Jeff Olivet is an internationally recognized leader in public health and homelessness policy. From 2022 to 2025, he was the nation’s top homelessness official, leading the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). Prior to federal service, he was CEO of the Center for Social Innovation (now C4 Innovations), a mission-driven small business dedicated to scaling best practices in the fields of housing, public health, behavioral health, and homelessness, and Co-Founder of Racial Equity Partners, a consulting firm focused on advancing racial justice through changing systems. He has been principal investigator on numerous studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and private foundations. Jeff has over three decades of experience as an outreach worker, advocate, researcher, teacher, writer, and inspiring public speaker. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Initiative on Health and Homelessness at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a consultant to organizations in the United States and internationally.

Dr. Helen Arteaga currently serves as New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, an appointment made by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In this role, she leads one of the City’s largest and most complex portfolios, overseeing agencies responsible for public health, mental hygiene, social services, homeless services, aging, veterans’ affairs, youth and community development, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Dr. Arteaga earned her PhD in Community Health and Health Policy from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy in 2023. Her doctoral research examined flu vaccine hesitancy among U.S. Hispanic adults during the COVID‑19 pandemic, reflecting her longstanding commitment to community‑centered public health.

Dr. Arteaga brings decades of experience in public health leadership to City Hall. She previously served as Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, a 545‑bed public hospital. Elmhurst became a national symbol of resilience during the COVID‑19 pandemic, and under her leadership the hospital advanced into recovery through major capital investments, strengthened clinical services, and launched the first comprehensive employee wellness program of the public hospital system in New York. Her work earned widespread recognition from staff, patients, and community leaders alike.

As Deputy Mayor, Dr. Arteaga focuses on strengthening the City’s healthcare and human services systems, addressing mental health and substance use disorders, expanding access to food and social supports, and advancing equity across child welfare and aging services. Her leadership plays a central role in shaping policy and coordinating care for millions of New Yorkers.

For over 20 years, Barbara DiPietro has worked at the intersection of health care, homelessness, and housing policy. For the last 15 years, she has served as the Senior Director of Policy for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, an organization committed to building an equitable, high-quality health care system rooted in social justice and human rights. She holds a Master’s Degree in Policy Sciences and a PhD in Public Policy, both from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her dissertation research focused on the impact of homelessness on emergency departments in Baltimore City, and she continues to work to ensure that health care systems can better serve vulnerable populations.  Prior to her work at the Council, Dr. DiPietro worked for 10 years at the State of Maryland in the Governor’s Office as well as the state’s Department of Health, helping coordinate health and human services policy and legislation, inter-agency children and family services, and the state’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.  

Margot Kushel, MD is a Professor of Medicine at University of California San Francisco and Division Chief of the Division of Health and Society. She is the Director of the UCSF Action Research Center for Health and the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. She is a practicing general internist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of homelessness, with the goal of preventing and ending homelessness and ameliorating the effects of homelessness on health. She is the Principal Investigator of the California State Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) and numerous NIA funded studies on homelessness in older adults. 

Will Woods is an advocate who draws on lived experience of homelessness to advance practical, equitable solutions. As a member of Urban Pathways’ Consumer Advocacy Group, he uses his story and community insight to inform policy and outreach. He serves on the board of Care For the Homeless, chairs its Policy and Advocacy Committee, and helps lead the RISE UP campaign alongside partners from both organizations. Will is also a board member and featured speaker with Knock Knock Give a Sock, working to destigmatize homelessness through community and corporate engagement. He contributes to broader systems change through advisory roles with the Health & Housing Consortium and the Supportive Housing Network of New York. As the Member Education & Programming Specialist at the Open Hearts Initiative, he develops advocacy training, facilitates peer learning, raises public awareness, and elevates community voices to advance housing stability, racial equity, and dignity-centered solutions.