On January 31, 2022, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) approved Jeff Olivet as its new executive director. Olivet will succeed Interim Executive Director Anthony Love, who will return to senior advisor and director of community engagement for the VHA Homeless Programs for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Olivet brings to the position extensive experience working to end homelessness including his time as a case manager and outreach worker at the Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless. Olivet also served as CEO of the Center on Social Innovation and as a founding member of Racial Equity Partners.
As the new executive director, Olivet will lead the council’s 19 federal agencies to address the growing housing and homelessness crisis. He will work with the council as they continue to develop a new Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
“Having worked with Jeff in the past, I know that he is the best choice to be the next Executive Director of USICH,” said Claas Ehlers, CEO of Family Promise. Olivet previously joined Ehlers for a live discussion in July 2021 on the connection between structural racism and the national homelessness crisis. “Jeff has a long history of person-centered work in our field and has been a fierce advocate of addressing the structural racism and inequity that are the underlying cause of our homelessness crisis.”
Ehlers also previously joined Olivet’s ‘Changing the Conversation’ podcast to discuss Family Promise’s work to engage communities to support families experiencing homelessness. Ehlers went on to add, “His background in issues of trauma, especially for families experiencing homelessness, aligns him with our belief that people should be holistically empowered and that services are a critical factor in success. Ultimately, Jeff’s vision is the same as ours: No child’s future is defined by their housing status.”
Family Promise believes that housing is a human right and looks forward to USICH’s progress to eradicate homelessness under Olivet’s leadership.
