NCAB Steering Committee
The NCAB Steering Committee is responsible for organizing HCH consumers to have a voice in national issues involving the health care of homeless persons. To accomplish this work, the committee meets monthly by teleconference and twice annually in person.
Deidre Young
Chair | Houston, TX
Deidre Young is a member of the CHANGE committee at Health Care for the Homeless Houston, and has served on NCAB as a Regional Representative and Co-Chair. She believes this opportunity has been a great learning experience and has allowed her to make a positive change for the community. Deidre brings a unique skill set and perspective to the work with her photography and videography, which she uses to make sure NCAB materials are accessible to all people and learning styles. Deidre also serves as the Designer and Editor for the Consumer Voice.
Kendall Clark
Co-Chair | Atlanta, GA
Kendall Clark has been advocating for health care for the homeless for more than three decades. As a person with the lived experience of homelessness, Kendall has devoted himself to assisting those in need, including advocating for the advancement of health care for the homeless policies and practices and for clients with HIV/AIDS.
Kendall has worked as a Medical Case Manager at Betterself Community Care, as the Director of Health & Wellness Program at St. James Social Service Corporation, and as a Behavioral Health Assessment Manager for North Jersey Community Research Initiative (NJCRI). He has served as a member of the City of Newark, New Jersey HIV Services Planning Council and the City of Newark Mayor’s Commission on Homelessness, as well as a member of the Board of Directors for City of Newark Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC).
Amanda Richer
Co-Chair| Seattle, WA
Charlotte Garner
Member at Large – 3 Years | Houston, TX
Charlotte A. Garner is a formerly homeless individual who is dedicated to using her lived experience in the arena of advocacy on behalf of those who suffer from the plight of homelessness. She arrived in Houston in December 2006 with 32 cents in her pocket and the clothes on her back. Upon being referred to Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston, she received total comprehensive care. Charlotte credits HHH with facilitating her entire journey of restoration to achievements she had only vaguely thought could be ascertained.
Charlotte has been a part of her local cab for 12 years and serves as its chair for the last 5 of those years. She has maintained continuous participation during the covid19 pandemic in voter’s registration drives, patient satisfaction surveys and virtual fund raisers. This staunch passion transcended her local HHH and led her to join NHCHC.
She is a member of the Research Committee and participated in webinars, the mobilizer and project for a doctorate student all surrounding the issue of racial equity in healthcare. Ever willing to be a voice for the voiceless, she has volunteered to be a part of the process to facilitate the development of the newly established Advocacy Committee.
Her personal development has led her to expand her education earning an A.A. in Human Service Technology and a B.S. in Psychology. She is in her final semester for her Masters in Nonprofit Management with a projected graduation date of May 15, 2021. Charlotte willingly uses all her talents for the cause including her poetic prowess. Her favorite declaration is, “Thanks for the opportunity to serve.”
Kelly King
Member at Large – 2 Years | Redding, CA
Gayle Dorsky
Member at Large – 1 Year | NY
Hi, I am Gayle Dorsky, I am involved with the National Consumer Advisory Board (NCAB) and I work on the Care for Homeless Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) in New York City (NYC). I do advocacy for domestic violence for, Voices of Women (VOW) NOW, New York. I sit on the board for HIV research at Cornell clinical trials, and recently I joined, In Our Own Voice (IOOV) that represents NAMI, National Alliance for Mental Illness in New York State and NYC. On my days off, I enjoy watching movies, art, and long walks.
Cinza Cici Iverson
Regional Representative 3 & 4 | Miami, FL
Cici’s journey in advocacy started with the Red Cross as a volunteer Disaster Emergency Responder in New York City. After personally being affected by storm Sandy, she and her team were in charge of bulk distribution and sheltering for 2500 individuals affected by the storm. More recently, after moving to Miami with lived experience of homeless, she joined advocacy training programs with Catalyst Miami. In September of 2017, Cici joined the Camillus Health Concern Consumer Advisory Board.
Today, she sits as Madam chair for the Miami CAB and graciously accepted the position as NCAB Regional Representative 3&4. She continues to serve the community by being very active in boards and commissions at a local level and a national level.
Alissa Johnson
Regional Representative 9 & 10| Redding, CA
Alissa is a dedicated lived experience leader, driven by a mission to fight for and protect her people. Her primary goal is not to be an inspiration, but to find ways to be in between the things that are traumatic and her people.
Autistic and experiencing homelessness herself, Alissa brings a unique perspective to her work. She is tired of being surrounded by death and has vowed to ensure her people are treated with the dignity they deserve – “It’s an honor thing”, she says. Alissa is channeling her rage into productive action, working tirelessly to end encampment sweeps and to advocate for the rights of homeless people.
Related to encampment sweeps, Alissa wrote, “Housedwellers will say that moving is equal to the stress of divorce, so what then is equal to the stress of having everything ripped from you, scheduled on repeat?”
Alissa’s journey has included evolution and growth. She has found hope in the community of advocates and allies who have shown a genuine desire to fight alongside her. Alissa is determined to continue this fight, using her skillset, and lived experience to create meaningful change. “Autistic pride, huzzah! The beacon has been lit gold!”
Warren Magee
Regional Representative (1 & 2) | Boston, MA
Warren Magee has been a member of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) Consumer Advisory Board since 2014. He is also an active member of the program’s Quality and Efficiency Committee, an internal working group focused on assuring the highest quality care for all patients. Born and raised in Boston, Warren has a long history of giving voice to the voiceless.
He was born with cerebral palsy and also suffered a significant spinal cord injury in his 20s. When he unexpectedly lost his housing, he began confronting the intersecting challenges associated with being both disabled and homeless. After suffering a stroke in a local shelter, Warren received medical respite care at BHCHP’s Barbara McInnis House.He has dedicated the past 15 years to advocating for the needs and rights of both people experiencing homelessness and those with disabilities. He has served with the Massachusetts State Rehabilitation Council, appointed by former Governors Mitt Romney and Deval Patrick, and chaired its Unserved/Underserved Population Committee.
He has spent over a decade advocating for funding for programs in the Commonwealth that support and protect people with disabilities. In addition to his advocacy efforts, Warren is passionate about web design and graphic arts, and has over twenty years of experience with computers.
Jonda Crum
Regional Representative (5 & 7) | MN
Mandy Drury
Regional Representative (6 & 8) | Belgrade, MT
Kendra Sutton
Peer Advocate | Denver, CO
Kendra resides in CO where she is employed as a Program Administrator serving the Unhoused community. Kendra has over 20 years of Community Engagement/Outreach experience. Kendra has experienced homelessness several times in her life and is now a Lived Experience expert and Leader. She has also overcome Domestic violence and she is a trained Victim advocate. Kendra is a scholar of the SDoH and she has participated in several Scholastic competitions. Kendra has her B.A. from the University of Denver in Organizational Management and Leadership studies. Currently, she is Pursuing her MPH. Kendra is the Peer advocate for NCAB Steering Committee. She also sits on several boards and Kendra is an advocate for the underserved communities.
Regions for Regional Representatives
Peer Mentor (1-year)
Valarie Dowell
Amy Grassette
Art Rios
Portland, OR
To contact NCAB’s leaders, please write to ncab@nhchc.org.