About Smart Share Housing Solutions

Joanna is a grant writer at Elevate, focused on assistance for non-profit affordable housing providers. She has many years of working to create and support affordable housing from the non-profit and government sectors. "I am passionate about the need for affordable housing as well as the need to maximize our use of all the resources available. Smart Share Housing Solutions is the perfect marriage of those two."

Ms. Kennedy has over 30 years of experience directing and working with community non-profit groups. Recognizing the need for affordable housing for vulnerable populations, she believes homesharing and small housing can be a part of the solution. As a senior senior, Ms Kennedy is experiencing the challenges San Luis Obispo seniors face, and plans her days to minimize driving and trips up and down the stairs, among other things.

Carl is a San Luis Obispo electrical contractor, who enjoys assisting with local non-profit and community benefiting organizations, including the SLO Guild Hall and Food Co-op. Carl's interest in sustainability and housing and know-how when it comes to project development make for a natural fit on Smart Share's Waterman Village team.

Ashley is a SLO County local--born and raised. She graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor's in environmental policy analysis and planning with a focus in environmental justice. Her passions are building sustainable systems and meeting community needs locally. She is interested in advocating for smart and sustainable development in SLO County to balance human needs and environmental processes. She joined Smart Share Housing Solutions as a board member this year and is very excited to advocate for housing that better serves the community.

After earning her master's degree in sports medicine from the University of Oregon, Vicki and her husband eventually had four children. Her career took a side trip into the non-profit sector while she stayed home to care for her children. Leading teams of volunteers over the last 12 years, Vicki started three non-profits and helped to raise about $500,000 for public school programs--primarily in the performing arts. Vicki passionately believes that every person on this earth is born to be creative. "It is imperative for our survival as well as our personal happiness, that we discover our creative outlets and learn to use them to make the world a better place." She is excited to bring her experience and creativity to Smart Share Housing Solutions, with the hope that her kids might be able to move into their own homes someday!

Katherine is from San Diego and is currently in her final year as a City and Regional Planning student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. When not in classes, she enjoys playing tennis, doing yoga, and participating in the Cal Poly Garden Club, in which she is an officer. Her interests lie in urban design, urban agriculture, and community outreach and empowerment. She is excited to join the Smart Share team as an affordable housing development specialist and help San Luis Obispo residents find great places to live!

Lisa is a professional accountant and an IRS enrolled agent. She keeps a sense of humor, whether the numbers come up black or red, as she handles the books for several local non-profits and serves on multiple oversight boards, including the SLO County YMCA and St. Ben's. Lisa is committed to helping non-profits utilize best practices and enjoys the opportunity to serve, and she would like to remind potential donors out there that "You can't take it with you."

Erik, a San Luis Obispo Realtor, is also a planner and has worked as a project manager for a Civil Engineering company where he focused on designing subdivisions and helping property owners acquire planning permits from local jurisdictions. Erik helped permit the Emerald Village tiny home project in Eugene, Oregon and brings his experience with planning, permitting and project management to Smart Share's Waterman Village development team.

Adam Clark is an international human rights and social justice advocate, working in Uganda on decriminalizing same-sex relations, marketing systems of equity for maternal health, and launching sensitization campaigns to reduce homelessness. Adam is also Kern County's public information officer, overseeing the integrity of the 2024 elections. When he is not working, he supports his conscious dance community near his home in Arroyo Grande and explores the sacred lands of SLO. Adam's diverse experience in digital marketing and communications will help strategically promote Smart Share's projects and garner the public and private support required to advance Smart Share's objectives.

Monique graduated from Cal Poly with a BA in architecture and has designed many homes and prototypes in SLO County. She spent a year of study focused on Nader Khalili, the middle eastern engineer who developed the Geltaftan Earth and Fire system for creating a durable ceramic shell to adobe structures and also studied various adobe building modalities as well as Straw Bale. Monique’s other nonprofit experience includes Greener Pastures and Hope’s Village. She enjoys playing guitar, writing songs, karate, capoeira, escrima, and running.

Mavis came to San Luis Obispo from the Silicon Valley, where she ran an industrial technology manufacturing firm. She landed with Smart Share indirectly, but she sees directly how homesharing works, as both Mavis' mother and her grandmother homeshare, providing income, security and ability to age in place. Mavis connects with her SLO community by delivering meals and supporting seniors with Meals that Connect and helping to plant community/school gardens to build community food systems, among other activities.

Being from San Diego and a Cal Poly student in planning, Joel knows first-hand how daunting housing can be in California. Having interests in housing equity and design, Smart Share stands out to him as a "unique and passionate group of people doing what most residents here know is necessary." He is grateful for this opportunity and super excited to see what we can achieve and what differences we can make in SLO County by working together.

As Executive Director of the Casita Coalition, Celeste brings a wealth of knowledge about small, efficient, affordable forms of housing and also statewide advocacy and legislative activities to the Smart Share board. In addition to being a statewide policy expert, Celeste has counted several ADUs as home, so she understands benefits first hand.

An internist in San Luis Obispo, Grace now focuses care for senior clients and sees isolation as a contributor to poor health outcomes. She believes homeshare can be a solution and that safe, secure, affordable housing is a key component for health. She brings her breadth of knowledge and passion for holistic health to Smart Share.

Anne is a planning consultant, specializing in affordable housing. She brings experience in non-profit housing, for profit housing and government policy. She is a simpleton who longs for simplicity, with housing and the rest of it, yet in general acknowledges that "it's complicated."

She has been a frequent contributor to the national magazine Planning and Vice Chair of the San Luis Obispo County Commission on Aging. She is a County Planning Commissioner and serves on several volunteer boards working to provide affordable housing and sustainable mobility options, including the CasitaCoalition.org, National Shared Housing Resource Center & Friends of the Bob Jones Trail. Her book, Downward Mobility: Revisiting Shelter, an exploration of less traveled housing options, is on Amazon. She has a master's in City & Regional Planning from CalPoly.

Miriam Sullivan is a fourth year City and Regional Planning student at Cal Poly. She is an Affordable Housing Development Specialist at SSHS, along with her classmates, Joel and Katherine. Her passions are for implementing real-world practices that support sustainability and equity. She has experience working in food systems, policy, and sustainable agriculture. In her free time, she loves to read, cook, and do yoga.

Mitchell is a Cal Poly student studying City & Regional Planning. He graduated from Atascadero High School and Cuesta College. Mitchell is passionate about housing and interested in mitigating rising housing costs by finding creative alternatives to traditional housing. As a local resident of SLO and a student of Cal Poly, he is excited to work with Smart Share Housing to make a difference in his childhood home.