Leadership

Letter from Leadership

Dear Community Members:

Since 1989, the Community Partnership has worked to treat and prevent homelessness in Washington, DC.  TCP has become one of the country’s most successful Continuum of Care managers and is a respected steward of more than $80 million of federal and local government funds annually. HUD has honored The Community Partnership several times for our strong data collection and as a “National Best Practice Model” by the National Alliance to End Homelessness for our work to keep families from falling into homelessness.

We hope this website will be a resource for individuals and families seeking help, our providers serving the homeless population, landlords interested in housing individuals and families, and those seeking statistical information about the homeless population in Washington, DC. Thank you for visiting our site!

TCP will remain a trusted partner to government and homeless service providers, ensuring quality services to our city’s neediest residents.

Sincerely,

Sue Marshall, Executive Director

Board of Directors

Board of Director Biographies

Cornell Chappelle, Chair
Expertise: Human Service Delivery, Facility Management, Shelter Operations

Cornell Chappelle has dedicated 30 years to serving the residents of the District of Columbia. Cornell joined the Department of Human Services in 1984 and spent a decade with the department. During his tenure, he served as a shelter manager, acting chief of intake, and program monitor. These positions enabled him to oversee program planning, contract monitoring, policy implementation, and administration. In 1994, Cornell moved from the district government to the Community Partnership (TCP) as the Chief of Program Operations. While serving in TCP in various roles, Cornell managed the Community Care Program, supervised the repairs/renovations of the District shelter facilities, oversaw the daily operations of TCP, and coordinated hypothermia training and services. He retired as Deputy Director for Operations in October 2014. After retiring, he joined the TCP Board of Directors, where he now serves as the chairperson. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
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Louvenia Williams, Vice Chair
Expertise: Social Work, Community Organization

Louvenia Williams is a native of the District of Columbia who devoted her career to creating safe and nurturing communities. During her 40 years as a Social Worker, Louvenia worked in child welfare, mental health, community organizing, criminal justice, and education. Community organizing and interagency partnerships were identified as essential to working on the challenging community strategy of collaboration. She is one of the founders of the Healthy Families Thriving Communities Collaborative Movement, which has evolved since its creation to become a key neighborhood-based family support resource in the District. She is also the founder of Edgewood/Brookland Family Support Collaborative, which provides family preservation and supportive services, workforce development, and capacity-building programs in Wards 5 and 6. Louvenia retired in 2018; however, she has continued to serve the community by volunteering and serving on Boards such as The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness.
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Mike Ferrell, Treasurer
Expertise: Social Services, Housing Services, Employment Services

Michael L. Ferrell is the Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless (CFH). He joined CFH in 1989 as the Director of Operations and was promoted to his current position in 1996. He is a native Washingtonian with more than 44 years of experience in public service, including with the D.C. Department of Employment Services, the former D.C. Commission on Social Services, and the Council of Churches of Greater Washington. Mr. Ferrell is a member of Leadership Greater Washington’s class of 2006 and has served on numerous committees and Boards, including Turning the Page, Unity Health Care, the District’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Homeless Services Committee, which is responsible for the annual regional homeless enumeration report.
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Audrey Drake, Secretary
Expertise: Nursing, Healthcare, Veterans, Mentoring

Audrey C. Drake, a retired Deputy Chief Nursing Officer at the Office of Nursing Services of the Department of Veterans Affairs, held various clinical, educational, and administrative positions at several Veteran Health Administration (VHA) Medical Centers, including Acting Chief Nursing Officer. She also served as the President of the DC League of Nursing and as the coordinator of the DC Long Term Care Council. Audrey was the first nurse to command a District of Columbia Army National Guard unit. She received the Distinguished 9A Proficiency Designator award from the Surgeon General of the United States Army and retired with the rank of Brigadier General. During Operation Desert Storm, she was deployed as the Chief Nurse of the 115th Mobile Army Support Hospital (MASH). The Brigadier General Audrey C. Drake Health and Dental Center was dedicated at the DC Armory to honor her numerous contributions to the DC Army National Guard.
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Shawn Buckner
Expertise: Fiscal Policy, Financial Management, Policy Development, Program Evaluation

Shawn is the Deputy Associate Director for the Division of Research and Statistics at the Federal Reserve Board. Before that, he worked in several senior management positions at the Department of the Interior. Shawn has also worked as the Chief Operating Officer for the District of Columbia Department of Human Services, where he was responsible for managing fiscal and operational responsibilities for the agency’s $300 million budget and 900 staff members.
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Judith Dobbins
Expertise: Social Work, Housing

Judith Dobbins has dedicated more than 30 years of her career in Washington, D.C., to designing, developing, and managing human services programs that address the quality of life needs of children, youth, and families living in the Washington metropolitan area. She holds a Masters in Social Work from Howard University. At the beginning of her career, Judith worked as a program coordinator at the Children’s National Medical Center. She then worked for the Washington Urban League as Director of Youth and Family Services, followed by a position as Executive Director at the Coalition for the Homeless.

While at the Coalition, Judith was part of the team that designed and opened the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center, which still serves as the center receiving families in the District who become homeless. Judith joined Covenant House Washington in 1997, serving as Executive Director until her retirement in 2005.
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Kristy Greenwalt
Expertise: Homeless Issues and Programs, Federal and District Government, Strategic Planning

Kristy Greenwalt is a results-driven leader with deep technical knowledge of homelessness, supportive housing, and federal safety net programs. Through her consulting practice, Ms. Greenwalt supports cities nationwide in developing data-informed strategies to address homelessness and implementation assistance focused on policy development, funding alignment, governance and stakeholder engagement, and system performance. Before launching her practice, Ms. Greenwalt was the Director of the District of Columbia Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) from 2014 to 2022. She was the architect of the city’s Homeward DC plan, and during her tenure, the District experienced a 39% reduction in homelessness, including a 73% reduction in homelessness among families.

Before her time with the District government, Ms. Greenwalt served as Director of Housing Policy and Research for the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), where she worked in a strategic capacity with other federal agencies to implement Opening Doors, the first federal strategic plan to end homelessness. Kristy also spent 12 years with ICF International, providing research, policy analysis, and program implementation.
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Julian Haynes
Expertise: Philanthropy and Grantmaking, Non-Profit Management, Racial Equity and Systems Change, Movement Building

Julian Haynes has nearly twenty years of experience working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. For six years, Julian served as the Partnerships and Strategy Director at the Meyer Foundation, where he led the foundation’s Maryland grantmaking. Before joining Meyer, Julian was an Associate Director of Programs and Policy at Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national reform network dedicated to community college student success and completion. In that role, Julian oversaw the day-to-day management of the Working Student Success Network, a national initiative focused on providing comprehensive nonacademic services to low-income community college students.

Before his role with ATD, Julian was a Program Associate on the Education Team at the Kresge Foundation. Currently, Julian serves as the Board Chair of Young Invincibles. Young Invincibles works to expand healthcare, educational, and economic opportunities for young adults ages 18 to 34. Julian earned his BA from Morehouse College and his MS in Nonprofit Management from Milano, The New School for Management and Urban Policy in New York City.
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Stephen Labas
Expertise: Real Estate, Buyer’s Agent, Listing Agent, Landlord

Stephen Labas is a licensed Realtor with deep experience in housing development and management, real estate investment strategies, and rental market dynamics. He is strongly committed to preserving affordable housing in the District of Columbia. His expertise includes serving as a landlord for participants in the District’s continuum of care programs. His portfolio includes small multi-family properties in the District. Steve was key in identifying and acquiring the Kennedy Street site for TCP’s new headquarters. He holds licenses in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Currently, he serves as the President of Urban Environments Development.
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Gerald McCorkle
Expertise: Lived Experience of Homelessness, Veteran’s Issues, Youth Mentoring

Gerald McCorkle has decades of experience in the federal and private sectors, including serving as a planning and research officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from October 2002 until March 2010.  Since he retired from the VA, Gerald has dedicated himself to the One Voice One Sound project at the Potters House. One Voice One Sound is a youth-driven that aims to reflect hip-hop culture, particularly the musical and lyrical content of artists that address current social issues. He is also the co-founder of By the Numbers Productions, where he worked as a musical producer and songwriter.

Gerald McCorkle also has the lived experience of homelessness. Using the resources of the District’s Continuum of Care, Gerald overcame homelessness. He continues to use his platforms to advocate for youth, veterans, and the elderly.
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Ndubueze Onyike
Expertise: Operations Strategy and Performance Improvement, Data Analytics, Program Management, Corporate Restructuring, Go-to-Market, Business Capability Design and Implementation

Throughout his 25+ year career, Ndubueze has held various leadership positions, including his current role as Director, Strategic Operations at Google, where he is responsible for both the Business Intelligence (Data Analytics) and the Go-to-Market Strategy & Operations functions for the Public Sector organization.  

He excels at applying structured and quantitative approaches to assist organizations in solving complex challenges, implementing strategic plans for business transformation and growth, and managing all aspects of program delivery with ultimate responsibility for content and strategy.  He is adept at leading teams through turnaround management initiatives, including broad strategic planning, operational execution, and organizational change management.
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George Weidenfeller
Expertise: HUD Experience, Affordable Housing, Housing Development and Finance

Currently, George Weidenfeller serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Telesis Corporation. Telesis plans, finances, and creates urban communities that are livable, beautiful, and safe. Before joining Telesis, George was in-house Counsel at the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT). In that capacity, he focused on the finance, development, construction, and/or rehabilitation of multifamily and single-family housing.

Before joining the HIT, George spent eight years in private practice, representing developers, owners, and managers of affordable housing. During that time, George also undertook pro bono work for the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans and engaged frequently with the Interagency Council on Homelessness. George served for over 16 years as Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel in HUD’s Office of General Counsel in Washington, D.C., under six HUD Secretaries.
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Tracy Whitaker
Expertise: Social Work

Dr. Tracy Whitaker is an associate professor and the associate dean for academic and student advancement at Howard University’s School of Social Work. She provides leadership and coordination for the School of Social Work curriculum. This includes strategic planning, resource allocation, implementation, evaluation, reaccreditation, and continuous improvement.

Before joining the faculty of Howard University, Dr. Whitaker directed the Center for Workforce Studies & Social Work Practice at the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) for over a decade. Dr. Whitaker received her Bachelor of Arts, Master of Social Work, and Doctor of Social Work degrees from Howard University. Before joining Howard University School of Social Work, Dr. Whitaker spent 17 years with the National Association of Social Workers in Washington, DC.
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Petrina Williams
Expertise: Clinical Mental and Behavioral Health

Petrina L. Williams is a licensed clinical mental and behavioral health leader and a published author. She is a Ph.D. candidate at the National Catholic School of Social Work. Petrina has extensive experience managing multi-unit human services facilities for criminal justice, substance abuse, mental health, and homelessness. For the past fifteen years, Petrina has dedicated her career to helping the residents of the District of Columbia. She has worked as an addictions counselor, clinical director, and case management program director, among other roles. Since 2018, she has served as the provider relations specialist for the DC Department of Behavioral Health. In this role, she provides prevention, intervention, and treatment services and supports, including emergency psychiatric care and community-based outpatient and residential services, for patients with substance use disorders.
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Phyllis Wolfe
Expertise: Health and Mental Health Program Development, Service Delivery, Technical Assistance, Advocacy and Programming for Children and Adolescent Issues

Phyllis is a pioneer in the development of publicly funded mental health projects for persons who are homeless with mental health and co-occurring disorders. During the 1980s, Phyllis worked at the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, developing homeless healthcare programs. Phyllis became the first director of the Robert Woods Johnson Health Care for the Homeless program in 1985, which has evolved into Unity Health Care.

In the early 1990s, Phyllis established the Washington, DC, Office for the Children’s Defense Fund to advocate for improved health and social services for the District’s underserved children. She then went to the National Association of Social Workers, where she promoted programs that supported adolescent development. After retiring from government, Phyllis became the President of the National Consortium for African American Children (NCAAC). The focus was to advocate and address the health and mental health issues of African American children. She is now retired. 
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