Regina has spent her entire career working towards housing and economic justice through affordable housing and community development. She has most recently served as Director of Housing Development at First Community Housing, a leading San José-based affordable housing developer. Previous to joining First Community Housing, Regina was a member of the National Development Council’s East Team providing housing and economic development consulting services to several East Coast municipalities, leading NDC’s green initiatives, and teaching several courses on community and housing development finance. She has also worked at the National Housing Trust, structuring financing for and overseeing the rehabilitation of occupied affordable housing properties while employing green construction features.

Born and raised in Richmond, CA, after a significant stint on the East Coast Regina has called San José home for many years, having both of her daughters here in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Born and raised in the San José, Maren has always been interested in community engagement and local policy. In high school she served as District 3 Youth Commissioner for the City of San José. During the summer of 2020, Maren worked as an intern with the San José Peace and Justice Center where she focused on supporting the community outreach and communications aspects of the organization.

Maren recently graduated with a First-Class BA honors in Social Policy from Bangor University and completed a dissertation focused on the legislative impact of gender quotas in federal governments.

After spending most of the last three years living in North Wales, Maren is happily back in California. When not working Maren enjoys hiking and playing rugby.

As Policy and Research Senior Associate, Alison’s work supports evidence-based policy through qualitative and quantitative research across a broad range of housing topics. She believes that now more than ever, policymakers need access to nuanced, accurate, accessible data to make effective housing policy that engages and respects our communities. Alison holds a Master of Public Administration from San Jose State University and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Central Florida.

A long-time Bay Area resident living in a vibrant East San Jose community, Alison is involved in hands-on organizing and service, especially around housing and public education. In her free time, Alison enjoys experiencing a great local adventure with her family, taking a class, hiking with friends, or curling up with a great book.

Antonia has spent 14 years in business and operations management. She most recently joins us as a Brand Experience and Client Development Manager for a major, upscale retailer supporting the C-suite with scheduling, accounting, public relations, events production, and client development. Previous to that, as a small business administrator, she thrived in a fast-paced, growing company while managing human resources, sales analysis and reporting. Antonia has experience managing and growing teams to deliver top-notch customer service and improved business efficiency, processes and procedures. She is a proud San Jose resident and looks forward to contributing her time and talents to advancing SV@Home’s mission for a more vibrant and equitable San Jose. In her spare time, Antonia enjoys creating memories with her family. Together they enjoy exploring the outdoors– biking, camping, fishing and swimming.

Kenneth (he/him) has been a grassroots organizer and an environmental planner for the past 14 years in the South Bay. He worked with the City of San José for just over five years implementing environmental compliance programs with the Planning Division and the Environmental Services Department, including environmental clearance of development projects under the California Environmental Quality Act and municipal-regional green stormwater infrastructure regulations for new and redevelopment projects. Before the City of San José, Kenneth worked with the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter for over two years to support volunteer leaders on several environmental campaigns, such as (but not limited to) sustainable land use and anti-fracking advocacy efforts. Kenneth has also been an active member in his community since moving to Ohlone Muwekma/Tamien lands in 2007 – he has been involved in local environmental issues, progressive politics, and coalition-building efforts across a large diversity of social justice organizations.

Kenneth is a child of Nicaraguan immigrant parents. He was born in San Francisco but was raised in Daly City until he left the nest to earn his BS Environmental Studies major/Political Science minor and master’s in Urban and Regional Planning degrees at San José State University. He is a sci-fi and fan fiction nerd; he loves to skateboard and hike; and he is a big “music-head” who enjoys collecting vinyl records and learning to DJ and play the bass guitar.

Sergio Lopez is a nationally recognized leader on housing and SV@Home’s Director of Development. Lopez is currently a Councilmember for the City of Campbell, and he has longtime roots in the community and a lifelong commitment to community service. He has served from the local government to the White House, and is a nationally-recognized leader on housing policy. He is also a Director for the Bay Area Air Management District and Vice Chair of the Valley Transportation Authority Policy Advisory Committee.

A historian and author, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Campbell Historical Museum Foundation, and his writing and thought leadership has been published in TIME, Teen Vogue, America, Sojourners, National Catholic Reporter, and many more. He is also a monthly columnist for the Campbell Press.

Lopez is a proud child of immigrants and was the first in his family to graduate college. He attended Yale University as a Questbridge Scholar, received his M.A. at Duke Divinity School, and studies at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

Tom is an avid traveler who worked for the City of San Jose’s housing department for many years. He retired in 2016 and now provides statistical analysis and research for Silicon Valley at Home.

Jessica Martin, Housing Production Senior Associate, comes to SV@Home after graduating with a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. There she focused her academics on housing and land use policy as well as the impacts of gentrification and displacement of Black communities. During her time at UCLA, Jessica was a research fellow at California Housing Partnership, working on COVID-19 impacts on renters in California.

Prior to pursuing her graduate degree, Jessica was a Project Administrator for Eden Housing, working to bring a number of affordable housing developments to communities around the Bay Area. She also credits her time as an Americorps member working at Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco for igniting her drive and deep commitment to undoing the harmful effects of exclusionary housing policies on marginalized and underserved BIPOC communities.

“Everyone deserves a safe and decent place to call home, and I am so excited to join the outstanding policy team of SV@Home, where I can develop and practice my housing and policy research skills to bring affordable housing to the most vulnerable residents of Silicon Valley.”
Jessica enjoys practicing ceramics, reading, and hanging out at Lake Merritt in her spare time.

In the role of Communications Manager, Tom offers more than 30 years of experience in the planning and execution of external communications efforts to help SV@HOME raise awareness, improve audience engagement and boost participation to support the organization’s mission. Prior to this, he served as a communications professional in the technology industry concentrating mostly on semiconductor firms in the Silicon Valley and around the world.

Tom’s first encounter with Silicon Valley’s affordable housing issues came in 1999 when his landlord imposed a 35 percent increase in monthly rental fees while he was earning industry recognition for his business reporting as Senior Editor at Electronic News. Before that, he earned a journalism award for his work on an environmental clean-up of the beach town of Avila Beach as a Senior Reporter for the Santa Maria Times.

Tom earned a bachelor’s degree in English from The College of New Jersey. In his spare time, he enjoys the beach, redwoods, and breathtaking sunsets with his family.

As Preservation and Protection Associate, Emily assists in the implementation of SV@Home’s approach to tenant protections, affordable housing preservation, and comprehensive anti‐displacement policy solutions, all undertaken in an equity framework.

Prior to joining SV@Home, Emily worked at a political consulting firm, where she had the opportunity to work on campaigns for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and Close the Gap California, an initiative to recruit progressive women to the State Legislature. From 2009 to 2017, she brought together technology startups and community groups for events at The Tech Museum of Innovation in Downtown San Jose. Outside of work, Emily volunteers as a member of the City of Mountain View’s Rental Housing Committee, a board director of the Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, and with the League of Women Voters Los Altos – Mountain View Area’s Housing Committee.

Emily holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the California Maritime Academy. She is a tinkerer and loves to look at the source code for everything. She finds great joy in exploring uncommon uses for tools and processes and her life’s work is to enable exceptional people and great institutions to change the world. Born and raised in the Bay Area by Filipino immigrants, Emily is passionate about keeping Silicon Valley an innovative, inclusive and diverse community.

Mathew leads the policy team at SV@Home working across Santa Clara County for stable and affordable housing for all. He has a decades long commitment to affordable housing development, preservation and policy. Beginning as a tenant organizer in New Jersey in the 1990s, he has worked to bring community interests to housing policy discussions and to insure that affordable housing is a part of our understanding of inequality and our movements for social justice.

In the Bay Area, he has worked in the public, non-profit, and the private sectors as a housing demographer, a social policy evaluator, and an organizer.

Mathew holds a PhD in Urban Sociology and Social Policy from Northwestern University.

Aurion has always had a passion for bringing social justice and equity to her community. As a recent graduate of San Jose State University, she hopes to bring her unique skillsets and background to the world of housing policy, urban planning, and development. As a Bay Area native, Aurion understands the emerging housing crisis and would love to gain more knowledge and skills to ensure that fewer people are affected by the crisis and other housing-related issues. Aurion first began an interest in this field of work through a Summer internship with Presidio Bay, a commercial real estate investment and development firm based out of San Francisco. She was intrigued mostly by the unique opportunity that affordable development and housing has to address other environmental, social, and cultural issues. From there she has made it her mission to seek housing-related opportunities to shape better communities of today and tomorrow. In all rooms Aurion enters, she hopes to create a meaningful impact and inspire others to do the same.

As Community Engagement Senior Associate, Cory works on state, regional, and local housing campaigns, and also supports SV@Home Action Fund’s legislative program.

Prior to joining SV@Home, Cory worked in and with government in multiple roles: as an elected official, staffer, consultant, and advocate. On the Palo Alto City Council from 2015 – 2018, he prioritized addressing the housing crisis through accessory dwelling unit liberalization, zoning reform, and tenant protection. In addition to housing policy, he has worked on initiatives relating to transportation, climate action, fair wages, civil liberties, and electoral reform. Cory has mentored numerous local candidates and their teams, sharing lessons learned from his first-hand experience in politics and public service.

Cory holds a B.A. in Political Science / International Relations from the University of California, San Diego. When not working or volunteering, he enjoys exploring the region’s neighborhoods, hiking trails, and backroads. A Silicon Valley native, Cory is committed to helping create a more equitable, prosperous, and sustainable future.