March 29, 2018

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the only national organization solely focused on ending veteran homelessness, has selected three new members of its Board of Directors, adding leaders from the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, and Volunteers of America of Florida.

Matthew Leslie, Cathrene “Cat” Nichols, and Janet Stringfellow will be joining the nonprofit’s board. Leslie is the Director of Housing Development for the Virginia Department of Veterans Services and was a key player in Virginia declaring a statewide functional end to veteran homelessness on Veterans Day 2015. Leslie has also worked in the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and holds an MSW degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Nichols is a U.S. Army Veteran and the Eastern Washington Strategic Operations Manager for Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. She is the administrator of WDVA’s Eastern Washington Regional Veterans Service Center in Spokane, and also serves as the Spokane County Veterans Services Director and Bureau of Justice Grant Manager. Nichols’ background includes managing the local Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), as well as a number of other programs to prevent and end veteran homelessness.

Stringfellow serves as the President and CEO of Volunteers of America of Florida, the largest provider of supportive housing for homeless veterans in Florida. Stringfellow has been with VOA of Florida since 1998, previously holding positions in marketing, fundraising, and leadership roles in client care. She is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor with 20 years of experience serving veterans, including counseling, PTSD training, brain injury with cognitive re-training, employment rehabilitation, leadership, and strategic planning.

NCHV Board Chairman Chick Ciccolella said: “ NCHV welcomes these three dedicated professionals as our newest Board Directors! We are fortunate to have such highly accomplished and dedicated individuals as Cat, Janet, and Matt join us. Each of them has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to ending homelessness among veterans. Their backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise will add greatly to our organization.”

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization governed by a 22-member board of directors – is the resource and technical assistance center for a national network of community-based service providers and local, state and federal agencies that provide emergency and supportive housing, food, health services, job training and placement assistance, legal aid and case management support for hundreds of thousands of homeless veterans each year.

NCHV also serves as the primary liaison between the nation’s care providers, Congress and the Executive Branch agencies charged with helping them succeed in their work. NCHV’s advocacy has strengthened and increased funding for virtually every federal homeless veteran assistance program in existence today.

For more information, visit www.nchv.org.