Contact Us
To donate to the Westside Shelter & Hunger Coalition, click here:
With questions regarding donations of time, talent, or items, you are welcome to review our membership list and contact organizations directly.
With questions regarding membership, becoming involved with the Coalition events or other general information please contact the Coalition office.
P.O. Box 7411
Santa Monica, CA
90406
(310) 314-0071
CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS
John Maceri, Chair
Executive Director, OPCC
John Maceri is the Executive Director of OPCC, a nonprofit social service agency based in Santa Monica. OPCC provides a wide variety of housing and services through its ten projects serving low-income and homeless youth, adults and families, battered women and their children, at-risk youth and people living with mental illness.
Rachel Feldstein, Vice Chair/Advocacy
Associate Director, New Directions
Rachel Feldstein has been the Associate Director of New Directions since 2004. Her work experience in the field of homeless services has brought her to various nonprofit agencies throughout Southern California including the Venice Family Clinic, OPCC, Portals, the Weingart Center and Chrysalis. She spent many years working outside the US in the field of International Development, working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador and with Concern, America in Baja California, Mexico.
Bruce Rankin, Treasurer
Executive Director, Westside Food Bank
Prior to his work in social service on the Westside, Bruce Rankin had experience working for the US Forest Service, a map making company, a recreation and parks department, and an immigrants’ services organization. Since 1989 he has been the executive director of Westside Food Bank which annually supplies the food assistance programs of 65 Westside agencies with 4 million pounds of food. Bruce is a founder of the California Association of Food Banks and is the Board secretary of Team Survivor California.
Eleni Manousogiannakis, Secretary
Director of Program Development and Quality Improvement, Venice Family Clinic
Eleni Manousogiannakis, MPH, Director of Program Development and Quality Improvement, has been working at Venice Family Clinic since 2003. She oversees research projects and grant activities, and works with staff and providers on quality improvement initiatives. Her commitment to improving care extends to projects focused on the homeless.
Daniel Getzoff, WHYP Committee
Deputy Director, Common Ground
Danny Getzoff is a long-time advocate for the health needs and legal rights of homeless individuals, young people and drug users. He began working in public health in 1992, and his commitment to quality harm reduction policy and service has made a meaningful difference in the Santa Cruz and Los Angeles communities. In his role as Deputy Director at Common Ground, where he has been employed for over 10 years, he provides leadership to LA’s Westside community in addressing issues diverse as HIV, injection drug use, the needs of homeless young people and the impact of crystal methamphetamine on our community.
Michael Graff-Weisner
VP, Programs & Government Relations, Chrysalis
Michael Graff-Weisner is the VP of Programs & Government Relations at Chrysalis – a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities. Michael brings over 10 years experience in the nonprofit, private, and public sectors to his position at Chrysalis. Michael’s workforce development experience includes creating and managing job training programs at the Wilshire-Metro WorkSource Center in Los Angeles, and managing programs serving refugees at CAMBA in Brooklyn, NY. Outside of the workforce development field, Michael has worked as a technology consultant to nonprofit organizations, designed and launched an after-school program for high school students in Boston, and worked as a researcher at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC.
Va Lecia Adams, Faith Committee
Executive Director, St. Joseph Center
Executive Director Va Lecia Adams has extensive experience in counseling as well as non-profit program design and management. Before joining St. Joseph Center, Va Lecia spent six years as Director of Transitional Living for United Friends of the Children. While there she helped create and oversee Pathways, an 18-month transitional housing program that assists former foster youth with housing, college readiness, career development, financial assistance, mentoring, and individual counseling. While working on her Ph.D., Va Lecia served as Executive Director of The Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP), housed in the Stanford University School of Medicine. SMYSP reaches out to low-income youth who are interested in becoming physicians. Va Lecia has also held the position of Vice President of Counseling Services for College Bound, a Los Angeles based non-profit organization that provides college counseling and guidance to minority youth.
Steve Pesce, Faith Committee
Deacon, First Presbyterian Church
Steve Pesce is a Deacon and a Mission Team member at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica. He holds a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work from New York University and is the former Director of Social Work at the Soundview Mental Health Clinic of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
Pastor Stephanie Jaeger, Faith Committee
Pastor, Mt. Olive Lutheran Church