Our Team
Executive Director
Stephanie Thomas, Architect, CPRS (she/her)
Stephanie is a survivor of the opioid epidemic that has claimed the lives of many of her friends and members of our community. Her lived homeless experience, along with the grassroots outreach and mutual aid work she undertook in the hardest days of the pandemic, provided the foundations for Shelter the People Cleveland.
After living in New York City for almost two decades, obtaining a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute, and working professionally for 18 years; Stephanie returned home at the start of the pandemic and hit the ground running. While serving our local communities, she shifted her career focus back to what had initially inspired her to become an architect. Stephanie began to apply her radical ideas for how we can provide dignified housing for people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.
In addition to her leadership duties for Shelter the People Cleveland, she also serves as the Director of the Pretrial Support Team at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland and sits on the Advisory Board of the Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services where she represents the community as a person with lived experience.
Program Director
Sharon Vaughn (she/her)
In addition to being our Program Director, Sharon is also the Executive Director of R-Place Drop-in Resource Center who’s primary mission is to improve mental health outcomes and to educate the local community on basic literacy, financial literacy, resume writing, and available resources.
Through our partnership working in the North Broadway-Slavic Village she served 2,412 individuals in the last twelve (12) months. She is a pillar of the Slavic Village community and served as a community partner and advisor on the Slavic Village Community Planning Coalition which produced the Slavic Village Needs Assessment and Community Prevention Plan in 2023.
Not only is Sharon a supportive and loving peer for many of our friends and neighbors, she manages multiple recovery meetings each week, provides one-on-one mentorship to women in early sobriety and also facilitates financial planning and adult education courses in our community.
Director of Supportive Services
Erin Presutti, CDCA (she/her)
With seven years of experience as a Certified Chemical Dependency Counseling Assistant (CDCA), caseworker, and Qualified Mental Health Specialist, Erin has dedicated her career to advocating for equality and providing services that meet the unique needs of the LGBTQIA community, while also serving individuals with Mental Illness/Substance Use Disorder (MI/SUD).
She is known in the local LGBTQIA community as the best person-centered counselor in the city.
Her commitment extends beyond professional roles, as she engages in activism for equal rights and volunteers to support underserved populations through outreach initiatives.
As a humble servant to the people of our community, she has worked for the last decade in the field and Erin has an extensive background in nonprofit start up work, including fundraising, before joining our humble and growing team.
Director of Marketing & Engagement
Heather McCormick (she/her)
Heather brings her unique grassroots vibe to our team. She has a genuine love for people and it shows through how she engages with our community. She is grateful for her many years of working with the general public. Heather is an artist with her own company, Kind Mind Art, where she focuses on social-emotional learning and being kind to our minds through art.
She has worked in our community and with local families for over 30 years and even ran her own children’s enrichment center in the past. Since losing her company she has struggled and oftentimes, over the last five years, her housing had been transient. This fuels her passion in her work with our organization.
Heather enjoys practicing henna and ecstatic dance. She previously worked at our partner organization, Food Strong, as the Community Outreach and Marketing Manager.
4th House Manager
Timothy Leslie, BFA (he/him)
An enlightened recovered alcoholic, Timothy has grown tremendously since the dark dreary days he spent at 2100 Lakeside Avenue. As our stoic house manager at 4th House, he handles the day-to-day operations where he enjoys his duties as the primary caregiver for our emotional support cat, Ms. Kitty (see below) and our established outdoor areas including roses, fruit trees and general feng shui.
With a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Temple University, and his experience in fire art restoration and repair, he owned the Carteaux and Leslie Art and Books gallery in Cincinnati for years before falling on hard times during the pandemic which led him to become homeless.
Tim is an out and proud member of the local recovery community and leads by example in his duties with the organization.
For any inquiries on how to obtain a space at 4th House, please reach out to Timothy directly.
4th House Cat
Ms. Kitty, (she/they)
Ms. Kitty is our emotional support animal at 4th House and lives a life of luxury after spending many hard years as a disgruntled street cat. She fills her days by snatching birds out of the air mid-flight. At night you can find her curled up on the couch or at the foot of one of our restfully sleeping housemate’s beds.
She is an integral part of our support team at 4th House and we couldn’t be more blessed to have crossed paths with her on our life’s journey.
Our Board
Chair of the Board
Queen Jane Johnson (she/her)
Queen's journey includes 10 long years of struggles. After some time away from Cleveland, she returned home to be close to her family and recently received housing through nothing short of her own determination and strength. Because of her faith in God Almighty and her work on loving herself, she is now stably housed and has gotten her business back up and running!
A formerly homeless woman, she is the only person we know of that has successfully maintained their housing after a Rapid Rehousing Voucher, she understands what it takes to turn a housing opportunity into a lifetime of stability.
The joy of living is strong in Queen's soul, and she looks to uplift herself and everyone around her with that love of life. Her journey shows that if you have faith, God will show up and show out with peace, blessings and wellness.
Vice President
Latoyka Priester, BS (she/her)
Latoyka was born and raised in inner city Cleveland. She attended the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and graduated from Kent State.
She utilizes her Bachelor degree in Human Development and Family Studies by dedicating herself and being in service to our most vulnerable neighbors. She has worked in direct care and administrative positions with the homeless, at-risk youth and the mentally impaired. It is her passion and purpose in life to continue being an advocate for those who are voiceless and vulnerable; by educating, empowering and providing resources to those in need.
A mother of three, she also cofounded and coaches the Reality Check Dance Team, where she elevates youths ages 8-17 through creativity and movement.
Latoyka enjoys helping others and is a light in the darkest of places.
Secretary
Stephen G. Thomas, Esq. (he/him)
Recognized 2013 through 2022 amongst Metropolitan Cleveland’s Best Lawyers, he founded Chagrin Arts in 2007.
After spending most of his life in Chagrin Falls & Cleveland Heights, he now lives and works in Chicago, and spends his free time writing poetry for his life partner and spending time with their grandchildren.
Treasurer
Ginny Millas, Esq. (she/they)
Ginny has 31 years of experience as a public servant specializing in child welfare law, including 10 years as a Juvenile Magistrate Judge in the Common Pleas Court. She was the first openly transgender Magistrate in Ohio and her career has focused on gender equality for parents and on a reduction of poverty for children
Previously, they helped form countywide fatherhood initiative efforts which included changing practice and policy in favor of providing children the best family life. It marked a dramatic change that allowed, for example, a responsible father a fair chance of having custody.
Ginny has expertise in the barriers families face such as addiction, exposure to violence, and transience. Her empathy comes through in her optimism, knowing that any person can overcome adversity given the chance .
In Ginny’s spare time she leads the LGBTQ+ Swim Team at Cleveland State University, where her and our Executive Director met as they enjoy their shared passion for swimming and inclusive spaces. She also is a deeply spiritual person who practices the Baháʼí Faith.