Meet the USICH Team

Katie is responsible for advancing progress on ending homelessness among veterans and people experiencing chronic homelessness, among other priority areas. She began her tenure at USICH as a program assistant for the National Initiatives Team, where she gained a deep appreciation of the need for local expertise to inform policymaking at the federal level. Katie has a background in project management and event planning, having spent several years as a project management consultant for NASA. A graduate of American University, Katie lives in Washington, DC, but makes it home to New England as frequently as she can. 

Bev has extensive experience building local partnerships to end homelessness and has held leadership roles in supportive housing development and service design, delivery, and coordination. Her background includes capacity building and technical assistance with HUD grantees, strategic planning and restructuring of Continuums of Care, and convening stakeholders to promote the alignment of resources for persons experiencing homelessness, with an emphasis on developing permanent supportive housing. Bev holds an MSW from Wayne State University.

Joe is a recognized leader with over 15 years of experience in the fields of homelessness, social policy, economic development, and human services administration. His passion for this work has cultivated years of skills and expertise that have helped bring over $150 million of funding to support housing and services for the homeless and community development projects. Joe’s commitment to this work is rooted in his belief in the dignity of human life. He has a Ph.D. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware.

Prior to joining USICH, he was the Director of Federal Policy at Chiefs for Change, an education advocacy organization. He also served as the Senior Director of Public Policy at CityYear/Voices for National Service and the Assistant Director of Federal Relations for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Earlier in his career, he immersed himself in political campaigns, including the 2004 reelection campaign of Senator Parry Murray, the 2008 election of former Congressman Larry Kissell, and in 2010 at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. From 2006-2008, Makese served on the legislative staff for Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Makese graduated from Northeastern University and received his master’s degree in policy management from Georgetown University.

For 10 years, Sam worked in New Orleans government as a speechwriter and policy advisor to former Mayor Mitch Landrieu and later as a senior advisor to the superintendent of schools. Most recently, he served as a senior speechwriter in the New York City Mayor’s Office. In New Orleans, he helped draft and enact its 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness and led the effort to end veteran homelessness as part of USICH’s Mayor’s Challenge. For this work, Sam received the Key to the City, the Unsung Hero of the Year award from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and the Superintendent’s Coin for Excellence - the highest civilian honor awarded by the chief of police. Sam is also a former teacher and co-founder of the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition.

Sanya Cade was recently appointed as the Director of Finance and Administration in August of 2020.  She oversees USICH’s financial, information technology, HR, and procurement operations. 

Ms. Cade’s career includes over 10 years in public service to the House of Representatives and the District of Columbia Government, respectively. Prior to her work in federal and municipal government, she was a finance executive in television and media.  She has worked for Congressional Quarterly, the Discovery Channel, Black Entertainment Television, and USA Today.  She brings a wealth of operation experience and a talent for working with diverse teams toward common goals and achievement.

A Washington, D.C. native, Sanya holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Hampton University.