Chris Estes, Executive Director

Chris joined the Housing Coalition as its Executive Director in September 2003 with a variety of experiences related to low-income communities and affordable housing including economic development, smart growth advocacy, welfare reform, workforce development, affordable housing development and asset-building research.  Prior to the Coalition, Chris completed a masters in Social Work and a masters in City and Regional Planning, both from UNC-Chapel Hill. He works closely with the Coalition's partners on our legislative agenda and in promoting the Campaign for Housing Carolina campaign across the state.  He hopes to broaden the membership of the Coalition while increasing its impact on the production of affordable housing and improving the quality of life of low-income communities.  

Regina Green, Foreclosure Prevention Outreach Coordinator

The NC Housing Coalition is partnering with Legal Aid of NC, NC Justice Center and five other legal services non-profit agencies working on a one-year grant award from Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation on a foreclosure prevention project.  Regina serves as the community education outreach coordinator for the project.  The Coalition’s role in the project is to identify communities that are at risk in order to get them better connected to legal services; increase community engagement and consumer advocacy by raising awareness on policy issues; and coordinate six consumer education meetings around the state with partner attorneys making presentations on topics including predatory lending, preserving equity and loan servicing abuses. The objective is to take a more pro-active approach to the problem of the drastic increasing rate of foreclosures in North Carolina.  Regina enjoys spending time with her sons and granddaughters and can often be found in her kitchen cooking up a storm.

John Niffenegger, Membership Coordinator

John has been involved with the Coalition since September 2005, when he began his internship in coordination with his studies at UNC-CH. He received his masters in social work in May 2006, and was hired as Membership Coordinator in July 2006. John puts together the Coalition's bi-monthly Housing Updates, interacts with members, and works to increase the Coalition's visibility. In his spare time, he makes music, mountain bikes, and spends with his wonderful dog, Bayla.

Anne Ehlers, Development and Communications Coordinator

Anne joined the Housing Coalition in February 2009. She relocated from Atlanta where she worked with performing arts and women’s health organizations.  Her goal is to build a comprehensive fundraising program and develop inspiring and informative communications. She received her Masters Degree from UC San Diego and her BA from the University of Iowa.  Anne enjoys hiking with her dog, attending theatre and napping in the sun.

Carley Ruff, Policy and Outreach Coordinator

Carley joined the Housing Coalition in June of 2009. She works on state and federal level policy for the Coalition and also provides technical and staff support to local housing advocacy groups throughout North Carolina.  She hopes to help build a strong network of local coalitions that will not only affect progressive change in cities and counties across the state, but that will also influence and inform state and federal housing policy campaigns. Carley holds a Masters in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and a BA in History from the University of Georgia.  Prior to joining the staff at the Housing Coalition, Carley worked for Habitat for Humanity in Richmond, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina.  She also worked on policy for Catholic Charities in St. Louis including several pieces of legislation pertaining to affordable housing and asset development.  In her spare time, Carley enjoys live music and spending time with her beautiful niece and two hilarious nephews.

Carolina Homeless Information Network (CHIN) Staff

Hunter Thompson, Director, Carolina Homeless Information Network

Hunter heads up the Housing Coalition's newest program: CHIN (Carolina Homeless Information Network).  We are working to bring about a statewide information database of homeless service providers.  This will serve local agency record-keeping needs as well as provide local, regional and statewide unduplicated demographic data about NC's homeless population for the first time.  For contact information, please click here.

Laura McDuffee, Lead Coordinator, Carolina Homeless Information Network

Laura has been working with HMIS in NC since 2002 when she helped establish a regional HMIS in the Triad.  She has reviewed several software options, provided training and technical assistance, and developed policies and procedures for HMIS implementation.  Her current focus is on developing reports using the data collected by the system.  Laura has a master's degree in public affairs and nonprofit management and a bachelor's degree in dance. 

Sonia Ensenat, Regional Coordinator, Carolina Homeless Information Network

Sonia has been working for the Coalition since September 2007.  She has an MS engineering degree from MIT.  As regional coordinator for CHIN, she supports homeless providers in the central part of the state, as well as helping with system-wide reports.  She also volunteers with the grassroots group Congregations for Social Justice as an advocate for affordable housing in the Raleigh area. 

Holly Barham, Western Regional Coordinator, Carolina Homeless Information Network

Holly began working with the Coalition's Carolina Homeless Information Network (CHIN) in July 2007.  With an education background, she moved from the coast to the mountains to coordinate CHIN's efforts in the west.  Holly enjoys working with the varied population in the west, ensuring agencies are up to speed with HMIS.  She also works on the training materials for CHIN.  In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, live music, and spending time with her husband and two children. 

Michael Tillman, Central Regional Coordinator, Carolina Homeless Information Network

Mike has been working with CHIN since April 2008.  He is currently working on the development of CHIN's online portal and coordinating Help Desk operations.  Mike is a native of the Raleigh area and has a strong background in customer service and working with federal grantees.  He is also working towards the completion of an MA degree in critical literacy and enjoys running, cinema, and reading.

Rob Tripp, Eastern Regional Coordinator, Carolina Homeless Information Network

Rob has a firm combination of educational and technical experiences.  He is pursuing his PhD in Educational Leadership on-line from the University of Nebraska, and holds a Masters in Higher Education from Florida State University as well as a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Religion from UNC-Wilmington.  He has experience working with computers and technical issues from both a teaching and administrative perspective.  He loves working directly with people and striving to make a difference in their lives.  Rob lives in Wilmington with his wife Amy, son Sydney ,and daughters Abby and Emily.  In his free time, he coaches youth soccer, and enjoys water sports and beach days.