Gabriela Arias, Resident Services Coordinator
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Prior to joining Housing on Merit, Ms. Arias worked as a case manager and substance abuse counselor at the Community Research Foundation IMPACT program, a non-profit that serves chronically homeless adults living with mental illness. Ms. Arias has worked as an advocate and social worker with youth and families involved in the juvenile criminal justice system, and she completed a year of national service as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer coordinator at a Connecticut shelter and housing program that serves veterans through a transitional housing site. Ms. Arias has extensive experience working with women experiencing homelessness including her time as a coordinator of a SAMSHA grant funded program, Homeless Women Deserve Treatment at Bethsaida Community, Inc., serving the greater southeastern Connecticut region. In addition, Ms. Arias has international experience working with women’s organizations in east Africa on health education and entrepreneurship projects.Ms. Arias received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Africana Studies from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Ms. Arias is also a Big Sister for Girls Rising, a San Diego non-profit providing mentorship to at-risk girls through a community of women mentors.
Sanam Kalhoro-Escoto, Resident Services Coordinator
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Prior to joining Housing on Merit, Sanam was the Documentation and Communications Officer at War Against Rape, a Pakistan based non-profit organization. She has been involved in various capacities with women and girls empowerment programs, civic engagement projects, and social science research. Sanam has worked with organizations such as the United Nations Development Program, Family Education Services Foundation, and the SOS Children’s Village of Pakistan.
Sanam has a Bachelor of Science in Social Science with an emphasis on International Relations, and a Master’s in Women’s Studies. She is an active scholar with various publications in academic journals, including her MA thesis entitled “The Politics of Space and the Creation of the Third: A Study of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus in Pakistan,” currently published in the UCLA Center for the Study of Women.
In 2015, Sanam participated in and received the San Diego Housing Federation’s Resident Services Institute and Training certification.
Miki Metz, Assistant to the Executive Director
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Prior to joining Housing on Merit, Ms. Metz worked for over ten years as the Manager of Planning & Program Development at Child Action, Inc., a non-profit based in Sacramento, California that provides for the education and social welfare of children and families by organizing, sponsoring and administering services to children. Ms. Metz received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Women’s Studies from California State University, Sacramento. In addition to her work at Housing on Merit, Ms. Metz volunteers her time to local non-profit organizations that fight for social justice and work to support, empower, and educate women and children in San Diego County.
