Homeless Alliance of Western New York: Contact: Bios

	Executive Director: William T. O'Connell, Esq (oconnell@wnyhomeless.org) Bill O'Connell was named Director and sole employeee of the Erie County Commission on Homelessness in January of 2000. Since that time, he has overseen the growth of the Commission encompassing its incorporation as the Homeless Alliance of Western New York and growing staffing to its present level. During this time the Homeless Alliance has helped secure over 50 million dollars in competitive grant funding for the community, written a 10-Year Plan to End Long-Term Homelessness (PRISM), helped raise the profile of homelessness in Erie County, increased membership and involvement, and facilitated the emergence of the Buffalo Area Services Network (BAS-Net). Bill is a graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law and John Carroll University. Before his work at the Alliance, Bill was a public policy coordinator for the Hunger Action Network of New York State in Albany where he worked on campaigns to increase funds for emergency food providers, summer meal programs, and against punitive welfare reform proposals. Mr. O'Connell has been a long-time advocate for low-income persons, having also served as a low-income organizer in New York City. Mr. O'Connell is a past board member of the Diocese of Buffalo Diocesan Service Corps, a present Commissioner for the City of Buffalo Living Wage Commission, and serves on the Community Services Funding Board of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County. He has volunteered regularly with a number of organizations including Friends of the Night People and Compeer.
	HMIS BAS-Net Coordinator: Joelle Ruettimann (ruettimann@wnyhomeless.org) Joelle Ruettimann received her bachelor’s degree from Niagara University in 2006, majoring in Political Science. She recently received her master’s degree in May of 2009 in Urban and Regional Planning with a specialization in Community Development and Urban Management from the University at Buffalo. In college, Joelle worked as a policy analyst intern for Southeast Works and was introduced to the world of social service nonprofits. Joelle also has experience in community planning as she worked as a research assistant with the Center for Urban Studies and as the Assistant Director for the Elmwood Village Association while working on her master’s degree. She has had a long passion of housing related issues, focusing her undergraduate prospectus on housing as a fundamental right and an independent study on welfare, rights, and housing laws. She is currently the Chair of the Homebuyer’s Club, a subcommittee of the West Side Housing Partnership.
	Continnum of Care Coordinator: Irene Pijuan (pijuan@wnyhomeless.org) Irene Pijuan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Miami in 2006, double majoring in Political Science and English Literature. She graduated from the University at Buffalo Law School in May of 2009. In college, Irene served as a Guardian Ad Litem for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Miami-Dade County, appearing as a court-appointed advocate for abused, displaced, or neglected children in juvenile court. While in law school, she completed an internship at the Children’s Legal Center in Buffalo and volunteered in New Orleans providing legal assistance to local attorneys as part of continuing Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. During her last year of law school Irene worked as a law clerk on the Homeless Task Force of Neighborhood Legal Services and enjoyed active involvement on the Education Committee of the Western New York Coalition for the Homeless, highlighted by her participation on the Ending Homelessness: A Symposium in Buffalo, America’s Second-Poorest City Steering Committee in 2008.
	Research and Education Coordinator: Kristin Cipollone (cipollone@wnyhomeless.org) Kristin Cipollone received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester in 2002, majoring in both History and Italian Language and Culture. Upon graduating, she joined the New York City Teaching Fellows program, where she taught fourth and fifth grade in the South Bronx while pursuing a master’s degree in education from Mercy College. Currently, Kristin is a doctoral candidate at the University at Buffalo, studying sociology of education. In college, Kristin worked as an intern for the NYS Division of Human Rights, at a transitional boys’ home in Milan, Italy, as well as a tutor to refugee children in Rochester, NY. While working in the South Bronx, she served on grant writing and school development committees. In 2006-2007 she coordinated the UB Reading First program, training undergraduates to tutor in local public schools. She currently works for GSE Publications and is an adjunct instructor at Buffalo State College.
	AmeriCorps VISTA Staff: Tim Munier (munier@wnyhomeless.org) Tim Munier is serving as the AmeriCorps VISTA member for 2009. Tim received his bachelor’s degree in 2008 from SUNY Geneseo, majoring in Sociology with a focus on racial issues in America. While in college he worked with several other students to establish the Geneseo Community Garden and worked with the local chapter of Think Globally, Vote Locally to register students to vote in local elections. He has also interned with Rochester’s progressive community organization Metro Justice as well as the Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace. In addition to the Alliance, Tim is also working closely with the WNY Coalition for the Homeless on several committees.