Coordinator for the City of Reno, City of Sparks, and Washoe County Homelessness Coalition from 1999 to 2019 and led or supported the Rural Nevada Continuum of Care Strategy for Homeless between 2004 and 2023. She is deeply committed to preventing and ending homelessness in Nevada. Kelly is the project lead for the Nevada Study on Youth Experiencing Homelessness project funded through the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS). 

Kelly is a skilled facilitator and community planner, and as such, has worked with county commissions, multiple state agencies, and several national initiatives. While at SEI, Kelly has provided technical assistance, project management, and consulting services to numerous organizations and agencies throughout Nevada and California. She is highly skilled in identifying system improvement opportunities and working with those involved to implement changes. 

Kelly Marschall earned a master’s degree in social work, with high honors, from the University of Nevada, Reno and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pennsylvania State University.

Emma Rodriguez (she/her), MPP, is a Client Service Associate at Social Entrepreneurs, Inc. (SEI) and has a strong background in public policy and a deep commitment to improving the lives of children and youth. Emma worked in the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. for ten years before returning to her home state of Nevada to serve as the Children’s Health Policy Manager at the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, where she researched and advocated for policies that would improve the health and wellbeing of young Nevadans and their families.

Since 2019, Emma has worked at SEI providing project management and consulting services that empower clients to achieve their goals and realize their full potential. Emma is experienced in identifying and implementing effective strategies and initiatives to help deliver positive outcomes and strengthen programs that serve children and families in Nevada. Emma is excited to be currently supporting the Steering Committee for the Nevada Youth Experiencing Homelessness project, which is funded through the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services.

Emma has a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Art degree in Spanish language and literature with a minor in politics from Whitman College.