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Leadership

Letter from Leadership

Dear Community Members:

Since 1989, the Community Partnership (TCP) has worked to prevent, address and end homelessness in Washington, DC.  TCP is one of the country’s most successful Continuum of Care managers and is a respected steward of more than $100 million of federal and local government funds annually. HUD has honored TCP several times for our strong data collection and TCP has been honored 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,

Fred Swan, Executive Director

Board of Directors

  • Cornell Chappelle

    Chair

    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.

  • Louvenia Williams

    Vice Chair

    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.

  • Mike Ferrell

    Treasurer

    Mike Ferrell

    Treasurer

    Expertise: Social Services, Housing Services, Employment Services

    Michael L. Ferrell retired as the Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless (CFH). He joined CFH in 1989 as the Director of Operations and was promoted to Executive Director 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.

  • Audrey Drake

    Secretary

    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.

  • Shawn Buckner

    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.

  • Julian Haynes

    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.

  • Stephen Labas

    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.

  • Gerald McCorkle

    Gerald McCorkle

    Expertise: Lived Experience of Homelessness, Veterans’ 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.

  • Jorge Membreño

    Jorge Membreño

    Expertise: Youth Advocacy, Strategic Planning, Fundraising

    Jorge Membreño (he/him), LICSW, currently serves as Director of Youth Advocacy at DC Action, where he leads efforts to advance health, safety, and economic justice for young people. Prior to joining DC Action, Jorge worked at SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders) in various leadership positions focused on support services, housing, mental health, and community support for LGBTQ+ youth. Jorge brings deep expertise in supporting young people—especially those navigating questions of identity, mental health, and marginalization—through roles in clinical counseling, program leadership, and public policy advocacy. In addition to his role at DC Action, Jorge maintains a therapy practice serving youth and young adults who may be struggling with self-acceptance, depression, anxiety, societal pressures or other issues that have been difficult to process on their own. His passion for service is informed by his lived experience and long-standing commitment to building compassionate, inclusive systems that uplift individuals and families. 

    Jorge is a resident of the Kennedy Street neighborhood that is also home to TCP’s home office.

  • Ndubueze Onyike

    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.

  • Chapman Todd

    Chapman Todd

    Expertise: Supportive Housing Development, Social Services

    Chapman Todd has 35 years of experience working on homelessness and housing issues in the District of Columbia. For the past decade, he has been the principal at Jaydot, a mission-focused social enterprise that is focused on creating supportive and affordable housing opportunities. He is a member of the Board of Directors and serves as Treasurer for the Coalition (formerly CNHED / Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development), and on the Leadership Council of the DC Reentry Housing Alliance.

  • Tracy Whitaker

    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.

  • Petrina Williams

    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.

  • Phyllis Wolfe

    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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