Julia Wagner
Interim Executive Director| Institute of Global Homelessness
Pronouns: she/her
Julia leads IGH’s work on the Vanguard Program, International Mayors Council on Homelessness, and Better Data Project. She has more than a decade of experience in program design, building partnerships for systems change, and collecting inclusive data working across the fields of international public health, education, and homelessness.
Prior to joining IGH, Julia served as a Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Advisor for the AIDSFree Project, where she worked with teams from 13 countries to track and improve outcomes. She has also worked in Namibia and South Africa on projects focused on empowering youth, forming continuum of care networks, and engaging civil society organizations. Her experience includes creating data management systems, building dashboards and tools to make data more accessible for decision making, and providing technical assistance to field-based partners.
Julia holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Tiffany Connolly
Program Coordinator | Institute of Global Homelessness
Pronouns: she/her
Tiffany is the Program Coordinator at the Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH). She is passionate about progression, collaboration, and knowledge exchange. Through her work, she supports IGH’s efforts to achieve individual and team goals; organize and facilitate collaborations, projects, and convenings; and curate and share useful information, tools, and resources on homelessness and intersectionality. She also supports IGH’s effort to achieve its diversity, equity, and inclusion mission.
Tiffany holds a B.A. in Psychology from DePaul University and is pursuing continuing education in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Yamitza Yuivar Villarreal
Research Assistant | Institute of Global Homelessness
Pronouns: she/her
Yamitza is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Global Homelessness. She was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. Yamitza has worked as a community manager of social organizations, assisted in research about education and communication, and designed theoretical frameworks that facilitated projects. Her personal and professional objectives are advocating for a more equitable society that respects all cultures and believes in people.
Yamitza holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Universidad de Chile and is pursuing a MED in Education, Culture, and Society at DePaul University.
River Smith
Research Assistant | Institute of Global Homelessness
Pronouns: any/all
River is a research assistant at the Institute of Global Homelessness. They are originally from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and currently live in Chicago. River’s background is in psychology and mental health. He’s worked in direct service, designing and running psychosocial programming for adults living with mental illnesses. He’s also done psychological research on moral perceptions of criminality, and is committed to bringing a social justice focus to his mental health work.