OUR STORY

Kris is a nationally recognized specialist in designing and strengthening homeless service systems. Affectionately known as the “Leverage Queen,” she helps organizations and communities align and maximize resources while building the supports teams need to succeed.

With over 25 years in the homelessness sector, Kris is a trusted leader in policy development, innovative strategy, program design, and system operations. She has led transformative initiatives nationwide, including Master Leasing Programs, an innovative strategy where public entities lease multiple units to house individuals with specific needs; Encampment-to-Home strategies that build trust, connect people to resources, and remove barriers to create lasting housing solutions; and the Transfer Policy, which allows participants placed in the wrong intervention to move to the right one without returning to homelessness. 

Kris has served on Los Angeles’ Continuum of Care Board, overseeing $140 million in federal funds, CES Policy Council, which sets policies and procedures for the system, and SPA Steering Committees. She played a key role in developing and implementing Los Angeles’ first Family Coordinated Entry System (CES) and as Chief Executive Strategist at a major continuum of care, she managed a $60M+ budget and 425 staff, fostering institutional knowledge and promoting equity, transparency, and collaboration.

In 2025, Kris was named "Catalyst of the Year" by Cause Catalyst, an organization centered on recognizing outstanding leaders and organizations in the nonprofit sector.

Drawing on lived experience, Kris brings empathy, common sense, and practical solutions to improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. She holds a Master of Public Administration from California State University, Northridge.

Veronica is dedicated to improving the lives of people experiencing homelessness and has extensive expertise transforming complex systems of care. As a recognized leader, she has shaped homelessness, housing, substance use disorder, and reentry services through hands-on leadership and advocacy. For more than 20 years, Veronica has effectively worked to build nonprofit capacity through strategic guidance, technical assistance, leadership, training, and organizational and program development.
 

As Director of the Homeless Outreach Program/Integrated Care System (HOPICS) Division, she grew their budget from $4 million to $130 million annually across multi-service programs, including mental health, harm reduction, reentry support, and housing services. Under her leadership, HOPICS pioneered innovative interventions, expanded workforce capacity 15-fold, and housed over 12,000 households.

Veronica has been a tireless advocate for racial equity and system improvement in Los Angeles County and across California. She founded the SPA 6 Homeless Coalition, led the Family Crisis Housing Network, and opened the first publicly funded interim housing for transgender women and non-binary individuals in Los Angeles. She also chaired and served on key boards, including the LA Continuum of Care Board, where she helped to transform the evaluation and strategic direction for effective administration of $140 million in federal funds; the Measure J Care First Community Investment Advisory Committee, where she led a community-driven process for its inaugural two-year $272 million spending plan to support alternatives to incarceration; and the Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership, where she helped expand and build infrastructure and capacity for reentry housing services at small sized agencies in the county.

At the state and national level, Veronica shapes policy and best practices as a Councilmember on the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, a former member of the California Courts Collaborative Justice Advisory Committee, and through involvement with the National Alliance to End Homelessness and other advisory groups. Her work reflects a deep commitment to equity, innovation, and sustainable solutions for communities in crisis.